Introduction to HyperStudio for Macintosh Part I

---

Introducing HyperStudio

Terms and Definitions

Stack A group of cards based on the same theme.

Card A card is HyperStudio’s basic entity. It is one screenful of information. All the cards of a stack must be the same size. They may be either screen size, window size, or smaller.

Background The background is a template which contains common elements shared by a number of cards. The background is composed of the background picture.

Layer Every card has a top (foreground or card layer) and bottom (background layer). It is similar to an index card with a layer of clear plastic over it.

Button A button is something that initiates a HyperStudio action (making a connection, launching an application, starting a visual or sound effect, and so on) when you click on it. The button tool is used to select and modify buttons.

Text Object The place where text is typed. The Text tool is used to select and modify Text Objects.

Script A series of commands written in HyperLogo. Scripts are associated with various elements including stacks, cards, and buttons.

---

Learning HyperStudio

Show Me How

Several stacks that explore HyperStudio’s functions are shipped with HyperStudio:

Introduction Reviews the basic steps for creating a stack in HyperStudio and gives you the opportunity to try it yourself.

HyperLogo Introduces you to the simple scripting language used in HyperStudio.

To open the Introduction:

1. Start HyperStudio by double clicking on the HyperStudio icon.
2. Click on Show Me How in the home stack.
3. Click on HyperStudio Step-By-Step.
4. Click on Introduction.

HyperStudio Basics

The Home Stack

When you start HyperStudio, you see the Home Stack. The Home Stack is the starting point for all your explorations in HyperStudio.

The Home Stack is a visual directory of your most important cards and stacks. Clicking on one of the pictures or icons brings you to the card it represents. (Each of these icons are actually buttons.)

From the Home Stack you can open and existing stack, create a new stack or quit HyperStudio. You can also connect to several example stacks and stacks that contain sounds and clip-art for use in your own stacks.

The Tools Menu

There are two types of tools on the Tools Menu:

Editing Tools This upper group of tools is used for manipulating screen items such as text, graphics, and button objects.

Painting Tools This lower group of tools is used for creating and/or editing the current background.

Editing Tools

• The Browse tool (the pointing finger or hand) lets you browse through cards and trigger buttons.
• The Button tool lets you highlight buttons to edit, move or resize them.
• The Arrow tool lets you edit or move buttons, text objects, or graphic objects.
• The Graphic tool is a specialized editing tool that lets you resize, move, cut, copy or delete graphic items on the current card.
• The Sound tool is a specialized editing tool that lets you resize, move, cut, copy or delete buttons on the current card.
• The Text tool is a specialized editing tool that lets you resize, move, cut, copy or delete Text Objects on the current card.

Painting Tools

• The Selector tools allow you to select a rectangular or circular area of pictures, or parts of pictures, to be resized, moved, cut, copied or deleted.
• The Lasso enables you to select non-rectangular images for moving, copying, or deleting.
• The Paintbrush is for painting. The brush size may be changed by double clicking the Brush tool.
• The Spraypaint tool will spray the selected pattern on the card. The more you spray, the more the pattern shows.
• The Fill tool is used for filling in enclosed areas and solid block areas with the current color or pattern.
• The Eraser erases the part of the picture you drag over.
• The Line tool is used for drawing vertical, horizontal, or diagonal straight lines.
• The Pencil is used for drawing thin, free-form lines.
• The Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, and Oval tools are used to draw their respective shapes.
• The Text tool is used to type text that acts like a graphic as opposed to text in a Text Object.
• The Eye Dropper allows you to click on the background to change your current painting color.
• The Magnifying Glass tool is used for magnifying the background image. The screen dots can be edited on a pixel level which allows you to make very small changes to a card’s image.

The various colors and patterns may be used for backgrounds or for filling rectangles, rounded rectangles, polygons, ovals or freehand shapes.

The tools and the colors are tear-off menus that you can convert to palettes by dragging the pointer beyond the menus' edge.

