Spam is an Apple Menu enhancer that allows you to create groups of items that appear in your Apple Menu. Spam will allow you to pre-program your Apple Menu so that when you choose a group called "BBS" for instance, only BBS related items will appear in the Apple Menu. If you choose a group you created called "Programming", only programming related items will appear in your Apple Menu. Spam requires System 7.0.
How it works:
Spam performs it's magic by doing a very simple thing. It moves unused items to a "Spam Items" folder in your System Folder (that you create before using Spam). When you enable a file to be part of a group and the group is selected, Spam moves the selected items to the "Apple Menu Items" folder. By using Spam you get a dynamic Apple Menu.
How to make Spam work:
1: Create a new folder in your System Folder called "Spam Items". Please name it exactly "Spam Items" without quotes. Please do not put spaces before or after the name.
2: Put Spam anywhere on the system disk ( it must reside on the same disk that has the system folder on it) and double click on Spam.
3: Notice the list in the middle of the Spam window, the list shows the available items that can be enabled or disabled. Look at the group menu, you click on the Group Menu to select among groups that you create. The Execute Selection button below the Group Menu when clicked programs the Apple Menu.
4: Take time now to look at the File Menu and choose New Group...
A dialog will appear. You can see the currently defined groups in the dialog's item list. Take time now to use the New Group button and the Remove button to add/remove groups from the item list.
Give groups descriptive names that will help you to remember what items belong to the group. You can create up to 100 groups.
Click the OK button when done.
5: Click on the Group Menu and notice that all of your newly created groups appear in the PopUp.
6: Quit Spam for now.
7: Create aliases to your most commonly used files and applications and move them into the "Apple Menu Items" folder or the "Spam Items" folder. (To create an alias, click on the file/application/folder and choose Make Alias from the File Menu when in Finder) An INIT called FinderHack has the ability to do this very easily. Put aliases of any files that you would like to have easy access to in the Apple Menu.
8: Run Spam again and notice that Spam shows you all items regardless of whether they are in the "Apple Menu Items" folder or in the "Spam Items" folder. Choose a group from the Group Menu and select the items you wish associated with the group in the item list. Selected items will become inverted indicating that the item is selected. When you have finished selecting the items, click on the PopUp and without changing the name of the group selection, let go. This saves the current group.
Proceed through all of your groups and select the items for each group. When you are finished, choose the group that you would like to be the current group and click on the Execute Selection button. Wait a couple of seconds (for the finder to realize something has changed) and select the Apple Menu. The items associated with the group should appear.
9: Place Spam on your desktop where you can get to it easily or create a macro to run Spam with some hot keys and you're done.
Spam takes up only 64K of ram so you can launch it and leave it in RAM.
Have Fun, I hope Spam helps you out at least a little by making your life a little easier.
Send bug reports/suggestions to:
Aron_Nelson@cup.portal.com
or
Aron Nelson
1800 Stokes St #70
San Jose, CA 95126
ÑÑShareWare NotesÑÑ
Spam is shareware and costs $15 if you use it.
Send a check for $15 (U.S.) to:
Aron Nelson
1800 Stokes St. #70
San Jose, CA 95126
You will receive a disk containing the latest version.
Upgrading groups from version 1.0 -> 1.0.1
Groups are stored as 'GRPS' resources. To move resources from one application to another, use Resedit to clear all 'GRPS' resources from version 1.0.1 and copy all of the 'GRPS' resources from version 1.0 to 1.0.1. Resedit is a free resource utility from Apple.
ÑÑ Revisions/Bugs ÑÑ
7/6/91 Spam Version 1.0
Finder bug?? Although Spam moves items to the Apple Menu Items folder, the Finder sometimes doesn't realize that new items are in the folder. Workaround: choose another group, click execute, choose the group you want, click execute.
7/14/91 Spam Version 1.0.1
Fixed bug where the default group could be wrong on the first save. When Spam detects duplicate files in both the Apple Menu Items and Spam Items folder, an alert notifies the user that there are duplicate files. Fixed bug where the current group selections were lost if the user clicked on some items and quit immediately.
ÑÑÑ Disclaimer ÑÑÑ
Use Spam at your own risk. The author makes no warranty either express or implied with respect to this software, it's merchantability or its fitness for any particular purpose.
Spam Version 1.0.1 by Aron Nelson
Copyright ⌐ 1991 by Aron Nelson, All Rights Reserved.
