Digital Workshop

Background
Let me set the scene by explaining what I'm trying to do.

1. I'm working on several educational projects. The current batch is aimed at the pre-reading level. I'm trying to give each of these a similar look and feel so the users will feel a familiarity.

2. To achieve this degree of familiarity, I use similar instructional, reinforcement, and testing techniques. I build these around similar styles of text and graphic objects. In an attempt to reduce boredom, I try to implement as much animation as is relevant.

3. I build a front-end for each pub to explain how the pub works. Because each front-end is similar and short (about 5-6 pages), I keep one as a template and cobble it onto each pub, and then make any of the changes that might be necessary.

I used to make these front-ends as separate stand-alone .exes and launch the main file from within the front-end.

That worked great, until the current pubs which have gone to the next level of complexity -- for me, not for the users

The current issue
These new pubs include a variety of sounds and colours which I use as part of various self-correcting techniques. I've used these successfully in earlier pubs, but feedback is that the sameness of these colours and sounds can be boring. Therefore, the need for a set-up front-end where the users can change the settings.

Currently, with the integrated front-end, it's a pretty simple matter to create publication and page variables which, when used appropriately, can control things like:
(i) Sound On/Off; (iii) Background music On/Off; Speech On/Off; and (iv) the selection of background colours.

Does anyone have any experience or suggestions?
Having the set-up front-end as a separate pub, poses challenges which I have not yet successfully overcome, largely because I have limited or no experience with what I believe is involved. I'd like some indications that success might be possible before I waste hours by going down a path that isn't practical.

Basically, I need to be able to record the setup choices and make them available to the launched program.

1. Passing parameters when launching a file.
This seemed to be an obvious choice, but I'm missing something because I've never been able to get it to work.

2. Other options
Storing the results in a text file.
Writing the results to the Registry.
Storing the results in an INI file.

These last 3 seem like they should work, but I have no experience with any of them.

If someone has had great success with any of these, for similar purposes, I'll try and master the techniques involved.

I look forward to being motivated

I like the problem you set up. I played with INI files some time ago, as a way to preset a few variables for simple graphics objects. I was not thinking two pubs using one control file, but don't see why not.

The INI file content is easy to view, and easy to read/write. So I'd suggest trying that out. Also you could have INI "sections" that apply to Pub A and not to B... and vice versa.

You could create say 3 'preset' INI files, and have 1 for user customizing. (or something more complex). I hope others here have more specific ideas including recommending directory/path for shared stuff (that won't get removed if pub is uninstalled).

Hi Ray,

Thanks for the heads-up email.

I always use the registry for this purpose. Both the Scroggle and Plethos demo allow you to set options that are read when the program runs and thus allows the use to have the same config each time. I write to both the machine (for registration & organisation details) and the user (for program specific options) branches.

The only issue I've discovered is under vista, you have to specific run the opus publication as ADMIN to write to the machine branch. This is logical of course, but as I'm always logged in as admin under XP, I missed it with this new security check in Vista.

All interaktiv products write to a brach called Interaktiv or IMS. I do the whole thing via scripts and it's straightforward. I choose this way over INIs as in 5.5 there was no way to write to an INI Key unless you treated it as a text file which seemed rather long winded.

For storing 'options' info I'd hightlightly recommend this method.

Mack

Ray –

Since the opening “customized” template is only 4-5 Pages, I would just copy & paste them into a New Pub, modify them, then start with the actual content. I would NOT mess around with multiple Pubs and trying to pass variables. This becomes even more complex IF you are working from a CD-ROM.

If you are committed to having multiple Pubs, then I’d capture info from the first Pub, and pass the information to variables on the computer’s hard drive, then when you Launch the second Pub, I’d have my first Page have a Frame with an "On Show" which reads the Variables you just wrote from Pub #1. Writing variables to files or into the Registry depend on the degree of security you want. INI files would only work when you start the first Pub.