Scripts by George Clark, Reinhold Penner, Nicholas Riley, Bobby Saha, et al.
Design by Barry Fass-Holmes
Mail to barryfh@mail.sandi.net
Introduction
Vertical FileDuck (VFD) 2.0 has a new look (Copland icons) and several new buttons for MacOS 8.x. Its function is to help you avoid extra trips to the menu bar in the Finder and perform file management operations from within application programs.
Ever need to eject a disk while you’re in the middle of composing an important document and you just don’t want to go back to the Finder? Vertical FileDuck enables you to do that . . . and more!
New look
This is VFD 2.0 in its full-state.
This is its half-state.
Requirements
OneClick v.1.0.x and AppleScript 1.1 (standard with System 7.5.x); System7.x (users of System 7.0 or 7.1 need the files for Macintosh Drag and Drop functionality; see the FAQ at WestCode’s web site for details - http://www.westcodesoft.com).
Optional software
To take full advantage of Vertical FileDuck’s buttons, the following utilities are needed:
* Aladdin Stuffit Expander and DropStuff (or StuffIt Deluxe); and
* Aladdin Desktop Tools, or
* DataViz FileView (included with MacLink Plus), or
* Snitch (a shareware program that is available at Info-Mac Archives’ web site).
Aladdin Stuffit Expander and DropStuff (or StuffIt Deluxe) is needed for the Process File button.
Aladdin Desktop Tools, FileView, or Snitch is needed for the Browse button.
Installation
Drag the Vertical FileDuck palette to OneClick’s Button Palettes folder. The complete path is:
Hard Drive:System Folder:Preferences:OneClick Folder:Button Palettes:Vertical FileDuck Palette
To take full advantage of Vertical FileDuck’s usefulness, it should be imported as a Global palette.
Usage
The top of the Vertical FileDuck palette consists of five buttons (from left to right, as shown below): ICONIZE, OC MENU, DRAG, BALLOON HELP, and TOGGLE SIZE.
When you click the Iconize button, FileDuck is reduced to an icon that looks like this:
You can drag the iconized button to any location that you want on your desktop (or you can use the OneClick Editor to set the iconized button’s precise location; see the OneClick User’s Guide for details).
When you click the iconized button, Vertical FileDuck is restored to its previous state.
The OC Menu button displays the following popup menu (which may include different items in your usage, depending upon what OneClick palettes you have installed):
The Drag button (which looks like a blank title bar) enables you to position Vertical FileDuck where you want it on your desktop (recommended position is to the right side so that it will be visible when you are working in an application program). Just click it and drag (or you can use the OneClick Editor to set the palette’s precise location; see the OneClick User’s Guide for details).
The Balloon Help button turns on the palette’s balloon help. After you click this button, position your cursor over any of Vertical FileDuck’s buttons and a brief explanation is displayed, as shown below.
Alternatively, you can simultaneously press the option and shift keys and then pass the cursor over a button to display its balloon help.
The Toggle Size button switches Vertical FileDuck between its full-state and half-state configurations. Simply click this button to toggle. The triangle icon’s orientation changes to correspond with the currently displayed state of the palette, as illustrated in the pictures at the top of this file.
The next row of the Vertical FileDuck palette consists of the following four buttons (from left to right, as shown below): UPDATE, MOVE TO TRASH, EMPTY TRASH, and EJECT DISK.
The Update button is needed to select files that you want to manipulate or get information about, if you are using System 7.x. This button is not needed if you are using System 8.x.
TIP FOR SYSTEM 7.x USERS: The most important thing to remember if you want to get the most out of Vertical FileDuck is that you MUST make a selection before rushing off to the manipulation options. If you are at the Finder, for example, click the desired file and then click the Update button in order to get information about that file, as illustrated below.
The Move to Trash button moves currently selected file(s) and folder(s) to the Trash. If any of the selected items is open when you click this button, an alert message will be displayed to confirm that you really want to move the item to the Trash.
The Empty Trash empties the Trash.
CAUTION: This button empties the Trash, even if you click the Cancel button in the confirmation dialog that displays.
If you press the option key while clicking the Empty Trash button, the Trash window is opened.
NOTE: The Move to Trash and Empty Trash buttons require Macintosh Drag and Drop.
The Eject Disk button displays a popup menu listing all removable disks that currently are displayed on the desktop. To eject a disk, move the cursor to that disk’s name in this popup menu and release the mouse button.
NOTE: If you eject a diskette without closing its window, you might find that the diskette’s window does not open automatically (or vice versa) when you later reinsert the diskette in the drive. Because this problem is intermittent, and it has not been fixed in Vertical FileDuck v.2.0.
The next row of the Vertical FileDuck palette consists of the following four buttons (from left to right, as shown below): WINDOW SIZE/POSITION/LIST VIEW, VIEW OPTIONS SETTINGS, DUPLICATE, AND MAKE ALIAS.
The Window Size/Position/List View button allows you to configure folder windows into a standard size, location on the desktop, and view. The default settings are for a 15-inch monitor at 832 x 624 resolution, but you can change these settings in the script to meet your work style. To use this button, just click it in the FInder and the currently active folder window will be configured.
The View Options Settings button allows you to standardize the view options for folder windows. The default settings are for the modification date and folder size to be displayed in the List View, but you can change these settings in the script to meet your work style. To use this button, just click it in the FInder and the view options of the currently active folder window will be configured.
The Duplicate button makes a copy of the currently selected file. To use this button, select the file you wish to duplicate, then click the Duplicate button.
