AG Author is intended for use by experienced Apple Guide developers who
require access to virtually all of the features of Apple Guide. Although
AG Author automatically generates much of the script needed to build a powerful
Apple Guide help system, developers still require at least a basic knowledge
of Apple Guide in order to leverage AG Author to its full advantage.
AG Author is positioned as a full-featured alternative to other Apple Guide
authoring tools. Click here
for a comparison of AG Author and other Apple Guide authoring tools. Click
here
to read a review of AG Author that was recently contributed to the Apple
Guide mailing list. Look for a review of AG Author in an upcoming issue
of MacTech Magazine.
AG Author incorporates complete guide script support for the following Apple
Guide elements: panel & sequence scripts, text blocks, panel formats,
prompt sets, nav buttons, nav button sets, buttons (standard, radio, checkbox,
3D), PICT images, Quicktime movies, coach marks (menu, window, item, object,
applescript), hot items (object, rectangle, text), events, event lists,
and context checks.
AG Author supports all types of guide files, including Full Access, Single List, and Presentation type guide files. Multiple projects can be open for editing simultaneously
Other features include: a WYSIWYG List Manager, flexible compile options, a find & replace tool for scripts, printing support, an auto-indexer for synonyms lists, and integrated support for styled and colored text.
You typically begin a new project by choosing the type of guide file you
wish to create from AG Author's File menu (i.e. Full Access, Single
List, or Presentation).
Next, you specify the Project Globals for your guide file. AG Author conveniently locates all of the project globals for Apple Guide within a single window that has multiple views.
The next step is to brainstorm the topic areas, index terms, headers, and topics for your guide file in AG Author's List Manager. The List Manager shows a WYSIWYG view of the contents of your guide file and allows you to associate each topic with the sequence that it triggers. The List Manager window is also used to specify the Ignore, Exception, and Synonym lists.
The next two steps require you to 1) define the individual media elements that make up your guide file (e.g. coach marks, 3D buttons, context checks) and 2) create the sequence and panel scripts that display the help content to users. You have two choices in how you manage these two steps.
You can choose to define all of your Apple Guide media using AG Author's Definition Factory and then insert these media elements into the scripts you create. Alternatively, you can begin creating the sequence and panel scripts in the Script Editor and create/insert each media element in a single step.
AG Author's Script Editor functions as a basic word processor with options that allow you to search & replace and format text. As well, you can use the Script Editor's menu-driven interface to automatically insert statements, text blocks, and media elements into the scripts you create.
Finally, you need to compile the guide file and test and debug the guide file as required. AG Author provides you with numerous compile options and imports a compile log that alerts you to any errors that were encountered during the compile process.
Open the Preferences window to specify a number of optional settings for
AG Author. Open the Project Template to customize virtually any parameter
of an AG Author project. Since the Project Template is used as the basis
for creating all new projects, any changes made here will be reflected in
the projects you create henceforth. By customizing the Project Template
you can:
Scripts in AG Author can be opened in several ways. You can double-click
on the name of the script in the Definition Factory. You can open the twenty
most recently viewed panel and sequence scripts by selecting them from the
arrow pop-down menus in the Script Editor. When scripts are locked, you
can double-click on the names of panel and sequence scripts in the script
you are currently editing and immediately be navigated to them. Finally,
you can open sequence scripts from the List Manager window.