HyperCard Address Stack Conversion

WebSense at aol.com WebSense at aol.com
Fri May 21 00:37:03 EDT 2004


I am in search of a solution to a seemingly simple problem.  
Ideally, I would like to find a commercial product that solves the 
problem.  I do not want to invest time and effort in developing a 
solution myself.  I have been told that Runtime Revolution might 
be a solution to the problem, but my evaluation of the product 
seems to indicate otherwise.

I have reviewed the Runtime Revolution archives, visited 
numerous Runtime Revolution related Web sites, and talked to 
several Runtime Revolution consulting firms as well as Runtime 
Revolution technical support.  No one has been able to offer a 
commercial product or an off-the-shelf solution.  I also searched 
Google with no luck.  However, several people suggested that I 
post a message to this mailing list.  The problem that I would 
like to solve is described below:

1. I have a large number of HyperCard Address stacks on an old 
   Power Macintosh system running Mac OS 8.1.  I created these 
   stacks by cloning the original HyperCard Address stack that 
   was included with the early versions of the Macintosh 
   operating system.  I have had some of these Address stacks for 
   more than 12 years.  I am currently using HyperCard Version 
   2.1.

2. I would like to convert these HyperCard Address stacks to a 
   new IBM ThinkPad T40 running Windows XP Professional.  I 
   would like to retain the creation, deletion, modification, and 
   search functions that are currently provided by HyperCard.  I 
   would also like the ability to print a single card or an entire 
   report of the stack.  I have more than 100 HyperCard Address 
   stacks to be converted.

3. I am currently using Nine to Five Reports with HyperCard to 
   generate reports on the Macintosh.  My report requirements are 
   very simple.  The report format consists of multiple cards in 
   two columns on each page of the report.  All text on each card 
   is printed on the report.  Each page is automatically filled 
   before going to the next page, and a card is never split between 
   columns or pages.  This is all done using the Nine to Five 
   Reports software.  The report header contains page numbers, a 
   title that is equal to the stack file name, and the date and time 
   of the report.

4. I am only interested in converting HyperCard Address stacks 
   from the Power Macintosh to the IBM ThinkPad T40.  I have 
   no requirement to convert any other types of stacks.  The 
   HyperCard Address stack that I am using is the original design 
   from Apple.  I have not modified it in any way.

I was led to believe that I could use Runtime Revolution to 
migrate these HyperCard Address stacks from my Macintosh to my 
ThinkPad.  After downloading and installing Runtime Revolution 
2.2, I was able to convert my HyperCard Address stacks to 
Runtime Revolution files.  Prior to conversion I compacted the 
stacks three times.  However, I encountered several problems as 
described below:

1. I tried printing an individual card using the Revolution File-
   Print Card command.  Revolution printed the card, but the 
   result was not readable.  Revolution appears to be printing the 
   text multiple times with a slight offset, making the text 
   unreadable due to overlaid printing.  Either that, or Revolution 
   has a problem with the fonts.

2. I tried generating a report using the Revolution Tools-Report 
   Builder command.  However, I was not able to print a report.  
   When I click the Print Report button at the bottom right-hand 
   side of the dialogue box, nothing happens.

3. The tried to search the card stack using the Revolution Edit-
   Find and Replace command.  This command opened the Find 
   and Replace dialogue window.  However, when I enter a text 
   string in the Find field, and press the Find button, the system 
   always reports "0 objects found".  This is true regardless of 
   whether I am searching the This Card, This Stack, or This 
   Stack File.

4. I have inspected the scripts within the stack, and all of the ones 
   that I need are working.  The problems that I am experiencing 
   are limited solely to printing cards, generating reports, and 
   searching cards for text strings.

Given the above problems, is Runtime Revolution the right product 
for the job?  If so, how do I get around these problems?  If not, do 
you have any recommendations for a product that can satisfy my 
requirements?  Again, the requirements are very simple as shown 
below:

1.    Convert HyperCard "Address" stacks from the Macintosh to the PC
2.    Provide the ability to create, delete, modify, and search cards
3.    Provide the ability to print a single card or to print an entire 
      report of cards within the stack

If you have a solution to this problem, please post your solution or 
send me an email.  I am willing to pay a reasonable price for an 
off-the-shelf solution, but I am reluctant to engage in a consulting 
contract to do customized work.  I would prefer to use a standard 
vendor product. 
Thanks,
Roy Sykes


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