HelpBalloons
An XCMD which allows you to implement balloon help messages for all the buttons, fields and other elements of your Hypercard stacks.
HelpBalloons XCMD. Version 1.1, by Sam Deane. Copyright ©1994 ULTRALAB. Compiled 16:49:18, 28/04/94.
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Description
The HelpBalloons command allows you to implement System 7's Help Balloon facility for your stacks.
It lets you display text and picts from a variety of sources in help balloons - under complete HyperTalk control.
Examples
The following scripts demonstrate some of the commonly used commands.
This script checks whether or not the Balloon help system is switched on, and displays a dialog if it isn't.
HelpBalloons status
if not the result then
answer "Balloon Help not switched on."
end if
This line turns Balloon help on.
HelpBalloons on
This script displays the time in a balloon. The balloon stays visible until the mouse leaves this field. Note that the balloon will only be displayed if Balloon help is switched on..
get "the mouse was clicked at " & the time
HelpBalloons show,the rect of bg fld "Information",string,it
Finally, this command turns balloon help off.
HelpBalloons off
Commands
show
This command causes a balloon to be displayed, if Balloon help is present and is switched on.
It is called with the following syntax:
HelpBalloons show,<rect>,<type>,<source>
The <rect> parameter indicates the area which the balloon is providing help for. If the mouse strays outside this rectangle, the balloon will go away.
The <type> and <source> parameters determine the place that the content of the balloon comes from. The <type> parameter can be:
TEXT,STR,PICT,string,card field,bkgnd field
TEXT,STR,PICT:
in these cases, the contents of the balloon is taken from a 'STR ', 'TEXT' or 'PICT' resource, stored in any stack that is in the current inheritance path. The source parameter indicates the name of the STR/TEXT/PICT resource to use.
String:
in this case, the <source> parameter is taken as the text to be displayed.
Card/Bkgnd Field:
in these cases, the text is taken from a field. The <source> parameter gives the name of the field, which should be on the current card.
Example script for show
on mouseWithin
get random(3)
if it is 1 then
HelpBalloons show,the rect of the target,string,"hello?"
else if it is 2 then
HelpBalloons show,the rect of the target,STR,128
else
HelpBalloons show,the rect of the target,text,"Text test"
end if
end mouseWithin
status
This command returns the status of the Help Balloon system in the result.
The value returned is a boolean which is true if Help Balloons are switched on, false if they are switched off.
The syntax is:
HelpBalloons show,<rect>,<type>,<source>
Example script for status
on mouseUp
HelpBalloons status
answer the result
end mouseUp
remove
If there is a Help Balloon showing, this command removes it. The syntax is:
HelpBalloons "remove"
on
These on command switches Balloon Help on, like choosing "Show Balloons" from the help menu.
The syntax is:
HelpBalloons "on"
Example script for on
on mouseUp
HelpBalloons on
end mouseUp
off
These off command switches Balloon Help off, like choosing "Hide Balloons" from the help menu.
The syntax is:
HelpBalloons "off"
Example script for off
on mouseUp
HelpBalloons off
end mouseUp
showing
This command returns a boolean value in the result. This is true if there is currently a help balloon showing.
The syntax is:
HelpBalloons "showing"
getfont
The getfont command gets the font and size used to display standard balloon help messages.
The command has the syntax:
HelpBalloons getfont
The font and size are returned in the result
Example script for getfont
on mouseUp
HelpBalloons getfont
answer the result
end mouseUp
setfont
The setfont command has the syntax:
HelpBalloons setfont,<font>,<size>
It sets the default font used by the system to show any help balloon which does not contain its own style information.
Æ NB: This changes the font globally for all applications, and as such it is probably not a very good idea!
Example script for setfont
on mouseUp
ask "Font?"
if it is not empty then
put it into font
ask "Size?"
if it is not empty then
put it into size
HelpBalloons setfont,font,size
put the result
end if
end if
end mouseUp
