PowerPrint USB to Parallel
Company: Infowave
Estimated Price: $99.00
http://www.strydent.com

So you went and purchased a new BlueBox Mac (Blue and White Tower) or an iMac to replace that nasty PC you had sitting on your desk. Great computer, isn’t it? Yeah, but the only problem you now have is your PC printer. There it is, a nice two-year-old laser printer, and you are unable to use it because it’s not USB, nor do they make a Mac driver for it. Time to get a new printer, right? Wrong!

PowerPrint is a hardware/software solution that I was eager to try out first hand. We had a scenario at our shop in which we upgraded one of the PCs to a BlueBox, but the new Mac user still wanted to use her LaserJet P6 printer. What’s a tech guy to do? No way did she want to print to one of the network RIP printers (though the network printers have about a thousand times better quality than the HP LaserJet). She wanted to print locally. Enter PowerPrint.

First, though, I checked to see if Hewlett-Packard made any Mac print drivers for this printer. According to their website http://www.hp.com/cposupport/indexes1/lj6ps.html they only support Windows, DOS, and OS/2. But right on the Infowave’s website, they claim that this product will support over 1,600 PC printers. Wow! Have they actually made that many printers? Sure enough, the LaserJet 6P is listed http://www.strydent.com/print/infowave_printer_compatibilitylist.htm So one quick order and delivery later, we were ready to put this project to the test.

Installation
Very simple. Connect the Parallel end of the wire to the LaserJet, and the USB connector to the Mac. Actually, the cord was too short for where the printer was located, so we had to connect another USB cord to make up the difference. For most people, though, the included seven-foot long cord should be sufficient.

Next, run the installer CD. It will ask you which print driver you want to use. In this case, according to the manual, we needed to use the LaserJet 5 print drivers. After a quick reboot later and selecting LaserJet 5 in the Chooser, we were printing away to our hearts’ content.

So, does it work? You bet! It works great! Infowave has a world class product with PowerPrint USB to Parallel. (I’m curious and ready to also try their PowerPrint Serial to Parallel, though I’m sure it works just as well as their USB flavor.) Hat’s off to Infowave for providing a great solution to a real world problem Mac users face everyday.

MacMice Rating: 4.5

Tim Robertson
publisher@mymac.com

I WANT MY FREE INTERNET!!!

Over on the Wintel side of things, the word “free” is the current fad. The “free PC” movement is becoming increasingly popular–if a customer buys a cheap PC, he or she is eligible for a number of rebates, the sum of which equals the cost of the PC itself. Often, these rebates include a very large rebate from an Internet service provider, such as CompuServe or Prodigy, which you only receive if you agree to subscribe to their service for three years or so. There is a similar concept for Mac users, too–FreeMac.com, http://www.freemac.com offers a “free” iMac if you amass enough of the rebates and agree to their conditions. But there are still other “free” movements for Windows users that aren’t available for Mac users, and I hope that the situation changes soon.

Juno, at http://www.juno.com, has offered free email for Windows users for a couple of years, but seemingly has never even considered a Mac-compatible version of their service. It’s a straightforward experience; download the software, install it on your computer, and use the proprietary Juno client and phone numbers for your email. It’s entirely free; you just have to tolerate ad banners on the email client and a tag line at the end of all email you send. In other words, Juno works very similar to the free email services on the World Wide Web, with the big difference that it’s not on the web. And the bigger difference is that it’s not on the Mac.

As much as I would like to see a Juno client available for the Mac, I’ve never complained too loudly about it. As a member of a minority group of the computer world, I’ve come to accept that there will be some things that third-parties won’t produce for my platform. It’s not nice, it’s not ideal, and it’s not always fair, but it’s the truth. A recent announcement about another free service currently available only for Windows users prompted me to raise my voice a little, though.

AltaVista http://www.altavista.com recently announced free World Wide Web access. Their proprietary software puts ad banners at the bottom of your Web browser, but gives you full, free access to the Internet. As of this writing, AltaVista had made a Windows version available, but was putting Mac and Linux users on hold.

I think that AltaVista has a very good idea; it’s worked for email, it should work for WWW access, too. I also think that AltaVista (and Juno) is missing out on a big opportunity by not opening this offer up to Mac users. Thousands of iMac users have bought their new Apples specifically to get them on the Internet quickly and easily, and now there would be a possibility that they could do that for free! Think of it: you pay $1,200 for an iMac and $200 for a printer, and, with the iMac’s bundled software, free email via Juno, and free Internet access via AltaVista, many people would never have to spend anything on their computer after their initial investment. Wow.

Not developing Mac versions of practical software with a wide appeal may have been a sound business decision when Juno first rolled out its email client, because Apple was teetering on the brink of extinction. But that is obviously not the case anymore, and there are countless numbers of people who are buying new iMacs and wanting to use the Internet. Why can’t Juno and AltaVista see the opportunity that I see?

