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PRESS RELEASE
Contact:
Richard Gaskin
Fourth World
620 Moulton Avenue, Studio 101
Los Angeles, CA 90031
US: (800) 288-5825
Int'l: (213) 225-3717
Fax: (213) 225-0716
eMail: Ambassador@FourthWorld.com
Fourth World Releases SCX 2.0
Extensive Upgrade Includes 36 Royalty-Free Externals and Five Utilities
LOS ANGELES, June 4, 1996 - Fourth World(TM) began shipping SCX 2.0, a collection of externals which add new capabilities to SuperCard, the multimedia authoring application from Allegiant Technologies, Inc.
SCX 2.0 is an upgrade from the popular SCX 1.0 product released early last year. The new package contains 36 XCMD and XFCN plug-in code resources. While the externals were primarily designed for use in SuperCard, many of them are also compatible with HyperCard, Oracle Media Objects, and Macromedia Director as well.
The new collection is contained in a utility project which also doubles as a general-purpose externals library, with facilities for importing resources from other SuperCard projects, such as the Xtend collection included in the SuperCard package. This SCX utility also sports a new installer to copy the code resources more easily into other projects, and even into other files such as HyperCard stacks or Director movies.
"We've been listening very carefully to our customers and other developers in every major online venue, and we feel that the effort shows in the product," says Richard Gaskin, president of Fourth World. "Everything in the package, from the externals themselves to the extra utilities that come with them, is in there because somebody asked for it. Control over version resources? It's in there. Color cursors? It's in there too. And the ability to have both interactive and scriptable screenshots comes up a lot, so we refused to ship until we had that in there too."
The externals in SCX 2.0 include:
* AskColor: lets you use Apple's Color Picker dialog to select a color,
and will work with both 8-bit color lookup tables (cluts) or in true
24-bit color represented by standard Mac OS RGB values.
* CalendarField: puts the functionality of a monthly calendar into any
ordinary text field.
* Camera: a scriptable screen grabber. It lets you copy any portion of
the main monitor to either the Clipboard, or optionally into the
pictureData of a draw rectangle object.
* ClipToPICTRes: install any PICT image from the Clipboard into a PICT
resource.
* CmdPeriod: determine if the user has pressed Command-"." without
cancelling the execution of your script.
* DragThisWindow: drag a SuperCard window using any SuperCard button,
field or graphic as the drag bar.
* DrawIcon: insert the image of any "ICN#" or "icl8" resource into the
pictureData of a draw rectangle object.
* GetFolder: use a special version of the Standard Get file dialog to
select a folder, returning to you the full path to the folder.
* GetIndString: provides a scriptable interface to the Mac OS Toolbox
call of the same name, returning a specified string from within a
specified string list ('STR#') resource.
* GetVersion: obtain the version information from the same 'vers'
resource used in the Finder's Get Info window.
* GlobalZoom: use zoom effects between windows, similar to the Finder.
* GrowThisWindow: make any window style resizable - even palette windows.
* InjectPPAT: use space-saving 'ppat' textures in SuperCard, just like
with the Finder's Desktop Patterns Control Panel, and similar to the
way tiled GIF files are used as backgrounds on Web pages.
* IntersectRect: a scriptable interface to the Mac OS Toolbox call named
"SectRect", useful for determining if two rectangles intersect.
* LineMatch: find an exact match of a specified string within a specified
container.
* ListFonts: returns a return-delimited list of the names of all currently-
installed fonts.
* ListRes: returns a list of either the standard Mac resource fork, or
in SuperCard's resources which it stores in the data fork.
* MonitorRects: returns a list of the rectangles of all currently active
monitors.
* MoveFile: lets you easily move files around on the same volume from
within your scripts.
* NewFolder: create a new folder on Macs running System 7.0 or greater.
* PinRect: provides a scriptable interface to the Mac Toolbox function of
the same name, used to contain a point within a specified rectangle.
* PixelColor: allows you to determine the color of any pixel in the current
window.
* PopList: lets you build popup menus on the fly, from a global variable,
field, or any other container.
* PopResMenu: a convenient way to use resource-based menus, so menus
can contain icons and other special properties allowed in ResEdit.
* RestartMac: the equivalent of choosing "Restart" from the Finder's
"Special" menu.
* SetColorCursor: use color cursors in SuperCard.
* SetGlobals: initialize any number of globals variables in one call.
* SetVersion: set the version information for a specified 'vers' resource
in the current project.
* ShowProgress: add progress bars to your SuperCard projects - does
progress pies also.
* ShutDownMac: the equivalent of choosing "Shut Down" from the Finder's
"Special" menu.
* SnapDragon: drag SuperCard objects on a virtual "grid", restricting its
position to specific vertical and horizontal increments.
* Unmount: unmount any currently-mounted volume, and provides an option
to obtain a list of mounted volumes.
* UserRect: four different options for letting the user select a rectangular
portion of a card by dragging a gray outline. You can select any
arbitrary rectangular area, or an area of fixed size.
* xData: store and retrieve text data stored in resources of type 'Data' in
SuperCard's data fork. This provides a convenient way to store nearly
any textual data you want, without resorting to hidden fields. And by
using SuperCard's internal resources, you get faster access, don't have
to call "open resources", and your data is secure from ResEdit users.
* xFileType: get and set the creator code and file type of any file from
within your scripts.
* xPrefs: get and set any text data to a Preferences file located in the
Preferences folder on Macs running System 7.0 or greater. This can
be especially useful for creating CD-ROM titles where you will not
be able to write data to the project itself.
Each of the externals includes an interactive example and detailed syntax and usage notes. The package also comes with libraries containing more than 250 ppat textures for use with the InjectPPAT XCMD, along with additional tools and utilities, such as a resource copier, a screen-shot utility, and more.
"It's a pretty awesome collection," says beta tester David Humphreys, a SuperCard developer in Sausalito, California. "The range of functionality these externals add to our work would be worth far more than the purchase price, but the additional utilities push it over the top. They're well designed and a joy to use."
SCX 2.0 has a list price of US$139, but for the first 44 days (through July 18) the package is available from Fourth World at an introductory price of only US$99. Registered owners of SCX 1.0 who purchased the product after January 1 are eligible to receive SCX 2.0 for free via email, or for US$10 handling for ground shipment. All other SCX 1.0 users can upgrade to 2.0 for only US$25. The licensing fee allows developers to use the externals in any number of commercial products without additional royalties to Fourth World.
"We strive for simplicity and ease-of-use with everything we deliver, and in our view licensing is as much a part of the product as the features," says Gaskin. "The user pays a one-time licensing fee, which comes to less than $4 per external, and they never need to worry about it again. No complicated royalty arrangements, no additional paperwork. A lot of shareware externals aren't even this hassle-free, or this affordable."
Product and ordering information can be obtained from Fourth World at 620 Moulton Avenue, Studio 101, Los Angeles, CA 90031-3237. US customers can call toll-free at (800) 288-5825, and international customers can call (213) 225-3717. Fourth World's fax number is (213) 225-0716, and email can be sent to Ambassador@FourthWorld.com. The company's web site is located at http://www.FourthWorld.com.
Fourth World is a Los Angeles-based company dedicated to the development and distribution of multimedia software components. Many of Fourth World's freeware and shareware utilities for SuperCard are currently available in the appropriate libraries on most commercial online services, and at the Fourth World web site at www.FourthWorld.com.
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Fourth World is a trademark of Fourth World. SuperCard is a trademark of Allegiant Technologies, Inc. HyperCard is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. Oracle Media Objects is a trademark of Oracle Corporation. Macromedia Director is a trademark of Macromedia, Inc.