With HexScape XT, you can import Netscape® Plug-In elements right into your QuarkXPress pages. Shockwave animations and games, Live Audio, QuickTime and others can be played immediately upon loading. As a result, designers can create previews and mock-ups of large web-design projects entirely within QuarkXPress. An immediate preview of the interactivity of the web-page layout can be seen without time-consuming HTML programming. New graphic formats, such as Fractal Images, are also supported.
Installation
Place the Plug-Ins from the disk to your Netscape Plug-Ins folder.
Then place HexScape XT in your QuarkXPress® folder and open the application.
You will be asked to show the location of a folder where Netscape Navigator® PlugIns are stored.
Open a new blank page in XPress.
A new tool with the "N" logo has appeared in the tool bar of QuarkXPress. With this tool you can draw special boxes, where the Plug-Ins are played. After a box is drawn, select the menu "File - Load Netscape Object". To play a shockwave animation, select one object from the HexScape folder.
To interact with the content of the special box, use the content tool.
See the Aboutbox for additional information, help and license.
Limitations in this beta version
• This preview version of HexScape XT doesn’t connect to WorldWideWeb–servers yet: Plug-Ins like mBED® for example will work, but won’t show correct graphics. This limitation will be gone in the release version.
• This beta version still requires Virtual Memory to be turned on.
• Modify isn’t supported yet: It will be used in the release version to configure the possible Plug-In–arguments. These arguments will be used by HexWeb® XT to export links for the inserted documents to HTML.
• HexWeb XT 2.1 is not enabled yet to export HexScape elements, this will be added soon.
• Boxes are not allowed to overlap: As the Plug-Ins are designed for Netscape® Navigator they don’t know much about sophisticated things like overlapping boxes — and will clip and draw in the rectangle that they think is the right place to be. No chance to get rid of this problem without Netscape changing the API.
• Boxes only display right at 100%: Plug-Ins only support what Netscape® Navigator needs.
• This preview version of HexScape XT doesn’t support printing. This limitation will be gone in the release version.
Known Bugs
The XTension was tested with the following XTensions: LiveAudio, mBED Plugin PPC, NP-MacPPC-Dir-Shockwave, CharFlipper, Envoy.plg, NP-MacPPC-FH-Shockwave, PPViewPict, PPViewText, QuickTime Plugin, ViewFIF and Web-Active. If you run into troubles using other PlugIns, please eMail the Plug-In and a demo document to info@hexmac.com — we try to support any Plug-In that is available.
• No output on PostScript™ printers.
• If there are more than one boxes on a document showing Envoy™ documents, only the first will be editable: This limitation also appears in Netscape Navigator™.
• HexScape XT only follows URLs to new documents: Loading embedded parts for Plugins will be supported later.
Fixes
08/07/96
• Many problems with Envoy™ are fixed: Clipping works fine and the scrollbars don't scroll the whole QuarkXPress™ document anymore.
• Screenupdate–fixes for older Plugins.
08/08/96
• Removed bug which ruined the userinterface of Envoy™ after setting a new file with Command–E.
• The XTension ignored borders — and respects them now. The initial border–width for HexScape XT boxes is set to 1pt.
• Canceled loading of embedded objects, as they are not promoted to the Plugin at the moment.
Feedback
Send any ideas, comments or bug-reports to info@hexmac.com — and have fun with our XTension.
HexMac International Ltd.
Visit http://www.hexmac.com or send eMail to info@hexmac.com to learn more about our products.