SOME NEW, GOOD MAC ANNOUNCEMENTS
It’s nice to see that there are some new and exciting developments for Mac users, too. I’m looking forward to the grand opening of MacLaunch http://www.maclaunch.com , an Internet portal similar to Snap.com, Go.com, Netscape’s NetCenter, and others, but with a Mac-centric twist. It may turn out to be the site that actually sells me on portals (right now, I still start up my web browsers with a blank page).

Also, I have extremely high hopes for a new Mac print-based publication, called MacLiving. There was a preview issue #0 given out at Macworld in July, and the first issues should be available soon. I like the writing and style of MacLiving’s website http://www.maclivingdaily.com and I hope that the print publication is just as excellent and successful.

That’s it from me this month. Talk to you again next time!

Mike Wallinga
mikew@mymac.com

Heretic PPC
Author: Brad Oliver
Freeware
bradman@primenet.com

Mike: We’ve reviewed some great shareware games in these pages before, but one type of game you rarely see a shareware developer write is a first-person shooter. This month, however, we review Heretic PPC, a freeware port of the PC game that never made it to the Mac.

Adam: It’s rare that you see a shareware developer port a game to the Mac, and even rarer to make it free. So when Mike suggested Heretic PPC, I thought we’d give it a try. While it didn’t fully work as advertised, it’s a great gesture to the Mac community. Is there a plot/storyline to this game, Mike?

Mike: The included Read Me file didn’t say much: “The object of this game is simple–shoot stuff and don’t get killed.” Like most first-person shooters of its time, Heretic relied more on trigger-finger reflexes and less on plot. The game, and its sequel, Hexen, was released by id Software in between its smash hits, Doom and Quake, and it’s set in a medieval setting rather than a futuristic, sci-fi one.

Adam: When Heretic PPC is first launched, it almost looks like it crashed. Your screen goes black and white, flashes a few times, and then a progress bar comes up to show the loading sequence. Once it’s loaded, you navigate with the arrow keys through the various options and into the game play.

Mike: Anyone who’s ever played Doom or another of id’s shoot-em-up titles will be right at home with the menu navigation and game play. It’s not always true to the Mac interface, and some commands are a little counter-intuitive, but what would you expect from a Windows port?

Adam: There are options for pixel doubling and tripling, but they looked horrible on my 1024×768 screen. And even though music was listed as an option, it failed to be produced on my PowerBook.

Mike: Since my screen has a maximum resolution of 800×600, I didn’t try the pixel doubling option, and kept the game’s resolution at its standard 640×480. The graphics looked dated, but acceptable at that resolution. Unfortunately, although I tried all of the tips listed in the Read Me, I couldn’t get any music while I was played, either.

Adam: One good thing is that it did render well on my PowerBook G3/250 (WallStreet) with the ATI Rage LT graphics chipset. However, it crashed numerous times throughout game play, so I had a tough time keeping interest in the game long enough to give it a fair review.

Mike: Excuse me while I express my jealousy at the fact that Adam *has* an ATI chipset in his PowerBook… OK, with that over, I can say that I never experienced the crashes that Adam did, for unknown reasons. I can attest that the game plays, well, like a first person shooter. You run around an intricate maze, searching for the exit, and killing all of the monsters in your way with your magic scepter. It doesn’t have the plot depth of Marathon, the graphics or Unreal, or the pure adrenaline rush of Quake II, but you don’t have to lay down a couple of twenty dollar bills to play it, either.

Requirements/Availability
Heretic PPC requires a PowerPC processor and System 7.5 or later. You can download Heretic PPC from Download.com http://www.download.com or any other Macintosh shareware archive.

The Summary
Adam: All-in-all, a freeware port of Heretic is a wonderful gesture towards Mac users, and for that reason, we can cautiously recommend it. However, if you have the crashes that I experienced, delete it. You’ll get more excitement out of seeing the trash can empty than you will playing the game.

Mike: Well put, Adam. I applaud Brad Oliver for making Heretic available to Mac users, but I hope that there will be an updated version in the near future that fixes a few bugs. If that happens, he will really have done Mac gamers a great service. Cautiously recommended by The Game Guys.

