--> WARNING - this version is for PPC Macs only, with a color monitor, <--
--> using System 7.5 or greater! <--
For a mere $20, you may purchase the full version of MiniWin. You'll receive a self-contained control panel that allows you to configure MiniWin according to your preferences (turn sounds on or off, set number of clicks to minimize, and more!).
See below for details.
Welome To MiniWin!
MiniWin was designed for us Mac users who don't really care for the Apple ™ or Aaron ™ WindowShade feature. After all, those titlebars can clutter up a screen pretty fast! This extension will allow you to "minimize" application windows. A small window will appear in place of the application window, with an icon in it.
Installation:
Simply drop MiniWin, and the TSM Fix 1.03 extension onto your System folder. They will be put into the right folder. Just select "OK" when the dialog box appears. Restart your Mac. You MUST install the TSM Fix extension to assure predictable behavior for the minimized windows.
NOTE: System extensions are usually loaded and executed in alphabetical order. If you are running a System version earlier than 8.0, and you have the Aaron extension installed, theMiniWin extension must load after the Aaron extension. If MiniWin doesn't appear to be working correctly, open up the Extensions folder (inside the System folder). Hold down the option key and select "Clean Up by Name" in the Special menu. The extensions will be rearranged in alphabetical order. Check to be sure the MiniWin extension appears after the Aaron extension. If it doesn't, rename it (like ~XMiniWinDemo) and clean up by name again. Repeat this process until it appears after the Aaron extension. If you are running 8.0 or later, put Aaron in the trash if it's in your Extensions folder (since you don't need it anyway). Restart yor Mac.
Usage:
Double - click on any draggable area of a window. I say this because the window borders are thickened under Aaron and System 8.0 and can be used for dragging. The WindowShade button will work as usual,
however, you cannot minimize collapsed windows.
The minimized window will appear in the lower left corner of the main screen. Successive minimized windows will be added to the right of the first one. When the bottom row beomes filled (yikes!), MiniWins will move up a row and continue this pattern. If Control Strip is active, the MiniWins will start just above it.
The minimized window(s) may be dragged on the screen just like any other window.
Maximize the MiniWins by double - clicking anywhere in them.
Notes, etc.
As with any INIT of this complexity and functionality, there were some unavoidable compromises which
I had to address. Please read the following for clarification:
The icon that appears in the minimized window is determined by the window's title. Thus, if there are identical file or directory titles, the minimized window may display the wrong icon. Hopefully this is rare. This can be avoided by giving ALL of your files and directories unique names WHEN WARRANTED. The file search routine stops when it finds the first file or directory that matches the window's title, for icon display purposes. It would be too time-consuming to search every file on every volume that matches the title, especially on high-capacity drives. Even if a full search was done, there is no guarantee that the icon would be correct. This could happen if a file was read into memory and closed. If no match is found, the icon will be the the application's icon.
>>If this is not acceptable, throw away your Mac, buy a PeeCee, and install Windoze - whatever ;).<<
You will notice (of course) that the title of the minimized window is severely truncated due to the window's size. For this reason, the full title will appear when the cursor is over the titlebar of the Miniwin. If the MiniWins overlap, the ones in back will be brought to the front as the cursor passes over their titlebars.
Error checking is minimal. If there is not enough memory to allocate a new minimized window, you will hear a system beep. You will also hear a beep if you try to minimize a window while there is a dialog window in front that needs to be attended to. Moveable modeless dialog windows (ones that have no close box) cannot be minimized, either.
The MiniWins are Text Services Manager windows. There is a known deficiency with TSM windows that may prevent the cursor from changing to a standard arrow cursor when it is over a TSM window. This can occur when a TSM window is on top of an application window that is using, say, an I-beam cursor. You can still drag and maximize the window in spite of the odd appearance of the cursor. I do not know if Apple has fixed, or will fix this problem as of this writing. Please! This not my fault!
Some memory in applications is used for display of the MiniWins (approx. 1K per window), as well as display
of the full MiniWin title (approx. 4K). The memory for the full title is immediately released when the title
is not displayed. The memory for the MiniWins is released when they are maximized. I have not encountered any out-of -memory problems yet, but this is something to be aware of if you are running any memory-hungry applications. (These memory allocations are initiated and handled by the Memory Manager, so don't worry about them :).
Above all, ENJOY!
Programmers' Alert!
I am open to any and all suggestions as to how to improve this extension. Code is welcome!
Acknowledgements:
I would like to thank James Walker, who wrote Find_Icon, for providing the icon searching routine, Jim Luther et. al., for the invaluable MoreFiles library, the gang at Metrowerks, and the csmph newsgroup, for helping me get this project off the ground. Also, thanks to Matt Slot for the TSM Fix, a vital extension for working with TSM windows. Special thanks to Scott Kevill for providing the means to produce a color TSM window without doing any any patches! I couldn't have done it otherwise.
Legal Junk:
This product is offered "as is". No warranties, no nothing. Use at your own risk.
Known Incompatibilities:
Don't maximize a MiniWin if it's behind the triangular part of the Control Strip or a crash may occur! I have reported this as a bug to Apple.
Feedback - Please!
Email:
jharvey@mail.airmail.net
Mailing address: (USA)
James Harvey
617 Kingston Place
Garland, TX 75043
--If you wish to purchase the full version of MiniWin--
Send payments to (checks only, please!):
James Harvey
617 Kingston Place
Garland, TX 75043
The full version of MiniWin will be sent to the address listed on the check, on a 1.4M floppy.
Revision History:
3.0:
Numerous revisions to code. Widened MiniWins so more of title shows under OS8.
2.9:
Corrected crashing bug in GestaltValueDspatch trap, increased border around icons, added support for ejectable volumes, and improved search routines to include directories.
2.1:
Corrected problem with inadvertent clicks on titlebar of MiniWins bringing process to front.
2.0:
Added full titles and Aaron expansion of MiniWins.
