You can customize The Virtual Meetings User Interface by adding Macintosh resources to the TVM Preferences file. New menus and menu commands can be added to The Conference Gateway application. When a menu command is chosen a TVM script is executed. TVM Scripts can contain any of the TVM script commands or any AppleScript commands. Control panels have buttons or icons that can also run TVM scripts. Added control panels can be displayed using one of the TVM script commands. Tools like ResEdit and ViewEdit can be used to create the necessary menus, control panels and script resources.
You will want to customize the meeting system for your organization. The first thing you will probably want to do is create a "Participants" file with pictures of all the participants in a conference. The Participants file is a Macintosh resource file that contains photographs of the people that will be in a meeting. You can create a file like this using a the PICT File To Resource Converter application which can be found in the Utilities folder of the System Extensions disk. The PICT File To Resource Converter application allows you to create a new file and add photographs that are located in Macintosh PICT files. In order to prepare to use the PICT File To Resource Converter application you should scan or digitize the photographs of each participant into separate PICT files and name each file with that persons TVM user name.
Another way to set up the file is to paste all the pictures into a Macintosh Scrapbook. The Macintoshıs Scrapbook is a resource file that contains PICT resources. Its not as simple as taking a scrapbook file and renaming it "Participants" though. You will need to use ResEdit to name the PICT resources with the TVM user names of each participant manually. You can also do this with a tool like ResEdit or Adobe PhotoShop. You can look at the sample "Participants" file that is provided with the TVM system and use it as a guide.
You will also want to create a "Moderator" file with a PICT resource in it containing a Picture of the Moderator.
You may also want t to create a "Panelists" file with a PICT resources in it containing a Pictures of the Panelists in a panel discussion.
What else can be customized in the TVM system.
Lots
Most of the functions in the system are scriptable. Customized control panels or menus can be added to the system to allow you to adapt the system more precisely to your organizations needs. Added Menus and control panels run scripts. There are over 60 commands that can be included in a script. Because these script commands and access to the rest of the conference can be achieved using Apple Events. New applications can be created to extend the systems functionality using the AppleEvent API. These applications can be created in traditional programming environments or developed with ease using Clarisıs HyperCard. A disk full of HyperCard examples is included for your examination.
Developers Kits are available from RTZ.
Consulting Services are available from RTZ
Customized Modifications of the System are available from RTZ
Copyright 1996 by Seth Snyder All Rights Reserved