Mike Wallinga
mikew@mymac.com
Adam Karneboge
webmaster@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.download.com

This column is open for anyone who would like to share their story about their first Macintosh. Like a first car, first date, first bike, or first time in love, Mac users never forget their first Mac. We would love to hear your story, and to share it with other Mac users. Send in your stories to Tim Robertson, Publisher, My Mac Magazine at publisher@mymac.com

By:Barbara Bell
PR Director, My Mac Magazine
pr@mymac.com

My first Mac experience took place on a little Mac Classic back in the very late 80s. It was a small box with a teeny, tiny, black and white screen containing these funny little icons I’d never seen before. Up until then I had been on a Wang terminal. Wang was the leading industry in my town, Lowell, Massachusetts. Everybody used them. It would have been sacrilege not to. I had taken a class in DOS programming so I could understand the darn thing a little better and it even made a bit of sense. You can imagine my shock, surprise, and yes, frustration when I saw how completely different and foreign the Mac was!

My job was to create a little 2 x 3 booklet, complete with graphics. At that time I was a secretary and had done nothing more challenging that typing reports and creating a few bar charts. I was excited about putting together a booklet and determined not to fail. But what’s up with this computer???

The Mac was so new to our organization that we only had one. It was used for those few, “high-end” graphic jobs. There was a special cubicle it sat in, ready to be used by anyone. So, suddenly, there I sat. No training manuals, no user manuals, no training videos. Somehow, I figured it out. It’s not so hard! Sure, I had to learn what “Cut and Paste” meant (don’t ask what the equivalent on the Wang was–my memory isn’t that good) but once I figured those out, everything else made sense. I even learned to work the mouse. Awesome!

My love was born. It was secret, it was quiet, and I didn’t know then what to do with it. A couple of years later, I received a Mac II and became the Mac person in-house. That meant slides, mostly, but also handouts, reports, and some graphics. My expertise grew. So did my love for this nifty computer. I began to wonder how I ever found my way in that stupid DOS machine!

That little project done on a computer I had never seen before helped me to Think Different. I changed my career plans. I read everything I could to become proficient on the Mac and in desktop publishing. I graduated from reports and slides to datasheets, brochures, whitepapers, convention graphics. When a professional, freelance graphic designer called me a graphic designer (even though she was being kind!) I received the final push into my career direction: Marketing Communications. Being on a Mac meant I could do anything, be anything. Nothing could hold me back except myself.

And now, though I’m on a PC again at work, I have my iMac at home. It nourishes me, it frees me, it focuses me. How can a little machine do all that? By being different. By allowing me to be different. It makes me think “outside the box,” to use a corporate euphemism. As long as there are Macs, there are those of us who can march to our own drum, not tied down by uniformity. Its ease of use allows me to express what I feel needs expressing. It allows me to use what little creative talent I have and makes it better. Besides, the darn thing is cute!

So I say: LONG LIVE THE MAC!

Barbara Bell
pr@mymac.com

Hello, everyone!

As I sit here, enjoying the late summer afternoon, I realize I’m having trouble deciding what to write about this month. Should I whine more about Windoze? Probably not. Everybody who’s anybody realizes the situation there (although I will say MS Access is not even close to being the powerful program FileMaker is!).

Should I talk about my first visit to a cadaver lab? No; some folks are squeamish. What about Tomb Raider? I got the program a few weeks ago and am enjoying it immensely. Not enough hours in the day to play that game. How about how easy it is to use an USB hub? Very easy! Truly plug and play (honest, that’s all there is!)

Or how about the problems with my Imation SuperDisk drive? Ah, that I should probably touch on. I mentioned previously that mounting floppy disks on the SuperDisk drive was a little bit difficult. My only success was putting the floppy in first, then turning on the iMac and usually rebuilding the desktop of both my hard drive and the floppy. Well, that’s starting not to work! The worst part is when the system does not recognize the floppy. You have to keep rebooting until it does. Why? There is no way to get the darn thing out! You press the little button on the front of the drive and nothing happens. I finally got fed up enough to write Imation on July 21. Today is August 3. Let’s see… that’s two weeks! Apparently, Imation’s not real good with customer service, either. Obviously they don’t realize a lot of people bought their drive so they could use existing floppies. The 120mb SuperDisk, for me anyway, was an extra added bonus. I am now regretting my purchase. What started as merely inconvenient has blown up into impossible. Should the situation change, I’ll let you know.

Mmmmmm, what else? Oh, Pete Miner wrote a wonderful review on the iMacButton. I was so thrilled I bought one! He and I both agree the pinhole restart on the iMac is kinda stupid. The iMacButton takes care of that. And it’s reasonably priced.

Helpful Hints

Specific program problems: If you are having problems with a specific program, it may be the program Preferences. So, how to fix? Well first, hold down your Shift key while restarting. That disables your extensions. Then, drag the application’s Preferences out of the Preferences folder located inside the System folder. Put it anywhere for now, just not in the System folder. Restart. If your problems disappear, the Preferences was the culprit. You can now trash the Preferences file or folder you removed from the Preferences folder. The application makes a new Preferences for itself the next time it runs.

