The Easy Install installs the version (680x0 or PowerPC) optimized for your computer. Custom installs let you pick the version to install.
Documentation
File Buddy‚Ñ¢ 4.2.2 Read Me - An expanded version of what you are reading now, contact information, and the usual Read Me stuff.
FileBuddy4.22ReadMe.html - An HTML version of File Buddy‚Ñ¢ 4.2 Read Me (with links to the topics) which can be viewed in Netscape Navigator‚Ñ¢ when double-clicked. To have it open in Internet Explorer‚Ñ¢, use File Buddy to change the creator signature of 'FileBuddy4.22ReadMe.html' to that of Internet Explorer.
Upgrading/Registering FB - How to register File Buddy 4, or upgrade from a prevous version.
Read These FAQs - Some questions I am frequently asked by users.
Other Items
File Buddy Help - The online help file is installed in the File Buddy folder. It must be in the same folder as File Buddy for File Buddy to use it.
A log of what is installed is placed at the root level of the drive on which File Buddy is installed.
A few problems were found with 4.1.1 running under Mac OS 8. Anything serious has been fixed and File Buddy 4.2 has been tested with Mac OS 8. The verdict so far is that File Buddy runs fine under Mac OS 8. The only exception is rebuilding desktops, and this is discussed in the section Known Problems in File Buddy 4.2.2.
68K, PowerPC native, and fat binary versions now available!
Starting with version 4.2, File Buddy is distributed by way of an installer that will install your choice of 68K, PowerPC native, or fat binary versions. The installer for File Buddy 4.2.2 was created using Installer VISE Lite from MindVision Software. For more information on Installer VISE Lite, contact:
How do you release two versions in the same day? Easy. Fix two different bugs that will affect your registered users. This has not been the best day. 4.2 had a serious bug that I scrambled to fix before too many people downloaded it. During the day, some other problems came to light:
Another serial number problem. This one kept File Buddy from reading the serial number at launch. Fixed.
Someone reported that the copy of File Buddy being installed did not have its BNDL bit set. CodeWarrior is supposed to take care of that, but apparently File Buddy isn't the only piece of software around with a bug. The BNDL bit is set in 4.2.2.
Some people had a problem with the custom installs options of 4.2.1. Fixed.
To my registered users who downloaded 4.2 and/or 4.2.1:
My apologies for the inconvenience and frustration these bugs have caused you. I appreciate your honesty and support, and work hard to justify that support by providing an ever-better product. I am deeply sorry that my efforts were tarnished with the release of 4.2. I believe we are back on track with 4.2.2. Special thanks to all those who reported problems quickly.
Fix in v4.2.1
25 August 1997
A really dumb programming error caused File Buddy 4.2 to think all serial numbers are bogus. My most sincerely and humble apologies on this one, especially since it only affected registered users.
Changes and Fixes in v4.2
24 August 1997
Changes
Bug reports from v4.1.1 have been extremely light, so there has been time to work on other things. They are:
The Get Info Window:
The icon popup menu has changed. The Make Folder Icon... command has been replaced by Make Sys 7 Folder Icon... and Make MacOS 8 Folder Icon... commands.
When the Get Info window changes an item's info, any file list windows containing that item are updated.
The icon is now marked if a custom icon is to be added, changed, or removed.
Setting one of the dates to the other using the Creation Date or Modified Date items in the date popup menus works a little differently now. Read the online help for details.
Dates can be copied from a file in the finder to the item in the Get Info window by dragging the file from the Finder to the date you want to change.
There is no longer an alert asking to save changes if the window is dismissed with the Cancel All button.
The Find Window:
The folder list section of the Find window has been completely reworked. Read the online help topic Finding Files for details. I never really liked the old implementation, and I'm much happier with this one. It's easier to use, looks better, and tends to be faster, especially when searching a single folder.
The layout of the Find window has been adjusted to provide a neater appearance.
Other Changes:
The Get Info drag&drops are now referred to in documentation as "droplets", and their code has been rewritten (at last), so they will no longer mistakenly complain that File Buddy hasn't been registered when if fact it has. They may occasionally launch File Buddy briefly to see if you've registered. This is normal. This way they keep working even if you upgrade to a later version. Droplets created by previous version of File Buddy will still be confused and complain. Also, the droplets have a new icon. You may have to trash any old droplets and rebuild your desktop to see the new icon.
Versions of File Buddy prior to 4.2 will not run if the current startup disk is locked (such as a CD-ROM) because they cannot create a preferences file. Starting with 4.2, File Buddy will create a preferences file in the folder containing the File Buddy application if it cannot create one on the startup disk.
The preferences window is no longer modal.
There is a now a preference to open an empty file list window at launch.
Added an Empty Trash command to the Special menu.
There is a new icon and file type for the FB Prefs preferences file. The file type was changed to conform to standard practice, and the icon was changed to improve it and make it more consistant with other File Buddy icons. Note: The change in file type will cause versions of File Buddy prior to 4.2 to complain that there is a problem with the preferences file and refuse to run.
