This file contains late-breaking information that was not available when the printed documentation accompanying the ArtBeat software went to press. Please read this file before you begin working with ArtBeat. We also advise that you print a copy of this file and keep it with the user manual.
Additions And Clarifications:
ArtBeat now supports QuickTime and is System 7 savvy. Following is a detailed explanation of how the additions mentioned above are supported.
1. System 7:
Applications that are system 7 savvy have the ability to share data dynamically (i.e. on-line) without having to do cut and paste or save in common formats.
The Edit Menu:
Under this menu, there is the ‘Publish’ menu item out of which descends a hierarchical menu displaying the various actions the user may take.
a. ‘Create Publisher...’:
This option will be dimmed if there are no objects at all or if there are no objects selected by the user. Upon selecting this option, the user is prompted with a standard dialog that somewhat resembles the standard save dialog and that will show a preview of the selected objects. The user will be required to give a name for the file containing this data. The default file name is ‘ArtBeat Container.pub[1]’ where the number appended to the file name indicates the how many publishers have been created per run. If the user creates another publisher and chooses to save its data to a previously created container file, the original data of this container file will be erased and the new data will show at all applications subscribing to this specific container file. Upon clicking the ‘Ok’ button, a new frame appears around the selected objects. This frame can be best described as a rectangle that is none-filled and is of a 50% gray pen pattern and a pen thickness of 3 points in both of the horizontal and vertical directions. How to operate a publisher object will be explained later under the ‘Publisher Options...’ menu item. If the user chooses to duplicate or copy and paste a publisher object, he / she will be prompted with an alert that explains that duplicating a publisher will not insure the integrity of the contents of the edition container file since many publishers will be sending their data to the very same edition container file at the same time.
b.’Subscribe To...’:
This option will be highlighted at all times since the user may subscribe to any edition container file at any time. Subscribing to an edition container file means that the user gets a copy of the data contained in this container file which was previously created by the publisher application. ArtBeat allows the user to subscribe to any container file containing ‘PICT’. Upon selecting this menu item, the user is prompted with a standard dialog that somewhat resembles the standard open dialog and that will show a preview of the contents of the edition files available. After selecting the required edition file and opening it, a subscriber object containing the chosen data is created. The pen pattern of the frame of the subscriber object is 75% gray and is 3 points thick in both the horizontal and vertical directions. This data does not contain individual objects, but rather a collective picture of them all. How to operate a subscriber object will be explained later under the ‘Publisher Options...’ menu item. The user may duplicate or copy and paste subscriber objects as required.
c.’Publisher Options...’:
This option will be dimmed if there are no selected publisher or subscriber objects. Note that this menu item may read ‘Subscriber Options...’ if the selected object is a subscriber. Upon selecting this menu item, the user is prompted with the relevant options dialog. It is through these dialogs that the user specifies the exact properties of publisher / subscriber objects. For a publisher, the user specifies how to send updates of the contents of this publisher to its edition container file. Depending on his / her choice of radio buttons, the user will specify whether ArtBeat should update the edition container file of this publisher every time the user saves the document or only when the user chooses to do so through the options dialog by clicking the ‘Send Edition Now’ button. The user may also chooses to cancel this publisher object by clicking the ‘Cancel Publisher’ button. When doing so and then clicking the ‘Ok’ button, the publisher object will not appear indicating that it is not active anymore.
As for the subscriber options dialog, the user may specify how to receive updates from the publisher application to the edition container file subscribed to. Depending on choice of radio buttons, the user will specify whether ArtBeat should receive
updates of this subscriber automatically or only when the user chooses to do so through clicking the ‘Get Edition Now’ button (i.e. manually). The operation of cancelling a subscriber is similar to that of cancelling a publisher.
Double-clicking a publisher or a subscriber object activates the relevant options dialog. Note that if the shift key is pressed while double-clicking a publisher object (or when choosing the ‘Publisher Options...’ menu item), ArtBeat will only include the objects that are fully contained within the gray frame representing this publisher.
