Read Me First

This frameset serves as a single entry point into all the QuickTime API documentation.

The table of contents is displayed in the frame on the left. Click a link in the table of contents, and the road map for that topic will be displayed here. The road map gives a high-level description of the topic and its contents.

A topic may be described in more than one source document. For example, there may be an overview and a set of functions defined in Inside Macintosh: QuickTime and additional functions defined in QuickTime 4 Reference. The road map has links to all of the source documents for a topic. Click a link in the road map and the source document will be displayed in this frame.

Most source documents are organized into chapters. Each page in the source document contains links to the next page, previous page, and the chapter table of contents. If the road map takes you to a page that isn't quite what you were looking for, check the surrounding pages and the chapter table of contents.

You can get back to the road map using your browser's Back button, or by clicking a link in the table of contents frame on the left.

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Indexes

There are two indexes provided with this documentation:

• The Index of Functions is an alphabetical list of all the functions described in the QuickTime documentation. This is usually the fastest way to find the definition of a function.
• The Index of Topics is an alphabetical list of topics covered in the QuickTime documentation.
• There are links to both indexes at the top of the Contents frame on the left.

The indexes are large (over 100K each) and take several seconds to load. An index opens in a separate window, so you can use the index repeatedly without waiting for it to reload each time. You may want to adjust the size and location of your browser windows so that the index remains partly visible. When you click a link in the index, it opens the appropriate page in this frame.

Use the Find function of your browser to search the indexes. For example, search the function index for "CopyAtom" to find the functions QTCopyAtom and QTCopyAtomDataToHandle, or search the topic index for "data handlers" to find "About Data Handlers," "Creating Data Handlers," and "Selecting Data Handlers."

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Bookmarks

Choosing "Add Bookmark" in your browser will save a bookmark for the entire frameset with this page ("Read Me First") in the document frame. To bookmark a page in a source document, click the Hide Frames link at the top of the page, then add the bookmark.

When you open such a bookmark, only the selected page is displayed, and the Hide Frames link is changed to Show Frames. To wrap the page in this frameset, so that you have access to the table of contents, road map, and indexes, click the Show Frames link at the top of the page.

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Code Samples

Code samples appear in  monospaced font. If a line of code is too wide for the window on your display, it will wrap to the next line. Sometimes this makes the code difficult to read. All code samples should display without wrapping if your display is set to 1024x768 or wider. Most code samples will display without wrapping on a display set to 800x600.

To display a code sample at maximum width, click the Hide Frames link at the top of the page, then expand your browser window to cover your screen. When you are ready to return to the frameset, click the Show Frames link.

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PDF and HTML

All of the QuickTime documentation is available in HTML format and can be accessed through this frameset. Most of the documentation can also be downloaded in PDF format.

The HTML can be downloaded in single pages. The HTML also includes a high-level road map and global indexes, all of which simplify random access. The PDF format is generally better for making printed copies or reading long sections from start to finish. PDF documents are downloaded as complete source documents, which are typically books.

There is a link to the PDF download page at the top of the Contents frame on the left.