Lesson 4

Putting in Buttons and Giving them Actions

You can put in buttons the same way you insert a graphic or text object. Go to Objects>Add button

Once you have done this a dialogue box will appear and you have several button options. You can choose the shape of the button by choosing the numbered options 1-8. Number 3 and 8 will be invisible buttons that can be set with an automatic timer to make them work. Number 6 and 8 will let you draw a lasso around a specific shape, like an object or a place on a map, to make it a “hot-spot” to go to another card with more information or even a sound or video file.

You can name your button. You must do this for NBA’s to work on the button. If you want the button name to show, check the Show Name box located at the bottom left of the dialogue box. You can also choose the color of the button name and the background color. You can add an icon or image to the button in addition to or instead of using the text name. There are many icons to choose from.

Once you have chosen how your button will look, you will insert it onto the card and a dialogue box will appear giving you the choice of what actions or features you want to give the button. You can go to another card in the stack, go to the next card, previous card, another stack of cards, or even another program or web site (hyperlink). You can choose Go to URL if you want to link this button to a web site on the Internet. This can also be done by going to Objects>Hyperlink texts.

You can choose to launch a Word or PDF document or an application. The application choice will be an executable file (Exe. file) that will launch that program.

The file icon will look like this:

An action can also be to insert a sound or video. You have to choose where to get the file from. Sound choices can come from the samples shown on this dialogue box. Yu can also choose from the Disk Library of sounds. Choose your sound file.

Once you have choose you sound file, click ok to insert it. Determine if you want it stored within the HyperStudio stack or not. If the file is pretty big, you will want to hyperlink it to the file itself instead of with the stack. Storing a large sound file will increase the size of the HyperStudio stack.

To insert a movie you click on Play a movie or video. Choose a movie file from the Disk Library or from your own video source.

Select the movie file and click ok when you are done. You can choose to erase the movie when finished playing, play over objects on the card (if it does not matter they are covered up while the movie is playing), put in a movie controller to give the user an option of pausing, stopping or replaying the movie/video. You can also have the movie replay by choosing Loop movie and show the first frame of the movie before it plays. Click Try it! to test the movie to see if it is what you want. Click Position to drag the movie box where you want it on the card. You can choose another movie or video if you need to. Click ok to finish.

You can use Actions for any text object, graphic or button. A button lets the user know that there is something else they can see or do if they click on it.

To learn more about the NBA, Blabbermouth go to this page NBA-Blabbermouth. Click on the link on that page to view the instructional video for this NBA.

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Now you are ready for the quiz:

HyperStudio Quiz for Lessons 1-4