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Technical Q&A's

Note: For archived 1995 Updates, check out: What's New 1995.

November 27, 1996

ToolBox leads the pack again this month with four new Q&A's covering aspects of DragManager and unique resource ID's. Many thanks to Pete Gontier.
Networking has new Q&A's on changing IP numbers and serial port I/O handshaking under OT and an update on T_DATA_REQ message blocks. Thanks to Vinnie Moscaritolo and Quinn.
QuickTime Components has a new Q&A on preview behavior and an update on ImageDescription extension formats. Thanks to Drew Colace and Peter Hoddie.
QuickTime VR features a new Q&A on 16-bit colors in Director. Thanks to Leticia Alarcon.
Hardware updates a Q&A on identifying PCI-bus Macs and expands the Mac model gestalt value list yet again. Thanks to Quinn and Rich Kubota.

October 25, 1996

ToolBox leads the pack this month with four new Q&A's on subjects from edit fields to AGA (Apple Greyscale Appearance) to the Drag Manager. Thanks to Matt Mora and Pete Gontier.
Networking has new Q&A's on gestalt selectors and T_DATA_REQ message blocks. Thanks to Sandhya Vora and Quinn.
QuickDraw GX Printing has a new Q&A on setting paper types and updates one on the GX Printer Control Panel. Thanks to Ingrid Kelly.
Hardware updates the now-famous Mac model gestalt value list. Thanks to Rich Kubota.
Text has an update on licensing the Espy Sans font. Thanks to Laura Rawson.

September 27, 1996

QuickDraw GX Printing addresses issues involved in altering the GX General Print Panel. Thanks to Ingrid Kelly.
Networking looks at two important Open Transport issues. Thanks to Quinn.
OS Utilities has three new Q&A's this month. Thanks to Albert Hui.
Processes has one new Q&A this month. Thanks to Albert Hui.
QuickDraw has one new Q&A this month. Thanks to Albert Hui.
QuickTime for Windows has five fresh Q&A's this month. Thanks to Rand Crippen.
Sound has three new Q&A's this month. Thanks to Mark Cookson.
ToolBox has one new Q&A this month. Thanks to Albert Hui.
QuickTime VR has one new Q&A this month. Thanks to Steve Graff.

August 21, 1996

Hardware has a new Q & A this month, wherein Rich Kubota let's us all know the 'mach' Gestalt values for recent Macintosh models. Rich says to check in on this particular Q & A on a regular basis, because it will be updated as Apple introduces new models.
Rich Kubota contributes his expertise once again in the area of Networking, where he answers a developer's question regarding Open Transport's 'qlen' limit.
Jason Yeo answers three new Q & A's in Platforms & Tools, where E.T.O. and MacApp are discussed. Check them out.
In a very simple and straightforward manner, Rick Evans explains the differences between Textures and BitMaps. Check it out in QuickDraw 3D.
A new Q & A appears in QuickTime Music Architecture this month. Drew Colace's expertise regarding headers appears here.
Drew Colace answers two new Q & A's in the realm of QuickTime Components. Check out what he has to say about Derived Media Handlers and Movie Import components.
In the world of QuickTime For Windows, we've got four new Q & A's, and Rand Crippen and Mark Cookson each answer two apiece. Valuable information appears here regarding mixing music tracks, sound hiccups under Win95, playing compressed WAVE files on the Mac, and handling cross platform sounds.
And lastly, theToolBox department also gets attention this month. An unusual question regarding resizing a window when holding down the Macintosh's 'Command' key is answered by Eric Simenel. Pete Gontier answers two questions, too -- one on the limitations of ShowDragHilite, and the other on Drag Manager & the 600 (procNotFound) Error.

