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Inside Macintosh: Apple Guide Complete / Part 4 - Scripting Guide Files

Chapter 10 - Guide Script Command Reference / Guide Script Command Descriptions

/ Creating Sequences

<Define Sequence>

You use the <Define Sequence> command to mark the beginning of a sequence definition. A sequence definition typically contains commands that specify the panels of the sequence and the conditions that control their order of display. Apple Guide displays a sequence when the user selects the sequence's associated topic from an access window.

<Define Sequence> sequenceName [, seqDisplayTitle ]

sequenceName

A text string specifying the name of the sequence. The sequence name can be up to 255 characters long, and the first 63 characters must be unique from all other sequence names in your file. If you do not specify the seqDisplayTitle parameter, Apple Guide uses the sequence name as the sequence display title, which appears in the title bar of the sequence's presentation window.

seqDisplayTitle

A text string specifying the display title of the sequence. The sequence display title can be up to 255 characters long and does not have to be unique. This parameter is optional. However, you must specify this parameter if you intend to localize your guide file using Guide Maker's localize feature.

If you specify this parameter, Apple Guide uses this string rather than the sequence name as the sequence display title. The sequence display title appears in the title bar of the sequence's presentation window.

DESCRIPTION

To build a sequence, Guide Maker collects all the commands between a <Define Sequence> and <End Sequence> command. Each sequence must have a unique sequence name. A sequence also has a sequence display title, which Apple Guide displays in the title bar of the sequence's presentation window. If you don't specify a sequence title in the second parameter of the <Define Sequence> command, Apple Guide uses the sequence name as the sequence display title. Apple Guide always displays a sequence title for a sequence, except in these two cases:

• Apple Guide does not display the sequence title of a subsequence. Instead, Apple Guide continues to display the main sequence title.
• Apple Guide does not display the sequence title of an Oops or Continue sequence. Instead, Apple Guide continues to display the main sequence title.

To include panels in a sequence, either use the <Panel> command (which references a defined panel) or define the panel within the sequence by placing the <Define Panel> and <End Panel> commands directly within the sequence itself. Either method works equally well; if you often reuse panels or want to see a quick synopsis of a sequence, use <Panel> commands. If you prefer to keep the definition of a panel with its sequence, define the panel directly within the sequence.

You can also specify conditional display of panels, using the <If>, <Else>, <End If>, <Skip If>, <Make Sure>, <Start Making Sure>, and <End Making Sure> commands.

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS

A sequence can have at most 32 panels, except for any panels added using the <Jump Sequence> command.

EXAMPLES

#sequence name and sequence title are different
<Define Sequence> "SequenceChangeWordFont", \xAC
            "How do I change the font of a word?" #seqTitle
<End Sequence>
#sequence name and sequence title are the same
<Define Sequence> "How do I open a file?"
<End Sequence>
#sequence name and sequence title are the same but both are
# specified for ease of localization
<Define Sequence> "How do I close a file?", \xAC
                  "How do I close a file?"
<End Sequence>
#sequence with panels referenced by <Panel> commands
<Define Sequence> "How do I create index markers?"
   <Panel> "index intro"   
   <Panel> "index tool"
   <Panel> "create index"
<End Sequence>
#sequence with panels defined within
<Define Sequence> "How do I create index markers?"
   <Define Panel> "creating index markers"
      To create index markers, select the index tool.
      #More text and commands for this panel here
   <End Panel> 
<End Sequence>

SEE ALSO

For information on the <Panel>, <Define Panel>, and <End Panel> commands, see page 10-45, page 10-52, and page 10-56, respectively. For information on the conditional display of panels, see "Specifying Conditional Execution" beginning on page 10-152.