San Diego MUG suggests that you might consider a HP DeskJet if you have been looking at the ImageWriter LQ. A cable called The Grappler from Orange Micro makes it work with the Mac, ands the ImageWriter LQ driver will drive it OK. The graphics on the DeskJet might make you buy it.
The Frugal Installer
If you don’t have a hard disk, be sure you use the Installer program to update to any new system. This will insure that unneeded resources are not installed in your System Folder. For instance, you don’t need color resources unless you have a Mac II, and the Installer knows that.
The Little Old Problem Utility
MacroMaker, which comes with the new 6.0 System Set, conflicts with lots of other INITs, including Font/DA Juggler and CPSSaveDeletes. And that ain’t all! It conflicts with lots of things, so watch it.
Using the Control Key
If you have an extended keyboard, the Control key will let you type the infamous command symbol, check mark, apple and diamond. They can be reached with Control/Q|R|T|S respectively. To see these symbols, open KeyCaps and press the Control key.
Frozen Screen á la Mode
If your screen freezes when using DAs under Multifinder, try increasing the memory allotment for DA Handler. Apple gave it 16k. You may want as much as 80k. Thanks, Doug Miles.
The Case of the Missing Documents
If you copy an entire folder from one disk to another, and this folder replaces one with the same name on the target disk, don’t forget that the folder being copied will replace the folder on the target disk, including files in the target disk folder which ARE NOT INCLUDED in the folder coming over from the source disk.
Be safe. Open both folders and check to see what is going to happen before you lose valuable documents.
Why Do You Want To Do That?
You can put both fonts and DAs into a single suitcase — and it doesn’t matter whether it is a font suitcase or a DA suitcase. To do this, hold down the Option key while clicking Open in Font/DA Mover. You won’t see DAs while moving fonts, and vice versa, but trust me — you can load both kinds in one suitcase.
Grayed Out HyperCard Buttons
Would you like to show a grayed out button in HyperCard? Here is how. Use a screen dump of the button. Take it into MacPaint or some bitmap paint program. Clean it up. Use the paint bucket to dump gray into each letter and the frame of the button. Copy this grayed button to the Clipboard. Go to the HyperCard card. Paste the grayed button. Position it exactly over the regular button of the same name. Now a show/hide script will let you hide the real button and show the grayed out button when you need it.
Making a Scrolling List Box
You can make a scrolling list box (like the list of Fonts in Font/DA Mover) in HyperCard which correctly highlights any item clicked on, simultaneously moving highlighting from any other item in the list. Here is a script which Frank Patrick used in his XRef-Text stack:
on mouseUp
get the clickLoc
put item 1 of it into Hmouse
put item 2 of it into Vmouse
set the lockText of me to false
get the rect of me
click at item 1 of it + 1,Vmouse
put item 4 of it - item 2 of it - 2 into fieldHeight
put fieldHeight / the textHeight of me into numLines
if Vmouse > (numLines - 1) * the textHeight of me¬
+ item 2 of it then
click at item 1 of it + 1,item 4 of it - 1 with shiftKey
else
click at item 1 of it + 1,Vmouse + the textHeight¬
of me with shiftKey
end if
set the lockText of me to true
end mouseUp
Locked Out?
Did you lock yourself out of a HyperCard stack? Make a new card in any other stack. Put a large scrolling field on it. Use the message box and type:
put script of stack "Source" into card field "Target" -- where
--"Source" is the name of your locked stack and "Target" -- is the name of the card field you just created
Now fix the script so it won't keep you locked out. Put the edited script back into your "locked" stack with this message in the message box:
set the script of "Source" to card field "Target"
Movin' Around in Word 3.0X
If you leave your current location in Word 3.0X and go to another page, the easy way is to use Command/Option/S to split the screen. Scroll to the other page. Make your changes. Now use Command/Option/W to get you back to your original place. A quick Command/Option/S closes the split screen for you.
Simple Works Trick
Are you trying to repeat field information in MS Works by using Command/" and it won't work? OK, did you turn off any "curly quote" INITs? Since a curly quote INIT makes your " mark into a curly quote, Works does not get the intended message. Turn off the curly quote INIT and go to town.
Travelers' Advisory
Check these out for yourself, but airline travelers say that Macs fit under the seat in L-1011's and in the overhead on 737s.
Can You Talk and Modem at The Same Time?
Try this: you have only one phone line. You call another Macintosh owner. You talk for a while, then you want to up or download. You get communications program up and running on both Macs. Now one party types ATA and a Return. The other party then types ATD and a Return. Both parties hang up the phone and they are connected by modem to download or upload. Thanks Mike Jetzer of MadMacNews, Madison, WI MUG.
Word Accelerator Trick
Want Word 3.0X to move faster? In Full Menus, pull down the Edit menu and select Preferences. Now checkmark both the checkmark boxes. Word will now keep everything in RAM, increasing the speed of operation considerably. Thanks, Eugene, Oregon MUG and the Word 3.0 manual.
Setting the LockScreen
In HyperCard, setting lockScreen to true or false is NOT a toggle command. That means if you accidentally lock the screen with two lines of script, it won't unlock until you unlock it twice in the script.
Attention: Serial Hard Drive Owners!
If you want a fast way to transfer control from a floppy to the hard drive, install Agar (a very small virus checker) on the hard disk. Since Agar opens, checks for viruses and closes quickly, it is a rapid way to move control to the hard disk.
Not to mention the fact that you will be checking for viruses at the same time.
