Welcome to Aldus Fetch! This ReadMe file supplements the booklet, Aldus Fetch Getting Started, with additional technical details and late-breaking product information that was not available when the booklet went to press.
Please read this file carefully ╤ especially the section about installing ╤ before you begin working with Fetch. We also recommend that you print a copy of the file and keep it with Aldus Fetch Getting Started.
The Aldus Fetch Trial Version is the same as the regular retail version, with the following exceptions:
- You do not need to a serial number to use the Trial Version.
- Each Trial Version catalog can contain a maximum of 50 items. (A catalog created using the regular version can contain up to 32,000 items.)
Use the Trial Version to explore the capabilities of Aldus Fetch and discover all that it can do for you. When you╒re ready to order the full retail product ╤ with which you receive a full set of printed and online documentation, technical support and customer services, and mailings about future releases ╤ use the enclosed order form or call Aldus Customer Services for order informaton. In the United States and Canada, call 1-206-628-2320. Elsewhere, contact your local Aldus dealer or distributor.
The remainder of this ReadMe file is organized into four sections:
Ñ Installing Aldus Fetch
Ñ Using Catalogs
Ñ Creating and Managing Catalogs
Ñ Sharing Catalogs on a Network
Within each section, look for the double hyphens (--) that mark the beginning of each topic .
NOTE: Aldus Fetch and System 7
Although you can use Fetch if your computer is running 6.0.7 or higher, Fetch was designed to take advantage of a number of features in System 7 that improve ease of use and productivity. Throughout this file, you will find information about specific differences in procedures for System 6 and System 7. More generally, however, you will find that only System 7 provides the following benefits:
- From the Finder, you can drag-and-drop files onto the application icon to start Fetch, create a new catalog, or add to or update items in an existing catalog.
- Once items have been cataloged, Fetch uses the System 7 alias manager to remember where they are and what their names are, and only prompts you to relocate files if they have been moved from one volume to another.
- Within Fetch, you can use Balloon Help, which provides detailed information about every command and nearly option in every dialog box. You can use Balloon Help to explore complex options or features not documented in Aldus Fetch Getting Started (for example, the ╥Add/Update Options╙ and ╥Preferences╙ dialog boxes and most of the commands on the Admin menu).
After installing Aldus Fetch and before starting the application for the first time, you must restart your computer to enable QuickTime. If you do not restart, you will be able to use Fetch but will not be able to preview movies, sounds, or compressed images. If you are running System 7, check your System folder before restarting: The Aldus Installer/Utility copies QuickTime 1.5 to the top level of the System folder; you must drag the QuickTime 1.5 icon to the Extensions folder within the System folder before continuing. (Otherwise, you may see an alert the first time you start Fetch.)
-- System requirements
As the size of the files you work with increases and the complexity of your task within Fetch grows, you may find that you want to add more RAM (random-access memory) than is recommended on page 3 of Aldus Fetch Getting Started. In particular, if you catalog and work with large movies or compressed images, performance will improve if you increase RAM to 8MB or more.
-- What files are installed where
The Aldus Installer/Utility installs the following files and folders on your hard drive.
In the Aldus Fetch folder:
- the application file
- the ReadMe file
- the two files, Aldus Installer History and Aldus Installer Diagnostics
- a folder that contains the sample catalog and its source files
In your System folder:
- the QuickTime extension, version 1.5 (if you are running System 7, move this file to the Extensions folder before restarting your computer and then starting Fetch)
In the Apple Menu Items folder within your System folder:
- a QuickTime-compatible version of the Scrapbook (if you are running System 6, move this file to your System file using Font/DA Mover)
In the Utilities folder in the Aldus folder within your System folder:
- the Aldus Installer/Utility
- a QuickTime-compatible version of TeachText
Note: After you start using Fetch, up to three additional files may be created and added to your System folder (in the Preferences folder if you are running System 7, otherwise at the top level of the System folder):
- Fetch Exclusions, which contains the names of files you add to your exclusions list
- Fetch Preferences, which contains any settings you change using the ╥Preferences╔╙ command from the Edit menu and any search definitions you create using the ╥Define╔╙ command from the Search menu
- Fetch Recovery, which is created when you use the ╥Recover╔╙ command on the Admin menu to recover a damaged catalog file
-- Installation troubleshooting
If you have trouble installing Fetch, try one or more of the following procedures.
