Discussion Groups

HyperCard Newsgroup
People participating in this newsgroup range from beginners to experts. It's not nearly as active as the mailing list, but it can still be a good resource. Point your web browser to <news:comp.sys.mac.hypercard>, or if you're on AOL go to keyword "Newsgroups".

AOL's HyperCard Forum
This forum used to be one of the focal points of the HyperCard community, with very active message boards, weekly chats, and a huge library of stacks. Unfortunately it now receives very little traffic due to the increasing number of free web resources and because it's hard to even find it in AOL's maze of forums. You must join AOL before you can access their HyperCard area. At AOL's web site you can find out how to sign up for AOL.

Web Sites

Apple Sites

Apple's HyperCard Site -- The good news is that Apple has an official HyperCard site. The bad news is that it's rarely updated and much of the info there is outdated. For example, the site talks about future HyperCard updates, but actually Apple is not currently working on a new version of HyperCard.

Apple Store -- You can buy the full version of HyperCard here for around $99. Or at least you could when I wrote this; I don't know how long they'll continue to carry it. Go to the Software section and scroll down. (Note: The U.S. Apple store will not ship out of the country.)

Apple's HyperCard Download Site-- This is the place to download HyperCard updaters and the free HyperCard Player. (Note: People often ask me where they can download the older versions of HyperCard that were included free with every new Mac. Unfortunately you can't legally download older versions anywhere, not even at Apple's site, because technically they weren't free, they were bundled software.)

Apple Manuals -- You can download a HyperCard manual here.

The HyperCard Community

+ = A site of special interest

Anthony's Home Page -- Stacks and XCMDs by Anthony DeRobertis

Armadillo Games Home Page -- Greg Gillis

Asanuma's Homepage -- educational stacks by Hiromi Asanuma

Ben's HyperCard Page -- Ben Lawson

Bry-Back Manor -- children's software

Cafenet -- Brian Thomas; author of "If Monks Had Macs". Very nice site!

c@ -- Catherine Kunicki; HC programming, interface graphics, animation

Charles Kelly's HyperCard Stacks

Classroom Quizshow -- Educational software made with HC by Steve McNut. Allows teachers to create their own "game shows" to teach and test students.

Core Development Group -- HyperCard XCMDs

Crunchy Pickle Software -- stacks by Ben Sharvy

Danny Goodman -- author of "The Complete HyperCard Handbook"

Eastgate Systems - "Serious HyperText" -- Three of their works are available only in HyperCard -- Integrams, by Jim Rosenberg; Marble Springs, by Deena Larsen; and Uncle Buddy's Funhouse, by John McDaid

Exploration in Education -- HyperCard Picturebooks of NASA photos

Flair Interactive -- HyperCard games

Fourth World Developer Embassy -- Richard Gaskin, president.

Francois Le Ralle HyperCard Home Page -- French/English site with info and stacks

Gerald Anfossi -- Gerald Anfossi, author of Kali. Gerald has translated several HyperCard Heaven pages into French and posted them (with permission) at his site!

Gypsy King Software -- HyperCard games

Hargl Productions -- Jean-Marc Juler; StackScriptsEE editing tool

+ HyperActive Software -- An outstanding site by Jacque (pronounced "Jackie") Gay, a professional developer and one of the leaders of the HC community. Check out the Resources section of her site for scripting tips, stacks to download, HC success stories, extensive info on HC viruses, and much more.

HyperCard II GS Articles -- A little-known fact is that a color version of HyperCard was created for the Apple IIgs computer. The author of the articles at this site says, "This sibling of Mac version of HC is still available for free from Apple and can run on a Mac with the help of a IIgs emulator such as Bernie to the Rescue."

+ The HyperCard FAQ This link takes you to the site of Peter Fleck, the author of the HyperCard FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions). There you'll find links to read the FAQ online or download it as a stack. You might also want to read the article I wrote about the FAQ. A French translation of that article (translated by Gerald Anfossi) is also available.

HyperCard for Language Learning -- HC resources compiled by Claire Bradin Siskin

+ HyperCard Resource Page -- This site by Simon Hayes is one of the best places to find HyperCard links and information.

HyperJoe Software -- stacks by Joe Stenger

HyperGames

Hypermania Games -- games by Harvey Jones and Blair Heuer

HyperSuperware -- Educational stacks by Joe Hammons

HyperStackz Home Page -- Stacks

HyperTA -- HC Authoring Extension by Tom Field

HyperWorld -- stacks by Boabob and Sharkhunter

Info-Mac HyperCard -- Download site where you'll find hundreds of XCMDs and stacks. Also mirrored here.

