Application Station, or A/S, is a utility application to help you locate, launch, open, and print various applications and documents on your hard drive(s). When System 7 first appeared on the scene, the Apple Menu Items folder (combined with aliases) was a very welcomed feature. However, it soon became apparent to most power-users (at least it did to me) that it didn't take long to fill up the Apple menu and make things so cluttered you still couldn't find what you were looking for. Even worse, if you happened to rename your hard disk, or restore from a tape backup, your aliases were normally useless and had to be recreated for all of the files you had neatly set-up. Couple this with the fact that aliases only pointed to a single file, so you had to create many aliases even if they were related to a single unit of work, like a project you were working on that encompassed three applications and seven documents.
This is where A/S comes in. Not only will it help you organize your aliases into one neat little area that you can use to quickly launch applications and documents, but it also can do most of the dirty work of updating aliases when you change your environment (or at least make it much less painful in worst-case situations), keep notes on the various files you are working on, launch entire sets of aliases as a single group, use the Finder automagically to take you to a file or show you information on files, and last but not least create small, stand-alone launchers for your most commonly used alias groups.
If you are eager to get started, please at least read the SHAREWARE/LEGAL STUFF section of this READ ME to get important information on what I, the author, expect from you, the user, and what you can and cannot expect from me. After that, you have two choices -- read this file for full details on all of the A/S features, or simply run A/S and use Balloon Help to browse the menus and windows to figure things out for yourself.
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SHAREWARE/LEGAL STUFF
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A/S is being released as "What-It's-Worth-Ware", simply meaning that if you find it useful, you should determine it's value and share this with the author. If you don't find it useful, please remove it from your hard disk or pass it along to a friend to try. Also be forewarned that payment to the author does not constitute any agreement for future releases or fixes. A/S is offered AS IS, with no warranty expressed or implied as to its suitability for any particular use. You, the user, assume all risks in using A/S. Also, since A/S was written using MacApp, Apple Computer, Inc. makes no warranties whatsoever, either express or implied, regarding this product, including warranties with respect to its merchantability or its fitness for any particular use. However, if you do happen to stumble on to a possible bug or problem, please contact me via e-mail so I can evaluate if a fix is warranted and/or possible.
A/S may only be distributed by non-profit agencies, Macintosh user groups, and online services such as America Online, CompuServe, and Genie. Prior approval must be obtained from the author if any fee is to be charged for A/S. This includes disk of the months, CD-ROM shareware collections, and any commercial use or distribution of A/S.
The MacApp software is proprietary to Apple Computer, Inc. and is licensed to Richard Harvey for distribution only for use in combination with Application Station.
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BACKGROUND
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This READ ME file will explain how to setup and use all of the features of Application Station 1.0. Before beginning, make sure your machine is running system software 7.0 or later -- if not, A/S will refuse to load. For normal circumstances, A/S will need about 450K of memory to load; sometimes more, sometimes less depending on the number of aliases you have included in your groups. For the 1.0 release, all aliases are maintained in memory at one time, so if you add ALOT of aliases (≈ 100), you may need to bump A/S up to 512K.
From the outset I'll mention that A/S was meant to be a power-user's tool, because I was tired of the limitations of the Apple menu (too many aliases, too many hierarchical menus, too difficult to find what I needed...) It may seem that A/S is VERY large for a utility of it's nature -- this is true. A/S is written in MacApp, which is a developer class library designed to shorten development timeframes. I wrote A/S for my needs, and took only 3 days to do it with MacApp. Hence, I sacrificed runtime size for development time, since I do not have much time available to write utilities. However, after using A/S for the past few weeks (and sharing it with others), I've found the runtime to be acceptable -- most of the users this program is targeted at will have 8MB or more of RAM installed.
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REPORTING PROBLEMS
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In the unfortunate case that you experience problems with A/S, or if you just have a nifty feature you think would make it a notch better, please send your suggestions/reports to me at the following locations:
RICHARD HARVEY
Timing Z Softworks
P.O. Box 118332
Carrollton, TX 75011
-- or, electronically at --
AOL: Banana6000
Internet: banana6000@aol.com
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SETTING UP
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Setting up A/S is quite easy -- you simply need to double-click! A/S will create a file in your System Folder:Preferences: folder named A/S Preferences. This will store all of the alias information of files you add to A/S. At this point, you are ready to begin adding applications and documents you wish to launch. Along the way I'll offer suggestions on how to get the most out of A/S. However, don't be afraid to experiment! The Mac is a wonderful piece of technology to make computers work to YOUR liking -- use it the way YOU want.
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THE A/S WINDOW
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When A/S is launched, you will see a window with three lists and a notes area. The lists will contain groups, applications, and documents. To get a feel for the hierarchy, envision a group as a folder. Within a folder you can have many applications. Each application can have many documents. When you begin adding files, you will be "inserting" the new items to the selected hierarchy. For example, you must select a group to "insert" applications into, and you must select an application to "insert" documents into. Unlike your Apple menu, you cannot simply define a document alias. This may seem half-baked, but (hopefully) you'll see the benefit in identifying the application first, then attaching documents. Once A/S knows both the application and document, you'll be able to load the entire group, just the application, or the application with all documents, or with selected documents. You'll also be able to choose whether you wish to open or print the documents. This isn't your father's Apple Menu Items alias!
