Welcome to TitlePop 3.0.3, the shareware utility that turns every window title into a pop-up windows menu! This menu lets you instantly navigate to any open window on your Mac, whatever program owns it, and drag and drop data and files directly into open applications and windows!
This document is divided into the following sections (power users are encouraged to read at least the introduction):
1.) Introduction
2.) System Requirements
3.) Installation
4.) Configuration
5.) Using TitlePop
6.) Known Incompatibilities
7.) Shareware Notice
8.) Support
9.) Credits
10.) Version History
11.) The Fine Print
1.) Introduction
One of the few frustrating things about working in the MacOS (or any operating system that uses a windows-based graphical user interface) is having to search through piles of open windows on your desktop to find the one you want. To solve this problem, many Macintosh applications include a "Windows" menu, which allows you to quickly navigate to any open window in that application. In addition, there are several shareware extensions that will install a "Windows" menu in those applications that don't already have one, including the Finder. However, these solutions have three limitations: first, they require you to leave the window in which you are working and make the trip up to the menu bar in order to select another window; second, you must still switch applications in order to access windows owned by programs other than the one in which you are working; third, they fail to make use of one of the Mac's greatest time-saving features - drag and drop. TitlePop solves all of these problems intuitively and elegantly.
TitlePop installs a pop-up menu in the title bar of every window, allowing you to instantly access not only all the windows owned by that particular program, but also of any program currently running, including the Finder. (Savvy Mac users know that the Finder has a similar feature, which creates a pop-up menu of an open folder's parent folder(s) when you press the command key while clicking on the title bar. TitlePop is aware of this, and allows the Finder to create this menu when the command key is pressed, just like normal.)
In addition, version 3.0 of TitlePop now allows you to drag and drop files or data into any application or directly into open documents through the pop-up menu!
TitlePop is distributed as shareware, meaning you are free to try it for 14 days. If after that time you decide to keep it, you must pay the shareware fee of $15 to the author. Please see the accompanying file "How To Register" for specifics on using the Kagi Shareware registration system.
2.) System Requirements
TitlePop requires MacOS 7.0 or later and at least a 68020 or PowerPC processor, and has been tested through System 8.1 (prerelease version). The drag and drop features of TitlePop require System 7.5 or later, or System 7.1 with the Macintosh Drag and Drop extension installed. (In order to drop text or picture clippings into files, you will also need Apple's Clippings extension installed. It is part of System 7.5 and later.)
3.) Installation
To install TitlePop, simply drag the extension onto the icon of your System Folder. Your computer will ask you if you wish to place TitlePop in the Extensions folder. Click OK. Restart the computer, and you may then configure TitlePop to your liking.
After you restart, if you notice that TitlePop has a generic "extension" icon, you will need to rebuild your desktop in order to see TitlePop's custom icon. To do this, restart the computer again, holding down the command and option keys until a dialog box appears.
4.) Configuration
Once you restart your Macintosh after installing TitlePop as described above, you then have several options controlling TitlePop's appearance and behavior.
To configure these options, open any window in any application. It may be easiest to double-click your hard drive icon. When the window opens, you will notice a rectangular box drawn around the name of the window. Clicking in this box will display TitlePop's pop-up menu showing your open applications and their open windows. The item at the bottom of this menu is called "TitlePop", and it has a small arrow, indicating a sub-menu.
Drag your mouse over to the sub-menu, and you will see four choices: "Settings...", "About TitlePop...", "Registration..." and "How to Register...." Select "Settings...." In the Settings dialog, there are six items which you can set to your liking.
The first option you can configure is called "Draw pop-up menu in windows." This item is checked on by default. Unchecking it will cause TitlePop not to draw the rectangular box around the title of your window. Note: TitlePop will still work as normal, creating its pop-up menu when you click on any window's title. There simply won't be a box drawn around the title of the window. You may wish to leave this item checked to remind you of TitlePop's added functionality in your windows. On the other hand, if you prefer that TitlePop not alter the natural look of your Mac's windows, you should uncheck this item.