---

Working in Backgrounds and Foregrounds

 What are Backgrounds and Foregrounds?

As mentioned earlier, every card has a background and a foreground layer. The background can be different for every card or cards can share a background. The foreground layer contains elements that are different on every card. You can add certain elements to the background only and certain elements to the foreground only. These will be outlined below.

Components of a Background

Background components include:

• Anything you create with the Paint Tools from the Tools menu (see page 5).
• Clip art that is brought in to your stack using the Add Clip Art option from the File menu.
• Any background loaded using the Import Background option from the File menu.

Background items can only be removed by using the Eraser tool from the Tools menu.

Components of a Foreground

Objects placed on the foreground are:

• Buttons
• Text objects
• Graphic objects
• Movies

Foreground objects can be deleted by selecting them with the proper tool and choosing delete from the keyboard or Clear from the Edit menu.

Each of these objects appear only on the card that you place them on.

---

Setting Stack Preferences

Each stack in HyperStudio can have its own set of preferences that control the way that HyperStudio operates. Preferences may be changed at any point during stack creation, but the stack must be saved afterwards for the changes to take effect the next time the stack is opened.

You can reach the Preferences dialog box by choosing Preferences from the Edit menu.

Some of the useful options in the preferences menu include:

Show card number with stack name When this option is marked the stack name and the card number appear at the top of your cards.

Presentation mode When this option is marked you can cover the desktop with a color, pattern, or a picture.

Ignore extra mouse clicks When this option is marked HyperStudio will treat a double-click as if it were a single-click.

---

Creating and Modifying Stacks

Creating a Stack

To create a new stack:

• Choose New Stack from the File menu.

• Click on the New Stack button in the Home Stack.

Modifying an Existing Stack

To modify an existing stack:

1. Choose Open Stack from the File menu or click on the Open Stack button in the Home Stack.
2. Select the stack you wish to alter.
3. If you wish to obtain and work with a copy of the existing stack, you can choose Save Stack As from the File menu and save it under a different name.

Saving a Stack

To save a stack:

1. Choose Save Stack or Save Stack As from the File menu.
2. The first time you save a stack or when you choose Save Stack As, HyperStudio will prompt you for a stack name.

Creating and Modifying Cards

Cards are HyperStudio’s main entity. To effectively use HyperStudio you need to be able to add, delete, copy, paste, and rearrange cards.

Adding a Card

To add a card:

1. Open the Stack you wish to add a card to by choosing Open Stack from the File menu and selecting the desired stack.
2. Choose New Card from the Edit menu.
3. Add the desired elements to the new card.

Note:

• To keep the background elements the same as the previous card, choose Ready Made Cards and Same Background from the Edit menu.

• The new card is added after the one that was previously on screen.

Rearranging Cards

Cards can get out of the desired sequence quickly as you add new cards randomly, but they can easily be rearranged to appear in the desired order. To rearrange the cards of a stack:

1. Move to the out-of-order card.
2. Choose Cut Card from the Edit menu.
3. Move to the card that you want the cut card to follow.
4. Choose Paste Card from the Edit Menu.
5. Continue with steps 1 through 4 until you have all cards in the desired order.

Copying and Pasting a Card

To make a copy of a card:

1. Move to the card you wish to copy.
2. Choose Copy Card from the Edit menu.
3. Move to the card (and stack) that you want the new card to follow.
4. Choose Paste Card from the Edit Menu.

Deleting a Card

To delete a card:

1. Move to the unwanted card.
2. Choose Delete Card from the Edit menu.

Note:

• Choosing the Delete Card option from the Edit menu will permanently delete the card. It is NOT pasted to the Clipboard.

Browsing from the Keyboard

To move around in a stack, you must know how to move from card to card. The following table outlines many of the keyboard shortcuts associated with moving from card to card.

