controlValues
- This array contains the current value of any slider, menu,
text string, or check box control created by the graphics module
(slider, menu, text strings, and check box controls are resources and
are described later in "Control Resources"). Slider values can range
from 0 to 100 and can be interpreted however the programmer wishes.
Menu values range from 1 to the number of items in the menu with the
value representing the item currently selected. Text strings values
range from 0 to the number of strings defined. Check box values are
either 0 or 1.
- These values can be changed at any time by your module and will be
reflected in the Control Panel. To avoid confusion on the user's part,
do not change these values unless the user requests it (an exception are
text strings which may need to be changed to provide new information to
the user).
monitors
- This field is a pointer to a structure that contains the number
of monitors attached and an array of structures with information about
the monitors. The structures are defined as:
MonitorsInfo = record
monitorCount: integer;
monitorList[0..0]: MonitorData;
end;
MonitorsInfoPtr = ^MonitorsInfo;
MonitorData = packed record
bounds: Rect;
synchFlag: Boolean;
curDepth: Byte;
end;
MonitorData = ^MonitorsInfo;
- In the
MonitorsInfo structure, the "monitorCount" field is the number of
monitors attached to the Macintosh. The "monitorList" field is an array
of MonitorData structures which contains information about each monitor
attached. The first monitor in the list is always the monitor with the
menu bar (also called the "main" monitor).
- In the
MonitorData structure, the "bounds" field is the monitor's
rectangle in global coordinates. The "synchFlag" field is used to help
create smoother animation when drawing on the screen. The flag is set
to true by After Dark when a vertical blanking ("VBL") interrupt occurs.
Sufficiently rapid drawing begun immediately after this flag goes
"true" should be flicker-free. For more information about VBL
interrupts, see the Vertical Retrace Manager in Inside Macintosh Volume
2. The "curDepth" field is set to the pixel depth of the monitor.
- If more information about a monitor is needed, the routines in Inside
Macintosh can be used.
colorQDAvail
- This field indicates whether or not Color QuickDraw is
present on the Macintosh. This does not mean the Macintosh is running
in color or has a color monitor. It only means the Color QuickDraw
routines can be called. On a Macintosh SE/30 "colorQDAvail" is true.
systemConfig
- This 16 bit value is a set of flags holding information
about the configuration of the Macintosh. The flags are defined as:
- Bit 0: cqdAvail - The Macintosh has Color QuickDraw.
- Bit 1: anyMultibit - A monitor is set to greater than 1 bit in depth.
- Bit 2: allMultibit - All monitors are set to greater than 1 bit in depth.
- Bit 3: anyColor - A monitor is in color mode.
- Bit 4: allColor - All monitors are in color mode.
- Bit 5: anyCLUTDevice - A monitor is a CLUT device.
- Bit 6: allCLUTDevice - All monitors are CLUT devices.
- Bit 7: allCanDim - All monitors can dim.
- Bit 8: mainMonCanDim - The main monitor can dim.
- Bit 9: moduleMayNotAnimate - Module may not animate the color table.
- Bit 10: multiModuleRunning - Module is running under MultiModule.
- Bits 11-13: Reserved.
- Bit 14: extensionsAvailable - Module is running under After Dark 2.0u or later.
- Bit 15: soundAvail - This version of After Dark supports sound.
Note: For more information about CLUT devices, see the Color Manager in
Inside Macintosh Volume 5.
A bit is set to 1 if the corresponding statement is true. Bit 0 is the
rightmost (least-significant) bit.
If a module requires more information about the Macintosh than
"hasColorQD" and "systemConfig" provide, use the SysEnvirons() or
Gestalt() routines documented in Inside Macintosh.
qdGlobalsCopy
- A code resource cannot directly access the QuickDraw
global variables. Because they are quite useful, a read-only copy of
them has been provided. The field "qdGlobalsCopy" is a pointer to the
structure QDGlobals. This structure is defined as:
QDGlobals = record
qdThePort: GrafPtr;
qdWhite: Pattern;
qdBlack: Pattern;
qdGray: Pattern;
qdLtGray: Pattern;
qdDkGray: Pattern;
qdArrow: Cursor;
qdScreenBits: BitMap;
qdRandSeed: Longint;
end;
QDGlobalsPtr = ^QDGlobals;
If you are unfamiliar with any of these values or QuickDraw Globals in
general, see Inside Macintosh Volume 1.
brightness
- This field is used by a graphics module to tell After Dark to
dim the monitors to a certain level. The values range from 0 (black) to
255 (normal). A module need only place a value in this field and After
Dark will dim all of the monitors to the specified level. This only
works if the "allCanDim" or "mainMonCanDim" bit in the systemConfig
field is set.
demoRect
- When After Dark is in "Demo Mode", this field contains the
global coordinates of the controls area. When After Dark is not in
"Demo Mode" it contains an empty rectangle. This field is useful if a
graphics module does something special when After Dark is in "Demo
Mode."
errorMessage
- If your module returns an error code to After Dark, a short
message can be displayed explaining the problem. Before your module
returns, copy a message into the Str255 string pointed at by
'errorMessage'. This can be done with the Macintosh routine
BlockMove(). After Dark will display this message on the screen and
will take over animation.
sndChannel
- If a module wants to use sound, it needs a sound channel. By
adding a resource of type 'Chnl' (described in the section "Sound
Resources") to your module, After Dark will allocate a sound channel and
place a pointer to it in the 'sndChannel' field. To add sound to your
module, see the next section "Using Sound".
adVersion
- This field contains the version of After Dark in Binary Coded
Decimal (BCD) format. For After Dark 2.0, this field contains the value
0x0200 hexadecimal, 512 decimal.
Programming