The Make Alias button makes an alias of the currently selected file. To use this button, select the file of which you wish to make an alias, then click the Make Alias button.
The next row of the Vertical FileDuck palette consists of the following four buttons (from left to right, as shown below): NEW FOLDER, CLOSE ALL WINDOWS, COPY ICON, and PASTE ICON.
The New Folder button creates a new folder in the selected location and displays a dialog prompting you to type in the desired name of the new folder.
The Close All Windows button closes all currently open windows on the desktop.
The Copy Icon button copies the icon of the currently selected folder or file.
The Paste Icon button pastes the icon in the clipboard onto the currently selected folder or file.
The next buttons on the Vertical FileDuck palette are DISK SPACE, DISPLAY/SELECT, and FILE SIZE as shown below.
The Disk Space button displays the icon for the currently selected volume and the number of megabytes that are available on that volume. To select another volume, click and hold down the Disk Space button, then select the desired volume that is currently on your desktop.
The Disk Space button can be configured to give you a visual warning when the amount of free space on your hard drive or a floppy diskette reaches a specified threshold. To set the threshold, click and hold down the Disk Space button, then select “HD Low Limit . . .” or “Floppy Low Limit . . .” and a self-explanatory dialog is displayed. After setting the threshold, the Disk Space button will change color when the free space is less than the threshold.
The Display/Select and File Size buttons can be used together in the Finder or any application program for finding out the current size of any file. To use the Display/Select button, click and hold the Display/Select button to pop up its menu:
Select the Select Other… option. In the Select File dialog that is then displayed, navigate to the desired file, select that file, then click the Select button in the dialog (or press the Return key).
In addition, the Display/Select button displays a popup menu containing additional options once you have selected a file and then pop up the menu again. These additional options are shown below and are self-explanatory.
NOTE: If you have selected a folder rather than a file, the Display/Select button displays the folder’s name but the File Size button appears as shown below.
If you click the File Size button in this situation, another popup menu for calculating the size of the selected folder is displayed as shown below.
The Calculate Size button works properly with MacOS 7.x, but not with MacOS 8.x.
The next row of the Vertical FileDuck palette consists of four buttons (from left to right, as shown below): MOVE/COPY, PROCESS FILE, CALCULATOR, and ABOUT VERTICAL FILEDUCK.
The Move/Copy button moves or copies the currently selected file to the specified destinations listed in this button’s popup menu. This button is toggled between the move and copy modes by single-clicking it while holding the option key. The copy mode is shown above and the move mode is shown below.
A popup menu is displayed when you click and hold the button.
In copy mode, the popup menu appears as follows (it will look slightly different in your usage after you have added specific targets to the list; this is done by selecting the Add to List… option in the bottom section of the popup menu) :
In move mode, the popup menu appears as follows (it will look slightly different in your usage after you have added specific targets to the list; this is done by selecting the Add to List… option in the bottom section of the popup menu) :
The Process button allows you to process the selected file—Expand, New Archive, Stuff, Stuff and Delete, or Group. The Expand, New Archive, Stuff, and Stuff and Delete buttons require StuffIt Expander (freeware from Aladdin Systems) and DropStuff (shareware from Aladdin) (or StuffIt Deluxe from Aladdin) on your hard drive. The Group option works similarly to the “Gather” function found in Aladdin’s Magic Menu; it moves all selected files (in the Finder) to a folder, prompts you to name this new folder, and select a destination for it.
The Calculator button allows you to launch your preferred calculator program from within any application program in which you currently are working. To select the calculator program that you want linked to this button, click the Calculator button and the following self-explanatory popup menu is displayed.
The About Vertical FileDuck button is self-explanatory.
The next row of the Vertical FileDuck palette consists of four buttons (from left to right, as shown below):
The Browse button needs to be configured for use with either: 1) Aladdin Desktop Tools; 2) DataViz FileView; or 3) Snitch. To configure the button, click it and hold down on the mouse button until the popup menu shown below is displayed. Select one of the above three programs from the popup menu.
NOTE: If you do not own one of these three utilities, the Browse button will not enable you to look at the contents of a file. You must have at least one of these three utilities to take advantage of the Browse button.
To use the Browse button, select the file for which you want to view the contents (e.g., one that’s on the desktop or in the open window of a folder), then click the Browse button (you do not need to click the Update button).
The File Path button makes use of drag and drop. To display or copy a file’s path, drag the file onto the File Path button. Upon releasing the mouse, the following self-explanatory popup menu is displayed.
The Find File button activates the find file program of your choice. Simply drag and drop that program onto the Find File button. The next time you click the Find File button, it will launch the find file program you’ve chosen.
The Text Search button allows you to search through all text files in a selected folder and identify those that contain a specified string of text. After you single-click this button, a directory dialog is displayed in which you can choose the folder in which you wish to search for files containing a specific string of text. Then you are prompted to type the string of text for which you wish to search. After you click the OK button, another dialog is displayed that contains the results of the search.
The bottom row of the Vertical FileDuck palette consists of three buttons (from left to right, as shown below): RAM METER, FILE TYPE, AND FILE CREATOR.
The RAM Meter button displays a pie chart that indicates the amount of memory used by the currently active application. You do not need to click this button; it works automatically.
The File Type button allows you to see the selected file’s type code. This button is used in conjunction with the Display/Select button as explained above. Additionally, clicking and holding the File Type button reveals a popup menu with some choices on how to alter this information as shown below.
The File Creator button functions similarly to the File Type button. The only difference is that it deals with the file creator code.
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