General Preferences

• Use Checkmark Display - Activating this option causes Conflict Catcher to change the way that it displays the enabled/disabled status of startup files in the main window’s startup file list.  Enabled startup files are shown with a checkmark to the left of their names in what is typically the ‘magnify’ column.  The checkmark display can be helpful in making the transition from other startup file management systems which often use a ‘checkmark display’ style interface.

• Show Startup Disk Menu - When this option is checked, Conflict Catcher adds the ‘Startup Disk’ menu just above the startup file list in the main window.  This menu lets you choose which volume to start your system from just as Apple’s ‘Startup Disk’ control panel does, but without having to leave Conflict Catcher.

• Report Startup Crashes - This item determines if ‘Automatic Startup Crash Detection’ will be watching for interruptions in the startup process that are likely culprits in startup file conflicts.

• Report System Patches - When this option is enabled, Conflict Catcher will provide a detailed list of every system trap patched by each enabled startup file when you request a ‘System Report’.  If you do decide to check ‘Report System Patches’, you can have Conflict Catcher display its list of trap patches in two ways.  If you’d like to see a list of every trap that each of your startup file patches, click on ‘Display by Startup File’.  If you prefer to see the names of every startup file that patches each specific trap, select ‘Display by Trap Name’.

• Display Finder Menu - When this option is checked, Conflict Catcher’s Finder menu will appear in the menu bar of every application that you use.  Using this menu, you can quickly open Conflict Catcher’s main window, view its ‘About Box’ for registration and serial number information, and automatically activate the set of your choice.

• Guarantee System Heap - Under some circumstances, you may need to be sure that a certain amount of ‘heap’ space is available to your startup files during the system startup process.  Keep in mind that this setting is only effective during the startup process.  Once the startup process is completed, the system software automatically manages the system heap.

File Preferences

• Display Components - This option lets you control whether or not ‘Components’, a special type of extension, are treated as startup files by Conflict Catcher.

• Display Shared Libraries - ‘Shared Libraries’ are another type of extension that you can elect to have Conflict Catcher test and manage.

• Display Chooser Extensions - Place a check in this box if you’d like Conflict Catcher to consider ‘Chooser extensions’ as startup files. 

• Recognize Aliases - Conflict Catcher will treat aliases of startup files that it finds in your System Folder as the startup file itself when this option is enabled.

• Exclude Files... - Conflict Catcher gives you the option of disregarding specific startup files that you don’t want it to test or manage by ‘excluding’ them from its Startup File List.  This option is most useful when you want to be absolutely sure that startup files critical to your system cannot be disabled from Conflict Catcher’s main window.

• Edit Types... - As you work with Conflict Catcher, you may find that it would be convenient to be able to expand on the types of files that it typically treats as startup files.  A file’s ‘type’ is a four character string that describes its contents to other applications and to the system software.

Folder Preferences

• Display Fonts - If you’d like to include your system’s fonts in Conflict Catcher’s Startup File List, check this option.  Conflict Catcher will then manage the Fonts folder within your System Folder.  (System 7.1 or Later)

• Display Startup Items - This option determines whether or not files in the System Folder’s ‘Startup Items’ folder will be displayed in Conflict Catcher’s Startup File List.

• Display Shutdown Items - Place a check by this preference if you’d like to have Conflict Catcher test and manage files in your System Folder’s Shutdown Items folder.  (System 7.5 or Later)

• Display Apple Menu Items - If this option is checked, Conflict Catcher will manage the files in your System Folder’s Apple Menu Items like startup files.

• Display Control Strip Modules - If you’d like to have Conflict Catcher test and manage your system’s control strip modules, check this Folder preference.

Color Preferences

• Conflict Catcher’s ‘Color’ preference panel gives you the option of displaying the files in your Startup File List in colors that correspond to the specialized folder that they’re associated with.  If you’d like to change a specialized folder’s color, just click on its name.

Icon Preferences

• Show CC’s Icon - If you’d like Conflict Catcher to display its icon at startup time, check this option.

• Hide Startup Icons - If you’d like to prevent Conflict Catcher from displaying any startup file icons other than its own at system startup time, you should place a check in this item.

• Show Hidden Icons - This option controls whether or not Conflict Catcher will display a startup file icon in cases where a startup file does not display one on its own.

• Show Custom Icons - Check this option if you’d like to have Conflict Catcher display a ‘Custom Finder Icon’ at startup time if it finds one associated with a startup file.

• Show Icon Names - When this preference is checked, Conflict Catcher will display the name of each startup file below its icon as your system starts up.

• Show Small Icons - If you’d like to have Conflict Catcher display a smaller version of each startup file’s icon during the startup process, you should check this option.  This can be particularly useful if you’ve got quite a few startup files and don’t like to have them climb too high on your screen as your system starts up.

Set Preferences

• Ask Before Saving Sets - If this option is checked, Conflict Catcher will always ask you if you’d like to save changes to a modified set (with the exception of the ‘Standard Set’, which is always saved without prompting).

• Display Set Name At Startup - If you’d like to have Conflict Catcher display the name of the set that’s being loaded in a panel near the top of the screen at startup time, check this option.  

• Disable/Enable Files Applies To - These check boxes determine which startup files the ‘Set:’ menu’s ‘Enable Files’ and ‘Disable Files’ options apply to.

Testing Preferences

• Log Conflict Test - When this option is checked, Conflict Catcher will record a detailed history of each Conflict Test performed in a file called ‘Conflict Test Log’ in your System Folder.

• Restart Between Tests - If you suspect that Conflict Catcher could be influencing the outcome of a Conflict Test when it asks you for each pass’ testing results, you can force it to restart at the beginning of each testing pass.

• Always Open as Startup - If you’d like to have Conflict Catcher’s main window appear every time you startup up you system, check this option.

• Expert Conflict Tests - If you’d like to prevent Conflict Catcher from displaying its main window during each Conflict Testing pass, check this option.

• Scan for Damaged Resources - Click this button if you’d like to verify that the structure of all selected startup files is intact.  Since corruption of a startup file often results in damage to its structure, this check can save you the time needed to conduct a ‘Conflict Test’ by finding a likely source of startup file conflicts.