- Turn off any virus protection utilities that you have on your computer. Restart the computer, then install Fetch. Remember to turn these utilities back on when you have finished installing Fetch.
- If the Installer appears to be stopping on a particular disk, you may have a bad disk. Check by dragging the contents of the disk to your hard drive. If the disk is bad and the copy cannot be completed, your computer will display a message. Call Aldus Customer Services for a replacement disk. In the United States and Canada, call 1-206-628-2320. Elsewhere, contact your local Aldus dealer or distributor.
- If you are running System 7: Restart your computer with all extensions turned off. (Press and hold down Shift while restarting your computer.) Then try installing again.
-- Where to turn for information about Aldus Fetch
As you learn and use Aldus Fetch, you can turn to a number of sources for information.
- Aldus Fetch Getting Started provides an introduction to the product and describes basic procedures. The ReadMe file supplements the information in the booklet.
- Fetch Shortcuts is an online summary of shortcuts and tips for using the product. To view these screens, choose ╥Fetch Shortcuts╙ from the Help menu (System 7) or from the Apple menu (System 6). NOTE: Some of the shortcuts listed in Fetch Shortcuts ╤ Page Up, Page Down, Home, and End, for example ╤ do not work as described if you have QuicKeys installed on your computer. Use QuicKeys, if you want, to redefine the keys to work as intended in Fetch.
- Aldus Fetch Introduction is a QuickTime movie that provides a high-level overview of the product. To view the movie, double-click the sample catalog icon to open the catalog, double-click the movie╒s thumbnail, and then follow the intructions on the first frame. Reminder: Before you can preview the movie, you must update its catalog entry as described on page 4 of Aldus Fetch Getting Started.
- If you are running System 7: You will find extensive Balloon Help for Fetch commands and dialog box options. Turn Balloon Help on by choosing ╥Show Balloons╙ from the Help menu, then use the balloons to explore the commands that interest you. You can turn Balloon Help off afterward by choosing ╥Hide Balloons╙ from the Help menu.
Before using the sample catalog that is installed automatically in your Aldus Fetch folder, you must update the catalog to reflect the new location of its source files (on your hard drive rather than on the drive from which they were cataloged). Otherwise, although you will be able to display thumbnails in the Gallery window, you will not be able to preview or print the items. To update the catalog, read and follow the instructions on page 4 of Aldus Fetch Getting Started.
-- Starting Aldus Fetch and opening a catalog
Start Aldus Fetch by double-clicking either the application icon or a catalog icon.
If you start Fetch when the Clipboard contains a very large text or PICT object (more than 32K for text or more than 600K for a PICT) and Fetch needs more memory to start, it will clear the Clipboard but display a message to tell you it has done so.
Two other situations can also require Fetch to clear the Clipboard:
- when you copy a large item to the Clipboard in Fetch, switch out of Fetch, perform a memory-intensive operation, and then switch back to Fetch.
- when you switch to another application, fill the Clipboard from there with a very large object, and then switch back to Fetch.
If you try to open a corrupted catalog or project, Fetch displays a message about a database error and cannot complete the command. When you see this message, you must quit and restart Fetch before you can open another catalog or project.
Force-quitting from Fetch (by pressing Command + Option + ESC, only if you are running System 7) leaves the open catalog in an undefined state. Restarting your computer before restarting Fetch will help to avoid potential problems caused by the forced quit.
-- Viewing search results
In the Gallery and Pasteboard windows, you can use the ╥By╔╙ commands on the View menu to organize the items in the window. Although ╥By File Type╙ organizes items alphbetically by the type of the source file, the order is case-sensitive. Thus, file types that begin with a capital letter appear first, followed by file types that begin with a lowercase letter. Within each file type, items are shown in the the order that Fetch finds them in the window (not alphabetically, for example by filename).
-- Previewing an item
The default memory allocation for Fetch (2400K) is based on average file sizes and systems. Because the memory required to preview a file is based on its pre-compressed file size, you might want to increase the memory allocation if you routinely preview large files. Previewing very large images and movies may require an allocation of 3MB or higher.
