A Tinderbox Reference File

Update Status: aTbRef source TBX last updated: Thu, 11 Apr 2024 12:35:06 +0100 :: RSS 2.0 Feed :: Atom 1.0 Feed :: JSON 1.0 Feed.

"aTbRef" (A Tinderbox Reference) is a reference file aboutTinderbox's objects and functions, from which this website is generated since 2004. It has been written and updated by Mark Anderson, a long-time user of Tinderbox (see more) and it is offered to the Tinderbox community as a free public service under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA licence (licence details); voluntary donations to help defray costs are welcomed—see the link at the bottom of all pages.

Current Version: v9.7.3b673 (10 Apr 2024)

Version Baseline: this aTbRef95 website is baselined on v9.5.0b597 (released 8 December 2022) and includes changes up to and including v9.7.3b673 (10 Apr 2024). To look at changes to the app over time, see other baselines, based on older versions. Also see Eastgate's version release pages and release dates of versions prior to the current baseline.

Change Log: see this section for significant per-release changes in and since the baseline release (above) for this re-release of aTbRef. In-text references to per-release changes prior to the baseline have been removed as they are now baseline features; some may remain if still pertinent to understanding the app's functioning. If a page is listed as created a version not in the Change Log, it is simply because it has been exported using a (non-public) beta build.

Quicklinks: a set of 'quicklinks' to key listings within aTbRef are at the top and bottom of every page. It includes a the sitemap which is the closest there is to an index for aTbRef, and a search page (using fuzzy search).

Contents:

Understanding the layout of aTbRef webpages

Basic Configuration & Concepts

• Install, Uninstall, Support & Registration
• Objects in Tinderbox
• Concepts for Automation
• Preferences & Document Settings

Coding in Tinderbox

• Attributes
• Actions, Rules & Action Code
• Agents & Queries
• Export Codes 
• Deprecated usage (old stuff to avoid!)

User Interface Basics

• Document Windows
  • Document Tabs
  • View pane
  • Text pane
  • Secondary ('tear off') windows
  • Inspector
• Menus
• Dialogs
• Visual Styling
  • Tinderbox Predefined Colours (chart)
  • Shapes, Patterns, Borders & Fills (chart)

Using Tinderbox

• Misc. User Interface Aspects
• Formatting
• Import
• Export
• Keyboard Shortcuts

Under The Hood

• Tinderbox Support folder
• Tinderbox File Types
• Syntax Library (TBX file format, AppleScript)

Resources

• About aTbRef (origin, colophon, getting the source TBX, etc.)
• Tinderbox Documentation & Other Resources
• Change Log
• Previous Versions
• Version release vendor URLs
• Site Map

REMARKS AND CAVEATS

Is there an index for aTbRef? An auto-index would be too noisy and a human-created one would be too much effort, especially as aTbRef is updated constantly. But the aTbRef Site Map page, used with your web browser's in page Find (⌘+F) is a pretty good substitute.

Can't find a subject? Please visit the Tinderbox User-to-User forums and ask there. If doing so it helps to know how you phrase your question and where you thought you might find the answer. Sometimes the issue is simply one of terminology/process but sometimes we find something that should and is added to aTbRef (note: 'how-to' for specific tasks is not and will not be in aTbRef: it is a reference not a tutorial). This file is supposed to go along with the existing manual & release notes (available via the app's Help menu) as well as the Tinderbox forum.

This is not a how-to/tutorial. Although aTbRef contains some examples of use, it is not, by design, a 'how-to' resource. 'how-to' questions are best addressed by the Tinderbox forum. Its main aim is to serve as an "on the go" (online) as well as a personal (TBX file) reference to Tinderbox use.

Use and re-use. This file is shared "as is", the author will not be held responsible for its content; it may be used/republished under a Creative Commons Licence.