Field 1: This is simply a list of the order of cards you want to visit on
the slideshow. This could be one line of items or a long field with
one item per line. (You would plan to hide Field 1 after it was
filled in, and you need to treat it as shared text so it would be
there on every card.)
Field 2: This is a holding place for the last card visited on the
official slideshow. (You would also hide this and treat it as shared
text.)
Button 1: This is the "reverse" button. It grabs the card name in
Field 2, finds it in Field 1, and moves one item toward the top of
Field 1, stores that card name in Field 2 and then goes to that named
card. You will need a special conditional if you try to reverse past
the first card in the show; you could hide the button, or leave it
visible and have it beep, or provide a feed back message, or....
Button 2: This is the "forward" button. It does like Button 1, but looks
for the next item in Field 2. Like with button 1, you will need a
special conditional if you try to go forward past the last card in the
show.
These button could replace your normal Previous/Next buttons or could be
used in addition to them. If used in addition to them, it doesn't matter
where you wander in your stack, because when you click on Button 2, you go
to the next card in the slideshow no matter where you were at the time.
Again, this is simple but effective; it is not tricky to implement.
Clark,
Thanks for your feedback.
I've used that basic method in the past, although instead of putting
the card name in field 2, I put the line number of a card in field 1.
There were several advantages to using the line number trick; easy to
wrap to beginning and end (using mod arithmetic), don't have to search
field 1.
Unfortunately, I have a presentation that makes use of several stacks.
Also, my presentation must include more than just navigation (eg.
typing in a field). So far, I haven't had much luck in using the
synthetic events of MetaCard but I'm still hopeful.
-Pothier-