Since the Macintosh System Software version 6.0.4 came out, the Finder has had the undocumented ability to play sounds corresponding to various events. Such events include opening and closing windows, creating and deleting files, and even modifying windows. All you really need to take advantage of this feature is a piece of code. Drag Finder Sounds and Finder Sounds Config to your system folder and reboot. You will then have a sonic Finder!
International Users: Please note that foreign language versions of System 6.0.4 and 6.0.5 use a different name for the Finder Sounds file. If you are using a foreign language version of the System and Finder, and Finder Sounds does not work when you drag it to your System Folder, you will need to rename the Finder Sounds file (but not Finder Sounds Config). To find the name you need, use ResEdit to examine your Finder. Look at the last string in the STR# 129 resource. It should be a translation of "Finder Sounds." Rename Finder Sounds to match the name in STR# 129 and reboot.
It is recommended that you increase the amount of memory allocated to the Finder if you are running MultiFinder. Due to the size of some of the sounds included, you will need an Application Memory Size of at least 256. If you choose to customize your Finder with longer sounds, keep in mind that the Finder will need to have additional memory allocated to accomodate the longer sounds.
Finder Sounds requires System 6.0.4 or System 6.0.5. No earlier versions of the Finder and System provide the hooks that make this package possible. It has been tested successfully using a Macintosh II, IIx, IIcx, SE/30, SE and Portable. It should also be compatible with all other Macintosh hardware running System 6.0.4 or 6.0.5.
New Features:
There are no new features in version 1.2.1; it is a bug fix release. There are no changes to the control panel device. The Finder Sounds file has been fixed to not require an ejected disk to be re-inserted when an item on that disk causes a sound (click on icon, drag over icon, etc.).
New features in version 1.2 include support for a sound that will play continuously while you are dragging an icon on the desktop. Another new feature is the ability to change the pitch of a sound to reflect the current position of the thumb within the scroll bar. Sounds will also vary in pitch for mouse down actions on an icon, as well as when you are dragging icons across folders or changing the size of your window. The pitch of the sound for files is based on the size of the file. For folders, the pitch is based on the number of items contained in the folder. For window size changes, the pitch is based on the area of the resulting window. A major new feature is the ability to customize and hear your sounds from the control panel. There will be more information about that feature below. I found the reason that Finder Sounds and Master Juggler stumble over each other. See Known shortcomings below for details and the workaround. Also, custom sounds for files/folders will only play on the open. A number of people (myself included) found it annoying to also play long custom sounds on a close, so the close sound will be the standard close sound. Finder Sounds now supports snd format 2 sounds. I've tweaked the code here and there to make Finder Sounds faster and more efficient.
New features in version 1.1 included support for more sounds, silence when the caps lock key is depressed, and the ability to play a different sound for any file or folder. The control panel device also changed in appearance to accommodate the support of more sounds. The ID numbers of the snd resources were changed, and those resources were moved to the Finder Sounds Config file to make it a little easier to customize your sounds once Finder Sounds has been installed.
Other changes included muzzling the more startling sounds; I turned the volume down a bit on the open/close window whooshes and empty trash flushing sound. I fixed Finder Sounds to be truly silent when your volume is set to zero. I had found a couple of minor holes that could possibly cause silence on your Mac, until you reboot. These were closed.
Known shortcomings:
There are times when having a sound play from Finder Sounds will prevent your SysBeep from playing. This can happen when a sound has not finished playing when the Finder displays an Alert or Dialog window. Finder Sounds will be unable to release its sound channel until the Alert or Dialog has been completely processed, so any SysBeeps that occur during processing of the Alert or Dialog will result in a menu bar flash and silence. Your SysBeep will return once the Alert or Dialog has been processed.
I have heard that Finder Sounds and MasterJuggler stumble over each other when MasterJuggler's sound option is enabled. If this happens to you, it is probably because the "Install Sound Play" option is turned on in your MasterJuggler options. This option is not needed when you are running System 6.0 or greater and if you turn that option off and reboot, the hanging Mac problem that this option causes should disappear.
