Using Inform in AC 219
This page outlines the procedure for creating, compiling, and playing Inform I.F.s in the SDE lab (AC 219). Since we're running Windows Server 2003 in the lab, we can't use batch files. That means we need to run the Inform compiler from the command line.
If you're running Windows 2000, XP, or Mac OS-X at home, follow the instructions in the Inform Beginner's Guide. Using a batch file, as the book suggests, will save some bother.
Steps
1. First, locate your Inform folder in Windows Explorer. This folder may be placed anywhere in your file system. Navigate within the Inform folder to the Lib subfolder, and within it, to the Base subfolder. Open that folder, then minimize Windows Explorer.
2. Launch TextPad from the Start menu. Save the current document as whateverTitle.inf. (Obviously, "whateverTitle" is a placeholder.) Be sure you use the .inf extension. Other extensions such as .txt will not work. Where do you save this document? For later convenience, make sure you put it in Inform/Lib/Base. If you saved somewhere else inadvertently, go back to Windows Explorer and move the file.
3. In TextPad, enter all the text and instructions you need, saving frequently.
4. Now you're ready to compile. Go to the Windows Start menu and click the Run button. Type cmd in the window that opens, then click the OK button. A DOS command line window opens. Minimize this window.
5. Return to Windows Explorer. Make sure you are displaying the contents of Inform/Lib/Base. Go to the address line at the top of the Windows Explorer window, where you'll see the current directory path. Select over the entire line. Right-click and choose Copy.
6. Maximize the DOS command line window. Click once to make it active. After the current prompt (the > symbol), type cd and a space. Right-click immediately after this space and choose Paste from the pop-up window. The directory path you copied from Windows Explorer should appear. Hit Return or enter. This generates a new prompt.
7. At the new prompt, type Inform whateverTitle (again, understanding that "whateverTitle" will be replaced by the actual title of your document). Note that YOU DO NOT TYPE THE .INF FILE EXTENSION. Inform knows to look only for .inf files.
8. You may see error messages at this point, probably because you made some typing or coding errors in your source file. Go back to TextPad and correct any mistakes, then return to Step 5. If you see no error messages, you'll simply get a new DOS prompt, meaning the compiler ran successfully.
9. Successful compilation generates a .z5 file, also in Inform/Lib/Base. You'll open this file with Frotz, our recommended I.F. interpreter. Find the Frotz executable (Frotz.exe) in Inform/Bin/Frotz. When you double-click it, you'll see a navigation dialog. Move back to your Inform/Lib/Base folder and select whateverTitle.z5. You should see the blue screen of happiness, which is to say, a working I.F.
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