Word Circuits Connection Muse

Word Circuits Connection Muse is a set of software tools specifically for authors of Web-based hypertext poetry and fiction. Most hypertext tools available today for the Web are intended primarily for creating informational Web sites where readers will usually browse (in the original sense of rather haphazardly sampling some of the content) or seek out specific information. Literature, on the other hand, demands a system designed for whole-text reading--that is, one designed to accommodate readers who wish to consume an entire hypertext in a satisfying manner.

One of the requirements for a successful whole-text system is a sophisticated mechanism for handling the complex relationship between read and unread material, which lies at the heart of maintaining momentum during the reading and achieving closure at the end of it. Adaptive hypertext techniques can help bring this sophistication to hypertext literature, making it more responsive to the reader's needs. Connection Muse adds dynamic functionality to HTML texts through a system that tracks the reader's progress and responds on the fly to changing conditions. It also lets the author create components within the hypertext--paths and sets of nodes--and manipulate these as objects with extractable properties.

Writers have three different options for adding Connection functions to their work. A Toolkit for Dreamweaver allows users of Macromedia Dreamweaver to insert functions as objects by entering information in Dreamweaver dialog boxes--little or no knowledge of JavaScript required. Other users can run the Toolkit for Browsers in their Web browser. This lets users create Connection functions by filling out forms, which will then automatically generate JavaScript code that can be pasted into any HTML document. Users will also be able to create Connection functions manually or edit any of the automatically generated function code.

(Source: Word Circuits http://wordcircuits.com/connect/)