The second item to configure is called "Don't pop up from floating windows." This item is checked on by default, preventing TitlePop from creating its pop-up menu in floating windows, such as tool palettes, if there is an available document window in which to create the pop-up. Since you don't generally work "in" these windows, it usually won't be useful to add TitlePop's functionality to them. If however, you would like TitlePop to pop up its menu from your floating windows, simply uncheck this item.
The next item, "Include windows without title bar," is unchecked (off) by default. This item controls whether or not TitlePop will list windows which do not have a standard title bar in its pop-up menu. Under normal circumstances, you will probably not need to bring these types of windows to the front, or to drop items into them. If you want TitlePop to list these windows in its pop-up menu anyway, check this item.
The next item, "Keep menu in sorted order", is unchecked (off) by default. This allows TitlePop to list the names of windows in front-to-back order. Checking this item will cause TitlePop to always list windows in alphabetical order.
When you drop an item into a window, TitlePop will ordinarily play a brief "Drop sound" to indicate whether or not the action was successful. The next option allows you to control whether or not TitlePop will play this sound. This option is checked on by default. If you do not want TitlePop to play this sound, uncheck this box.
Finally, you have the choice of which method of drag and drop you wish to employ by default while using TitlePop. Note: You are simply choosing the default method. You can toggle between the two methods at any time during a drag-and-drop operation by pressing the tab key. The two choices are "Quick Drop" and "Navigate Drop". Quick Drop is the method to use for simply dropping an item, such as a text clipping, into a file via TitlePop's pop-up menu. Navigate Drop allows you to specify the exact place where you want to drop it. Quick Drop is selected by default. You can find more information on using these two methods of drag and drop in the next section.
5.) Using TitlePop
A.) The Menu
Once installed and configured, using TitlePop is easy. In the title bar of any window, just click on the name of the window to see TitlePop's pop-up menu. This menu will be divided into three sections.
The first section contains the names of all open windows in the current application. Simply highlight the name of the window you want to go to and release the mouse, and you will switch instantly to that window. The name of the current application itself will be grayed out at the bottom of the list to remind you which program the windows in this part of the menu belong to. If the "Don't pop up from floating windows" option is checked in TitlePop's settings and the application you are working in has floating windows, the application name will be underlined, and a small arrow will indicate that it has a sub-menu. This sub-menu contains the floating windows, which you can then bring to the front using the sub-menu.
The second part of the menu contains the names of all running applications. Those with open windows will have a small arrow pointing to the right, indicating a sub-menu. In this sub-menu are the names of all open windows belonging to that program. If you want to switch to any window currently open, simply navigate to the application owning that window, then to the window you want in the sub-menu, and release the mouse. That application and window will instantly come to the front.
If you hold down the option key when selecting an item from this part of the menu, the current application will be hidden after it is switched to the background (just like in the application menu). If you hold down the shift key while selecting the window, it will be moved to the top left corner of the main screen (the screen which has the menu bar). If you hold down the shift key and the command key, the cursor will switch to a cross-hair. Click to position the selected window in a new location (the top left corner of the window will move to this location).
The third part of the menu is called "TitlePop" and contains four items: the Settings dialog described above (in "Configuring TitlePop"); information about this particular version of TitlePop; a dialog in which you can enter your name and registration "key" once you register TitlePop (once a key has successfully been entered, this box lists the name of the person to whom this copy of TitlePop is registered); and some basic information about how to register the program.
B.) Drag and Drop
The biggest new feature of version 3.0 of TitlePop is the added ability to drag and drop files and/or data into programs or windows via the pop-up menu. Note that the application you are working with must support Macintosh drag and drop in order to take advantage of TitlePop's drag and drop feature.
