Default Folder is a control panel that lets you "link" a default folder to any application or desk accessory. When you launch a desk accessory or application by itself (ie. not by double clicking on a document), Default Folder arranges for file dialog boxes to initially open in your default folder. Default Folder also provides pop-up menus in file dialogs to allow you to switch between folders, disks, and Link Sets, and allows you to modify the default file dialog behavior.
Default Folder includes balloon help, allowing you to point to controls in the main control panel and preferences dialog to find out what they do. You can turn on balloon help using the help menu in your menu bar (use the question mark icon at the top right in System 7, or the menu titled “Help” in System 8).
To use Default Folder's pop-up menus, place the mouse where you normally see the disk name in the file dialog. By default, three pop-up menu buttons replace the disk name. Push on the button with the folder icon for switching between folders, the one with the disk icon for disk switching, or the one with both a folder and a disk icon for utility and link set functions.
The folder menu allows you to:
- Access the current application or desk accessory's default folder.
- Access one of a reserved set of folders "locked" in the menu.
- Access a folder you recently used.
The utility menu allows you to:
- Change the current application's default folder.
- "Lock" additional folders in the folder menu.
- Open the currently displayed folder in the Finder.
- Create new folders.
- Get and change attributes of the currently selected file or folder.
- Move the currently selected file or folder to the Trash.
- Switch between Link Sets
The disk menu allows instant switching to any available disk, and can display the amount of space free on each one.
Default Folder also provides:
- A "rebound" feature in file dialogs. When you bring up a file dialog, the file you selected last time will be highlighted, saving you the trouble of scrolling through the list if you want to reopen the same file.
- The ability to click in a Finder window and switch to that folder.
- The option to make "Replace" the default button instead of "Cancel" when you try and save a file with the same name as an existing one.
- The ability to turn off the "improved" icons used in the file dialogs of System 7.1 (with System Update 3.0), System 7.5, and beyond. The new icons look much better, but they display more slowly than the old generic ones, so many people prefer to turn them off.
Default Folder requires System 7 or above to operate and is Mac OS 8 compatible.
• Basic Operation
The Default Folder control panel lets you create different "Link Sets," each with any number of default folders for applications and desk accessories, and any number of folders "locked" into Default Folder's pop-up menu in the Open and Save dialogs. To make a new set, click in the "New..." button. You will then be able to use the "Edit Set..." button to add applications, desk accessories and folders (see Editing Link Sets below). The "Delete" button simply deletes the selected link set. The "Prefs..." button is used to set preferences which control Default Folder's operation.
Note that the active link set (the one Default Folder uses) is the one you leave selected when you close the control panel.
You can make several link sets for different people, or one for work and one for personal correspondence, etc. Entire link sets can be duplicated by using the "Copy links from current set" check box in the "New..." dialog.
If you want to edit links by hand when you change the name of your hard drive, for example, you can export and import link sets to and from text files using the "Export" and "Import" buttons. The file format is simple, and is documented in the file itself. The easiest way to learn about importing and exporting is to export an existing link set and look at the file - it's simply a table of links with the data separated by tabs. When importing, Default Folder will check all of the links as it imports them. If any of the folders do not exist, you'll get an error message and the link will not work (unless it's just on an unmounted disk, in which case Default Folder will figure it out later).
• Editing Link Sets
After clicking the "Edit Set..." button, you'll be presented with the link set editing dialog. To add applications or desk accessories to the link set, click "Add...". You'll be prompted to link a default folder to each one as you add it. The "Link..." button can be used to change the default folder of any application in the set. The "Delete" button deletes the currently selected application or desk accessory.
Note that when adding desk accessories and applications, only desk accessories with a file type of ‘dfil’ (a System 7.0 desk accessory) and applications with a file type ‘APPL’ will normally be shown. For extensions like Font/DA Juggler, and for desk accessories in the System file, click the "Show All Files" check box in the file selection dialog so you can pick from other file types.
The "Default..." button generates a link that will apply to all applications and desk accessories not explicitly included in the link set. This can be useful if many people use your Mac and you want all applications' documents to go into a "Miscellaneous" folder or to the Desktop if they don't know what they're doing.
