Now FolderMenus lets you “pop up” a menu of any folder’s or volume’s contents just by clicking on the item and holding down the mouse button. By default, Now FolderMenus displays arrows on the icons of folders and volumes to indicate that you can pop up a menu to view their contents. You can then view the contents of nested folders, and open folders or documents within folders by selecting them and releasing the mouse button.
Here’s How…
• Viewing a folder menu
To see a pop-up menu of a folder’s or volume’s contents, just click on the item and hold down the mouse button. A menu of the item’s contents appears, and any folder it contains has an arrow next to it, indicating that you can view a submenu of its contents by highlighting it.
• Opening items in pop-up menus
To open an item in a pop-up folder menu, just choose it from the menu — if it’s a document or application, it opens just as if you’d double-clicked it; if it’s a folder, its window opens in the Finder.
• Moving items into folders
To move an item into a nested folder, just drag its icon to the outer folder, hold down the mouse button over the folder to pop up the folder menu, and drag the item to the desired nested folder.
• Copying items to folders
To copy an item into a nested folder, just drag its icon to the outer folder, and while you hold down the mouse button over the folder to pop up the folder menu, press the Option key and drag the item to the desired nested folder.
• Adjusting settings
The Now FolderMenus control panel lets you set the delay between clicking the mouse button and popping up the menu as well other basic options for its operation.
Now Menus™ 5.0
What Can Now Menus Do For You?
Now Menus gives you the power to customize all of your menus; and by allowing you to create your own Custom Menus, it makes access to files, folders and just about anything else on your Mac faster and easier.
• Customize your Apple menu
Now Menus lets you change the order in which items appear in the Apple menu, and group items by adding separator lines wherever you want.
• Create Custom Menus
Now Menus lets you create your own pull-down and pop-up Custom Menus in which you can place just about anything you use on a regular basis. Now you can open those vital files and applications in an instant!
• Display menus in a custom font
Instead of having all of your menus displayed in the standard 12 point Chicago font, Now Menus lets you select the font and size in which all your menus will be displayed. Now you can choose a small font to fit better on a smaller monitor or a large font that’s easier to view.
Here’s How…
• Hierarchical submenus
Now Menus lets you open any item on your hard drive without having to open one folder window after another to locate the item you want. You can add any folder or desktop volume to the Apple menu or a Custom Menu — when you highlight it in the menu, a submenu appears next to it, allowing you to navigate through the folder or volume up to five levels deep. When you reach the item you want to open, just click the mouse to choose it.
• Creating Custom Menus
To create a Custom Menu, click the “Create/Modify Custom Menus” button in the control panel, click “New…”, choose the type of Custom Menu that you want to create and name the new menu, then click “OK” twice. Your new menu is now displayed in the control panel so you can add items to it. Use the pop-up menus at the top left to add folders, applications, documents, control panels and Worksets — or choose Smart Items from the last pop-up menu. The Smart Items have the following functions:
Separator — Adds a separator to the menu to help you divide or group items.
(Recent Files/Folders/Apps) — Each displays a list of the corresponding recent items when you display the actual menu.
(Active Apps) — Displays a list of the currently-running applications.
(Menu Bar) — Displays the menu titles currently shown in the menu bar.
(Now Utilities) — Displays all Now Utilities components.
“Other…” — Opens a dialog box that lets you choose an application or document to open.
“Find…” — Lets you search for (and open) files and folders very quickly.
Memory Viewer — Lets you check memory usage on your Mac.
Memory Sizer — Lets you change an application's memory allotment.
Edit Recent… — Lets you modify the database of recent items.
To change an item’s position in the menu, just drag it to the desired location. To remove an item, select it and click the “Remove” button (Trash icon) or press Delete/Backspace.
• “Sticky” menus
Now Menus offers you the option of having menus “stick” when you pull them down, so that you don’t have to hold down the mouse button to move through the contents of a menu and make a selection.
1) Open the Now Menus control panel and click the “Preferences” button.
2) Under Special Features, select the “Menus ‘stick’ when pulled down” checkbox.
Now your menus will drop with a single click and stay pulled down until you click again, making it much easier to locate and select menu items, particularly from submenus. Try out this feature by highlighting your hard drive on the Apple menu and navigating through the submenus. Once you’ve located the item you want to open, simply click again. This is a particularly handy feature for PowerBook users who have trouble using the trackball or trackpad.
Now Profile™ 5.0
What Can Now Profile Do For You?
