S5 1.1b3
Well, there was time off for the holidays, but now S5 is back and ready to increment its beta number. So, without too much ado: S5 1.1b3 (248KB ZIP file). Here’s the current testbed presentation, for those who just want to play around with it. Because of the long holiday break, I want to add another beta round or two just to work out as many kinks as possible. So this isn’t the last version before going final on 1.1; still, I’m interested in any problems that people encounter.
There’s really only one notable change from the previous version. I incorporated Jordan Liggitt’s “type slide number” code into this version. Why his, when others have done similar things? Because his version was well-marked with comments, and thus easy for me to figure out what he’d done and how he’d done it. So here’s how it works:
- If the user types a number (multi-digit is allowed), the script stores the number. Inputting any non-number key clears the entered number.
- If the user hits Enter/Return while there is a number stored, the slide show jumps to that slide. Any attempt to jump directly to a slide past the end of the slide show results in no action, although the number is still cleared.
- Hitting any of the “Next” or “Previous” keys while there is a number entered causes the slide show to skip the number entered in the appropriate direction. Thus, entering “3″ and hitting the space bar would jump forward three slides; entering 5 and hitting Page Up would jump backward five slides. Skipping past the end of the slide show will drop you on the title slide, which is something I’m thinking about changing, though I’m not entirely certain in what way.
I’m mulling over which keys should invoke which jumping behavior. For example, a couple of times I’ve typed a slide number and then hit the space bar to advance directly to that slide. Instead, I jumped forward by that number, which is correct but obviously not what I was subconsciously expecting. So I’m thinking about further restricting the keys that trigger the “jump n slides” behavior. Anyone have suggestions based on other slide show software?
At this stage, I’m likely to put off adding the multiple-author meta that I toyed with in earlier versions. The general need is still there, but I’m just not able to think the problem through with the kind of clarity I want. It will have to wait for another day. I’m also dithering a bit about the licensing, though at this point I’m leaning pretty heavily toward using Expat. My hesitation is largely based on my very desire to make the right choice so that I never, ever have to worry about it again, you know?
Anyway, as always, feedback is welcome.
