Note: be sure to check out "Acta Reference" and "Acta Overview" in the Help menu. There is also balloon help.
Frequently Asked Questions
What machines does Acta work on?
According to the publisher in 1993, it runs on any Macintosh computer with 2 megabytes of RAM and System 6.0.4 or higher. We’ve used it under System 9.1, and under Classic in Mac OS X 10.3. It doesn’t run on Intel-based Macs — but Opal does.
Are there any known bugs?
The only problems we’ve seen are that in recent versions of Mac OS, menus aren’t drawn to match system menus, and don’t support balloon help very well.
Is this really the latest version?
Yes. Due to Acta’s publication under several different names it’s gotten confusing, but Acta Classic 1.0 dates from 15 July 1993. It’s definitely more recent than any version of Acta 7.
Can I use it on a Kanji system?
The version we’re posting was not for sale in Japan, and was contractually limited from running on a kanji system. However, Hideaki Iimori created a patch that allows it to run with kanji. A Sharp has not tested this patch. (Note that Opal does handle kanji.)
Can I move Acta Folder?
You can put it in the Preferences folder, or the System Folder.
How can I export my outlines to Microsoft Word?
Save them in RTF format. (One user reports better success importing Acta documents into ClarisWorks [AppleWorks] and then exporting as RTF; this requires the XTND filter for Acta.)
Will you be giving away the Windows version?
No.
I’m a programmer...
...can I write format drivers?
An article on writing Acta format drivers appeared in MacTutor.
...what is the file format?
The file format (which is the same for both Macintosh and Windows) is documented in the MacTutor article.
...will Acta be released as open source?
Probably not. If you have a specific proposal for what you are willing and able to change, let us know.
Will there be a new version?
Yes — we released Opal in October 2006. It bring Acta into the Mac OS X era (and reads all Acta documents).
What are the MORE and ThinkTank format drivers for?
They allow Acta to read and save outlines created by two other popular Macintosh outline processors, MORE and ThinkTank.
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