Now Profile is an application that reports on the status of your system and its configuration. The report can be used to keep track of what’s installed on your system, or to help you troubleshoot any problems you may be experiencing. A Now Profile report is very handy when you need technical support for a product that’s causing problems on your system. You just choose which topic areas to include in the report, and Now Profile generates it quickly.
Here’s How…
• Creating a report
It’s easy to create a Now Profile report containing the information you need.
1) Open Now Profile — the Preferences dialog box appears.
2) Use the pop-up menus to select the areas of information to be included in the report, and the degree of detail.
3) Click the “Profile” button — Now Profile works for a short time, then displays your report in a window.
• Reviewing your information
After creating your report, you can review it either on-screen or printed out. You can also send it directly to your Help Desk or to technical support via PowerTalk e-mail.
1) Use the scroll bar to move through your report on-screen.
2) If you want a printout of the report, choose “Print” from the File menu.
3) To e-mail the report, choose “Mail Profile…” from the File menu (requires PowerTalk, included with System 7.5).
• Searching for duplicates
Now Profile will report on duplicate items including aliases, documents, and applications. So if you’re low on disk space, you can use Now Profile to help you find items that can be removed.
• Searching for “lost” aliases
Sometimes you may delete a file from your hard disk but forget to delete an alias that you created for it. Since the file no longer exists, the “lost” or unreferenced alias is just taking up space on your hard disk. Now Profile will report on unreferenced aliases and provide their pathnames so that you can easily locate and remove them.
Now QuickFiler™ 5.0
What Can Now QuickFiler Do For You?
Now QuickFiler makes it easy to locate one specific file among the thousands on your hard disk, and then perform any of several handy file management functions on the file (or multiple files). To conserve disk space, you can archive and compress files, too.
Here’s How…
• Finding a file or folder
To find a file or folder, just choose “Find…” from the Now QuickFiler Finder menu or press Command-F (the “Use Now Find as Find command…” checkbox is selected by default in the General pane of the Now QuickFiler control panel). The Now Find dialog box opens. Choose the volume to search, then specify your search criteria. For a simple search, just type the filename you're looking for (or part of it) in the search text field. For more advanced searching, add more criteria by clicking “More Choices.” After specifying your search criteria, click “Find.” Now QuickFiler searches, then displays any matching items in a special Inspector window.
• Using the Inspector window
The Inspector window makes it easy to view and manipulate the contents of your hard disk. The button bar provides quick access to essential functions like moving, copying, aliasing and deleting files, as well as printing files and opening the Get Info window. To open the Inspector window, select the item whose contents you want to view and choose “Inspect…” from the Now QuickFiler Finder menu. Use the pop-up hierarchy menu in the title bar to move upward through your hard disk’s folder’s; double-click folders in the Inspector window to view their contents.
• Archiving files
Archiving files lets you save time when sending them across a network, or simply save disk space. Just select the files you want to compress into an archive (Shift-select multiple files) or select the folder(s) containing the files, then choose “Archive” from the Now QuickFiler Finder menu or click the “Archive” button in the Inspector window. You can even drag the files or folder(s) to the icon of the “Archive Now” drag-and-drop application. Name the archive and save it. An archive is self-extracting by default, so that the person receiving it can open it without Now QuickFiler installed.
• Saving disk space with transparent compression
With Now QuickFiler, you can create more free space on crowded hard drives if you turn on the transparent compression option. Your applications and documents look and behave just as they always did, but they take up less space on disk. To enable transparent compression, use these steps:
1) Open the Now QuickFiler control panel by choosing Now QuickFiler from the Now Utilities menu, or choosing “Settings…” from the Now QuickFiler menu.
2) Select the “On” button for Transparent Compression.
3) Select the checkbox next to the name(s) of your hard drive(s), or select the “All Volumes” checkbox.
4) Click the “Compres Options” button in the button bar.
5) Select the “If System is Idle” checkbox.
6) Restart your Macintosh.
7) Two hours after your Macintosh is idle, transparent compression operates in the background and saves disk space.
Note that if you want to exclude certain items or folders from compression, it’s easy to do so. Use commands in the Now QuickFiler Inspector window's button bar, commands in the Now QuickFiler Finder menu, or the “Don’t Compress” pane of the Now QuickFiler control panel.
On slower Macintosh models, transparent compression may cause longer opening times when you use particular applications. You can exclude the applications you use most heavily, so that performance is maintained, but allow less-frequently-used programs to be compressed to save disk space.