If your computer appears to freeze up (the watch cursor appears and then stops) when an image is only partially drawn, your computer may be out of memory. If this happens to you, restart your computer, then increase the amount of memory allocated to Fetch. Then restart Fetch and open the catalog again. Be careful, however, about restarting your computer when you are sharing a catalog. Restarting while others are using the same catalog can cause problems for the other users, as described later in this file.
If you are running System 7, or if you are running System 6 and have the 32-bit Color QuickDraw extension installed, or if you have a video card that supports GWorld video RAM, you can open Preview windows using ╥GWorld╙ for faster scrolling and zooming within the Preview window. To preview using GWorld, use either of these two methods:
- Press ╥G╙ while choosing ╥Preview╙ from the Item menu.
- Press Control while double-clicking the item╒s thumbnail.
If you use the second method, you must hold down the Control key until you see the spinning bone to ensure that you really are using GWorld. The Control key shortcut also copies the item to the Pasteboard window while opening the Preview window. If you do not want the item in the Pasteboard window, use the first of the two methods to preview. To clear an item from the Pasteboard window if you unintentionally copy an item to it, select the item, and then press Clear or choose ╥Clear╙ from the Edit menu. (The shortcut for copying an item to the Pasteboard window without opening a Preview window is to press Control while single-clicking the item╒s thumbnail.)
When you select only part of an item and copy it to the Clipboard, certain types of files are converted when they go to the Clipboard.
- Most partial image selections are copied to the Cliboard as PICT.
- A partial selection of an EPSF image copies to the Clipboard as a PICT.
- Movies are always copied by reference only, so copying part of a movie simply copies a reference to the selected frames.
- Partial sound selections are copied to the Clipboard in SND format.
When you preview or choose ╥Get Info╙ for an item whose source file is on a removable medium that is mounted remotely (for example, a CD-ROM disc or a Bernoulli drive on someone else╒s computer), Fetch sometimes prompts you anyway to mount the volume. When you click the Cancel button in the alert box, the command completes as you would expect.
-- Working with an item╒s source file
If you use ╥Move Original╔╙ from the Edit menu to move an item╒s source file when the source file is locked, ╥Move Original╔╙ behaves like ╥Copy Original╔╙ ╤ that is, Fetch makes a copy but does not delete the original.
-- Using an item in another document
As mentioned on page 9 of Aldus Fetch Getting Started, you can use Fetch in any of three ways to get a catalog item into another document. The copy-and-paste method is always available. However, for an increasing number of applications that are Fetch-aware, Fetch also provides a way to copy or to send a reference only, so that the other document receives a reference, or pointer, to the original file rather than the entire file.
Fetch-awareness can vary from supporting a special Clipboard format for copying and pasting the reference to supporting the ╥Place╙ Apple Event. If the receiving application supports:
- the FTCH Clipboard format, you can select one or more items in Fetch, choose ╥Copy Reference╙ from the Edit menu in Fetch, and then paste the item references into a document using any other application on the same computer.
- the ╥Place╙ Apple Event, you can select one or more items in Fetch, choose ╥Send Reference╔╙ from the Item menu in Fetch, and then use the item references in another application on almost any other computer on the network.
How you use the item references in the receiving document will depend on the application you are using. Some Fetch-aware applications require you to paste the reference into the document; others provide a palette mechanism for selecting and pasting the items. For details, refer to the documentation provided by the application╒s manufacturer.
Note: An inconsistency similar to the one described in the last paragraph of the previous section, ╥Previewing an item,╙ can also occur when you send an item reference to Multi-Ad Creator. If you select an item whose source file is on a remotely mounted volume and choose ╥Send Reference╔,╙ the item does not appear on the files palette in Multi-Ad Creator. If you are trying to send the reference to your own computer, use ╥Copy Reference╙ instead. If you are trying to send the reference to another computer, choose ╥Add/Update Items╔╙ from the Admin menu, then choose ╥Update Unconditionally╙ as the ╥Modification Method╙ option. Update the items that you want to send to Multi-Ad Creator, then try ╥Send Reference╔╙ again.
