Question: What are the system requirements for Microsoft Windows-compatible computers that are running Apple Media Kit runtime modules?
Answer: Here are the system requirements:
* Pentium- or 486-based Windows-compatible computer with Windows 3.1
* QuickTime for Windows
* Audio (or sound) card
* Windows-compatible video board capable of displaying at least 256 colors on a 640 by 480 pixel monitor
*╩CD-ROM player (if distributed on CD-ROM)
* Sufficient memory to display the desired runtime module
Question: Although the literature states that Apple supports the creation of mixed mode and Windows-only CDs with the Apple Media Tool, I have heard and read that there are known problems with being able to read such CDs in the Windows environment. Is there any additional information on this?
Answer: While some people have had problems creating mixed mode CD-ROMs, other companies have had good success. It depends on how much time they are willing to spend on development and testing. The most common reason for problems is that the media files are in the wrong formats or don't conform to the eight character restriction of DOS.
A good example of a mixed-mode disc is the "Forever Growing Garden" developed by a company called Arborescence located in San Francisco. The CD is distributed by Media Vision.
Question: My Windows runtime does not work. What could be wrong?
Answer: Although it is difficult to determine, the most common reason for this problem is that the media files are not in the right format. Media files must be converted using the converters supplied with the Apple Media Tool. Sounds must be converted into the WAV format (not "snd" or AIFF). Backgrounds saved in the PICT format (not Photoshop's native format). QuickTime movies must be "cross-platform" and "flat".
The second most common reason for problems like this is a failure for media files to conform to DOS naming conventions. You must change the file names (if necessary) and use the "Replace Media" menu command in the Apple Media Tool before doing the Save As Text command in the Apple Media Tool. If you change the names afterward (or the file names change when converted to your DOS machine), the runtime looks for the wrong file name. It cannot know what name to look for on the Windows platform because there is not a 1:1 correspondence between Macintosh file names and DOS file names.
We recommend that you convert the file formats and the file names during development and test the Macintosh version of your runtime thoroughly. When you move your project to your Windows machine, you should test all your movies to verify they work properly with QuickTime for Windows.
Question: My QuickTime movies do not work with QuickTime for Windows (QTW). I thought that all QuickTime movies work on both platforms. What is wrong?
Answer: Not all movies that work with QuickTime for Macintosh automatically work with QTW. Some aspects of QuickTime movies do not translate to other platforms. For instance:
* Macintosh movies can "point" to other movies such that a "QuickTime movie" can actually consist solely of frames from other movie files. Removing these "pointers" makes a movie "self-contained".
* Macintosh movies can store important data in Macintosh "resources", a component of files that exist only on the Macintosh platform. Moving all important data into the non-resource area makes a movie "cross-platform".
NOTE: Removing all pointers and changing resources is referred to as "flattening" a movie.
Check all the movies to make sure they are converted to the necessary "self-contained" and "cross-platform" QuickTime formats. You can do this using Adobe Premier or Video Fusion. To verify that you did it right, you should open the movies in the QuickTime for Windows "Movie Player" program (which comes with QuickTime for Windows) and see if they work. If your movies do not open properly in the Windows "Movie Player" program, then the movies are not in the correct format.
Question: For text that is part of a project created on the Macintosh using the Apple Media Tool and then compiled to run on Windows, are those fonts compiled as part of the project, or does the project rely on the Windows system fonts?
Answer: As with most font handling for all applications, if you don't have the corresponding font on the PC, a default font is used instead. You can use the PC version of StyleEdit (STYLEDIT.EXE) to look at your text on the PC and find a close match if you don't have the corresponding font. Another alternative is to create a picture, and font substitution won't be an issue.
Question: Can you compile twice (once for Macintosh and once for Windows) but use one copy of the data on a Mixed "Hybrid" Mode CD-ROM (Mac HFS and ISO 9660). Could you describe the logistics of producing the Mixed Mode CD specifically as to what data can be used in both worlds and what would have to be put on the disk twice?
Answer: You must contact specific CD-ROM makers to get details of their own software, hardware, and logistics. At least one company who makes CD-ROM-maker hardware/software estimated that the "overhead" for making a hybrid CD (compared to making the CD-ROM just for Macintosh-HFS) is less than one megabyte. All the "extra" data you would need would be the four windows files ending with .EXE, .KW1, .KW2, and .KW3 (and possibly a .INI file). The logistics vary depending on the manufacturer of the CD-ROM-maker hardware/software.
Question: When I run the runtime application on my PC, it quits after saying that transparency does not work on my Windows machine. I have even tried several video cards. What is wrong?
Answer: Use Runtime maker 1.1 and be sure to follow the instructions enclosed with it regarding copying the .INI file in the Runtime Maker folder to your PC runtime folder. If you use the AMT Programming Environment, be sure to include these lines in your PROGRAM.INI file:
[video]
transparency=bitmap
If you have renamed your PC runtime MYPROJ.EXE, then you must change the name of your .INI file to MYPROJ.INI file and put it in the same directory.