Creating and Modifying Buttons

Creating a Button

To create a new button on a card:

1. Make sure the card on which the button is to appear is current. If it is not, move to the card.
2. Choose Add a Button from the Objects menu.
3. Set the desired options in the Button Appearance dialog box and click OK.
4. Move the button to the desired location and click anywhere on the card
5. Select the correct options in the Button Actions dialog box and click Done.

Moving Buttons

You can move a button anywhere on a card you wish. To move a button:

Select the Button tool from the Tools menu.

1. Click inside the button you want to move to select it.
2. Drag the button to its new location by its middle.
3. Click anywhere on the card to place the button.

Resizing Buttons

You can change a button's size whether it contains text and/or an icon or not. To resize a button:

1. Select the Button tool from the Tools menu.
2. Click inside the button to select it.
3. Drag the button to its new size by dragging from one of its corners.
4. Click anywhere on the card to place the button.

Copying and Pasting a Button

Buttons can be copied from card to card as well as from one stack to another. To copy and paste a button:

1. Choose Open Stack from the File menu and select the stack that contains the desired button.
2. Move to the card that contains the desired button.
3. Choose the Button tool from the Tools menu.
4. Click on the desired button.
5. Choose Copy Button from the Edit menu.
6. Go to the stack and card on which you wish to place the new button.
7. Choose Paste Button from the Edit menu.
8. Drag the button to its desired position.
9. Click anywhere on the card to set the button in place.

Deleting a Button

Buttons may be deleted whether they contain text and/or an icon or not. To delete a button:

1. Select the Button tool from the Tools menu.
2. Click inside the button to select it.
3. Choose Clear Button from the Edit menu or press the delete key on the keyboard.

Note: The button is permanently deleted when Clear Button is selected.

Creating and Modifying Text Objects

Creating a Text Object

To create a new Text Object on a card:

1. Make sure the card on which the object is to appear is current. If it is not, move to the card.
2. Choose Add a Text Object from the Objects menu.
3. Hold down the mouse button and drag to move the Text Object to the desired location.
4. Click outside the Text Object to place it on the card.
5. Make the appropriate selections in the Text Appearance dialog box and click OK.

Moving Text Objects

1. You can move a Text Object anywhere on a card you wish. To move a Text Object:
2. Select the Text tool from the Tools menu. Make sure it is the Editing text tool and not the Painting text tool.
3. Click inside the Text Object you want to move to select it.
4. Drag the Text Object to its new location by its middle.
5. Click anywhere on the card to place the Text Object.

Resizing Text Objects

You can change a Text Object’s size whether it contains text or not. If it contains text, the text will automatically rewrap to conform to its new size. To resize a Text Object:

1. Select the Text tool from the Tools menu.
2. Click inside the Text Object to select it.
3. Drag the Text Object to its new size by dragging from one of its corners.
4. Click anywhere on the card to place the Text Object.

Copying and Pasting a Text Object

Text Objects can be copied from card to card as well as from one stack to another. To copy and paste a Text Object:

1. Choose Open Stack from the File menu and select the stack that contains the desired field.
2. Move to the card that contains the desired field.
3. Choose the Text tool from the Tools menu.
4. Click on the desired Text Object.
5. Choose Copy Text Field from the Edit menu.
6. Go to the stack and card on which you wish to place the new field.
7. Choose Paste Text Field from the Edit menu.
8. Drag the Text Object to its desired position.
9. Click anywhere on the card to set the new Text Object in place.

Deleting a Text Object

Text Objects may be deleted whether they contain text or not. To delete a Text Object:

1. Select the Text tool from the Tools menu.
2. Click inside the Text Object to select it.
3. Choose Clear Text Object from the Edit menu.

Note: This action will permanently remove the Text Object.

If you have any questions about using HyperStudio 3.0 for Macintosh, please contact Gina Roberts at extension 5433 or via e-mail at groberts@mtsu.edu.

You may also refer to Introduction to HyperStudio 3.0 for Macintosh - Part II for more information on using this program.