Authoring Tools

In the days when Hypercard was the only authoring tool around, we got used to the idea of presenting information ‘one screen at a time’. Hypercard, like other authoring tools that followed needed a metaphor to help us think of screens of information.  Hypercard used the card metaphor. A bunch of cards was called a stack. So we thought in terms of a pile of cards and we presented them one after the other.

furthermore...

Card Tricks

If you know Bob Dylan's 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' you might remember a scene in Pennebaker's 1967 movie: 'Don't Look Back' where Dylan is pulling cards from a stack and as the lyrics of the song are sung, so the card with the appropriate words is revealed as the previous card is thrown to the ground. This is often referred to as the 'cue-card' scene. For us the metaphor is weakened by the fact the cards are 'now' presumambly in a jumble on the ground and need sorting. The 'card and stack' metaphor (Hypercard was invented by Bill Atkinson (now a photographer http://www.billatkinson.com) and the legacy of the stack metaphor is still used today where the 'tab' interface is used on web sites such as amazon.com. For a discussion on the 'tab' interface see Jeffrey Veen's book, The Art and Science of Web Design Way before the internet was invented, we were using the computer as a medium and Hypercard and other authoring tools were very empowering because you didn't need to be a computer programmer.

Hypercard stack - The Anatomy of Birds by Patrick Lynch 1988

Mac or PC

In the late 1980's, my own circumstances meant that I needed to use a PC. But I was very keen to use an authoring tool rather than a programming language. Only the MAC had Hypercard. I was very grateful that 'Guide', hailed as a hypertext authoring tool was ported to the PC (Windows 3). It had originally been invented by Prof. Peter Brown, then at the University of Kent. 'Guide' was marketed by a Scottish company called Owl.

I made the Anglo Saxons CD-ROM with 'Guide'. The notion of one screen at a time is equally well conceptualised in the book metaphor. A book of pages. And this was the metaphor used by Asymetrix' 'ToolBook'. Whatever happened to them? Go to the Movies or Read a book Other authoring tools used real world metaphors to help us get along. Macromedia Director gave us the movie with frames. Each frame is presented on the screen in sequence. Actually, the first thing you have to learn with Director is how to stop the movie from going rapidly (25fps) through its frames. The tool presumes that you want to make something dynamic, animated. Macromedia Flash uses the same movie' concept with frames and scenes. Apple's QuickTime can also be used to deliver interactive pieces and one of the authoring tools that gets access to all the possibilities is LiveStage.

From Page Turning to Popups

If we want to create a simple piece where the information is presented on discreet screens then the tools metaphor, represented by the 'card', 'page' or ''frame' is helpful. Clicking to move forward or backwards through the sequence will be achieved by utilising some simple script. Each of the authoring tools mentioned above use their own scripting language. A script to move to the next screen will be something like:

1. on mouseup
2. goto next
3. end mouseup

Of course page turning applications can also be achieved with presentation software such as Microsoft 'PowerPoint', where the forward and backward mechanisms are built in. Similarly, Adobe Acrobat together with a page layout program can be used to create an 'eBook' which has the page turning built in. The moment we want to move beyond the limited page turning model, then we need to engage more deeply with the authoring tool and we have to start mixing metaphors. We might click on a 'button' to move to a new 'Windows which can contain a totally new stack (Hypercard etc), new book (ToolBook), new movie (Director, Flash) or new document (Acrobat). In terms of the way we use the authoring tool, there is a range of approaches ranging between these two extremes:

• we might place our content on separate screens and then create mechanisms to navigate between them
• we might 'stay put' on one screen and bring different content in using the scripting language or behaviours

Most multimedia authors tend to use a combination of these two extremes. The latter approach is certainly more flexible, with the possibility of content organised from a database. But the former is often easier to visualise because it is readily conceptualised in the stack, movie or book metaphor.

Runtime

The choice of authoring tool for any project will be determined by a mix of factors but one key issue is the delivery system

• Is the piece to be delivered on the web or on CD-ROM or both?
• If CD-ROM, will it need a runtime engine or player, and can that be distributed?
• If CD-ROM can it run on the Apple MAC as well as PCs, and which operating systems?
• If on the web, does it require a 'plug-in' for the browser?

Hypercard must be acknowledged as one of the first authoring tools but it is really useless to us now. Hypercard stacks can be created on the MAC (OS 9 and earlier) and only delivered on the MAC. Furthermore, the 'runtime' component of Hypercard (known as the Hypercard player) needs to be available or distributed with the stack. Any project destined for a reasonable audience will need to be distributable on the PC with a consideration of target markets and appropriate operating systems. Maybe you need to make this run on Windows 95, 98, 2000, XP. Generally, the further back you go with operating system support, the more expensive it could get. It depends on each authoring tool, but targeting Windows 95 may involve making a separate version for that platform.

Licensed to Run

Tools like Flash and Runtime Revolution can create 'runtime' applications for a variety of platforms and operating systems from one authoring platform. Director, however can only create an application (known as a 'projector') for the platform on which it is authored. Although these tools give an option to create a 'standalone' application or distribute with a separate runtime component, some tools need a runtime application. Adobe Acrobat documents (PDFs) can be very sophisticated in their interactivity. Authors can utilise the built-in javascript to create navigable documents and in its latest version Acrobat can embed multimedia files. However, for distribution, a runtime component (known as the Reader) is required. This may seem like a disadvantage, however, the free Acrobat Reader is available by download from Adobe for every possible platform and operating system. It is also possible to distribute the Reader on a CD-ROM but authors intent on replicating CD-ROMs for distribution to include this reader must register with Adobe for a 'licence to distribute'.

Posted on 29 Oct around 9pm

Tags: Talks