Crashing, crashing, crashing: No matter how stable your system, crashes do happen. If they happen frequently, obviously something needs to be fixed. Don’t freak out–although it is certainly easy to do! (I certainly have!) First, keep track of what you are doing. Write it down if you have to. If you can’t solve the problem, that information will be invaluable to tech support.

Pay attention to what conditions the crash occurs. Is it always with AOL? What version? Is it always right after using QuarkXpress? Again, what version? After you’ve noted the specifics, then start your problem solving: try removing extensions, or removing Preference files, or perform a clean install of the program… you know, all the stuff you normally do when trying to fix your Mac. And don’t forget to rebuild the Desktop! Sometimes that’s all that’s needed.

Last, don’t forget to write down what you do! If, after performing all the Macmagic you know, the problem still occurs, call tech support. Hopefully, with all the information you have gathered, they’ll be able to get down to the nitty gritty and help you fix the problem quickly and permanently.

Application Switching: OS 8.5 has this neat little trick: you can tear off the Application menu from the Finder menu. What?? Okay, in the upper right hand corner of your Finder menu, there is the little application icon next to the name of the application you are currently using. That’s your Application menu. Now, most people click on that corner (a drop down menu appears, showing you all the open applications) and they pick the application they want to switch to. But say you want to tab between menus rather than using that drop down menu all the time. Why? Well, depending on how you work, it could be much faster and convenient. So, how do you do it?

By tearing off the Application menu. Just drag your cursor down and past the menu. Then position the window where you want it to reside. To move among the options (the different open applications, I mean), Command-Tab or Command-Shift-Tab. Quite honestly, I haven’t decided if I like it; I’m used to clicking all over the place. But I will try it. And, if you use Windoze frequently, you’ll find it mirrors the Alt-Tab function in Windows 95.

True Story: A friend of mine is a freelance desktop publisher. She also has had extensive training on Macintosh technical support. She knows these machines inside and out. She broke down and purchased one of those neat, Bondi Blue G-3s. She was so excited! Except, it wouldn’t work! It kept crashing. She called me, frantic and needing a shoulder to cry on. All that money, all that excitement, down the tubes. I asked if she rebuilt the desktop (I felt funny, knowing her technical background, but I figured thinking out loud might help her find the solution.). She said, “No. It’s just out of the box, so why bother?” “Well,” I said, “these things come preloaded with all sorts of software and sometimes upgrades to the OS are done prior to shipment by the reseller. Who knows what was done to your hard drive before it arrived?” So, for the heck of it, and out of true desperation, she rebuilt the desktop. And guess what? Yup! It worked!!! Problem solved! She felt sheepish but relieved. I was gratified my little ‘this will solve anything’ trick worked so well!

Internet Site of the Month: http://www.MackiDo.com/Innovation
This site talks about Mac innovations. Great reading and good ammunition against Windoze fans who think Bill Gates thought up all that neat stuff like the mouse and windows and icons!

Happy Fall!

Barbara Bell
pr@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.mactimes.com/bin/news/index.p1?read=2070
http://www.MackiDo.com/Innovation

Labelling & Troubleshooting Fields, Calculations, Relationships & Scripts

In this article I’m going to give you a few tips on how to organize your database. In the rush of creation we often neglect these simple steps to document our own work. Then later we pay the price, as we’ve forgotten exactly what all those darn things are and what they do.

The first step in keeping track of what things are is to name them, and the first things to name (other than the files themselves) are the fields.
There are, as far as I can tell, two main systems for naming fields.

Alphabetical Field Names
The first is plain old alphabetical. If you don’t have too many fields this may be all you’ll need. The key to this system is to name all fields that you want to keep together with a similar beginning to the name, adding bits to the end for further identification.

*(Self_Service being the name of a self-relationship of the Job ID)

As you can see, there are several fields beginning with “Serv”. Choosing view by Field Name in the Field Definitions will instantly bring them together.
You can adjust the order somewhat by using different punctuation. Sticky spaces between the words will also work, adding the advantage of keeping the words together in calculations. I often use that for IDs, since the extra space helps them stand out in lists. (But I’ll spare our webmaster and just use regular spaces here.)

I also use the sticky space and a short suffix to identify types of fields. For example; ” g” for global fields, ” c” for calculation, ” gc” for concatenated globals.
That way I can quickly tell them apart from a regular field with the same name.

One problem I’ve found is to keep the distinction between actual Summary fields and Total fields which are based on aggregate functions. They are not always the same; the Summary depends on the found records, while an aggregate using a self-relationship does not. So I always use the letters “Sum” for Summaries and “Total” or “TOT” for Sum() aggregates. You could do it either way, but…

It is important to be consistent. If you name some fields carefully, but just slap on the first thing that comes to mind on others, you will soon have little idea what does what. It can get pretty sticky if there are a lot of fields with similar names. If you find it getting out of hand it’s time to move up the next level of organization.