The list of locked folders can be modified using the "Add&Lock" and "Remove" buttons next to the list. These folders will be permanent choices in the pop-up menu which Default Folder puts into your file dialog boxes.
To save any changes you've made during the editing session, click on the "Save" button. If you click "Done" without first saving, the Link Editor will ask you if you want to save your changes.
Quick Hint #769: Holding down the option key while clicking the Delete, Remove, and Done buttons bypasses the normal warnings.
• Preferences
The "Prefs…" button in the control panel displays lists of preferences. These settings are divided into several groups, which you switch among by using the menu at the top of the Preferences dialog box.
File Dialog Menus settings:
- Always hide disk name with menu buttons. This option tells Default Folder to permanently put its pop-up menus in all file dialog boxes. If you turn this option off, the pop-up menu buttons only appear when you move the mouse over the disk name in a file dialog.
- Include recently used folders in menu. Default Folder will keep track of the folders you've recently used and offer them as menu selections if you wish. Check this box to enable this "history" tracking. Click on the small arrows to change the number of folders to keep in the menu. Selecting the Sort Chronologically option sorts the folders in the menu by the order in which you accessed them, while choosing Sort Alphabetically sorts them by the names of the folders.
- Auto-remove deleted folders from menu. Before a file dialog comes up, Default Folder will normally check to see if all the folders in its menu still exist. If any have been deleted, it removes them from its pop-up menu. This is very friendly, but can be slow over large networks since Default Folder must physically check to see if each of the folders exists. Unchecking this box disables this, making the file dialogs appear more quickly, but you may occasionally get a message saying that a folder no longer exists when you try to switch to it.
- Show utility menu. This checkbox turns on the utility menu between the folder and disk menus The next two options modify the appearance of this menu.
- Allow moving files to the Trash. This checkbox adds a menu item to the folder menu which lets you move the selected file or folder to the Trash from within a file dialog.
- Provide Get Info command. Turning on this option gives you a menu choice which gets the name, size, creator, modification date, and Finder attributes of the selected file or folder. Novice mode only lets you view the information, while expert mode will allow you to change this information. Note that the file name is editable, so you can rename files using this command, too.
- Show available disk space in disk menu. When this option is checked, Default Folder shows the amount of free space available on each disk in the disk menu.
- Go to last used folder when switching disks. When you switch between disks, you can either return to the last folder you used on that disk, or go to the top level of the disk. Turning this checkbox on does the former, while turning it off does the latter.
Command Keys:
- Five edit boxes allow you to set command keys for the Switch to Default Folder, Open Folder in the Finder, Create New Folder, Get Info, and Move to Trash commands in Default Folder's middle menu.
- As a standard part of the file dialog boxes, pressing the cmd+up arrow keys moves up a folder level, while cmd-left, cmd-right, and cmd-down, move to the next volume, previous volume, and selected item, respectively. Default Folder adds option-left, option-right, option-up, and option-down which switch to the previous locked folder, next locked folder, previous history folder, and next history folder, respectively.
General Settings:
- Rebound to last selected file. This turns on a feature that remembers the last file you selected in an application's file dialog box, and reselects it the next time you use a file dialog.
- Switch folders by clicking on Finder windows. With this option on, you can click on the Finder’s windows while a file dialog is displayed. Default Folder will switch to the folder you clicked on, or to the Desktop if you clicked outside of a Finder window.
- When a file already exists, make "Replace" the default button instead of "Cancel". Normally, when you try to save a file using a name that's already taken, you are warned with a dialog. If you hit the Return or Enter key, "Cancel" is chosen for you. Turning on this option makes the Return or Enter key click the "Replace" button instead.
- Option-open to display all files. With this checkbox on, you can hold down the option key while a file dialog is coming up to force it to show all files and folders, rather than just the ones the application can recognize. This is useful in conjunction with the Get Info command, when you want to rename or change the attributes of a file that the current application doesn’t normally open.
- Turn off pretty icons in file dialogs. With the release of System Update 3.0 for System 7.1, and later in System 7.5, Apple began showing the actual icons for files in the file dialog boxes. While this is much more attractive (and even informative), it slows down the file listings, especially on slow networks or across ARA. Turning on this checkbox reverts the icons back to their generic appearance and speeds their display significantly in those cases.