July 3, 1996

In the world of Networking, we've got two new Q & A's that both provide some programming tips. Thanks to Quinn for these.
A WWDC attendee's query regarding customizing the QTW Installer gets answered by Guillermo Ortiz in the Q & A category, QuickTime For Windows.
Ingrid Kelly's expertise comes in handy to answer two Q & A's regarding QuickDraw GX fonts in the section, QuickDraw GX - Typography.
Do you know how to create custom icons for documents generated by a plug-in? Eric Simenel does. Check it out in the Q & A category, Operating System.
And lastly, Dave Polaschek shows you how to determine a PostScript printer's optimal resolution in the Q & A category, QuickDraw.

June 1, 1996

Mark Cookson has been the force behind our new Q & A category, Sound. Check this out for five Q & A's to start this category off right! Thanks to Mark for these.
In QuickDraw GX world, we've got two for you. The QuickDraw GX Graphics Q & A explains Transfer Mode matrices, and the QuickDraw GX Printing Q & A directs you to the PDD file format API. Thanks to Ingrid Kelly for these!
Thanks to Quinn, we're providing an online mapping of OT Error numbers to their names, as well as an explanation of why some routines are undefined in OT Libraries. You can find both of these Q & A's in Networking.
How can you easily determine the state of the Modern Memory Manager? While you're at it, can you also determine the size of the disk cache? You'll find the answer to both of these questions in Memory, thanks to Albert Hui.
If you're wondering what to do to prevent running out of TOC space, or what's up with the InterfaceLibSys7.additions stub library, check out Platforms & Tools -- Albert Hui has got these covered as well.
Albert's also got one for you in Power PC System Software, all about how to create a UPP. Thanks, Albert!

May 14, 1996

If you're involved in communications development, this batch of Q & A's will definitely catch your eye -- eleven new Networking Q & A's, including speed & connection issues, getting started info, and correcting inadvertent code inconsistencies. Thanks to Rich Kubota, Vinnie Moscaritolo, and Quinn for this great showing!
We're starting off the new Apple Guide category with information on an Apple Guide library name change, as well as the benefits of Apple Guide 1.2.7. Thanks to Don Johnson for these.
Don Johnson is also responsible for getting our new Guide Maker category going, with a Q & A detailing the potential crashes averted by Guide Maker 1.2.7. Thanks again, Don!
If you're using QuickTime for Windows, and are wondering how to prevent the screen saver from kicking in during your movie, take a look at the new QTW Q & A -- it's all there. Thanks to Rand Crippen for providing this info to our developers.
Is it possible to extract file system information from the WindowPtr? And how does PBLockRange really work? Check out Operating System for the answers to these questions, thanks to Ginny McCulloh.
If your app is having problems posting dialogs when background printing is enabled, check out Dave Polascheck's pointers in QuickDraw. Thanks, Dave!
There's a GX Postscript color printing bug -- check it out in the new QuickDraw GX Printing Q & A. Thanks to Ingrid Kelly for this one.
The Espy font is a registered trademark of Apple, but if you'd like to use it in your app, check out Text for information on how to request a licensing agreement. Info provided by Ingrid Kelly.
Lastly, if you'd like to know how PBDTGetAPPL() chooses which copy of an app to launch, take a look at the explanation under Toolbox. Thanks to Ginny McCulloh for this one.

April 8, 1996

First up, we've got twenty fresh QuickDraw 3D Q &A's, covering topics such as the QuickDraw 3D MetaFile format, RAVE, the use of view hints, and how to implement some of the geometries missing in QuickDraw 1.0.X. If you're a QuickDraw 3D developer, this is must reading! Special thanks to Rick Evans for this heroic showing!
Ingrid Kelly comes through, as usual, with new QuickDraw GX material. If QuickDraw GX Printing is your bag, then check out the two new printing Q & A's, dealing with how to properly set up a default papertype on a GX printer, and a potential StyleWriter quirk you ought to be aware of. Also, if you're having problems with small point sizes crop up on a GX driver, you'll want to take a look at the new QuickDraw GX Typography Q & A.
If you're getting error -3168 (kOTStateChangeError), and you're wondering why, the new Networking Q&A has the answer. Thanks to Rich Kubota for this one.
The DR Emulator, reporting itself as being a 68020 processor, actually has both an instruction cache and a data cache. If you are unaware of this, incomplete code may result in your app crashing. Check out how to prevent this in the new Hardware Q &A. Thanks to Mark Cookson for putting this together for our developers.

