Version Finder is a Mac OS Application that keeps track of the current version numbers of all your Applications, Extensions, Control Panels, Drivers, etc. on your hard disk. You can quickly determine which version of a program you have by consulting Version Finder.
The Version Finder database is saved in the Preferences folder to a file named "VersionFinder Data".
To obtain the latest version of the program, please visit:
http://home.nycap.rr.com/tudor
- or - email: tudor@kagi.com
Follow the links to the Version Finder Support Page.
IMPORTANT:
Evaluation Period
This version of the program will run exactly 10 times before you will be required to enter a registration number to continue using the product. Please run the "Register" application, or visit the world wide web site "http://order.kagi.com/?OTX" to register your copy of the program and obtain a registration code. The cost is $15 for a single user license.
Registration
Registration and payments are handle via a third party called "Kagi". To register your copy of the program, run the enclosed “Register” application and provide your name, address, e-mail address, and quantity. Use the Register program to print the form and send it along with your chosen method of payment to:
Kagi
1442-A Walnut Street #392-OTX
Berkeley, California, 94709-1405
USA
Visa, Mastercard, check, cash, etc are accepted. Site and world-wide licence options are also available. Web registrations must be purchased via credit card.
Registration Code
After payment is received, you will be sent a registration code via email. If you do not provide an email address, then check the "postcard receipt" box in the Register application so that Kagi can send you the registration code via paper mail. Enter the Registration code the next time you run Version Finder. Your copy will be validated and you will not have to enter the code again. If you have difficulty entering the registration code, fail to receive a registration code after making payment, or Version Finder fails to validate your registration code, please contact Bill Tudor at "tudor@kagi.com" for help.
System Requirments
• MacOS 8.0 or later
• Internet Access required for Web links (optional)
• Appearance Manager (optional)
• Navigation Services (optional)
• Icon Services (optional)
• Sherlock (optional)
Installing the Program
• Version Finder comes packaged in its own folder, complete with a "Read Me" file to help you get started. The “VersionFinder” application program folder may be placed anywhere on any of your hard disks. Move the program folder to the location on any of your disks where you would like to keep it, and then double-click the application "VersionFinder" in this folder to start the program.
• Version Finder saves its data to a file named “VersionFinder Data” located in the Preferences folder on your System (boot) disk. There may also be a file named "VersionFinder Prefs" located in this same location, which contains your preferences settings.
Note: Version Finder is particularly useful when placed in the Apple Menu Items folder. This makes the program instantly available from under the Apple Menu. To place the program there, just drag the program icon to the folder named "Apple Menu Items" in the System folder. Alternatively, you can create an Alias of the program and place the alias in the Apple Menu Items folder.
Using the Program
Open the “VersionFinder” program. The current data list is displayed in the Version Finder data dialog window in alphabetical order sorted on the name of each item. If this is the first time you have run the program, the version data list will be empty and a new disk scan will automatically begin. You can tell that a disk scan is in progress by observing the "marching arrows" moving in the upper right hand corner of the data dialog window. When the disk scan is complete, the list will be updated with the current version data.
Item Types
Click the view popup to restrict items in the list to "Applications", "Extensions", or "Control Panels", or "Duplicate Items". Choose "All items" to view all files in the database. The system extensions option includes a wide variety of extensions ranging from background initialization files (INITs) to printer drivers.
Item Disk Location
You can see exactly where an item is located on your disks. Click on the disclosure triangle in the lower left area of the version database window to expand the window to show the location of any highlighted item in the list. Click on another item in the list to show another location. You can also locate a file by opening its enclosing folder or choosing "Get Info" from the File menu when an item is selected. See the discussion below on the File menu for more information.
When an item is selected in the list and the list is active, placing the cursor over the selected item and leaving it there for 3 seconds will cause a pop-up window to be displayed that shows the location on disk of the selected item. This feature can be turned on and off in the Preferences dialog.
