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Sunday, March 19, 2006

Must-have Resources for Authorware

It has been 18 years since I first saw Authorware (then Course of Action) in grad school and 15 years since I first drew a paycheck from using it. Once again I am deep into Authorware development. I'm updating some projects to make better use of Javascript and XML technology as well as improvements to Authorware itself. Here are 3 "must-have" resources:

Click Craft Find & Fix Command- A multitasking necktop known as Ron Lubensky offers an incredible, scriptable, automated way to find and fix virtually anything in an Authorware file. A nice intuitive UI lets you select properties to find/change, including content of Calculation icons or even the ability to paste in new models. If you use Authorware, go buy this. It is the best $36 USD you can spend if you already own Authorware.
Javascript for Authorware- A must have resource with examples and gotchas for those who must bounce between Authorware Scripting Language and Javascript. Check out the online Table of Contents for a better idea. A veryhandy reference by Joe Ganci and Chris Swenson of DazzleTech. (if you have trouble finding it on their site, follow this path: Products > Digital books > Javascript for Authorware). It costs $50 USD.
JavaScript Quick Reference for Authorware 7.0- Again, Ron comes from down under and goes over the top. A free Javascript-Authorware reference that integrates with Authorware 7, including "snippet integration" with the Calculation icon. Most excellent!

I bought/downloaded all of these myself last week and am quite happy. There's nothing in it for me to recommend these resources, other than sharing good authoring karma. While I'm at it, be sure to check out Andrew Lucking's blog. I've seen Andrew on Authorware forums and around the net, and I finally had a chance to meet him at the AICC meetings in January 2006. His blog has good stuff on elearning, Authorware, web development, video encoding Flash and more. Moreover, I actually find the occasional flyer about boat construction to be quite interesting.

posted by Tom King : 8:50 PM

Comments:

Hiya Tom,

I know you focused on tools in this post but I just had to mention that the Aware list must be *the* mailing list for anyone using Authorware.

Was good to finally meet ya in San Diego. And I'm glad you don't find my boat related posts too much clutter - still trying to find a way to combine the two interests;-)

A.

# posted by

andrew lucking : 6:23 AM

Thanks for the kind words and links, Tom!

# posted by

rlubensky : 6:58 PM

Authorware maybe the only application I no longer use that I really miss. It was the first learning development I ever did and I have been working in the same field since. So I owe a lot to AW.

There is just not the need to use it in my current company. That is too bad considering how much I enjoyed working with it. The panicle of my Authorware days was developing ArcadeFX. It was not a learning application so it doesn't really apply. But search Google for it. Be warned I have not updated the website it about 2 years so it is very out of date. I hope some day to pick it back up for development.

# posted by

Ed Husar : 11:59 AM

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