We've all heard the advice that you should always use named styles for your text, in case you want to change all the text in that style later, but is it true? I find myself disagreeing with this old saw.

For one thing, it can take longer to create a named style than it does to simply apply the desired attributes to your text. For another, you're not faced with any awkward questions about whether you want your Arial 8 text to stay Arial 8 or be changed to an existing style when you paste icons from one file to another. If there's an existing unnamed (Arial 8) in both the old file and the new, all the text will have this same unnamed style applied, with no conflict.

But how can I say this, you ask? What happens when I decide later to turn all that Arial 8 text into Arial 8 Red?

Well, then I modify the style and give it a real name. Every bit of text in your Authorware piece that is not identical to the Default style will have a style applied to it, whether you create a named style or not. That's what all those styles are at the bottom that have parentheses around them.

To convert one of these styles, simply select the style you want from the list, then give it a name. The name must be different from what it was before. Simply removing the parentheses won't work--you have to rename the style. Once you've changed the name, select your new attributes, then click the "Modify" button. Every instance that used the generic, Authorware-created style will now have the new attributes applied.

An Interaction icon is very powerful, even without the responses. It actually contains the capability to be both a Display and a Wait Icon.

Most people already know you can add graphics to an Interaction, but the default "Erase On Exit" setting means that most people don't realize that an Interaction's Display can stay on screen if desired after the flow has passed the Interaction.

Many people also regularly use the "Pause Before Exiting" setting on an Interaction to pause the flow after executing a Response set to Exit. However, the "Pause Before Exiting" works even if there are no Responses on the Interaction.

Taken together, these two principles mean that you can use an Interaction creatively to display graphics, then wait until the user clicks a Continue button or clicks on the screen. Then you can use the settings of the Interaction icon to decide if the graphics stay displayed or erased after the flow continues.

Castle Computer services has made its notes on Authorware 6 available free of charge. If you're just starting Authorware or know someone else who is, this could be just the download you need.

The regular conference sessions at TAAC are great, but they're more of a "sampler" of what is possible in Authorware, rather than a hearty meal. Sometimes what you need is more in-depth than a few hours here or there.

One way to get your in-depth Authorware training is to go to precon and postcon training. I don't know much about the other sessions being offered, but I do know that Dazzletech's sessions are always a big hit.