Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!uunet!samsung!rex!mandel@vax.anes.tulane.edu
From: mandel@vax.anes.tulane.edu (Jeff E Mandel MD MS)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: Animating Cursor
Message-ID: <5804@rex.cs.tulane.edu>
Date: 22 Jan 91 14:47:21 GMT
References: <4972@media-lab.MEDIA.MIT.EDU>
Sender: news@rex.cs.tulane.edu
Organization: Tulane University School of Medicine
Lines: 26

In article <4972@media-lab.MEDIA.MIT.EDU> gslee@media-lab.MEDIA.MIT.EDU (Gene
Lee) writes:
>
>        Can anyone tell me how I can animate my cursor using the
>'acur' resource?  I can't find any documentation on it use.
>
It's described in the MPW 3.x manual, volume 1, appendix F (pp525-30).

  Basically, the routine RotateCursor loads the acur resource, which contains a
list of IDs for curs resources, and with each subsequent call, increments (or
decrements) a counter by a specified amount, moving through the list of
cursors. To do this, it allocates space in the A5 globals, so use of this
routine from a DA or XCMD is tricky. I have previously posted an XCMD which
does this; it should still be in the sumex-aim archive info-mac/card/xcmd
directory as spinning-cursor or such. If you can't find it, mail me and I'll
send it to you.
  I would caution you that I have found that spinning cursors have not been all
that successful for me as a way of convincing users I still love them while my
code grinds away for more than 3-4 seconds. An indicator box which moves at
least once a second seems better tolerated, as the user has some idea how far
into the operation he/she is.

Jeff E Mandel MD MS
Asst. Professor of Anesthesiology
Tulane University School of Medicine
New Orleans, LA