There is a new icon and file type for the File Buddy Help file. You should only notice that there is a different icon.
Fixes
Fixed a bug in the Desktop>Update command so that it works now. It is still the case that the other two options (Rebuild and Replace) will still lose comments in info windows, no matter what version of the system software you are using (I will look into this).
The icons of some system files and folders were not being found correctly. This has been fixed.
The Unattached Aliases window could be resized small enough to put part of one button outside the window. This has been fixed.
Creating a custom icon with a non-square picture larger that 32 pixels on either side would fail. Fixed.
Several minor fixes, most of which fix things that have probably never affected anyone.
The Restart Finder command was not working under Mac OS 8. Finder would quit as intended, but not restart. Fixed. Since the code to rebuild desktops also quits and restarts the Finder, that code has been changed as well.
Known Problems in File Buddy 4.2.2
Some users have reported crashing when clicking on the little magnifying glass in the lower left corner of some of the file directory boxes. I have never been able to reproduce the problem, though it now seems it is a problem with the FaxAction Extension.
After dragging a file from one file list window to another file list window without the option key down, File Buddy moves the file to the other window. Or so it should. Seems it copies on some computers. I don't know why.
On some computers, if you drag a file from a file list window to a location in the Finder that is on a different volume than the item, the Finder will put up an alert about error -1,708 and do nothing. On others it will copy the file. If the file and the destination folder are on the same volume, the Finder will move the file to that location. I'm still looking into the problem. If it happens to you, switching immediately to the Finder after releasing the drag seems to help.
When you drag text out of the File Buddy Help window, the style information gets lost.
It has been reported that the help window can't be accessed from the Apple Guide menu if you are using Apple Guide 2.1. This is a bug in that version of Apple Guide. The problem does not show up in versions 2.0.2 or 2.1.1.
The Finder of Mac OS 8 has been known to not show the correct icon for some files after rebuilding the desktop of non-floppy drives. Specifically, sometimes an icon is blank or the 1-bit (black and white) icon is used even though a color icon is available. This may be a bug in Finder 8.0 (not the only one I've found), as the correct icon is available (File Buddy can get it from the desktop). Restarting Finder doesn't correct the problem, though they always appear correctly after restarting the computer. I will be studying this one and hope to have it fixed by v4.3.
The memory allocation fields in the Get Info window are not PPC savvy. When virtual memory is off on a PowerPC Mac and you do a Get Info in the Finder for a PPC native application, the suggested, minimum, and preferred values in the window are the sum of the size of the application's data fork (where PowerPC code is stored) and the memory values stored in the application. When virtual memory is turned on, the size of the data fork is not included. File Buddy does not include the size of the data fork in either case. This will be fixed by v4.3. It would have bben fixed in this version, but it will require redesigning the info window-no small thing.
File Buddy is shareware. Shareware is try-before-you-buy-software. It is not use-it-as-long-as-you-like-for-free software. That kind of software is called freeware. If you like it and use it more than 10 days, please read the document Upgrading/Registering FB and register.
Disclaimer:
I have endeavored to make File Buddy as reliable and stable as possible. Nevertheless, it undoubtedly has bugs of which I am currently unaware. I don't know of any bad ones, but just about every piece of software with more than 20 lines of code has bugs. I use File Buddy all the time. However, you--as I--use it at your own risk.
Please contact me if you find any bugs, unexpected behavior, or have a suggestion for a new feature. I welcome ideas, but please keep in mind I can't use them all, or File Buddy will need over 4 megs of disk space, and the interface will suffer terribly. Only features which have wide appeal can make it in.
Well, that's all for now folks. PLEASE let me know if you find any bugs, so I can fix them asap.
I want to thank the people who registered a prior version of File Buddy for their financial and moral support. Without their appreciation, File Buddy 4.1 would never have been done.
Thanks to those users who reported bugs so I could fix them and you could have a better product.
Thanks to everyone on CompuServe that helped me with technical questions, now too numerous to mention. Thanks to everyone who tested some version of File Buddy to see if I had been successful in fixing a bug I couldn't reproduce.
Thank you,
Laurence Harris
17 Old University Station Rd
Chapel Hill, NC 27514-1572
919-933-9595
Contact Information:
Web: <http://www.skytag.com/>
FTP: <ftp://ftp.skytag.com/skytag.com/>
Please try standard info-mac sites or on-line services to obtain the latest versions of File Buddy, RegisterFB, or FindFile Chooser before downloading from my site, as there are limitations to the amount that can be downloaded from mine.
E-mail:
CompuServe: 76150,1027
Internet: <76150.1027@compuserve.com> (preferred) or <larry@skytag.com>
A few e-mail requests:
1. Please do not e-mail files without asking first, and if I okay a file, please send it to <skytag@mindspring.com>.
2. E-mail me jusdiciously. Since the same guy designs the software, writes the software, processes registrations, and answers e-mails, the more e-mail I get, the less time I have for other activities like writing code.