On faster Macintosh models, you may find some applications actually open faster if transparently compressed. That's because the compression and decompression algorithms of Now QuickFiler are so efficient that disk access time is the limiting factor. In this case, the smaller the file, the quicker it loads!
Now Save™ 5.0
What Can Now Save Do For You?
Now Save saves your work automatically and protects you from losing data because of unexpected system crashes.
• Customized automatic saving
Now Save can be set to save your work automatically after a specified number of minutes, keystrokes and/or mouse clicks. So if you forget to save your work manually and experience an unexpected system crash, all your hard work is safe no matter what type of application you were using.
• Capturing keystrokes
As an extra measure of protection, Now Save can also record your every keystroke with its Key Capture feature. If Now Save is set to save automatically every five minutes but your system crashes three minutes after the last save, you can still lose your unsaved work. With the Key Capture function, every keystroke you type is saved into a special Saved Work file; this makes it possible to reconstruct your work when necessary. This feature also comes in handy when you’re working in an application where you can’t save your work, like e-mail software.
Here’s How…
• Customize per application
You can automatically save your work in three ways: after a specified number of minutes (works well for word processing applications), keystrokes and/or mouse clicks (great for graphics and spreadsheet applications). Follow these simple steps to see how:
1) Open the Now Save control panel.
2) Click the “Add Applications” button.
3) In the dialog box that opens, locate and select an application in which you want Now Save to be active, then click “OK” — the application is added to the list in the control panel.
4) With the new application selected in the list, specify on the right side of the control panel how you want to save your work (minutes, keystrokes, mouse clicks or a combination).
5) Close the control panel.
The next time you open the application, auto-saving will begin automatically. You’ll never have to worry about lost work again!
• Key Capture
For extra protection from data loss, you can have Now Save save every keystroke you type. Key Capture is turned on by default, but follow these steps if you want to view or modify the Key Capture settings.
1) In the Now Save control panel, click the “Key Capture” button.
2) In the dialog box that opens, notice that you can turn Key Capture on and off, and also control how often Saved Work files are created, plus other functions. You can examine these settings and customize them if you want, but the default settings are already configured to make Key Capture easy to use.
3) Click “OK” — you’re returned to the control panel.
Now, no matter what application you’re using, Now Save will store every keystroke you type in a special “Saved Work” file stored in the “Saved Work Folder” inside the System Folder. If you crash and lose your work, you can open this file, copy the text it contains, and then recover the document you were working on.
Now Scrapbook™ 5.0
What Can Now Scrapbook Do For You?
Now Scrapbook takes the concept of the system scrapbook to a new level of power. It lets you create multiple catalogs for storing text, graphics, sounds and even QuickTime movies. You can locate catalog items easily and even modify them using the built-in Clipboard Editor.
• Multiple catalogs
Now Scrapbook can store text items, graphics (PICT, MacPaint, TIFF, EPS, and cross-platform GIF files), sounds and QuickTime movies. To help you manage all of these items, Now Scrapbook allows you to create as many catalogs as you like, and keep multiple catalogs open. You can even move items between catalogs simply by dragging them.
• Editing Files
Now Scrapbook’s built-in Clipboard Editor lets you edit text and graphic items without having to switch to a different application. If you want to use only a portion of a PICT graphic or reformat a text file, you can do it right in the Clipboard Editor without having to waste time opening another application for editing. Saving the edited version of an item doesn’t alter the original.
• Three Views
Now Scrapbook makes it easy to view your catalog items in the way that best suits you. The Standard View lists all catalog items on the left and displays the selected item on the right; the Detail View displays the selected item on the right and detailed information about it on the left; the Thumbnail View displays catalog items in a scaled-down view, so that you can see as many of them as your screen size will permit.
Here’s How…
• Pasting items from the Clipboard
1) Copy any item to the Clipboard within its creating application.
2) Open Now Scrapbook (you have the option of creating a new catalog) and choose “Paste” from the File menu. The item is pasted into the catalog and you can name it as you choose.
• Importing items
Another way to add an item to a catalog is to import it. To do so:
1) Choose “Import…” from the File menu.
2) Locate the file you want to import in the Import dialog box and then click “Import.” The item is added to the catalog under its original name. (This dialog box also gives you the option of importing multiple items from the same folder in one step.)
• Editing items
To edit a text or graphic catalog item:
1) Drag the item's icon to the Clipboard icon (in the Standard View); or select the item and choose “Copy” from the Edit menu.
