OpenwithCMPlugin is a Contextual Menu Plugin that works in the Finder, and some other applications such as Sherlock. It adds an "Open with" command when you control-click on a file or selection of files.
You can select a favorites folder, containing your applications (or aliases) with sub-folders, if you wish. Whichever application you choose from the list will attempt to open your Finder selection. e.g.. You can open SimpleText documents with BBEdit Lite, or AppleWorks, whatever.
Use:
To choose a favorites folder, simply control-click on a single folder icon in the Finder, and choose "Openwith make favorites folder" from the popup menu. Please do not choose a folder with too much stuff, or a folder with stuff nested very deep. It takes forever for your menu to appear if you do so. If you choose your hard disk as the favorites folder (or have an alias of it in your favorites folder) then be prepared to wait a very long time for your menus to appear, also some applications may be missing from the list if the plugin runs out of memory.
Then just choose the application you wish to launch your selection with. viola. If the application can open the document it will. If not it will tell you so.
Note: The plugin only goes 4-deep when it is looking for applications, i.e. a folder inside a folder inside another folder inside your favorites folder.
Requirements:
PowerPC computer running Mac OS 8 or later.
Contextual Menu Manager extension.
SOM objects for Mac OS shared library.
Installation:
Simply drop the plugin on your System folder icon. It will be placed in the contextual menu items folder of your System folder.
If you deleted your Contextual Menu Manager Extension, you may have to reinstall it.
If you do not have the shared library "SOM objects for Mac OS" you have to go back to your OS 8 CD (it gets installed automatically with 8.5, I don't know about 8.1) and go to the Software Installers folder. Find the OpenDoc install folder and launch the installer. Choose "Custom Install" from the popup menu, and in the list that appears uncheck everything except "SOM objects for Mac OS". Click "Install", now you have SOM objects and this CM plugin should work after you restart your Mac.
Help, Bugs:
e-mail me at ogorman@innocent.com , I will reply as soon as I have time.
The latest version should be available at http://members.xoom.com/peter29/
Price:
Freeware. You are free to distribute, use, copy, give away this software. The author retains the relevant rights.
Source:
Source is included.
Bugs Fixed this version (1.11):
Now works with OS 8.0 and up. Previous versions claimed to, but didn't. Thanks to my brother for telling me.
Minor fixes. Included web address in this read me.
Changes this version (1.1):
Removed the code that scans mounted disks for applications with the same creator as the selection. It took too long.
Bugs Fixed this version (1.1):
Fixed many and various bugs related to aliases. ( Some of them made me feel really stupid ).
Fixed a bug where applications would not be added to the menu unless an application alias was first added.
Folder aliases are now treated as folders not files.
Bugs Fixed this version (1.01):
Fixed minor bugs.
Updated the documentation.
Works with OS 8.5 (no longer occasionally kills the Finder).
