I have the data for the Language Lab Tape Library in HyperCard stacks. And I print all the labels using HyperCard's built-in "Print Report..." I also keep information on sources for language tapes, software, audio equipment, etc. in HyperCard stacks, so I can quickly look up whatever I need to find, and open a URL (if there is one) in Netscape for more information. None of this may qualify as "cool" but it sure helps me with what I do all day. I also made a HyperCard French verb conjugation puzzle for my sister. It has draggable buttons with the verb forms on them, and the students line them up with the right subjects. It gives feedback by matching with the answers in an invisible field.
Comments to: Lucinda Miller
I use Hypercard for two things, mainly. First, I manage my entire company's operations in Hypercard, a database and modular quoting system which is accessed via a peer to peer ethernet network by two dozen users on two dozen Macs. This system allows anyone to input a series of parameters in response to a customer query and output a quotation containing both detailed mechanical and pricing data. Second, I do what Bill Atkinson did in the early heady days. To paraphrase: I have have written many, many stacks, which I create, keep and/or discard as required. These are used in any number of applications, mainly related to my manufacturing business. The ability to create these tools is the PRINCIPLE reason I use the Macintosh. For example, I recently returned from Kuala Lumpur where I installed a Hypercard controlled fiber optic lighting system in the world's tallest building. The controller interfaces through the ADB port with custom built hardware to create user programmable choreographed lighting effects in a concert hall. There are 2472 separate fiber optic lighting elements, all of which are addressed and manipulated from a single Hypercard application running on a PPC performa. You cannot do this type of thing in ANY other environment. Hypercard is the last great bastion of "Think Different".
Comments to: Craig Newman
* Hardware control I work for a biotechnology company which specialises in bacterial fermentation. I use a HyperCard stack to monitor and control the fermenters 24 hours a day. Using Apple's Serial Tool XCMDs, I communicate with an A/D converter to read various probes (pH, temperature, oxygen, weight etc). The HyperCard stack sets up the required controls so that the probe readings are kept within preset limits, e.g temperature between 28 and 30 degrees C. The data is read in and stored using HyperCard and it is mainly using graphs which can display the data over various time scales. This uses Rinaldi's Chartoid XCMD. A colleague wrote a similar program in Basic taking about a year. I wrote a fully operational stack in 5 days - of course it has had lots of refinements added since then! Using Timbuktu Pro, we can even monitor the fermenters from home during the night. Screen shots &/or a demo version are available on demand. * Automated Purchase Orders I have a set of two HyperCard stacks that automate all purchase orders for our company. One stack is the controller and stores all the suppliers details as well as different delivery instructions, payment methods, tax exemption numbers. The second stack is sized to fill an A4 page and contains the actual order form. To make a new order, you assemble the bits you need, editing or adding to the stored data as required. You can even add an electronic signature for immediate faxing of the order. We often need to repeat an old order. With a paper system this takes a lot of time & effort to locate the last order and write it out again. With the HyperCard system, you search for the item and duplicate the order. This also checks to see that all the details are up-to-date. When items are delivered, this is recorded on the order so that people can search for undelivered orders if necessary. Orders can be assigned to a specific project so that cost reports can be generated. * Mail Out System We run an agency which has to do mail outs of catalogues and magazines about three times a year. We have about 2300 people on our mailing list but as we ship to researchers in hospitals and universities, we have lots of people at the same addresses. I use a HyperCard database to maintain the mailing list, with the main problem being to stop people typing in duplicate addresses e.g I don't want some people at the University of Melbourne while others are at the Univ. of Melbourne. I solve this by making people choose addresses from popup fields. When you pick an institute, another popup offers you all the departments in this institute. The addresses are filled in automatically when you select the institute and department. The more interesting part comes when we need to do a mail out. There are three possible ways to send the packets - air freight, road freight or post. The cost of each of these varies according to weight, destination and the number of packets that can fit into a single large parcel. The HyperCard stack asks you to enter the weight of a single packet and the freight costs for each different type. It then goes through the whole list, works out how many people are at each address, and chooses the cheapest way to send that packet. It then produces labels for each person, labels for each large parcel and packing instructions telling the packers how to send each packet.
Comments to: Sarah Reichelt
Molecular Models Workshop (MMW) is a program that was developed by the School of Chemistry at the University of Melbourne with the assistance of the Multimedia Education Unit and the Science Multimedia Teaching Unit. It teaches concepts in molecular modelling to first year Chemistry students. Its elegant design allows lecturers and students to rotate each model to study its structure. The package can be used for self evaluation and formal assessment. MMW was developed by Assoc Prof Rob Capon with a production team including animators, programmers and graphic designers. It was supported by Apple Australia and CAUT. It was written using HyperCard and makes extensive use of QuickTime for 3D animations. Team: Robert Capon (Concept, Design and Project Management), Ric Canale (Management Support), John Swales (Programming), Matthew Riddle (Programming Support), Gyro Interactive (Graphic Design and Cross Platform Development), Chris Drake (ICV International, Distribution), Jacaranda Wiley (Australian and New Zealand Publication) Contact: School of Chemistry University of Melbourne Parkville, 3052 Phone: +61 3 9344 6468 Email: r.capon@chemistry.unimelb.edu.au Internet: http://Rob-Capon.chemistry.unimelb.edu.au/
Comments to: Matthew Riddle
* Page layout Every year we produce a pocket sized reference book of 70 or so pages with information from a data base and based on the calendar. It was a bit of a slep for the customer when they had accurately to select the correct data from the files in their PC for each day and then Harper Collins, the publishers, sent it to their typesetters who usually made a few typos and not all picked up by the customer when proofing. So we imported their data base from their PC into HyperCard (1.2.5 at the time) and scripted the very complicated rules for the calendar and hey presto each year HyperCard works out the correct data for the calendar. It usd to export it in a text file which we then had to put into a page layout application but that proved a bit of a slep especially to get the pagination right. So now HyperCard exports Postscript text files which are downloaded already beautifully and more accurately laid out with the correct pagination (as each A4 page has to have say page n on the left and page (73-n) on the right. OK HyperCard seems a bit slow - but whereas it may take about 3-4 hours to run the HyperCard programmes at least the result is accurate, the layout is accurate and it is quicker than say 2 or 3 days of typesetting PLUS the time to select the correct data from the PC files. * School photos A school needed 500 ID tags - laminated with photo and the child's name and class etc. HC imported the school pupils' list from their PC admin computer and printed the 500 tags (8 per page in 2 columns of 4). The photos were taken in groups of 4 which after guillotining provided for one column on the printed page of tags. Inevitably there were absentees, so by excluding marked cards for the absentees, it was easy to print the sheets with the tags accurately listed for the photos of the pupils present. Also HC- HT printed the class sontrol sheets for this excercise and the school commented how smoothly the whole operation went which was no doubt due to the ease with which we could use HC both as an administrative tool as well as the production tool. As for the tags - the common data of course was on the card background. By printing a sheet of just the backgrounds by hiding the card pictures we created a master for litho printing them in red ink. Then later by hiding the background picture and showing the card picture, we were able to overprint in black, quite accurately located, the particulars for each pupil.
Comments to: Brian Russell
All contents copyright (C) 1996, HyperActive Software. All rights reserved.
Revised: November 6, 1998
URL: http://www.hyperactivesw.com/HCStories/stories.html