Questions about Authorware

A student asked:
For the authorware assignment, I have some trouble trying to generate a
readme file
from the pakaged exe file. I followed th instructions on the web, and
pressed the log button
on the interface, and tried to create a log file. How ever it doesn't
generate anything, and gives me
error messages. Can you clarify how i can generate the log file required
for this assignment.

Answer:
You need to look at the calculate icon that reads the file.
You also need to determine the location of the file.
I recommend using the Authoware FileLocation variable.
Look for documentation under Windows>Variable.

Note about packages:
I forgot to mention about Xtras--these are basically plug-ins that Authorware
loads in at run-time as needed.
Xtras are used for such things as reading various graphic formats
and sound files.
Whenever you supply a packaged Authorware program,
you also need to supply
an Xtras folder with any Xtras required by your program.
You can find an Xtras folder under in the Authorware folder under Program
Files.
For more information about using Xtras and distributing Authorware pieces made
with them, see "Distributing Xtras" in the "Authoring Basics" section of the
Authorware 5 Help Pages.
See http://www.macromedia.com/support/authorware/ts/documents/asset_xtra1.htm
an explanation of the Flash Xtra.
Other vendors supply Xtras: see
http://www.macromedia.com/software/xtras/authorware/.

One student asked how to get the result of a text entry exercise to appear on the screen.
In the "Function parameter (text entry)" map icon, there's an icon called "droid string".
If you double-click on it, you see a literal value, initially sqrt(0).
If you switch to alpha mode (by clicking on the A in the display tools panel),
then click on the string, you'll see:

{DroidString} sqrt({DroidNum});}

The curly braces enclose variables. Authorware displays the value of these variables (or expressions) dynamically.

Another student was having trouble with the drag and drop exercise--the drag objects wouldn't move.
It turned out that the drag objects had calculations associated with them--you can tell if you see a "="
on the upper left of an icon. If you select Modify>Icon>Calculation (or Ctrl-=), you can see or edit
the calculation. In this case it was Movable:=false. Removing this calculation made it possible to move the object.

Yes, there's more to Authorware than I covered in lecture!

Prof Blank