2) Click the “Clipboard Editor” button, or double-click the Clipboard icon. The Clipboard Editor window opens — depending on whether the item you’re working with is a graphic image or a text item, the window will have either a row of graphics tools along the left side, or a menu bar of text-editing commands across the top. You can use these tools or commands to make the desired changes.
3) When you’re finished editing the item, save the changes to the Clipboard by clicking the “Save to Clipboard” button in the bottom left corner of the graphic window, or choosing “Save to Clipboard” from the Edit menu in the text window.
4) To paste the newly edited item into the catalog, simply return to the catalog (by closing the Clipboard Editor or clicking the main window) and choose “Paste” from the Edit menu. The new item is added to the catalog.
• Removing items
To delete a catalog item, just drag it to the Trash icon (in the Standard View).
Now Startup Manager™ 5.0
What Can Now Startup Manager Do For You?
Now Startup Manager will help you manage the loading of extensions, control panels, Chooser extensions, fonts, and other startup files from one convenient location.
• Managing extensions
Getting your extensions to load in the right order and combination can be very time-consuming and confusing. Now Startup Manager greatly reduces the time you spend dealing with conflicts by displaying all of your extensions and control panels in a single window. With Now Startup Manager you can quickly turn these items on or off and change their loading order.
• Automatic Conflict Isolation
If you do experience a system crash that’s related to an extension, Now Startup Manager will automatically turn off that extension and report this to you the next time you restart. You then have the option of having Now Startup Manager automate the process of tracking down elusive extension conflicts. Now Startup Manager will automatically load different groups of extensions for successive restarts and then ask you if the problem is still occurring. After a number of cycles, Now Startup Manager pinpoints the problem for you and offers options for solving it.
Here’s How…
• Using Now Startup Manager to manage extensions
1) To open Now Startup Manager, either open its control panel normally or hold down the spacebar during startup to make changes before any extensions have loaded.
2) Double-click an extension or control panel to turn it on or off (this also works with startup items such as applications).
3) To change loading order, just drag any item to the desired position.
4) You can change your startup disk by choosing the desired one from the “Choose Startup Disk” pop-up menu in the button bar.
5) Close the control panel and restart to make your changes take effect, or click “OK” during startup to continue the startup process.
• Creating Startup Sets
Now Startup Manager lets you create specific groups of extensions (Startup Sets) to be loaded when you’re running special applications, games, or for co-workers if more than one person uses your Macintosh. This feature is particularly useful for Powerbook users who may use a different set of tools in the office than when at home or on the road.
1) Open the Now Startup Manager control panel and click the “Sets” button.
2) Select “New…”, name your set, and click “OK.”
3) Change the on/off status and loading order of extensions as desired, then close the control panel.
Now you can easily change which Set will be loaded to support your environment or the application you’re working with.
• Using Automatic Conflict Isolation
If your Macintosh crashes during startup, don’t panic! Just click “Isolate” in the dialog box that Now Startup Manager displays upon restarting after the crash. If your Mac crashes sometime after startup, restart if necessary, then open the Now Startup Manager control panel and click the “Conflict Isolation” button.
In the Begin Conflict Isolation dialog box, enter reminder text to help you remember the nature of the problem throughout the testing process. Click “OK,” then turn on any “essential extensions” — for example, AppleShare may be essential if you need to interact with a file server. If Now Startup Manager has opened during the startup process, click “OK” to continue with startup; if you opened the Now Startup Manager control panel after startup, close it and restart.
After startup is complete, repeat any previous actions that seemed to cause the problem, and watch for signs that it’s recurring (if your problem is a crash during startup, it’ll be easy to tell if it’s recurring). After testing sufficiently, restart. A dialog box appears when you restart, prompting you to indicate the outcome of testing. If the problem recurred, click “Failed”; if it didn’t, click “Passed.” Repeat the steps in this paragraph until the Results dialog box appears.
In this dialog box, clicking the “Change Order” button will reverse the order in which the two extensions load relative to each other — this is often the best way to resolve a two-way conflict. If you’re in a hurry, just click “Done” to turn off both suspect items and do without them for a while. “Isolate Further” allows you to diagnose complex three-way conflicts, which are quite rare.
Now Super Boomerang™ 5.0
What Can Now Super Boomerang Do For You?
Every time you open a document, application or folder, Now Super Boomerang remembers it, adding it to a list of recently-opened files and folders, and helps you get to it quickly next time you need it. When you’re in an Open/Save dialog box and you can’t locate the file or folder you want, Now Super Boomerang can search for items from within this dialog box, saving you time you might otherwise spend switching back to the Finder and manually searching through disks and folders.
