>
>Dear list
>
>Over this last weekend I downloaded both Metacard and RealBasic. As a
>competent Hypercard programmer, I would obviously prefer the XTalk of
>Metacard. However, the presentation of Metacard is amateurish and
>offputting. If it weren't for my Hypercard experience I would quickly write
>off Metacard as junk and purchase RealBasic.
Good thing you knew better than that and persisted...
You are not alone though; many new users are put off by the GUI of the development
environment
which is not the strong point with Metacard but the richness of language and speed of
execution are. If you can pass the initial impression and actually build something
you'll get the rewards.
Also don't hesitate to ask the list. Although I disliked the GUI of MC when I started
to use it now I feel It doesn't really matter when one takes the whole into account.
Besides, when you get more familiar with the language you can make it any way you want.
>
>The first thing I wanted to do was to use the tutorials. RealBasic tutorial
>was straightforward, attractive and successful. Metacard tutorial was none
>of those things. Initially I couldn't even find it! The tutorial is
>accessible via the mchelp.mc stack but doesn't appear anywhere else.
>Wouldn't it be sensible to make it obvious that there is a tutorial hidden
>somewhere within the downloaded stuff?
>
>Card 2 of the application tutorial has instructions for opening the
>Metacard menu bar BUT ONLY FOR UNIX AND WINDOWS! As far as I recall, I
>downloaded the Mac version. I found by random clicking that clicking on the
>words "Metacard menu bar" would open it. That hypertext or hot link is
>indicated only by bold text. Surely if you want me to click on a link you
>should make it look like a link. How about underlined colored text? That
>would do it for me.
>
>Now I have got the "Metacard menu bar *" visible (don't know what the
>asterisk is for). Why not try a bit more random clicking? It worked for me
>last time. Well, when I clicked the arrow button I got into a mode where I
>could move the buttons around, but I couldn't get back to the browse (?
>hand) tool. It then seemed sensible to close the Metacard menu bar and
>start again. I clicked the close box and declined the offer to save my
>changes. However, when I reopened the Metacard menu bar I was again in edit
>mode! The titlebar of the Metacard menu bar is now hidden behind my
>menubar! I am stuck and can go no further in the tutorial.
>
>If I persist, how many more of these hurdles should I expect to fall on?
>
>This definitely a big turnoff. So are the ugly (Unix-like?) buttons and
>dialog boxes. After lurking this list for a long time I thought that I was
>tready to start playing around with Metacard, but I find that your program
>interface and tutorial are not ready for me.
>
>The Mac is a pleasant platform to work on because application developers
>are made to take responsibility for the drudgery of getting it right and
>consistent. I take care of the interface of the programs that I develop:
>you should take care of Metacard.
>
>Michael J. Lew
>
>Lecturer
>Department of Pharmacology
>The University of Melbourne
>Parkville 3010
>Victoria
>Australia
>
>Phone +63 8344 8304
>
>Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/metacard%40lists.best.com/
>Info: http://www.xworlds.com/metacard/mailinglist.htm
>Please send bug reports to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, not this list.
>
>.
Regards, Andu
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