- Show Default Folder cursor during disk access. This is primarily to show you how much overhead you're incurring when the "auto-remove deleted folders" option is turned on.
Folder Switching:
- Also switch to the application's default folder every time a file dialog is used. This always switches back to the application's default folder, even if you just switched away from it last time you opened or saved something. This is primarily useful for network administrators who want to more forcefully "suggest" where users should save their work.
- Also switch to the application's default folder the first time after starting with a document. Normally Default Folder will not switch to the default folder if the application was launched with documents, since you would presumably want to open or save files in that same folder. This overrides that behavior by switching even if an application is launched with documents.
• Shareware Registration
Default Folder is distributed as shareware. You may try it for 30 days, after which we ask that you either delete your copy or register it by sending $25 (US). When you register, you receive free updates, technical support, and a registration code to disable the shareware reminders that begin popping up after 30 days.
Registrations are handled by Kagi, a payment processing company. They accept cash, check, VISA, MasterCard, American Express, First Virtual and Money Orders as payment. To register, do one of the following:
1. Create a registration form by running the “Register SCS” application that came with Default Folder. You can do this by clicking the “Register” button below. Addresses for sending your registration via email, mail, and fax are included on the form. For credit card and First Virtual orders, your number will be encoded so it can be safely transmitted via fax or email. Note that additional help on using the “Register SCS” application is included in the “How to Register” file that accompanies Default Folder.
2. Go to <http://order.kagi.com/?ST&S> to register with a credit card at Kagi’s secure web site.
3. If you are a CompuServe member and cannot use Kagi, you can register by typing “GO SWREG” and purchasing product #1669. Please note that it may take longer to process your registration via CompuServe than through Kagi.
There are reduced prices for purchasing multiple copies of Default Folder. These prices are automatically computed by the online registration form when you fill in the number of copies. For large purchases, the site license option will allow you to use Default Folder at all your organization’s offices within a 100 mile (160 kilometer) radius of each other, while the worldwide license option allows you to use an unlimited number of copies. Again, see the online registration form for pricing of these options.
If you would like to submit a purchase order, please do so directly to St. Clair Software at one of the addresses listed in the Technical Support section.
** Send registrations to one of these addresses **
Email: (Internet) sales@kagi.com
Fax: +1 510-652-6589
Mail: Kagi Shareware
1442-A Walnut Street #392-ST
Berkeley, California, 94709-1405
USA
Payments sent via email are processed within 3 to 4 days. Payments sent via mail and fax take up to 10 days (plus transit time for mail). If you provide a correct internet email address you will receive an email acknowledgement. Otherwise, a registration letter will be sent to you via the postal service.
• Technical Support
For questions, suggestions, purchase orders, and bug reports, contact us at one of the following addresses. Note that our Internet email account is read much more frequently than the others.
** These addresses are for technical support, not registrations **
Email: (Internet) support@stclairsw.com
(AOL) StClairSW, (CompuServe) 72330,3455
Fax: +1 330-549-3495
Mail: St Clair Software
1636 E. Garfield Road
New Springfield, OH 44443-9701
USA
For the latest news from St. Clair Software, information and tips about Default Folder and our other products, and links to some of our favorite places on the web, visit our site on the World Wide Web at:
http://www.stclairsw.com/
• Thanks and Credits
Default Folder was designed and written by Jon Gotow, inspired by the complaints and vision of Adel Assaad. We'd also like to thank Adel for his contributions to both the conceptual and user interface design.
Thanks to the many folks who have served as beta testers and provided valuable feedback throughout Default Folder's lifetime.
Thanks to Green Mountain Software, whose DOCMaker product is used to distribute Default Folder's documentation as a standalone application.
Thanks to Metrowerks for the CodeWarrior environment, which was used for the PowerMac native portions of Default Folder, and Symantec for Symantec C++, which was employed for the balance of the code. Mathemaestetics Resorcer was used for resource editing, providing great productivity gains over Apple’s ResEdit.
"Thanks" to Microsoft, whose programmers seem to have a wonderful knack for making all other programmers' lives a little more difficult.
Finally, the biggest thanks have to go to my wife, Jessica, for putting up with me disappearing into the study for hours (days?) at a time. Really, I promise I'll take out the garbage right after this one last change...