Custom Order Field Names
FileMaker remembers the field name order. So all you have to do is decide which fields go together and drag them into place. Choosing “Custom order” from the drop-down box in the Field Definitions dialog will restore them later if you add new ones.

A further refinement to this method is to name fields with a prefix to show the type of field, much like I did before with suffixes. “g Job ID”, “g Service”, etc.. If you do an alphabetical sort it will sort by “Type” of field as well.

Obsolete Fields
You can use prefixes and alphabetical sorting to get obsolete fields out of your way. Any field that you think you no longer need can be renamed with “`” (accent) in front. It will sort to the bottom.

Never delete a field if there is an Import order in a script. It will screw up the Import in a way that is very difficult to fix. Just change it to a global field and leave it. It will then be empty and unstored. If you need a new field later, just rename and redefine it. You could also use the “False Calculation” method (two paragraphs down) to tell yourself just why you “retired” the field.

Conversely “#” and “•” prefixes will sort to the top. This is also a great way to track a field that may be referenced in other fields’ definitions. Temporarily rename it, then scan the Field Definitions. It will stand out like a sore thumb in other fields’ calculations.

Custom Separators
To really use the Custom Order method you should create custom labels for each of your carefully grouped fields, to create a “table of contents” look for the Field Definitions list. It’s pretty easy. The quickest way is to just create a new global field. Use a few underline characters, then a descriptive name, eg. “_________Service”, up to about 17 characters long. Drag it to be above your Invoice fields.

[Warning: the next two techniques are geeky.]

“False” Calculations
To get even more info in, you can create a “false” calculation field. Give it the name as above, then write more in the calculation options.
_________Service, Calculation= If (1=0, “Service Rates and a bunch of stuff”, “”)
The entire above sentence will display in Field Definitions.
This same trick can be used within real calculations, to remind you what they do.

For example:
Case (1, If(Max(DONATE::Date) = Date, Donation, “”), “Date is the latest”)
In this “case” the first argument, Case(1) is always true, so the last comment is never evaluated. (Thanks to Steve Cassidy for this exercise in minimalism.)

Disabled Auto-Enter Options
Of course, the above could only be used in a calculation field. What about regular text and number fields? Well, believe it or not, someone (not me) has discovered a way. Click Options, then enter your descriptive text in the Auto-Enter Data box. Then uncheck the box. Your text will be grayed out, but will remain stored and readable. You just have to remember to look there for it.

Relationships

Now that we’ve got our fields under control, let’s move on to relationships. When I was beginning, I tried to name relationships with names that described what they did, their function in the file. But I would forget what the necessarily short name meant. And then, to make things worse, some relationships were used for several different operations, or a similarly named relationship went to a different file.

So now I name the relationships according to where they go (files) and what fields are involved, trusting that I can figure out what it might do by looking at the context of how it is used…and by reading my Comments in the scripts.

Relationship Names
The first part is the name of file, or part of it. The second part is at least one of the fields. Often relationships are between two identically named fields anyway. So a relationship between a client (Contacts file) and one of his jobs (Jobs file) would look like: from the Contacts file, “Job_Client ID”, and from the Job file, “Contacts_Client ID”.

Rather than name relationships within the same file with the file name, I prefix them with “Self”, as in “Self-Client ID” (Contacts file), or “Self-Job ID” (Jobs file); whatever the field involved is named.

One of the great advantages of naming clearly like this is so you can pick the right one when choosing a relationship in the drop-down box for a field, in either a field definition, or in a calculation dialog. If you still can’t tell what a relationship does, go ahead and choose it, then click again, drop down to the bottom of the list box, to “Define Relationships,” and let go. The relationship dialog will open, already scrolled to that one, so you can see which fields are actually involved. If it’s what you wanted, just close the dialog. (An excellent piece of software engineering.)

If you still can’t tell, it may require a trip to the Field Definitions and a study of the field(s) involved. Try to remember where you are before going that route, as you’ll need to get back.

Relationship Order
When you’re in the relationship dialog box, you may as well tidy up that list of relationships. If you group them according to which file they go to (easy to do now), then group them roughly according to what they do and relative importance, then it’s a lot easier to find them in that list. Just drag them into place.
Remember to click on the one you wanted if you were in the middle of doing something, so it remains selected in the relationship drop-down box.

Scripts

Now we get into the really fun stuff. Carefully naming scripts and documenting script steps is the only way to preserve your sanity. The problem is not too awful at first, but wait a little while, then come back and try to modify a complex script. You won’t remember exactly what’s happening, much less the unforeseen effects on other scripts–and I don’t think it’s only me that has this problem.