The File menu.
Click on an item in the list to select it. When an item is selected, you can perform the following:
Opening the item or its Enclosing Folder Window
Choose "Open Item" from the File menu to open the currently selected item. This option is only available for Applications and Control Panels since extensions cannot be "opened". You are automatically switched to the open application when you choose this item.
Open the Enclosing Folder
Choose "Open Enclosing Folder" from the File menu to open the Finder window of the selected item's enclosing folder. You are automatically switched to the Finder application when you choose this item.
Get Info
Choose the "Get Info" menu item from the File menu after selecting an item in the list to display the Finder's "Get Info" box for the item. This window displays more version information as well as other useful information such as the file modification and creation dates, etc. You are automatically switched to the Finder application when you choose this item.
After you switch to the MacOS Finder as a result of the commands above, you can switch back to the Version Finder application by clicking on the Version Finder window.
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Scan Disks
To learn more about Scanning your disks or setting scan options in Preferences, see the topic Maintaining the version list.
Save List As…
This item in the File menu allows you to export the list to a text file suitable for import into a database. See the topic Exporting the version data for more information.
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Maintaining the version list
The first time you run the program, your version database will be empty and you will be asked if you would like to scan disks and build the database at this time. Click the "Scan Disks" button to build your initial version database.
Version Finder keeps track of the version numbers of all your Applications on all your disks, and of your System Extensions and Control Panels on your system (boot) disk. The list is updated when a disk scan is performed. You have the option of performing the disk scan manually, which means that you choose the "Scan Disks" item from the File menu to update the list, or automatically. There are three automatic frequency options: Monthly, every three months, and always. The options are chosen in the Preferences dialog, which can be displayed by choosing "Preferences" from the File menu.
When programs are removed from your disks or moved to different locations, the item in the Version Finder list referring to that item becomes invalid and will be displayed in italics. When you start to notice items in italics or you have recently made significant changes to your disks, you may which to re-scan your disks to update the version database.
The version number displayed in the list is always current. This is because the program actually looks up the version number before displaying the value in the list. If an item does not have a version number, then the word "none" is displayed.
Manual Scan Only
Using this option, disk scans do not take place automatically and must be performed by choosing the "Scan Disks" item from the File menu. This option is the default behavior.
Monthly Automatic Scan
If at least 30 days have passed since the last disk scan, Version Finder will initiate a scan automatically the next time you use the program. If you use the three months option, then the scan will take place after approximately 90 days has passed since the previous disk scan.
Always Automatic Scan
Version Finder will scan all of your disk for changes, additions, and deletions of programs, extensions, and control panels each and every time it is run. Since scanning takes place in the background, you can still search the list or otherwise use your Macintosh for other purposes. This disk scan does not take very long and varies depending on the speed of your machine and the size and number of disks to scan.
Finding an item in the list
You can perform quick searches for items by typing text in the Filter Box. The list of items is restricted to items whose name contains the filter text. Once a version database is built, it is significantly faster to type a portion of a program name in the Filter Box to determine the current version number than it is to use "Find File" in the finder, followed by a "Get Info" on the item found. Of course, both methods are faster than running the program to determine the current version.
You can also restrict the list to display Applications, Control Panels, Extensions, or Duplicate named items by choosing the appropriate item from the popup menu. This can also help narrow down the search for an item, as well as allow you to view all the version numbers for that particular type of item. Keep in mind that items with duplicate names are not always the "same" items. They can be different types (Application vs. Extension) or reside on different disks.
If an item in the list is shown in italics, it may no longer be on your disks or it may have been moved. See the help topic Maintaining the version list for more information.
Exporting the version data
You can export the currently displayed list of files and versions to a text file suitable for import into a database program (such as ClarisWorks or FileMaker Pro) by selecting “Save List As…” from the File menu. An option dialog box will appear allowing you to select the data fields you wish to include in the save. You can also select either the TAB character or the COMMA character as a field separator. The fields selected for the data in the currently displayed list is saved to a text file. When importing this data into a database program, chose the options for importing "tab delimited ascii text" or "comma delimited ascii text" as appropriate.
