7.0 PLUS Utilities is a set of Drop Boxes, Control Panels, and other
utilities which make using System 7.0 a whole lot easier and maybe
even a bit more fun.
Many of the PLUS Utilities will be available on Compuserve, GEnie,
and other boards, as well as on public domain disks and CD ROMs.
Understand that they don’t pay me any money at all. You should still
pay for the 7.0 PLUS Utilities that you use. One copy for each computer
that each utility is to be used on.
REGISTERING 7.0 PLUS UTILITIES
=============================
The entire set can be registered for $29.95 U.S. (that’s a whole 5 CENTS
less than $30). As a registered user, you’ll get updates to the software,
documentation, and even new software (as long as I don’t go into debt
passing this stuff around).
You can register individual utilities by sending me a few dollars. If you
do this, I cannot send you free updates, as the cost to me will likely
be greater than the cost to you. Please include postage and a disk if
you want an update to a program you have registered individually.
Remember that you must register one copy of each program for each
computer it is to be used on. Or you can register one copy of the entire
set for each computer the programs will be used on.
There is a total of 25 utilities in the package. See the specific
information for the purposes and functions of these utilities. This is
NOT a complete list. There has to be SOME kind of mystery.
To order, send your name, address, and a cheque with $29.95 in U.S. funds
(or $35 Canadian) payable to Robert Gibson to the address below. You will
be sent the 7.0 PLUS Utilities disk as soon as possible.
Robert Gibson
RR#1 Carrying Place
Ontario, CANADA
KØK 1LØ
Why 29.95? Well, I figure that a few dollars to register each program that
you’ll use, and the postage and disk fees to me, add up to somewhere around
there. You ARE getting 25 programs.
All-in-all, I think it’s a fair deal. If you don’t think so, then download the
utilities yourself from Compuserve. But don’t forget that there is still a
registration fee if you use the software.
SUPPORT
========
Utilities will be given on-line support on Compuserve. E-mail me and I will
give you a response as quickly as I can (that is usually fairly quickly).
I will fix reported bugs as soon as possible, and will relase updated software
in the CIS libraries once the software has been completed. New disks will be
sent out once a sufficient number of updates have been performed. Of course,
there is a limit to the number of updates I can send out. It costs for the disks,
the postage, etc. I think that the first disk and a major update is fair.
After that, I’ll have to request postage/disk fees.
DROP ROB•BOXES
===============
The Drop Rob•Box family is a set of utilities (some of which require
System 7.0 to work) which perform many functions.
The following is a list of the current members of
the Drop Rob•Box family.
Most of the Drop Rob•Boxes require System 7.0 or higher.
BLINDFOLD
----------
Make files and folders visible or invisible in the Finder. Useful for
hiding private files or cleaning up ugly desktop clutter. Files are
modified through an open file dialog, or in Drop Box mode. All
directories dragged into this Drop Box are scanned, so you can throw
in sets of files, folders or even disks, or any combination of the
three. Depending on your preferences you can even show or hide
entire directories of files.
CATAPULT
----------
Catapult is a method of launching applications with drag-and-drop support while helping to keep your desktop clean. Drop documents over the Catapult icon and select the application to launch from the get file dialog. The documents will then be opened by the application you have selected (if that application allows it). Allows you to try opening files of a type not normally openable by the target application.
CUSTOM KILLER
--------------
Custom Killer removes custom icon from files, folders, and even disks. It’s a lot faster, especially when working with multiple items, than using Get Info in the Finder. It even works with aliases (with a bit of help).
DEICON
-------
DeIcon hides the icons of selected files, folders or disks in the Finder, so that only the name is visible. That way, you can stack your files, drag-and-drop utilities, etc. without taking up a lot of room. It is especially useful for making a launchpad that consumes very little space on your desktop. It even works with aliases (with a bit of help).
DEFLATE
--------
Strip all help resources from selected files to save memory and disk space.
DESKTOP DELETER
----------------
Desktop Deleter allows you to select and delete different types of desktop database files from your hard drive. It also allows you to delete old-style and foreign disk database files. Since System 7 does not use the old-style Desktop files, you can free a large amount of space from your disks by deleting it.
GETINFO
--------
GetInfo lets you view and change file info for selected items. You can modify the name type, creator, finder flags, and locked bit of items just by dragging them over the application icon, or through a standard get file dialog. GetInfo requires System 7.
LOCKSMITH
----------
LockSmith allows you to lock or unlock files, folders, and disks quickly
and easily without the trouble of the Finder's Get Info windows. Locked
files and disks cannot be modified until they are unlocked. No locked
item can be renamed or deleted until it is unlocked. When used under
System 7.0 or higher in Drop Box mode, you can modify entire groups of
items.