Fortunately FileMaker has a few ways to help. The first is to use a system to name your scripts. The names can be pretty long, and there aren’t really any restrictions on characters you can use, so there’s less need to be cryptic.

Script Groups
First I’ll tell you how to “group” scripts, so you can find them on the list in the ScriptMaker dialog, and how to create a label with a script name. The first simple scripts that deal with such universal things as Sorting and navigation to Layouts I generally put at the top of the list. Scripts and buttons that are only called from one particular Layout, but do different things, will be grouped together. If several scripts operate within one particular area or function of the database, then I group them together.

Above each of these groups is an easy-to-see label. The label is basically just an empty script; just delete all the steps. Name the scripts with a few dashes or underlines then the group name.
“————- Navigation” would be scripts that just deal with moving around the file.
“————–> External”, scripts that go to, or call scripts in other files.
“————-< External”, scripts that get called from other files.
“————– Printing”, “———– Help Messages”, etc..

The dashes set the names off to the right of the regular script names, so they are more visible. Drag the label above the groups. Duplicate one to make another. Often a single dash is used as the name of an empty script to create a separation line in the Scripts Menu list visible to the user. Just click the “Show in Menu” checkbox for those. Don’t check it for these other ones.

Script Names
As you may have noticed above, I use arrows to show that there is an external script within a script, either going out or coming in. These can be tough to troubleshoot, so name them all.

To make them easy to see, I use a long arrow, “–>”, or “<–” for external scripts (sometimes “<–>” for one that goes then returns). I also include at least one of the file names of the external file(s). Eg., –>JobEntry, Job Choice Lay
This tells me that this script just goes to the JobEntry file, to the Job Choice layout.

If a script calls another script within its own file, I just use a single arrow after it. I try to put the script it calls directly under it, with an arrow in front.

New Record>
>Empty Fields Check

This tells me that the New Record script runs a custom scripted check for empty fields before allowing me to create a new record. Another way to write the first, if several scattered scripts called the same subscript (very likely), would be, New Record >w/Empty Check. Another script might be, Main Menu >w/Empty Check.

This makes your life much easier if you ever modify a script. You can see that there will be effects on other scripts. It’s especially useful when you are checking scripts between files, when the name is all that you can see easily from the other file.

Comment Step
There is a built-in mechanism to document within scripts. It is the Comment [""] step, down near the bottom of the Script Steps list. Use it liberally; you’ll be glad later. It can be put immediately after steps which are otherwise difficult to decipher, complex Sorts, Finds, and Perform Script [External].

External Scripts
This last is especially important to comment after. The step only shows the name of the file, not the name of the external script. You can see which script it is by clicking on the file name box and letting go, triggering the dialog box; but this gets old in a hurry when you’re trying to track down a problem.
Put the external script’s name in the Comment, and you’ll be able to see in a glance what is going on. Be sure to keep it updated if things change.

By the way, if the script you see in the dialog doesn’t have its “<–” arrow, then you have either neglected to name it properly, or you’re calling the wrong script. This is especially important in simple scripts that have slight variations but similar names. Sometimes the externally called one has only a single difference (such as a Halt Script step); unless it’s labelled you can’t pick it easily from the other file.

Troubleshooting Scripts
There are a couple more steps you can add to help find out where a script is screwing up (also must happen to other people). The first one I turn to is the Pause/Resume Script [] step. Put one of these before each critical juncture in a complex script. If the problem is in fields not being set properly, you should have a demo layout that has all of the fields involved. Add a step to go to this layout if needed. Then you can walk through the script, watching what happens after each big step, hitting the Enter key to continue. Remember to take the Pauses out when you’re done.

Another quick way to “hear” what’s going on is to add a Beep step. It’s especially useful to see “if” something is happening at all. Add two beeps or three beeps to check other possible branches of a conditional script.

If you think that a step (or series of steps) are the problem, and you would like to run the script without them (assuming it could), there is a way to “comment them out.”

Put a false “If” step before them, and an “End If” after.
If [1=0]
Script step
End If
The rest of the script to run.

Obsolete Scripts
A combination of techniques can help identify unused scripts before taking the drastic step of deleting them. In order of intensity:
1. Name them with a prefix like “###”. You’ll be able to spot them more easily if they are called by other scripts. Check for it in suspected calling External scripts, too.
2. Put a Beep in. If you have no other beeps, this will alert you that a marked script is still being used.
3. Display a custom message, “Script name is marked for deletion”.
4. Create a global field, text, “ScriptName g”, and add the step:
Set Field ["ScriptName g", Status(CurrentScriptName)]
This will capture the name of the script so you can see it afterwards.