TitlePop gives you two ways in which to this: Quick Drop and Navigate Drop. With Quick Drop, items are deposited into a target window simply by dropping them onto the name of that window in TitlePop's pop-up menu. In Navigate Drop mode, you use TitlePop's pop-up menu to bring the desired target window to the front, then click in it for TitlePop to automatically drop the item where you click. If you unintentionally drag an item onto TitlePop, press command-period or the Escape ("Esc") key to remove the pop-up menu without interrupting the current drag.
The drop method being employed is indicated by the shape of the cursor while you are making the drop (see the asterisk below for limitations). When you are in Quick Drop mode, the cursor will appear as a downward arrow with a horizontal line beneath it. When you are in Navigate Drop mode, the cursor will appear as a parcel within a window. The default method is selected in the Settings dialog described above, but you can toggle between the two methods in mid-drop simply by hitting the tab key. Here's how to perform each kind of drop:
Quick Drop:
Highlight an item you want to drop into a window. This may be a clipping or file from the Finder, or any highlighted item within a window of an application, such as text or a picture. Drag the item to the name portion of the title bar of any window. The TitlePop pop-up menu will appear and the cursor will momentarily change shapes, to look like a small downward arrow with a line beneath it*. While still holding down the mouse button, find the application or window you want to drop the item into.
When you release the mouse button on the menu item, the item you are currently dragging drops into that window. If the menu item you selected is an application (rather than a window), it drops into front window of that application. (The drop location is middle the content area of the window.) If the window you are dropping the item into belongs to the Finder, the item drops into the extra bar under the title bar, until the Finder finds space for the item in the window.
Note: You can't drop an item into an application that is "hidden". If you try to do this, you will get an alert suggesting you "show" the application using the Application Menu in the upper right corner of the menu bar.
Navigate Drop:
Drag an item from the Finder, or from Apple's Notepad or Scrapbook in the same way described for Quick Drop. (If you have left the default drop method set to Quick Drop in TitlePop's Settings dialog, hit the tab key to switch to Navigate Drop. The cursor should now resemble a parcel in a window*.)
This time, when you release the mouse button on the menu item you want to drop the item into, TitlePop changes the shape of the cursor (to look like a parcel) and brings the window or application that you have selected to the front. Click the mouse again at the location in that window where you want to drop the item. As you click, TitlePop automatically drags the item for you to the location where you have clicked in that window. If you want to cancel the operation while the cursor appears as the parcel, press command-period or the Escape ("Esc") key.
Note: In order for TitlePop to automatically perform this type of drop for you, it must bring a new application to the front (the one you select in the pop-up menu), and then drag your item from the original application (which has now been switched to the background) to the new front application. The problem is, the MacOS will only allow you to begin a drag from the frontmost (active) application, or from an application considered part of the system (like the Finder, or Apple's Notepad or Scrapbook). Thus, you can only use Navigate Drop to move items between applications when dragging from the Finder, or from Apple's Notepad or Scrapbook. But, some applications (like Eudora 3.0) will allow you to begin a drag from a window that is not in front (although the application itself must be in front). Thus, you can use Navigate Drop to move items between windows of these types of applications. Other applications will not allow this because you must be in their front-most window in order to begin a drag.
* The cursor will not change while dragging over the pop-up menu under certain system versions and configurations:
1. With some PowerPC based computers running Mac OS 7.5.5.
2. With Mac OS 7.6 and 7.6.1 and 8.
6.) Known Incompatibilities
Version 3.0.3 of TitlePop has been tested with MacOS software versions from 7.0 through 8.1 (prerelease version).
TitlePop is not compatible with Now Tabs.
TitlePop's pop-up rectangle may not be drawn correctly with some window modifiers like Church Windows. Unchecking "Draw pop-up menu in windows" in the Settings dialog may remedy this situation.
TitlePop's pop-up rectangle appears misaligned with the Aaron and Kaleidoscope extensions in Finder windows which do not have an icon on the title bar, such as the "About This Computer" and clipboard windows. Again, unchecking "Draw pop-up menu in windows" in the Settings dialog may remedy this situation.
