This Read Me file provides the following information about Apple Media Tool 2.1.1:
* Apple Media Tool 2.1.1 CD Disc
* Tips and Hints for Using Apple Media Tool 2.1.1
* Known Problems and Limitations of Apple Media Tool 2.1.1
* Known Problems and Limitations of QuickTime VR
* Interesting Web Sites Related to Apple Media Tool
Apple Media Tool 2.1.1 CD Disc
The Apple Media Tool 2.1.1 CD-ROM is a hybrid disc that you can use on Mac OS-based and Windows-based computers. On a Mac OS-based computer, you can see all the folders and files on the CD, including the Windows files.
On a Windows-based computer, you can see these two folders and their contents:
* AMT_PROJ contains Windows versions of the Apple Media Tool demonstration projects.
* AMT_UTIL contains files that allow you to install QuickTime for Windows 2.1.2 and other related AMT files from the CD.
Tips and Hints for Using Apple Media Tool 2.1.1
Here are some tips and hints for using Apple Media Tool that will help you be more productive.
* Because Apple Media Tool requires software in specific locations on your hard disk, you should use the Installer program provided on the Apple Media Tool 2.1.1 CD to install the software.
* If you move your project from one disk to another, choose Check All from the Media menu before you run the project to make sure that Apple Media Tool can locate the media for the project.
* Before your project executes the Open URL command, be sure that an Internet browser program, such as Netscape Navigator, is open and a connection to the Internet is established. You can use the Application Launcher object and the Launch command to open the program. Many Internet browser programs open a connection to the Internet automatically, if configured to do so.
* Experienced Apple Media Tool developers find it useful to increase the amount of memory the program uses while they are designing and prototyping their projects. Doing so can speed up development by improving the performance of Apple Media Tool. You can adjust the memory required by your project later. To increase the amount of memory Apple Media Tool uses, select the program's icon in the Finder and choose Get Info from the File menu. In the Get Info window that appears, change the "Preferred size" setting, then close the window.
* To link two screens that are not linked in the Map window, hold down the Control key, then drag the screen you are linking to from the Screens pane to the Link command in the Actions pane of the Browser miniwindow.
* Because ambient sounds can continue to play while screens change, you do not place the media for an ambient sound as an object in a screen. Instead, create an object with an event and Ambient Sound command to play the sound, then drag the sound media from the Media miniwindow to the Ambient Sound command. (The media for an Ambient Sound command must be a .WAV file.)
* You cannot use the same hot text more than once to execute different actions in a single RTF file.
* Because a hot spot region defines a region of the object, not the media, be cautious using hot spot regions in Picture objects that scroll--Picture View and Picture Scoller objects--or if you use the Switch Media command to change the media displayed in an object.
* Depending on the size of the media and the way you use a Picture View object, your title can require a lot of memory to display the screens containing the Picture View object.
Known Problems and Limitations of Apple Media Tool 2.1.1
* If you use the Text Field object's Save File Name feature, do not include an apostrophe (') character in the file name.
* If you modify an RTF file which is used as media in a project, you will need to save the changes and then choose Replace from the Media menu to add the new file to your project.
* To use the Text Field object's Save File Name feature in a title that plays on Windows-based computers, the file name you specify must conform to the DOS file name format. Therefore, the name you enter in the Save File Name box must be 8 characters or less, followed by a period and a 3 character suffix, such as "TXT."
* If you use the Application Launcher object and the Launch command to launch one or more titles from another title, all of the titles in the sequence must be in the same folder. If these titles are compiled to play on Windows-based computers, each title consists of four separate files, including a .DLL file. By default, Runtime Maker names a .DLL file KEY.DLL. However, because all the .DLL files for a sequence of titles must be in the same folder, you need to give each .DLL file for each title a unique name. For each title you must then change the [DLL] section of the .INI file to correspond to the new name of that title's .DLL file. To do so, follow these steps:
1. Open the .INI file and find the [DLL] section.
2. Find the line that reads ";DLL name=key.dll."
3. Delete the ";" character.
4. Change "key" to the name you assigned to that title's .DLL file.
* From within an AppleScript script, the 'Quit' command will not work.
Known Problems and Limitations of QuickTime VR
* You cannot print the contents of a QuickTime VR movie object from a title using the Print command.
* A QuickTime VR movie is always the front-most object in the screen, regardless of the order in which it appears in the Objects pane in the Browser miniwindow.
* You cannot use Apple Media Tool Converter to convert a QuickTime VR movie to one that plays on both Mac OS-based and Windows-based computers. If you attempt to do this, a message appears saying that you must use a QuickTime VR editing tool to create a cross-platform movie. You can use QTVRPlayer to convert the movie. QTVRPlayer is located in the Utilites folder on the Apple Media Tool 2.1.1 CD.
* To play a title that includes a QuickTime VR movie on a Windows-based computer, you must install certain QuickTime VR software on the computer. To do so, copy the QTVRW.QTC file into either the same folder as the title or the WINDOWS folder. On a Windows-based computer, this file is in the QTVRW.QTC folder in the AMT_UTIL folder on the CD. On a Mac OS-based computer, it is in the QTVRW.QTC folder in the Windows Files folder in the Utilities folder on the CD.
* A QuickTime VR movie requires most of a computer's processing time when it is playing. Therefore, a title cannot execute effect transitions, play sounds, or play other movies when it is playing a QuickTime VR movie. A QuickTime VR movie is playing any time the pointer is within the object that contains the movie.
* Although you can change the size of an Object Movie or Panoramic Movie object in the Display window, when you run the project or play the title the movie appears at the size specified for the movie in the QuickTime VR editor. To change the size of a movie, you must use a QuickTime VR editor.
For additional information see the following Technical Note:
Technical Note 1056: Apple Media Tool Memory Usage Explained
The following article can help you find the Technical Note mentioned here:
Tech Info Library Article 24493: "
Apple Tech Notes: What They Are, Where To Find Them"