Also, if the user double-clicks a cancelled publisher or subscriber object, she / he is prompted with an alert that gives her / him the choice of “Registering” this object; that is, making it active once more.
2. QuickTime :
ArtBeat for the Macintosh, version 1.0, supports the new Apple QuickTime technology. With the new "movie" data type, QuickTime makes it easy to incorporate time-based data (such as video clips, animated charts, and presentations) into ArtBeat . You can add existing movies to illustrations by using the "Import..." command on the ArtBeat File menu. You can also paste movies that were cut or copied from ArtBeat or another application.
Once you place a movie in an illustration, you can manipulate the movie in the same way as any other element (for example, resize it, move it, and duplicate it).
To import a movie:
1. Choose "Import Movie..." from the File menu.
2. Select a movie, and then click "OK" in the "Open" dialog box.
The number of movies you can import is limited only by your computer memory. We recommend that you set the memory size for the application to at least 2 MB while running QuickTime. (To set memory, quit ArtBeat , click the ArtBeat application “ArtBeat 1.0 Info” dialog box, enter a new number in the “Current size” edit box.)
To play a movie:
• Double-click the mouse anywhere on the movie.
To pause a movie:
• Click the mouse once.
When a movie is not playing, it appears as a static PICT and a badge icon appears at the lower-left corner of the movie frame. Select the movie, and then click the badge-icon arrow to open the drop-down menu.
The commands on the badge-icon menu allow you to control the movie when the standard movie playbar is hidden.
"Play"
Play the movie from the current frame.If the currentframe is the last frame, the moviewill play from thebeginning.
"Sound On"
Toggle the audio tracks on or off. Ifthe sound is on,the command is "Sound Off."
"Show Play Bar"
Display the standard movie playbar. If the movie playbar is on the screen already, the command is "Hide Play Bar."
"Set Poster Frame"
Designate the current frame as the poster frame.
"Show Poster Frame"
Display the poster frame.
"Restore Original Size"
Scale the movie frame to the original size.
"Loop on"
Keeps repeating a movie until you click anywhere in the document.
You can also control the movie with the playbar:
• Clicking the speaker icon displays the volume popup menu. Moving the volume indicator all the way to the bottom plays the movie without the sound.
• Clicking the right triangle to the right of the speaker icon plays or pauses the movie.
• Clicking the scroll bar allows you to scroll forward and backward through the movie.
• Clicking the two icons on the right permits frame-stepping backward and forward.
• Option-clicking the two icons takes you to the first or last frame of the movie.
• Dragging the frame indicator in the scroll area of the playbar allows you to browse Through the movie.
When no movie is selected, you'll see the current frame.
To select a movie in ArtBeat :
• Click anywhere on the movie. Handles appear on the outside edge of the movie.
To relocate a movie:
• Drag it to the desired location.
To resize a movie:
• Select it, and then drag one of the handles. Hold down the Shift key to retain proportions.
(Note: We do not recommend resizing movies as they generally do not scale well.)
QuickTime automatically compensates for the particular hardware on which it is running. Therefore, you may experience loss of frames or audio under certain conditions.
When a movie has been stretched to a much larger size then the original, there is more screen to update so performance may be affected.
To restore a movie to the original size:
• Select the movie and then choose "Restore Original Size" from the badge-icon menu. (Press the badge-icon arrow to open the drop-down menu.)
When you cut or copy a movie from a ArtBeat document, ArtBeat preserves the current frame of the movie.
When you print a ArtBeat document containing a movie, the current frame will be printed.
When you export a ArtBeat document containing a movie, the current frame is exported in the selected format.
QuickTime is an extension to System 7.0 and an INIT (startup document) for System 6.0.7. QuickTime 1.0 runs on all 68020-based and higher Macintosh color-capable computers with at least 2 MB of RAM.
The QuickTime INIT and documentation are available through your local Apple dealer or user group.
