This is a preliminary release of the OpenDoc Button part. The Button will allow users to drop pictures, text, sounds, and OSA script data onto it. A picture will be displayed on the face of the button. Text, sounds, or OSA scripts are allowed as the content of the button. When the button is pressed, one of
the following actions will be performed, depending on the content data type: for text data, an attempt
will first be made to parse it as a URL and hand it off to the appropriate service helper. If that fails, then the text will be spoken. For sound and script data, the sound will be played or the script will be executed. Only one type of content may be contained within the button at one time (i.e., text, sound, or script). When the button doesn't contain any content, the default behavior is to play the system beep when the button is pressed. The button label, which appears on the face of the button, may be edited within the Settings dialog.
As it is not possible to "activate" the Button part, this part will not have any menus associated with it. However, when it's the root, it will add the "About Button..." menu item to the Apple menu. For consistency, no other menus will be added when the Button is the root part.
From within the "Part Info" dialog, the user can choose to bring up the "Settings" dialog. This dialog contains a text edit field for the label. Settings are also provided for the display of the picture and the height of the button. The Button settings are also accessible with the cmd-option modifier keys. See the "Button Settings Dialog" section for further information.
Button Content
The Button part allows different types of data to be dropped onto it as content. The data types are:
• Text data ('TEXT')
• Sound data ('snd ')
• OSA (Open Scripting Architecture) compiled scripts
Although Macintosh picture data ('PICT') may be dropped onto the button, it is not
considered to be "content".
System Software Requirements
• OpenDoc™ 1.0 or later
• AppleScript™ 1.1 or later
• Text To Speech software - Speech Manager, MacinTalk
• Internet Config Extension
To provide the text-to-speech capability, the Speech Manager must be installed. In
order to support the internet, the Internet Config Extension must be installed.
Button Settings Dialog
The Button Settings dialog is accessible in two ways, either through the Part Info dialog (select the Settings… button) or by Cmd-Option clicking the Button part. This dialog enables the user to edit
the label; choose the picture display settings; and choose the height of the button.
Picture Display
The options available for displaying a picture on a button are:
• No Picture -> will not display a picture on the face of the button
• Default Picture -> displays a picture representing the contents of the button
(i.e., sound, script, text to speech, or URL). A temporary
picture is currently displayed for the URL representation.
This will change in the future.
• Custom Picture -> displays a picture that is dropped on the button via drag
and drop. If this option is selected and a custom picture does
not exist, the default picture will be displayed until a custom
one is available.
Button Height
These settings control the height of the button:
• Small -> this button size allows for a picture to be displayed as 16x16
• Large -> this button size allows for a picture to be displayed as 32x32
Future
In its final version, the Button will support Cyberdog.
Known Problems/Limitations
- currently, will only run on PPC
- a crash occurs when trying to drag and drop an applet onto the button
- button is a fixed size, should be adjustable by user
Bug Reporting
Report any problems you find by using the bug report form on this CD to odbugs@apple.com or use the bug report form at http://www.opendoc.apple.com/forms/bug_report.html.