Searching for Updates on the Internet
The Internet menu provides you with menu items that link you to the internet. The link is accomplished by launching your default browser (dialing a remote network if required), and directing that browser to go to the desired site. Links are provided for the Version Finder home page as well as the “Version Tracker” web site. Version Tracker is a web site that lists update information for many MacOS applications and components. This site also provides a query capability that allows you to look up and item to determine the latest version available.
Checking for the Latest Program Revision
Select an item in the list, then choose the "Search Version Tracker for Update" item from the Internet menu, or click the "Search for Update" button in the Version List window. A query is sent to the VersionTracker web site for possible update information, and the results of the search are displayed in your default browser window. Similarly, you can search the “Filez” web site by choosing the "Search Filez for Latest Version" from the internet menu. There are also options for searching the MIT Hyper Archive web site, CNET's Shareware.com web site, and Apple Computer's software updates web site.
You can use the "Context Menu" to search an internet site by holding down the control key and clicking on an item in the Version Finder list. Also, the "Search For Update" button can also display the site menu by clicking and holding down the mouse button. There is an option on the Preferences that allows you to set which site is searched by default when the search for update button is simply pressed.
Keep in mind that not all programs on your disks will be tracked by these web sites, therefore your search may yield a result of "no match found".
The first time you attempt to access the Internet, a confirmation dialog box will be displayed. There is an option available in the program Preferences dialog box that allows you to always bypass this confirmation dialog.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Sometimes a web site search will yield no results because the format of the search
string is not correct. This often occurs when special characters (symbols) are
included in filenames. In addition, one or more of these sites may stop working if
the search engine syntax is changed for the site or the web page moves to a different
server. Version Finder will be periodically updated to account for these changes.
Searching the Internet with Sherlock
If you have MacOS 8.5 (or later) installed, Version Finder will allow you to search the internet using the "Sherlock" application that comes with MacOS 8.5 and later. Select and item in the list, then choose "Search Internet using Sherlock..." from the Internet menu. The Sherlock program will be launched and a search for the selected item using your currently selected Sherlock search sites will be performed.
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License Agreement
Version Finder, referred to as "the program", is Shareware. This means that if you wish to continue to use the program beyond the evaluation period, you must purchase a license for the product. The terms of this license agreement are as follows:
A single user license gives your the right to install and run a single copy of the program on a single machine, or, alternatively, you may install a single copy and two machines provided that the program is not executed on the two machines at the same time. A site license allows you to use any number of copies within a 100 mile radius at your facility. Additionally, a site license allows you to use the software on machines that are temporarily relocated away from the site, such as on a notebook computer while traveling. A worldwide license removes the 100 mile restriction.
You may distribute this program to others provided that the following conditions are met:
(1) A fee is not charged for the distribution without the express written consent of Bill Tudor. Those organizations wishing to include this program on a distribution disk offered for sale, such as a CD-ROM disk, should write to wtudor@nycap.rr.com for permission.
(2) The program archive must be distributed unaltered and all files originally included in the program are included in the distribution.
Version Finder is distributed as SHAREWARE. No warranty, either expressed or implied, is provided. Bill Tudor hereby disclaims all warranties relating to this software, whether express or implied, including without limitation any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Bill Tudor will not be liable for any special, incidental, consequential, indirect or similar damages due to loss of data or any other reason, even if Bill Tudor or an agent of his has been advised of the possibility of such damages. In no event shall Bill Tudor be liable for any damages, regardless of the form of the claim. The person using the software bears all risk as to the quality and performance of the software, and, since the software is distributed as shareware, may choose to pay for the software based on the results of their own merchantability and fitness evaluation.
Please send all questions and/or comments to wtudor@nycap.rr.com.
