Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!hsdndev!bu.edu!dartvax!Eric.J.Baumgartner
From: Eric.J.Baumgartner@dartmouth.edu (Eric J. Baumgartner)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hypercard
Subject: Re: Claris STILL Wants Feedback on On Line Help
Message-ID: <1991Jun16.214322.5870@dartvax.dartmouth.edu>
Date: 16 Jun 91 21:43:22 GMT
References: <293253.285AFB0D@cmhgate.FIDONET.ORG>
Sender: news@dartvax.dartmouth.edu (The News Manager)
Organization: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
Lines: 37

I think all this stuff falls under the category of on-line help, even
if it may not have to do help the Help stack directly.

I find I want to go straight to HyperTalk Help, so I changed the
script.  I almost never use HyperCard Help.

With System 7, it seems to me HyperCard Help is best implemented via
Balloon Help.  I hope this is in the works, along with HyperTalk access
to Balloon Help.

Most of my need for HyperTalk help happens when I'm in a script.  Thank
God it's not modal any more, but I think it'd be very nice to have a
menu with all the commands, functions, properties, etc available. 
(SuperCard and Director do this.  I like Director's Lingo menu better;
it doesn't take up any window space.)  Choosing a menu item would just
enter that item in the script (boring) but with Balloon Help on you
could select the menu item and see its syntax, parameters, etc. 
Possibly there would be a "Paste with parameters" option to enter the
item with its params into the script.

And while I'm talking about the Script Editor, how about a feature a la
CMarker or THINK Pascal where you cmd-click the title bar of the window
and get a popup menu of all the handlers and functions in the script? 
Scripts need better navigation than Find.  Another cool feature would
be something like:

edit script of this card at "mouseUp"

which would open the script and automagically scroll to the start of
the mouseUp handler.  Save me a lot of time, that one.

Whoops!  Straying off the subject line again... sorry!

Eric Baumgartner                   *  ebaum@dartmouth.edu
Interactive Media Lab              *  - When in danger or in doubt,
Dartmouth Medical School           *      run in circles, scream and
shout.