Information Workshop, The -- Mark Hanrek; software components

Jeanne's House O' HyperCard -- Jeanne DeVoto; co-author of "HyperTalk 2.2: The Book"

Jonathan Cooper's Web Site -- Stacks, articles, and links

Jon Pugh's Home Page -- Jon Pugh; HyperCard and Applescript

JR's All About Macs Page -- JR Spacer; stacks and links

KB Productions -- games by Karl Becker

Kids Domain -- Grace Sylvan (software made with HC and other apps)

LD Resources (formerly Poor Richard's Software)-- Richard Wanderman, who was the subject of a HyperCard Heaven interview; lots of nice stacks and info about coping with learning disabilities

Literature and Poetry Page -- Bill Massey; several nice stacks

LittleFish (and a related site here) -- Primary school software by John Johnston

Mac- Stacks Emporium -- stacks by Bruce Pokras -

MacZine -- French/English articles; topics include HyperCard; a French-only mailing list is also available

MagicHat Shareware -- Harley Bradley; some excellent HC games

Matthias Kahlert's Homepage -- XCMDs

Miles Sakaguchi -- HC check book

Music Tutorial -- a commercial music education stack

Nature Images: Bill Atkinson Photography -- Bill Atkinson, the creator of HyperCard

Nine to Five Software -- Reports 3.0 (formerly called Reports DataPro). No web site; link is their e-mail address -- <nine2five@aol.com>.

Nisseb Software-- Calle Bäckström

Nusch Nuschi -- English/Japanese site

Oak Mountain Software -- Star Trek Episode Guides

OpenStack web site -- OpenStack adds drag-and-drop to HyperCard

Pacific Northwest -- R. Charles & Charlene Flickinger ; wilderness exploration game made with HC

PF*Hyper -- Peter Fleck, author of the HyperCard FAQ (this link is repeated above under the listing "HyperCard FAQ")

Platypus Learning Farm -- children's software by Colleen Dick

Prisim -- games and animation stacks by Andrew Griffin

Radical Sheep Productions -- "Ali Baa Baa" stack

Rinaldi Home Page -- Frederic Rinaldi, author of many excellent XCMDs

Royal Software (formerly Heizer Software) -- Ro Nagey, president. Royal sells several excellent tools for HyperCard developers, including LiveCard, MegaWindow, FTP Tool, and more. (Site is being revised. If links don't work, try here.)

Science Software Page -- science stacks by David Noble

Shakespeare Stack Project -- the works of Shakespeare on stacks

Soft-ID -- German site with stacks in English

SofTrack Systems -- HyperCard-based inventory programs for model railroaders

Sven Berg Ryen's Homepage -- info, links and stacks

Sounds English -- shareware for English language learners and teachers; some of it is made with HyperCard

Studmuffin's HyperCard Forum -- Jacob Beaton

Tagged Software -- Games by Jeremy and Jonathan Russell

TeachTech -- Steve Gandy; educational stacks

+ Teach Yourself HyperCardAn award-winning site by Mark Gregory

Thoru Yamamoto -- stacks by Thoru Yamamoto

Tinnar & Tron Minimedia -- Eva Wieselgren (Sweden)

WallyWare -- Educational software by Michael Walas

XCMD Hideout - some nice XCMD collections

X's Corner -- by Xavier Bury; info on HyperCard and XOS (which stands for "exo-operating-system")

Other Authoring Applications

* = apps used most often by pros

HyperGasp -- A Mac-only authoring tool made with HyperCard and targeted for the education market

HyperStudio -- An authoring tool that has similarities to HyperCard but can be used on both Macs and PCs. It has limited programming capabilities and is used mostly in elementary schools.

* Macromedia Director -- An outstanding authoring tool that can make cross-platform applications. Used mostly by professionals due to its cost and learning curve.

* MetaCard (similar to "Revolution") -- Some professional HyperCard developers have switched to MetaCard due to its continued support and ability to produce cross-platform applications. It's generally regarded as an excellent application, but HyperCard users are sometimes critical of its interface. The full version and continuing tech support can be too expensive for hobbyists, but a free starter kit is available that might be all you need.

SERF -- A new, Mac-only authoring tool, currently in beta testing.

* Revolution (similar to "MetaCard")-- This new program uses the same engine as MetaCard, but with a friendlier interface. Revolution is proving to be popular with professional HyperCard developers. The full version is too expensive for most hobbyists, but a free demo version is available that might be all you need.

* SuperCard -- An excellent product, reasonably priced, and fairly easy for HyperCard users to learn. Used by both professionals and hobbyists. Superior to HC in many ways, especially color, but it's best suited for multimedia rather than database applications. Mac-only, but a browser plug-in called Roadster can allow PC users to view SuperCard projects over the web.