QuickChar is a control panel which allows you to easily use characters which are not readily accessible on your keyboard. For users with English language keyboard, this will mean foreign letters such as“é” or “Å” or “ß”, while other users can enter characters which do not appear on their keyboards. It also allows you to shorten repetetive typing tasks by defining macros which can be expanded whenever you type a short abbreviation.
Requirements
QuickChar requires any 680x0 Macintosh with System 7.0 or later.
Please do NOT try to run this version of QuickChar on a PowerMac- a PowerMac version is currently under development.
(There is also a slight problem on Macs with two or more monitors; I’m trying to sort this out at moment-- please email me if you’d like to know when it’s fixed)
Installation
Drag QuickChar onto your System Folder and restart. If QuickChar loads successfully, its icon will be displayed during startup. If there is a problem, the icon will be displayed with a large “X” through it.
Usage
To use the character picker, hold down your chosen modifier keys (the default is option-shift; use the control panel to change the combo to your liking) and press and hold the mouse button. Use the list on the left to select a category of character to look at, and the large pane to select the character to enter. When you release the mouse, the highlited character is entered at the insertion point. (To close the picker without entering anything, just move the mouse outside the window and then release.)
If you need to use a character often, you may find it quicker to enter the keystroke manually. The picker displays the keys you need to press to enter a character at the bottom of its window.
The sets provided contain almost all the characters you’re likely to need, but you can create your own if you wish. To change the contents of sets and to add new ones, click “Edit Sets…” in the control panel. Although this dialog is fairly self-explanatory, here’s a brief outline of some of its features:
Use the list to select a set to edit. The selected set’s name is displayed underneath this list. You can give it a new name by entering it here and clicking “Change”.
The “Characters…” button lets you choose the characters in the selected set. If you’re unsure how to type in the character you want to use, click “Pick” for a comprehensive selection.
Notes: You can have a maximum of 11 sets for use; the set called, by default, “Full charset” contains just about every character and cannot be deleted. You can, however, change its name.
To use QuickMacros, click “Edit Macros…” in the control panel. Here a list of your macros and their expansions is displayed in the list on the left; when you first use it, this list will be empty. Use the “New” and “Delete” buttons to add and remove macros.
Enter a macro’s abbreviation in the topmost field. This can be up to five letters long and cannot contain spaces.
Enter the macro’s expansion in the large field below it.
To use the macro in your work type ‘/” followed by the abbreviation and then a period (‘.’)
Help
QuickChar is very simple and easy to use. However, if you need assistance…
- Click the “Help…” button in the control panel for brief online help.
- Turn on balloon help in the control panel for quick tips.
- If you’re still unsure what to do, you can contact me at the addresses below. (Priority will be given to registered users.)
Registration
QuickChar is shareware, meaning that if you use it and find it helpful to you, you should register for a small fee.
The registration fee for QuickChar is IR£5 (Irish pounds). This is valid for all future versions and releases.
QuickChar has no disabled features or “Give me your money” notices, so the onus is entirely on you, the user, to register. Please do.
Benefits include
- free technical support and an ear for your suggestions and ideas
- you are informed when new versions are released
- doing the right thing……
To register, open the control panel and click “About…”. In the about dialog, click “Register…” to display the registration dialog box.
After saving the form, and printing it if you intend to register through snailmail, just send the form to me along with your payment to the address below. You can also email me the form and snailmail the payment, if that is more convenient for you.
If you have neither email nor a printer, just copy the relevant details onto a slip of paper and snailmail them to me.
You can pay by
- cash, IR£5 or the equivalent amount
- or by cheque made payable to “Alastair Matthews”.
Contacting EasySoftware
Snailmail:
12 Valleyview,
Delgany,
Co. Wicklow,
IRELAND.
email:
alimatthews@geocities.com
www: (new releases, other software, etc)
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Park/4727
Credits
Last, but definitely not least, I'd like to thank a few people who helped-- and are helping-- to make QuickChar what it is:
My beta testers (in no particular order):
Kirk McElhearn, Rick ?, Henry Bibb, Bill Curtis, Martin Durand, G V Palazzolo, Sherry Reed, Randy Stokes, Zack ?, Bengt Lindell.
Version History
1.5 [3/12/96]
loads of new stuff here…
• Character sets
• New, intuitive picker window displays keystroke needed to gernerate a character
• QuickMacros features
• Slight- major performance enhancement
• Some other minor fixes
1.1 [9/96]
Original version
I HAVE DONE MY BEST TO ENSURE THAT QUICKCHAR WILL NOT DO ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER OR TO ANY DATA STORED ON IT. HOWEVER, I TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY SUCH DAMAGE WHICH MAY OCCUR AS A RESULT OF USING QUICKCHAR. YOU USE QUICKCHAR AT YOUR OWN RISK.