If all fails and you’re still not sure whether it’s being used, leave it in. The possible damage from removing it is worse than the small disk space being wasted by leaving it in. Speaking of wasting space, I’ll see you next month.

Fenton Jones

Fenton Jones is a FileMaker database designer and consultant, based in San Diego, CA. FileMaker is a cross-platform rapid-development tool for affordable relational databases. If you have need of a FileMaker Pro expert, please be sure to visit his home page at http://www.fentonjones.com

Forrest Gump’s take on life, vis-a-vis his mama’s lighthearted simplifications, not only allowed Forrest to comprehend the more difficult aspects of the human condition, but the readers’ as well. Since, in the film version, it was learned that Forrest was the owner of Apple stock, I wonder what ending his mama might have given my title above?

About a year ago, I started writing this monthly column for My Mac Magazine after Tim Robertson, My Mac’s iCEO (i for Internet), read my email response to the then new iMac. I described the parallels between the first time I met my wife and the first time I saw an iMac. With the introduction of the iBook, the memories of that earlier article have triggered more thoughts that have, once again, flooded my overactive imagination.

Parallels II

I looked at my watch. She was late again. I was annoyed. For more than six months, at every major event, she either never showed up or was somehow delayed. Her excuse was that as a reporter for an Internet service, she was often asked to cover fast developing stories. Now, I am a patient man–at least I think so. I also think different(ly) from most, but my pet peeve about tardiness was beginning to affect our relationship. We talked it over, as we did everything, and we agreed to try once more. I was set to go to Macworld New York for the first time and she promised to be there, too. We would see.

Although this was the second recent New York Macworld, I had purposely not attended the first, but looked forward to this latest Mac love in. Personally, I loved visiting the big Apple at any time, but I felt a touch of disloyalty to my favourite Macworld site, Boston. I missed that comfortable city, and my loyalty to it was the reason I had boycotted last year’s Macworld. The one downside to Boston was the perennial disruption in the core for the new tunnel construction. In 1995 and 1996, it was intolerable; the chaos continued. Yet the rest of the city was a delight. I missed the Freedom Walk and reveled in the patriotic history it echoed. I would also miss the small restaurant in little Italy, not far from the Paul Revere house, where I became great friends with the owner, a warm and generous fellow, who served the tastiest linguine al mare this side of the Adriatic. I marveled at how the cradle of early America was now surrounded by an Italian ethic and how, in the future, it might again metamorphose into something different and yet the same.

Could New York compete? Obviously, Boston does not have a monopoly on downtown construction as Microsoft has in operating systems. New York could easily hold its lead in the construction sweepstakes. Another advantage would be its one stop shopping at the massive Javits Convention Center at 38th Street and Eleventh Avenue. It would also be numero uno in the expense category–in other words bring money, plenty of money and a couple of charge cards, too.

Boston’s Macworld had a split personality in that it was held in two different buildings located about 2 miles apart as the crow flies, but a hefty 6 miles when the route included a circuitous detour around the tunnel construction. I found that a trifle disconcerting at first, but was impressed by the enormity of both the World Trade Center and then the Bayside Expo Center. The free shuttle bus between the two was a chance to rest your feet and relax from the milling throngs; the close up view of the tunnel construction was a bonus.

It was with mixed expectations that I flew into LaGuardia. I couldn’t make it to the keynote address, so we had agreed to meet in front of the Apple exhibit. Would she be waiting at the appointed time? Would she be late? A no show? I was nervous, because, to be honest, I was already committed to her, show or no show. I couldn’t help myself–she was that appealing. But I kept cautioning myself to take it slow and not go off the deep end. Deep end? I was mentally off the diving board and headed straight toward the pool drain. Is that commitment? You got it!

I took a cab from LaGuardia to the Convention Center. First mistake. The yappy cab driver chuckled when I told him my destination. “You an Apple freak?” he asked, in disbelief, “I thought Apple folded two years ago.” And he didn’t shut up for the entire trip, waxing about how great Microsoft was and how his no name PC was so terrific. I could have drowned him in the Hudson River, but my saner Mac self told me not to pollute the river more than it was. I let him know how ‘terrific’ I thought the ride and his discourse had been by giving him a nickel tip and telling him why. I got away alive, nevertheless, and learned several new cuss words in the process. By the way, what’s a “flegin tarp?”

I had preregistered before leaving home to shorten check-in time, and had slipped my pass and badge over my head so that it hung neatly while the cab driver continued to berate me and my mother. I ignored him and headed through the Crystal Palace into my fantasy world come true. The Convention Center was as impressive as it was massive. You could not miss the Apple exhibit, and why would you? This was, after all, the temporary Center of the Cupertino universe. In the excitement of packing and rushing to the airport and the general upheaval of travel, I heard nothing of the keynote from the day before. But, as the cavernous innards of the Convention Center opened up, I saw the huge hanging banners and, almost at the same time, I saw her. She had dropped something onto the floor and had bent over to pick it up. It was at that moment, in that awkward body position, that her tangerine red hair and deep blue sparkling eyes came into view. She retrieved what had fallen and looked my way, a welcoming smile on her face. I rushed up and kissed her in front of the Apple exhibit, in front of the crowd, and in front of Steve Jobs.