March 6, 1996

Will using a ColorSync accelerator affect your development efforts? Get the reassuring facts on this and other accelerator concerns in the new ColorSync Q&A's. Thanks to Ingrid Kelly for these Q&A's.
How can you use background printing when the Finder isn't present? Check out QuickDraw for the answer. We've also got an update to QD 29 - API for Non-GX Printing. Thanks to Dave Polaschek for getting these together.
QuickTime for Windows has an update to QTW 75 -Matching QTW 2.1 Access Methods To Your Targetted Windows Platform. It now includes a handy table for figuring out what flavor of QTW 2.1 is required by the two QTW access methods for each version of Windows. Check it out! Thanks to Rand Crippen for this one.
If you're not clear on how to properly close a connection via Open Transport, or if you're wondering about OT error -3208, don't forget to visit the Networking Q&A's. Thanks to Vinnie Moscaritolo and Rich Kubota for this stuff!
For the low-down on setting port speed on a modem port, you've got to take a look over in Devices, for a Q&A packed with info. Thank you, Godfrey DiGiorgio, for this one.

February 15, 1996

MacsBug is a powerful tool, and versatile, too. If you'd like details on how to use MacsBug most efficiently for a wide range of problems, check out Platforms & Tools. We've got five powerful new Q&A's offering how-to, hints, and lists of additional sources of information. Thanks to Brian Bechtel for putting this information together for our developers.
If you're a QuickDraw 3D developer, and have been wondering about QD3D's UV support, or you've been having trouble using light color, then you will certainly want to take a look at the two new QuickDraw 3D Q&A's. Thanks to Rick Evans for these!
Wondering how to get TextEdit to draw over a background image? Take a look at this edition's new Text Q&A for the answer. Thanks to Matt Mora for this one.
The most recent QuickTime for Windows Q&A explains how to access QTW from 32-bit Visual Basic via the Multimedia Control Interface. This information provided to you by DTS-er Rand Crippen.
If you need to locate a font's home file, but are having trouble doing it, Dave Polaschek's latest Toolbox Q&A provides pointers to locating it programatically. Thanks, Dave!
Lastly, color palettes are the topic for this edition's QuickTime Q&A. Thanks to Rick Evans for this one.

February 9, 1996

The QuickDraw 3D Q&As in this edition provide information on debugging tools and documentation available for developers. Thanks to Rick Evans for these!
The new QuickTime for Windows Q&As discuss compatibility issues, SDK documentation availability, and the creation of a PicHandle for a PICT stored in global memory. Thanks to Rand Crippen for these great Q&As.
The ColorSync Q&As offer how-to information on embedding EPS and ICC profiles, as well as where to find more info on ColorSync 2.0. Thanks to Ingrid Kelly for putting this information together for our developers.
If you've got questions about which OpenTransport Libraries will be most useful in your project, or how to use OT with CFM-68K, check out the Networking Q&As Thank you, Quinn, for providing this information.
If you're working with CJK issues, and need some inspiration, then you definitely want to look at this edition's Text Q&A. Thanks to Dave Polaschek for sharing these pointers.
Reentrancy issues in QDGX Printers are discussed in the QuickDraw GX Q&A Again, thanks to Dave Polaschek!
If you've had bizarre results when using the backquote key in the name of your extention, check out OS Utilities for some interesting background, and an alternative way to get your extension loaded last. Thanks to Mark Cookson for this one.
Not sure how to most efficiently use Mac Debugger? Then you'll want to look at Platforms & Tools for a step-by-step how-to. Thanks goes to Merwyn Welcome for this Q&A.
An explanation of qd and QDGlobals can be found in the QuickDraw Q&A for this edition. Thanks, Merwyn Welcome, for this one as well.

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