NAME STRIPPER
--------------
Name Stripper will scan folders and disks provided, and will modify (if preferences allow, of course), the names of all files and directories, no matter what their depth. Drop Boxes require Apple Events, and thus System 7.0 or higher.
OBLITERATE
-----------
Delete all files and folders you drop in this application, with an optional
shredding facility to make files totally unrecoverable. All directories
dragged into this drop box are scanned, so you can throw in sets of files,
folders or even disks, or any combination of the three. You no longer have
to go through the pain of selecting Empty Trash all the time. Also keeps
a log of files you have obliterated for a user-specified period of time.
PESTICIDE
----------
Pesticide lets you delete some pesky items from the selected disks and/or directories. It can be set up to delete all or all unresolvable aliases, empty directories, and empty files. It can also automatically fix files that have accidentally had their alias bits set (and thus are really not aliases after all). As always, you select what Pesticide actually does.
RECOVERUP
-----------
If you notice that you have lost files while running System 7.0 or higher, you probably have run into this bug. After running reCoverUP on a disk which has lost files (just drag the disk over reCoverUP’s icon), run a repair utility to fix the disk, and the files should be recovered. It is occasionally necessary to repair the disk a few times before the problem is actually fixed. Hopefully, you will never need to use this utility.
ROUTER
-------
Drop files into this program and re-route them to other locations. For
example, drop a text file in and move it to a Text Files folder. Or drop a
Word document into a Word docs folder. Or a folder or disk containing
text files, word files, and pict files, and move them to their own separate
directories on Router’s disk.
TEXTBREAK
----------
Write messages and other files to be used on-line or on another type of
computer normally (don’t worry about hitting return at the end of each
line). Then toss your files (or folders/disks containing the files) into
this Drop Box. It determines the best location in the file to insert a CR
and, optionally, a LF, based on your criteria (number of columns, etc.).
Useful for those who communicate on-line and send messages (probably
everybody reading this).
TEXTMERGE
----------
Join text files into a single file. Very useful for telecommunicators (like
you) who wish to join several text logs or groups of messages into one
file. All directories dragged into this drop box are scanned, so you can
throw in sets of files, folders or even disks, or any combination of the
three, and all contained TEXT files will be processed.
SCALE
------
Scale counts the number of files and folders in a selection (including files and folders within the directories you have selected), and calculates the total logical and physical size. So you don’t have to get info on a group of items and then break out the calculator.
SCSI STARTUP
-------------
SCSI Startup sets the current startup disk to be the selected SCSI drive. Normally you have to open the Startup Disk Control Panel to change the startup disk. But now you can simply drag a disk icon over the application in the Finder, and it will be the new startup drive.
SETINFO
--------
SetInfo sets file info for selected items. You can modify the type, creator, label, finder flags, and locked bit of files and folders just by dragging them over the application icon. It also works with System 6.0.X.
SOUND ROUNDUP
---------------
Sound RoundUp finds all 'snd ' resources in selected files and copies them into a folder or suitcase that it creates. It is capable of scanning entire directories and disks.
STATIONER
----------
Stationer allows you to quickly and easily toggle the stationery bit on selected files, without the trouble of going through the Get Info window. It can be used on entire groups and directories of files, filtering out those on which the bit should not be modified. Stationery pads are used as templates in System 7.0.
CONTROL PANELS
===============
Control Panels are small programs which somehow modify your System
or Finder. Although they are Control Panels, these do not have to be
in the Control Panels folder to function properly. All 7.0 PLUS Utilities
Control Panels require System 7.0 or higher.
PINK SLIP
---------
Add a Quit menu item to the Finder for use in those memory-intense
situations. You can also remove it if you don't like it any more.
Does the trick described on p. 266 of Feb/92 MacUser a bit more
elegantly and without requiring you to hone “your ResEdit skills".
Also lets you quit from the Finder without modifying anything.
WAIT!
-----
Change the Finder's rename delay through this Control Panel without
having to restart your machine. The rename delay is the amount of
time the Finder waits after you have clicked on a file's name before
allowing you to edit it.
ZAP!
----
Zap! provides you with a means of resetting the Parameter Ram without
restarting your machine.
IT’S YOUR DEFONT
----------------
It’s Your Default! provides you with a means of setting the default application
font. It can be set for the current session (until you restart), or the changes
can be saved across restarts in Parameter RAM.
OTHER PROGRAMS
================
NETCHAT
--------
Use this System 6-compatible desk accessory to chat between nodes on a
localtalk network.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
==================
If you have any comments or suggestions, or ideas for other programs,
