erkyrath.infocom-zcode-terps/mac/refcard.doc

Interactive Fiction Reference Card for the Apple Macintosh
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I.  What You Need

Required

  [] Apple Macintosh Computer

Optional

  [] Extra 3 1/2 inch disks (for SAVEs)

  [] Second disk drive (for convenience with SAVEs)

  [] Expanded memory and/or a hard disk drive (for faster execution)

  [] Apple Imagewriter or compatible printer (for SCRIPTing)


II.  Making a Backup Copy

  You are encouraged to make a backup copy of the story for your

personal use in case the original disk becomes unusable.

  When you start the story from a copy, it will pause to eject

the copy and ask for your original ("master") story disk.

When you insert the original disk, it will eject it and continue.

The original disk will not be needed at any other time during the

course of the story.


III.  Starting the Story [*]

  Turn on the Macintosh, insert the story disk, and wait for

the desktop to appear on the screen.  Click once with the mouse on the

story icon to select it, then pull down the File menu and choose Open.

A standard shortcut is to double-click on the story icon.


[*]  If you have an International Macintosh, run the

Localizer program once before you start the story for the first time.

It contains further instructions and adjusts the keyboard software.

If you have a U.S. Macintosh, you don't need the Localizer.


IV.  Talking to the Story

  Whenever you see the prompt (>), the story is waiting for your

instructions.  You may type a full line of instructions at a time.

If you make a mistake, use the backspace key to erase the error.

When you have finished typing in your instructions, press the RETURN

key.  The story will respond and the prompt (>) will reappear.

  If a description will not fit on the screen all at once,  **MORE** 

will appear at the bottom of the screen.  After reading the screen, 

press any key to see the rest of the description.


V.  The Status Line

  Near the top of the screen, you will see a status line.  This

line is updated after every move to show your current location in the

story.  Depending upon the type of story, it may also show other

information:

Score and Moves

  In stories that keep a score, such as the ZORK underground adventures,

the right side of the status line will show something like this:

          Score: 245/920

  The first number is your score and the second is the total number

of moves you have made.  In the example above, you have 245 points

in 920 moves.

Time

  In stories that keep track of the time, such as the mystery thriller

DEADLINE, the right side of the status line will look something like

the following:

          Time: 9:22 a.m.

  This shows the current time of day in the story.


VI.  SCRIPTing

  The SCRIPT function is an optional feature which is not necessary

to complete the story and may not be available with certain hardware.

A printer must be connected directly to the serial printer port on

the back of the Macintosh, and a driver for the printer must be installed 

on the story disk.

  If the SCRIPT command works with your hardware configuration, you

may make a transcript as you go along:

  1.  Connect the printer to the printer port.  Turn on the printer and 

make sure that it is ready for printing.

  2.  Start the story as described above.  To start the transcript,

type SCRIPT at the prompt (>).  To stop the transcript, type UNSCRIPT.

Note that SCRIPT is available only with a draft quality font.

  3.  SCRIPT and UNSCRIPT may be used as often as desired.


VII.  Saving a Story Position

  You can save your current story position to any disk in any drive, space

permitting.  A SAVE typically requires 10 to 20 Kbytes of free space

on the storage disk.  Other data on the storage disk will not be affected.

  1.  Type SAVE at the prompt (>).  A standard Macintosh dialog box

will be displayed.  The name of the default storage disk appears in the 

upper right corner of the box.

  2.  If you want to save your position to the default storage disk,

skip step 2.  Otherwise, if you have one disk drive, click on the EJECT 

button.  Remove the disk from the drive and insert another storage disk.

If you have more than one drive, click on the DRIVE button until the 

name of the desired storage disk appears as the default.

  3.  Choose a file name under which to save your position and type

it into the box.  The name can be up to 63 characters long.  Note that

Macintosh file names cannot contain the colon character (:).

  4.  Click on the SAVE button.  If you want to cancel the save operation, 

click on the CANCEL button.


  The disk drive will then spin for several seconds.  If all is well, 

the story will respond:

  OK

  If it responds:

  FAILED

consult the troubleshooting section.

  You may now continue the story.  You can use the storage disk

and the RESTORE command to return to this position at another time.


VIII.  Restoring a Saved Story Position

  1.  Type RESTORE at the prompt (>).  A standard dialog box will appear, 

showing a list of your previously saved positions on the default storage 

disk.

  2.  If you want to see a list of your saved positions on another disk, 

click on the EJECT or DRIVE button as in Section VII.

  3.  Click once with the mouse over the name of the position you

want to restore, then click on the OPEN button.  If you want to cancel

the restore operation, click on the CANCEL button.


  A saved position can also be restored directly from the desktop, without

waiting for the story to start in the usual way.  Follow the directions

in Section III, but select the icon for the saved position instead of the 

icon for the story.


IX.  Macintosh Features

  Stories on the Macintosh have several additional features, available 

through the menus at the top of the screen.

  1.  Apple Menu

  The usual Macintosh desk accessories are available in the Apple menu.

  2.  File Menu

  You can issue some story commands by choosing them from the File menu.

These include Save, Restore, Script, Unscript, Restart and Quit.

  3.  Edit Menu

  You can do standard text editing on the instruction line.

Move the cursor around by pointing and clicking with the mouse, and use 

Cut, Copy and Paste to change or add to the text.  Press RETURN when you 

have finished editing.

  4.  Font Menu and Size Menu

  The text of the story can be displayed in different fonts and font sizes.

The available ones are listed here.  You can add to or subtract from 

this list by using the standard Font Mover utility.  Note that

you should not remove Monaco font from the list, as it may be required 

by the story.


X.  Troubleshooting

A.  If the story fails to load properly, or if SAVE, RESTORE or SCRIPT

fails, check each of the following items.  If none of these offers a solution,

consult your Apple dealer for assistance.

  1. Inspect all disks carefully for any visible damage.

  2. For SAVEs, make sure the SAVE disk is not write-protected (the small 

opening in the corner of the disk should be closed).

  3. For SCRIPTing, make sure the printer is connected properly, enabled 

for printing, not out of paper, etc.

  4. Try again, the problem may only be momentary.

  If all else fails, you can call the Infocom TECHNICAL HOTLINE at

(617) 576-3190.	 Please note that this number is for technical problems only.


B.  If you receive an error message, run the following procedure:

  After booting the disk and receiving an initial screen, type $VERIFY.

The disk drive will spin for a minute or less, and a message similar to

one of the following will appear.

  1.  [as before]

  2.  [as before]