QuarkImmedia

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QuarkImmedia
Basic data

developer Quark Inc.
Current  version 1.5
(1999)
operating system Mac OS Classic
category multimedia
License proprietary
German speaking Yes
Quark Inc. ( Memento from January 28, 1999 on the Internet Archive )

QuarkImmedia was an authoring system within QuarkXPress that enabled designers to create interactive multimedia presentations within and export them to CD-ROM and, with restrictions, to the Web.

Authoring tool

The first version of QuarkImmedia was shipped in 1996 by Quark Inc.

QuarkImmedia was technically an XTension , a plug-in for the DTP layout program QuarkXPress, which enabled designers to create interactive presentations directly in the program they already knew.

The idea was that instead of learning programming languages ​​such as Lingo ( Macromedia Director ) or ActionScript ( Flash ), the user defined elements such as animations, buttons, sounds, videos, etc. directly in QuarkXPress and animated or interacted with them using ready-made actions. This enabled designers to create interactivity on the web or offline without having to learn programming or coding.

The authoring tool was only available for QuarkXPress on Mac OS (Classic), never for Windows. IMD could be played on both platforms.

QuarkImmedia cost around 2,000 DM (just under 1,023 euros) at the time, i.e. as much as QuarkXPress itself.

Quark discontinued the program in 1999. In 2006 Quark presented a conceptually similar program to QuarkImmedia with the Quark Interactive Designer , but instead of IMD it now exports SWF (Flash) or a projector.

Export format

Upon completion, the interactive layout was exported from QuarkXPress to a proprietary format (IMD) that was then played by the QuarkImmedia Player. There were various export formats, for CD-ROM and for the Internet. While the CD-ROM format created an IMD file, the Internet format consisted of a small IMD file, the loader and many resource files that were dynamically reloaded as required.

QuarkImmedia Player

The player was required to play exported presentations (IMDs). Optionally, you could also embed the player in the IMD and thus generate applications (APPs, EXEs), similar to how Flash enables projectors.

The player was initially only available for Mac OS Classic (68k and PPC), later also for Windows (16- and 32-bit), and could be freely distributed.

The player fetched the IMD either locally from the file system or via TCP / IP (e.g. via the Internet ). The player was not a browser plug-in and was called from the browser via MIME types.

Applications

The best known applications created with QuarkImmedia were:

  • The British Spice Girls website
  • The ZDF CD-ROM yearbook 1996
  • The game "Recognize Fonts" from the University of Printing and Media, Stuttgart

history

  • QuarkImmedia 1.0 (1996) compatible with QuarkXPress 3.32, Authoring Tool (XTension) and Player for Mac OS only.
  • QuarkImmedia 1.01 (1997) Player now also for Windows (16-Bit)
  • QuarkImmedia 1.02 (1998)
  • QuarkImmedia 1.03 (1998) only for the Asian market?
  • QuarkImmedia 1.5 (1998) last version, which brought many additional extensions, u. a. also web actions, formulas, support for AppleScript , Windows player now 32-bit, support for QuarkXPress 4
  • End of 1999 - product discontinued

Web links