Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!apple!alexr@apple.com
From: alexr@apple.com (Alexander M. Rosenberg)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: Controling the Balloon Help Manager
Message-ID: <13645@goofy.Apple.COM>
Date: 24 May 91 17:47:35 GMT
References: <169760@tiger.oxy.edu>
Sender: usenet@Apple.COM
Organization: Hackers Anonymous
Lines: 42

In article <169760@tiger.oxy.edu>, schorsch@oxy.edu (Brent William Schorsch) writes:
> 
> Just a few questions for those few (in this early 7.0 stage) in the know:
> Does the Help manager look at MenuDisable to determine which baloon/resource
> to display?  If so, does this "looking" occur before or after MenuHook
> is called?
> 
> Obviously, I am trying to "coerce" the Help Manager to display a balloon
> not associated with the actual menuitem the cursor is over.  (I do have
> a valid reason for doing this; I'm not making any virus to really confuse
> new 7.0 users!!!)
> 
> If, of course, I'm barking up the wrong tree please let me know (and
> if you know I'm barking up the wrong tree, you probably know which
> tree I should be barking up and may want to tell me so...)
> 
> Thanks...   'The Tweaker'
> 

The System's MDEF "Menu Definition" resource calls the Help Manager routine,
HMShowMenuBalloon. 

>From Inside Mac VI (typing errors may be possible):

FUNCTION HMShowMenuBalloon (itemNum : INTEGER; itemMenuID : INTEGER; itemFlags
 : LONGINT; itemReserved : LONGINT; tip : Point; alternateRect : RectPtr;
tipProc : Ptr; theProc : INTEGER; Variant : INTEGER) : OSErr;

There are some caveats about showing menu balloon. I don't know all of them,
and I haven't played with this routine enough to know (but I have patched it
before!).

You should read the Help Manager section in Inside Mac VI. Mac DTS supposely
will also send you some hints about doing this in your own MDEF. (They give
out "sanitized" MDEF source, I believe.)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-  Alexander M. Rosenberg  - INTERNET: alexr@apple.com      - Yoyodyne    -
-  330 1/2 Waverley St.    - UUCP:ucbvax!apple!alexr        - Propulsion  -
-  Palo Alto, CA 94301     -                                - Systems     -
-  (415) 329-8463          - Nobody is my employer so       - :-)         -
-  (408) 974-3110          - nobody cares what I say.       -             -