Check Your SE's Serial Number
If your SE's serial is preceded by F749xxxx, you have a video screen jitter. The good news is that SE’s with this serial rate a free quiet fan, since part of the jitter fix is the new fan. If you have a newer SE, live with that fan unless you want to pay Apple's $90+ upgrade price for a new fan installation.
Pagemaker Quickies
• 400% view? Hold the Shift key down while selecting 200%.
• Want fit in window view on the next page? Shift click the page number and that's what you get.
• Hold the Shift key down while going to Page # X and you get a slide show of all pages of the document. Stop it by clicking on the chosen page.
• Shift/Revert reverts to the last mini-save instead of the last Save.
• Shift/Edit in Define Colors gives you the Apple color wheel instead of the editing menu.
• Option/Print gives you the Apple Print dialog box instead of the Aldus version. Now hold down Option while selecting OK, and you get Apple's LaserWriter option dialog box.
• Command/Click a style name to bring up its editing box.
• Command/Click a color to edit it.
Craziest Idea Yet
This idea was seriously suggested as keyboard maintenance. Disconnect the keyboard. Hold it upside down. Blow sharply into the keys in short bursts.
Guess it couldn't hurt.
Double Clicking in FullWrite
If you double click a word in FullWrite and delete it, don’t forget to put in a backspace, because FullWrite leaves two spaces when you delete a word.
The Good INIT List
These INITs have been tried with System Set 6.0 by members of Conejo-Ventura (CA) MUG, and they all work (but maybe not all at once -- they didn't say):
Aask ApFont 3.0
Boot Paths Choose cdev
Color Cursor Desktop Manager
Dialog Keys 1.1 Font/DA Juggler Plus
hierDA 0.9962 Kolor
MacEnvy Map
MenuClock 1.4 and up MF Menu+
Moire NoIBM
On Cue Pop Keys
Pyro 2.1 QuickFolder
QuicKeys 1.1 Programmers Key & TMON
ScrapSaver 1.2 SCSI Bus 1.0b5
SCSI Parker SetNode
SFScrollINIT SFVol 1.1
Sound Master 1.2 Suitcase 1.2.1 and up
SuperClock! The GuardDog
ToggleCache Vaccine
Why Do You Want To Do This?
Here is how you can make a button in HyperCard which you can drag around the screen while in browse tool:
on mouseDown
global locList
wait 30 ticks
if the mouse is down then
repeat until the mouse is up
set the loc of the target to the mouseLoc
put the mouseLoc & return after locList
end repeat
else
repeat until locList is empty
set the loc of the target to line 1 of locList
delete line 1 of locList
end repeat
end if
end mouseDown
Thanks, Open Stack from Walking Shadow Press.
Reading Your Own Scripts
To help you read your own HyperCard scripts when you write them out by hand, try putting an "indent number" in the margin before each line. For example:
(0) on mouseUp
(1) visual dissolve to black
(1) go next card
(0) end mouseUp
ImageWriter LQ Free Fix
If you have an ImageWriter LQ with a serial below 180700530, you may have a problem causing the print head to move too far to the right. There is a "no charge" fix for this, so see your Apple dealer.
One More Time
If you own a Mac II and it bombs in a way which won’t let you into your hard disk, try this: Boot with a floppy. Now hold down Command/Shift/Open and select the Control Panel. This will let you reset PRAM. You should be able to boot with your hard disk now. This hint has been printed here before, but it is an important one. Cut this out and paste it somewhere accessible.
About Keyboards, Mice & SCSI Devices
Never connect or disconnect keyboards, mice or SCSI devices until all power is turned off to the Mac and all peripherals.
QuicKeys QuicKie
Have you forgotten that you don’t have to go to the Control Panel to enter a new QuicKey? Command/Option/Return will get you into the dialog box. That’s if you didn’t change the default keystroke for this move, which is called QuickPanel under the Specials menu item in the QuicKey dialog box.
Dunce Cap For Word 3.0X
Try this in Word 3.0X. Type 5 - (2+1). Highlight this formula. Press Command/= and the answer appears in the lower left corner of your screen. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the answer is 4, and that is not right. The right answer is 2.
Word cannot handle mathematical expressions including parentheses. So much for Microsoft math.
New HyperCard Abbreviations
HyperCard 1.2 saves typing time by permitting these new abbreviations in scripts: bg, bgs, btn, btns, cd, cds, fld, flds, grey, pict and rect.
Reason to Get HyperCard 1.2
Here’s a reason why you want HyperCard 1.2. Hold down the Command and Option keys and click a button. Bingo, you are in the editing box. Add the Shift key and click on a field to edit a field’s script. This is fast and great.
Couldn’t Make It Work? No Wonder!
The goof of the year is a recent hint I gave you about making gray scale or pattern filled letters with Canvas. I left out a line! Here‘s the whole thing spelled out correctly:
1. Open Canvas and select the text tool
2. Select font, size, style and type the text
3. Press Enter and select the rectangle tool
4. Draw a box large enough so the text can fit into it
5. Double click the rectangle to make it a paint object
6. Select the 72 dpi option
7. Use the eraser tool and erase the border line
8. Select the paint bucket tool
9. Choose a pattern for the text. Fill the rectangle with this pattern by clicking the mouse in the rectangle
10. Choose the arrow tool
11. With the rectangle selected, choose not bic from the Transfer Mode palette
12. Drag the rectangle on top of the text
13. Select All (Command/A) and select Group (Command/G).
That’s it! The missing line was line 11. Sorry ‘bout that!
