8 - Preferences

Remember? User's Guide

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As you have probably gathered from the rest of this Guide, you can change many aspects of this package's appearance and behavior via the preferences dialog accessible at menu: Edit \ Preferences


The Preferences Dialog

Current Set

There are lots of preferences. To save your sanity they are divided into sets of related items. The name of the current set is displayed here. Click on it to select a different set. Press tab or shift-tab to step through the sets.

More/Fewer Choices

Some infrequently used preferences are normally hidden. Click the <More Choices> button to see everything. Click <Fewer Choices> to return to the shorter list.

Preference list

Short descriptions of the preferences in the current set with divider lines to group related items. Click on a description to view or change the setting. Use the up/down arrow keys to step through the list.

Description

The short description of the selected item followed by a more detailed explanation.

Preference Setting

The current setting for the selected item. The exact contents depend on the kind of item: Yes/No, menu, text style, color, number, etc. Be careful to keep numeric values within the specified range of values if one is given. Other values may result in the proverbial "undefined behavior".

Click <OK> to end the dialog and save your changes, or <Cancel> to discard them. Most changes take effect as soon as you exit the Preference dialog but a few require that you quit then reopen the application.

Where the Prefs Are (Remember's Settings)

Preferences, occasion type definitions and your active occasion file list are all stored in a file named Remember's Settings in the system Preferences folder.

Before making extensive changes or experimenting with Preferences you should use the Finder to make a copy of the Settings file in a safe place. If you really munge things up or if a nasty neighbor changes your default text style to white text on a white background, just replace the bad Settings file with the backup copy and you are back in business.

Make a backup copy of your important Occasion files while you are at it, just to humor me.

Using Multiple Settings Files

Since the Remember's Settings file contains essentially all of your custom settings from preferences to the active occasion files list, you can play some interesting tricks by creating extra copies of it. Simply make a copy of the default settings file and drag it someplace convenient on your hard drive. Rename it to something appropriately descriptive then double click it and the application will open using that particular settings file. The new settings file will remain in effect even after you quit the application until you either shutdown the computer or open a different settings file.

Each settings file has a totally independent set of preferences, occasion types and active occasion files. This is one way to safely experiment with different fonts, colors and appearances in general without altering your default settings.

Copying Settings Between Computers

You can copy the Settings file to other Macs. All settings will be carried along with one possible and one probable exception.

The possible exception is the fonts you have selected. They are identified by an internal number rather than by name, and it is possible that different Macs will use different numbers. Just change the appropriate text styles after copying.

The probable exception is the active occasion file list. It is saved in a format that is very dependent on the exact structure of your hard drive. When you open Remember? from a copy of the settings file, you will probably be greeted by the "Cannot find occasion file XX..." message. Select <Locate> and locate them if the list is the same as the other Mac. Otherwise, select <Remove> then use menu: File \ Occasion Files to reenter your active list.

The Text Style Dialog


The Text Style Dialog

This is the standard dialog to change text styles in Remember?. The four basic parts of a text style are the font, size, style and color. A few styles provide only one or two of these parts.

1. Sample Text

A preview of the text style on the appropriate background color.

2. Font

Select a font family from those installed in the system Fonts folder.

3. Size

Choose the height of the font from a set of standard sizes or any size from 1 through 255 points with the Other submenu. Sizes that should look good on the screen are outlined. The text will look better if you stick with these sizes.

4. Style

Each box applies one of the standard Mac face attributes when checked. Turn off all six boxes to display the style in Plain face. Turn off the Style box to use the inherited face style.

5. Color

Click this button to select a color on Macs that support it.

Click <OK> to accept the new style, or <Cancel> to discard your changes.

Unchecked Style Items

Each component of a style is controlled by a checkbox. Turn on the box if you want to change that part of the style. Unchecked items take their value from some other style, generally pref: Appearance \ Standard Text Style. The sample text area takes all this into consideration.

Color Matching

You may not get the exact color you chose if your screen is set to 256 or fewer colors. You will instead get something the OS considers reasonably close. You can force the system to use the exact color using a Preference item, but you will notice the screen flash different colors when you start Remember? as screen colors are 'borrowed' from other applications. This is not an issue if your screen displays thousands or millions of colors.

Copyright ©1988-99 by Dave Warker, all rights reserved worldwide.

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