TitlePop is not fully compatible with Sloop 1.0.x. Upgrade to Sloop 1.1 and TitlePop 3.0.2 or later. These two works fine together.
7.) Registration
TitlePop is shareware. You may try out this product for 14 days without paying for it. The program is fully functional during this period, but TitlePop will tactfully remind you when you boot your computer that you are using it for a trial period. After the trial period, TitlePop will disable itself and remind you to register it and pay the shareware fee of $15 if you would like to continue using it. When you register, you will receive a "key" to disable the alert when you boot your computer, and to make TitlePop fully functional again if the trial period has expired.
Registering TitlePop is easy. Please see the accompanying file "How To Register" for specifics on using the Kagi Shareware registration system.
If you don't have the "Register" application, the TitlePop manual, or the "How to Register" document, you can download full TitlePop package from the TitlePop home page at <http://www.datavasara.fi/titlepop>, which includes all of these items.
Thank you for supporting TitlePop.
8.) Support
Support is available to all users. Please direct questions, suggestions and bug reports to <mailto:jouko@kagi.com.>
You may also visit the TitlePop home page at <http://www.datavasara.fi/titlepop>. The latest version of the program will always be available here first.
9.) Credits
Programming by Jouko Pakkanen
Manual by Brian Oliger
Special thanks to:
Timo "Dimitri" Paananen for general support and high spirits;
Jukka Pettersson for the kick of the international version and all the help;
Harri Vasara for the resources;
Guy Kawasaki for the encouragement;
All beta testers, bug reporters and users who suggested new features.
10.) Version History
TitlePop 3.0.3
- Fixed some bugs that lead to crash or error messages.
- Changes to registration and trial period.
- Compatible with OneClick™ and Aldus Persuasion™.
TitlePop 3.0.2
- Fixes a conflict with RAM Charger and some versions of First Class Client.
- Draws popup rectangles correctly into Mac OS 8 Finder tab windows.
- Fixes a bug that occasionally caused a crash on PowerPC systems when dragging from the Finder in Mac OS 8.
- Fixes a bug with Appearance 1.0
- Code additions for other developers to get information about TitlePop.
- Internal changes for registration.
- Two memory leaks fixed.
TitlePop 3.0.1
- Shareware information dialog deferred until Finder is loaded to reduce conflicts.
TitlePop 3.0
- Added drag-and-drop support.
- TitlePop was partially rewritten and there were several bug fixes.
- TitlePop is now shareware.
TitlePop 2.4.2
- Fixed a bug that prevented window switching in Kanji Talk systems and some versions of Chinese and Japanese Language Kits (thank you, Masafumi Tabara).
TitlePop 2.4.1
- Fixed some intermittently occurring errors:
- When selecting something from TitlePop, submenu (error ID = -43);
- System error after printing;
- System error at program Quit.
TitlePop 2.4
- Left the letter Z out of the international version.
- Added the setting "Don't draw pop-up rectangle". Points are drawn to the top left and right corners of the menu instead.
- Fixed a bug that affected Microsoft Word 6.0.X. Program interrupted at start-up or at the closing of a window.
- Altered the method that brings the chosen window to top.
- Also about a dozen small changes to ensure compatibility to future programs and system versions.
TitlePop 2.3
- First international version (Z2.3).
- Fixed a bug that affected FirstClass Client 2.0.9:n and First Things First Pro.
- Fixed a bug that affected PowerBook in control strip.
TitlePop 2.2
- First public version (freeware).
- Finnish version only.
11.) And now, a word from the lawyers...
Copyright Jouko Pakkanen, 1991-1998. All rights reserved.
This software is provided on an "as is" basis. As such, the author makes no warranty whatsoever regarding the use of this product. The user assumes all risks incidental to the use of this software, including but not limited to, damage to, loss of or inability to access data. The author makes no warranty of any kind regarding the fitness of this product for a particular purpose. Users are strongly encouraged to always back up all data before installing this or any new software.