Contents of the package:
The Finder Sounds file contains the code resource necessary for making sounds. The Finder Sounds Config file contains a Control Panel document (cdev) to give you the choice of which events you want to cause sound and the snd resources themselves. By default, all of the listed events will cause a sound to play. The cdev includes a Master on/off switch and Help and Config buttons, which will bring up a dialog box. The Config dialog contains the checkboxes for each of the individual sounds. If you are running MultiFinder, any changes you make from the Control Panel will take effect when you return to the Finder. If you are running UniFinder, you will need to either reboot or at the very least, run another application and return to the Finder in order for the update to take effect. If you click on the Cancel button in this dialog, the dialog is closed and any changes you made to the checkboxes will be thrown away. The Okay button closes the dialog and saves your checkbox changes.
If you wish to customize your sounds, the Config dialog box will also allow you to add and delete sounds to match file and folder names, as well as change the sounds used for the various sound generating events listed below. To add a sound that will be played whenever you open a specific file or folder, click on the "Custom snd" button. The control panel will pop open a Standard File dialog box for you to choose the file containing your sounds. Once you have selected a file, a new dialog will appear listing the snds contained in that file. Select a sound with the mouse. You can play the sound by double clicking on the name, or selecting a snd and clicking the Play button. Clicking the Copy button will copy the selected snd resource into Finder Sounds Config for you. Before saving the snd, Finder Sounds Config will ask you what name you want to give the snd (in order to match your preference). When you are finished adding custom snds, click the Done button.
If you wish to change one of the built-in snds, click on the appropriate checkbox while holding the Option key (do not release Option before releasing the mouse button). The control panel will use dialogs as described above to allow you to pick the snd you want. The only difference is that Finder Sounds Config will not ask you what name you want to give the resource. Be advised that if you choose to substitute your own snd for the desktop dragging sound, you will need to include a loopback point or the sound won't be continuous.
If you want to hear one of the standard event sounds from the dialog, you can click on the appropriate checkbox while holding down the command key. The control panel will then play the sound for you.
If you wish to remove snds from the Config file (short on disk space?), you can use the "Delete snd" button in the Config dialog box. The resulting dialog box will show a list of the currently installed snd resources. As in the Custom snd dialog, you may play the currently selected snd with the Play button or by double clicking on a snd. Using the Delete button will delete the currently selected snd from Finder Sounds Config. Clicking on Okay will make the snd resources go away for good. Clicking Cancel (the default button) will exit the dialog without actually deleting the sounds.
For those who are interested, the IDs of the built-in snds are as follows:
Create a new file ID 133
Remove a file ID 134
Mouse down on icon ID 138
Drag an icon on the desktop ID 141*
Drag an icon to an icon ID 142
Drag an icon off an icon ID 143
Mouse up on icon ID 144
Deposit icon in folder/trash ID 145
Open “About the Finder...” ID 146
Close “About the Finder...” ID 147
Bring a window to the front ID 148
Mouse down in menu bar ID 149
Mouse down in title bar ID 150
Mouse up in title bar ID 152
Resize a window ID 155
Use a scroll bar ID 156
Selection from menu ID 159
Open a window ID 160
Close a window ID 161
Mouse down in hilited file name ID 162
* if you choose to substitute your own sound for this one, you will need to include a loopback setting within the snd resource in order to take full advantage of the dragging sound.
Most of the sounds here were created using Farallon’s MacRecorder sound system. Many thanks to Chris Weber at Bucknell University for the orginal help in decoding the Finder’s calls to the sound code. Also, many thanks to those who helped beta test this release!
Finder Sounds is not strictly an INIT. It is a code resource that the Finder actually merges into itself at startup time. Finder Sounds does have a small INIT that will display its icon during the boot process, but that is all that the INIT in Finder Sounds will do. Due to the unique nature of the code resource in Finder Sounds, you cannot turn Finder Sounds off with INIT pickers such as INIT/CDEV. If you don't want Finder Sounds to load, drag it out of your system folder. You can also use the Master On/Off button in the control panel, turn your volume down to zero, or use the caps lock key to make Finder Sounds be quiet.