-- Printing
Color images that require QuickTime to preview will print as grayscale if your monitor is set to grayscale. If you want the image to print as a color image, reset your monitor or print from a computer whose monitor is set to color. (Color images that do not require QuickTime to preview will print in color even from grayscale monitors.)
When printing from a Preview window to a black-and-white printer, try printing using the ╥Color/Grayscale╙ option if printing using ╥Black & White╙ does not produce the results you want. Note: ╥Color/Grayscale╙ is not an option unless you have version 6.0 or higher of the LaserWriter driver.
Some printers may have difficulty printing thumbnails from actual images when there is a large amount of information to print on a single page. If you encounter such a problem, try one of the following workarounds:
- Print using the ╥Color/Grayscale╙ option rather than ╥Black & White.╙
- Print using the ╥Larger Thumbnails╙ option, so that there are fewer thumbnails to print on each page.
- Print using the ╥Better╙ or ╥Good ╙ option rather than ╥Best.╙
- Turn background printing off (in the Chooser).
- Allocate more memory to the print monitor (if you want to keep background printing on), or install more RAM in the printer.
If you have multiple Novell volumes with the same name, Fetch will treat them as if they were all one volume. To avoid this situation, make sure that all Novell volumes have unique names. Although Fetch does recognize the difference between a Novell volume and a non-Novell volume with the same name, having duplicate names may be confusing for users of the catalog and is generally not recommended.
The default memory allocation (2400K) for Fetch is based on average file sizes and systems. Cataloging very large images and movies may require an allocation of 3MB or higher.
When saving EPS files that you plan to catalog in Fetch, you must save a PICT preview even if you also save a PNOT preview with the file. Otherwise, you cannot preview the image in Fetch or copy and paste it into another application.
If you are running System 7 and cataloging folders by selecting their aliases rather than the folders themselves, Fetch skips over aliased folders within a folder. To catalog an aliased folder, you must select it rather than a folder that contains it.
If you are running System 7: Before you catalog items referenced by an aliased folder, make sure that the alias name is no more than 27 characters long. Although System 7 allows folder names to be up to 31 characters long, the limit for volume names is 27 characters and the alias of a folder is treated as if it were a volume. If you catalog items in an aliased folder whose name is longer than 27 characters, you can later crash while trying to use those items, for example, to preview, get information, or update.
If Fetch crashes while trying to catalog a file that you suspect may be damaged, try opening the file in an editing application appropriate for that file type. If the editing application also cannot open the file, do not attempt to catalog the item in Fetch. If you add the filename to the exclusions list (using ╥Exclusions╔╙ from the Admin menu), Fetch will always ignore the corrupt file in the future. This will allow you to create catalogs (under System 7) by dragging the disk icon over Fetch without having to worry about the corrupt files.
-- Excluding a file from adding or updating
The exclusions file can contain a maximum of 800 filenames. If you try to add additional names, you hear a beep rather than see an alert or other message.
-- Maintaining a catalog
╥Delete╔╙ and ╥Purge╔╙ on the Admin menu can only be used when a single user has the catalog open. If other users have the catalog open when you try to use either of these commands, Fetch notifies you that other users have the catalog open and will not complete the command. This only works in a shared environment if you follow the recommendation that the shared catalog reside in a folder to which all users have both read and write access. Do not store shared catalogs in a folder that has mixed access privileges for different users. Failure to observe this condition can result in loss of data.
Deleting large numbers of items from a catalog does not decrease catalog file size. Although catalog files are relatively small to begin with, if you do want to reduce the file size of a catalog from which you have deleted a large number of items, export the catalog, create a new catalog, and then import the exported catalog into the new one. Pediodic use of export and import is also recommended as a way of backing up and keeping a catalog in good repair.
In addition to the information that follows, we also recommend that you read or reread:
- the chapter on networks in your Macintosh reference or owner╒s guide.
- the Macintosh network guide provided with your network operating software.
Note: For items that need not be shared, you and your co-workers might want to create and use personal catalogs on your own hard drives to reduce the need to access shared catalogs. (The source files for your personal catalog can reside on your hard drive or on a network server.)