“Do you believe it? I just got a quick interview with Steve plus I got his autograph too,” she laughed triumphantly. “And then I dropped it. I was petrified it would get lost or trampled.” Her face was flushed from the exertion, the excitement and, I hoped, from my kiss, as well.

“You’re here,” was all I could utter. I repeated it several times, still in a state of stupefied awe.

“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” she winked. Still traumatized, I just stood there transfixed by the reality of finally being with her. Now I knew why I loved her. It was because of her inner strength, as well as her physical beauty. And, she was one smart woman.

“Isabella Book, you are as sexy as you are cool,” I said, finally coming alive. “I had the most tedious ride from the airport. Have you been waiting long?”

“Not long. I just got off the AGP bus about a half hour ago, came in, saw Steve on a surprise visit to the floor and managed, I don’t know how, to get close to him. Asked him a few questions and got his autograph. It was all a blur. I know about airports, though. They say they are fast but they have way too many strings attached. Personally, I prefer the no strings technology. Hey, how do you like this button I picked up at the Lucent exhibit?” She proudly pointed to the rounded oval button just below her registration badge with her name, I. Book, in large black letters. “Lucent and Apple have brought the no strings technology to the iBook. Imagine wireless connecting to the Internet.”

“Very cool. Any chance we can get a closeup view of the new wireless wonder?”

“Stay close to me. If I got Steve to talk, we sure should be able to see the 4th piece of the Apple product line up close and beautiful.” I followed, grasping her waist with both hands and feeling the smooth, curvy lines of her torso. She was wearing an attractive, frosty white miniskirt with tangerine highlights that accentuated her hair colour. The muted background pattern was made up of rounded silver squares which reminded me of the keys on a full-sized keyboard.

“Nice dress,” I said, as we eased our way Macintosh-style through the throng.

“$1,599.00,” she answered. “It cost me a month’s salary, but it’s worth it.”

“I guess it’s not expensive, if you get what you want, and it sure looks sleek and…”

“Yes, yes, I know, sexy.” Suddenly she stopped. “Darn! I lost the mike to my recorder. The wire must caught on something and fallen off. Another reason to be wireless,” she philosophized.

“You must be tired from your flight. Any problems or,” I grimaced, “gabby cabbies?”

“Not a one,” she answered. “All I need is a quick nap to recharge my batteries and then I’m ready for six hours of heavy duty work.”

We made our way over to one of the several displays showing off the iBook. Each display, however, had a thick crowd of Mac worshipers. Somehow Isabella maneuvered us to the front. A drowsy-eyed Apple employee hovered close by to answer questions and to make sure no one absconded with the show’s star attraction. It turned out that Jason was one of the iBook team of designers and, as he explained, he was in a state of nervous excitement and near collapse after the hours of overtime they had put in to meet this deadline. In spite of his weariness, he was most cooperative in answering questions from the crowd.

I asked Jason if I could pick up the iBook for a closer examination. From the top, the sweep of Blueberry colour was very attractive. The matching coloured Apple logo complimented the overall design. Colour is a subjective matter, and the tangerine iBook which was at the displays on each side of us did it for me. From the edge, it looked thick and rounded, yet eminently touchable. In fact, that seemed to be the main desire of most people. The iBook’s lines were indeed sexy and the curves and shape would have given Freud hours of analytical writing material. I noticed the hideaway carrying handle and the lack of a snap lock, but the spring closure worked smoothly and it shut easily and firmly.

“It’s a beautiful book,” I said, my fingers still lingering on the smooth rounded surface.

Isabella and I thanked Jason and made way for others to admire this cute new toy. Indeed, it was cute and, in many ways, looked like a toy. Since when does a computer have to be dull, beige, and square? After all, it isn’t a PC. As the second fastest portable computer in the world after the Apple PowerBook G3 models, Apple need apologize to no one. The industrial design carried on the theme of the #1 selling computer, the iMac, and placed that concept into the ultimate consumer portable.

Isabella Book and I agreed–the iBook was another Apple hit. We couldn’t wait to read the sour grapes (or tangerines and blueberries) from the PC press. I couldn’t wait to surprise Isabella with one as gift.

She turned to me, a twinkle in her eyes. “I’m going to buy you one for being so patient with me. Now, which colour would you like?’

Ralph J. Luciani
ralph@mymac.com