"Sherlock is a wonderful tool, but I often found myself not using it becasue I would have to scroll down a large list of non-related items in the Apple Menu - it wasn't very convenient." says Public Access Software president and founder Tim Mityok. "And without any obvious reminder that I had Sherlock I would sometimes go about searching the hard way."
Sherlock Menu is a small System Extension (INIT) that installs a System-wide menu that contains a shortcut to the Sherlock search application now part of the Mac OS. Sherlock Menu will allow you to more quickly and conveniently access the Sherlock application from any running program.
You can also pre-select the search mode using Sherlock Menu before you begin using Sherlock itself. This allows you to go directly to the type of search such as "Find File", "Find by Content" or "Search Internet" and launch Sherlock in one step.
If Sherlock is already open, Sherlock Menu will bring it to front automatically in whichever mode it was last set to.
Sherlock Menu is free of charge, however Registering your copy or copies of Sherlock Menu is recommended so that you receive timely updates or bug fix notices from Public Access Software.
To register simply connect to the Internet as required then select "Register…" from the Sherlock Menu.
Sherlock Menu is free for use and redistribution. If you wish to include Sherlock Menu on CD ROM or other media that are to be sold please contact Public Access Software for licensing information.
Usage
Sherlock Menu 1.1 and newer requires a PowerPC™-based Macintosh running Mac OS 8.5 or newer.
Drag 'n' drop the "Sherlock Menu" icon onto the System folder, when you are asked if you want to move the file to the Extensions folder click on "Okay" or press Return.
You must reboot the computer for "Sherlock Menu" to become active.
From then on you can simply click on the Sherlock Menu icon in the menu bar and select "Open Sherlock…" to activate the Sherlock Application located anywhere on the same hard disk as the System folder. Sherlock does not have to be located in the Apple Menu Items folder directly for Sherlock Menu to function.
Known Quirks
If you have any unusualy problems or experiences when using Sherlock Menu please contact Public Access Software Support at <support@pasoftware.com> with a description of the problem and basic information about your computer (OS version, type of computer).
• Sherlock Menu will scan the hard disk with the Active System Folder for the Sherlock application in order to launch it. If you have more than one copy of Sherlock (for some reason that only you are privy to) the *first* copy found will be launched.
This also means that Sherlock *must* be on the same hard disk as the System Folder or Sherlock Menu will not be able to launch it. The application itself must be present, an alias will not suffice.
• Since "Sherlock" and the older "Find File" applications have the same file creator code Sherlock Menu could potentially launch "Find File" instead of Sherlock. If this happens you should either delete "Find File" or not use Sherlock Menu.
• The last two menu items use Internet Config to access their URLs, since Mac OS 8.5 includes its own incarnation of IC and it most likely has a default web browser set they will work properly. If you are not online the URLs will not be able to load into the web browser.
• Sherlock Menu will not work with versions of the Mac OS earlier than 8.5 (see above). You may see the Sherlock Menu icon during startup, but Sherlock Menu itself will not load.
Public Access Software provides "Sherlock Menu" as-is with no warranty either expressed or implied that "Sherlock Menu" will work flawlessly on your computer and/or in conjunction with other System Extensions that insert custom menus into the Menu Bar. Use "Sherlock Menu" at your own risk, Public Access Software is not liable for any damages either real or perceived including the loss of data as a result of using "Sherlock Menu".