-- Managing catalog access privileges
The single most important rule for sharing a Fetch catalog is that all users must have the same read/write access to the shared catalog (that is, to the folder that contains it) ╤ even if you do not plan to allow all users to write to the catalog. Write access is required not only to actually modify the catalog, but also to perform other operations. As an additional precaution, you might want to store shared catalogs in a folder that contains no other files except catalog files.
When different users do have different levels of access to a catalog, the access privileges of the first user to open the catalog determine the access privileges for all other users who subsequently open that catalog ╤ which can result not only in barring certain activities for all users but also in the loss of data from the catalog.
Depending on the number of users who will share any given catalog, you might want to password-protect the catalog using the ╥Privilges╔╙ command on the Admin menu. The person who sets the password must previously have set a Chooser name (if running System 6) or a Sharing Setup name (if running System 7).
-- Managing source files access privileges
Although all users must have the same read/write access to a shared catalog, there is no need to observe the same restriction for the catalog╒s source files. (Remember, however, to keep source files in folders other than the one that contains the catalog.) Different users may have different access privileges to the source files, although all users must have some accessto perform different activities within Fetch (for example, to preview).
-- Sharing a catalog
It is also a good idea for multiple users of a shared catalog to be aware of conditions that exercise (and can occasionally crash) the catalog and to follow certain ╥rules of the road╙ for optimal performance and mimimal downtime.
The first rule is to be patient when more than a few people are using the same catalog. When many users try to open or close the catalog at the same time, it takes longer because Fetch needs to verify the status of each user at all times. A number of factors ╤ including network load and capacity, the number of AppleTalk zones on the network, the size of the catalog, the number of users who have it open, and so forth ╤ can affect performance once multiple users have the catalog open.
When any one user leaves Fetch unexpectedly ╤ whether because of a crash or a forced quit ╤ Fetch works to ensure that the integrity of the catalog is maintained by stopping to check each user again. If network traffic is heavy or if one or more users are running Fetch in the background, the process may take a while, but it is worth your while to wait. Restarting your computer while checking is in progress merely prolongs the process for other users.
If you are the person whose computer has frozen or crashed, restart your computer and re-open the catalog as soon as possible. This will enable Fetch to perform the user check more quickly and allow others to continue with their work. (One situation that is known to cause a computer to freeze is when one user tries to refresh the user list in the Catalog Info window after another user has already crashed.)
When many users are simultaneously carrying out searches, the results can occasionally be inconsistent due to heavy traffic on the network. If you suspect that this has happened, simply repeat the search.
Also note that when more than 20 users have the same catalog open, the user list in the Catalog Info window may not show all users. In general, when more than 20 users share a catalog, it is imperative that there be only one catalog adminstrator (one user with password access to the Admin menu) and that general user editing of descriptions and keywords be disabled. The catalog administrator might want to work with a backup copy of the catalog while other users work with the original, and then replace the catalog periodically.
If several users sharing a catalog appear to be frozen and the cause is unknown, those who can should close and then re-open the catalog. If there are still problems, all users should close the catalog, quit Fetch, and optionally restart their computers. If anyone is unable to re-open the catalog after restarting the computer, check to see if there is still someone running Fetch in the background. Ask that person to make Fetch active, close the catalog, and then re-open it (if needed or desired).
-- Maintaining a shared catalog
If more than one user of a catalog is allowed to make changes to the catalog, some cautions and restrictions apply. Some of these conditions are managed well by Fetch; others as noted below can cause a crash.
All users should keep in mind that Fetch locks a catalog temporarily whenever any one user is editing keywords or descriptions, adding or updating items, or deleting or purging items. Normally, the locking time is undetectable to other users, but if a large number of changes are being made, the stop time may be more noticeable. Fetch normally displays a message if one person tries to modify the catalog while another user is in the middle of doing so.
The ╥Delete╔╙ and ╥Purge╔╙ commands can only be used when there is a single user with the catalog open. If you try to use either of these commands when Fetch is aware of other logged-in users, Fetch displays an alert telling you that the command is not available at the moment. If you need to make the change immediately, you must ask all other users to close the catalog first.
The ╥Recover╔╙ and ╥Verify╔╙ commands should not be used at the same time by two users with the same catalog open. Unfortunately, Fetch is unable to prevent this from happening and can crash if it happens.