• Remembering your recently-used items
Since you usually open files and folders repeatedly, Now Super Boomerang greatly reduces the time spent locating them by listing recently-opened files and folders in three convenient locations (the Apple menu, within Open/Save dialog boxes and attached to the “Open…” commands within applications) so that you can quickly find and open any item that you need.
• Enhanced Open/Save dialog box
Besides adding recent file and folder menus to the standard Open/Save dialog box, Now Super Boomerang also makes it possible to search for files, create new folders, and even duplicate, rename and delete files from within this dialog box.
• Searching for files by contents
Besides being able to search for folders and documents (even if they are compressed), Now Super Boomerang can search for text within a document. This way, when you’re having trouble finding a letter that you’ve written, just type the name of the letter’s recipient in the Find dialog box, and Now Super Boomerang will find your lost letter — it’s that easy!
Here’s How…
• Quick access to files and folders
Highlight Now Super Boomerang in the Apple menu — a submenu of recent files and folders appears. The same submenu is attached to the “Open…” command of most applications, and is called the DirectOpen submenu in this case. You can change the number of files and folders displayed in these recent file/folder menus by opening the Now Super Boomerang control panel and adjusting the number of items “shown in the menus."
• Finding files
1) Open Now Super Boomerang’s powerful Find dialog box by choosing “Find…” in any of these locations: the “Now Super Boomerang submenu on the Apple menu, the DirectOpen submenu in applications, or from the Options menu within the Open/Save dialog box.
2) Type the name (or partial name) of the item you’re searching for, then click “Find.” If you’re not sure of the document’s file name, you can even have Now Super Boomerang scan for a specific text string within files. Not only does Now Super Boomerang have one of the fastest search functions available, but it also searches within compressed archives and lists all matches it finds plus their pathnames.
3) Double-click any found item to open it.
• Creating Folders
Now Super Boomerang lets you create new folders within the Open/Save dialog box, to save you from having to close the dialog box and return to the Finder.
1) In the Open/Save dialog box, choose "New Folder..." from the Options menu.
2) In the dialog box that appears, name your new folder and click “OK.” Now Super Boomerang then immediately displays that folder in the Open/Save dialog box so you can save an item in it.
Now WYSIWYG Menus™ 5.0
What Can Now WYSIWYG Menus Do For You?
Now WYSIWYG Menus lets you customize your font menus so that you know exactly what a font looks like before you choose to include it in a document.
• What You See Is What You Get
Now WYSIWYG Menus draws all your font names in their actual typefaces (instead of plain old Chicago) so that you know what a font looks like before you use it in your document. This saves you time trying to find just the right font for your project.
• Changing the order fonts appear in font menus
Now WYSIWYG Menus lets you reorder fonts within the font menus. While the system normally displays fonts in alphabetical order — so if you always use a font like Times you have to go to the bottom of the list to select it — Now WYSIWYG Menus lets you move your favorite fonts to the top of the list or anywhere else for faster selection.
• Grouping font families
Some fonts have more than one style, such as Bold, Condensed, or Oblique. If you have a font with more than one style you will find that your Font menu is quite long since the system will list all styles separately in the menu. Now WYSIWYG Menus reduces the length of your font list by grouping font families together and attaching them as submenus to each font name. Reducing the size of your font list helps you find the font you need faster!
Here’s How…
• Information in the control panel
In addition to letting you customize your Font menus, the Now WYSIWYG Menus control panel displays important information about the currently-selected font, included whether it is available in bitmap, TrueType or PostScript forms; the size and color it’s set to appear in; what font family it belongs to, and whether or not it’s set to appear in its own typeface in a Font menu.
• Reordering fonts in the Font menu
It’s easier to select your most frequently-used fonts when they appear near the top of your Font menu.
1) Open the Now WYSIWYG Menus control panel.
2) Drag the font you wish to move to its new location.
3) Close the control panel to save your changes.
4) Return to your application and pull down the font menu — the font appears in its new location.
• Customizing Font colors and sizes
You can also make it easier to spot your favorite fonts by changing the size and color in which they appear in the Font menu.
1) Open the Now WYSIWYG Menus control panel.
2) Select the font whose appearance you want to customize.
3) From the pop-up menus, select the color and size in which you want the font to appear.
Your fonts are now easier to select, saving you time and effort choosing the perfect fonts for your document!