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USING THE LISTS
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The group, application, and document lists conform to a standard set of commands and keys. You can use the "Insert Item To List" and "Remove Item From List" buttons to add and remove files from the lists. The group list support single selections at a time, and will display the associated applications when selected. The application and document lists support single- or multiple-selections by using the command or shift keys in combination with a mouse click. All three lists support the up and down arrow keys for scrolling, and you may also type the name of the file to automatically select that item in the list. The return key will operate as a double-click on the selected item(s).
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CREATING GROUPS
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To create a new group, select the group list and click the "Insert Item To List" button (command-= from the keyboard.) You will be asked to name your new group. Choose a brief name and press return. The new group will be added and highlighted in the group list. You may now tab or select the application list to begin inserting applications.
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INSERTING APPLICATIONS
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Although this list is labeled "applications", it actually supports applications, control panels, and desk accessories. You may mix and match any combination of these files in the application list, although you will not be allowed to attach documents to a control panel or desk accessory entry.
To insert new applications, select (or create) a group to insert the applications into. Choose "Insert Into To List" to begin inserting items. Select each application you wish to insert for this group. A/S will repeatedly ask for the next application until you are finished. Once you are done inserting applications, simply click the Cancel button to complete file selection. Each application you selected will now be in the application list.
NOTE: If you select an application, control panel, or desk accessory alias, the alias will be resolved before the item is inserted into the list. What this basically means is you don't have to worry about throwing away your alias files. A/S will know the location of what the alias itself points to, and that is the file it will create an alias for. A/S creates full aliases just like the Finder, and keeps them in the A/S Preferences file.
As a final step, if the group you are working with is going to be used for "group" launching (described later), you can select the application you wish to be in the foreground after a launch. Simply select the application and choose "Set As Front Application" from the Special menu. If you create a stand-alone launcher, this information will also be stored and used.
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INSERTING DOCUMENTS
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Documents are inserted in the same manner as applications. First, select the application you wish to attach documents to. Next, click "Insert Items To List" to begin inserting new documents. Choose all the documents to attach to this application, and click Cancel when you are done. Since A/S does not know what types of applications you are using (and what those applications can do), it does not make an assumption on what a "document" is -- any file can be attached as a document. This is helpful when, for example, you wish to make applications a "document" for ResEdit.
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LAUNCHING
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Of course, the whole goal of A/S is to quickly get your applications launched and loaded with the documents you want to work with. There are many types of launching using A/S, including group, application, application with documents, and document open and print.
---- Group Launching ----
Group launching is a very helpful feature with A/S. Simply define a group that contains all the applications (with document attachments, if desired) that you want loaded at the same time. Select the group in the list and choose "Load Group" to launch the entire group of applications and documents. Alternately, you can create a stand-alone launched (described in the next section) to create a small (normally 10K) application to launch a specific group directly from the Finder without A/S.
If you have selected a desired frontmost application with the "Set As Front Application" feature, that application will be brought to the foreground after the launch is completed.
---- Application Launching ----
To launch a specific application, locate and select the application, then choose "Launch Application." The application will be launched if at least the minimum memory requirements are available for that application. To launch multiple applications, select the applications to launch using the command- or shift-keys (or Select All from the Edit menu), then choose "Launch Application." All selected applications will be launched.
Depending on how you have your A/S groups defined, you may wish to always load an application with all of it's documents. To accomplish this, select the application(s) and choose "Launch With Documents" to launch and load all attached documents. This can be a nice shortcut instead of highlighting all of the documents manually.
---- Document Launching ----
To launch a document or group of documents, select the document(s) then choose either "Open Document" or "Print Document". The corresponding application will be launched, and the file(s) will be opened or printed.
NOTE: If you choose the Print option and the selected application is not yet loaded, then the application will be asked to quit after printing is completed. This mimics the normal operation of the Finder when Print is selected.
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CREATING A LAUNCHER
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Although A/S is larger than other launch utilities, it does offer the creation of stand-alone launchers which take surprisingly little space or memory. To create a stand-alone launcher, select the group to make a launcher from. Choose "Create Launcher" from the Special menu, then name and save the launcher.
Most launchers will be ≈10K on disk, depending on the number of aliases in the group. By default, the stand alone launcher only needs 128K of memory, compared to 420K for A/S (I've actually done many successful launches with the stand-alone launchers set much lower, but 128K seems to be the best default for supporting small and large launchers.)
The launcher will appear where you saved it, and can be double-clicked to launch all aliases. You do NOT need to be running A/S to use a launcher.
NOTE: You may want a specific application from the group to always be in the foreground after a launch. Before creating the launcher, select the desired frontmost application and choose "Set As Front Application" from the Special menu.
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ATTACHING NOTES
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Any group, application, or document may have notes attached to it. These can be used a reminders to yourself on what the group/application/document contains or is used for. This is a free-form area, although it is limited to 255 characters.
To attach a note, select the group, application or document from the appropriate list. Click in the Notes field and type your note. When you select another item, the note area will disappear. Never fear! The note is remembered for the previous item -- simply click back on the item to see your note.
When you are moving through lists via keyboard or mouse, the notes will appear for the currently selected item in the currently selected list. MAKE SURE the correct list is selected before entering notes, or you may end up attaching notes to the wrong file by mistake.
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REMOVING ITEMS
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To remove any item from the lists, select the item(s) and click "Remove Item From List". This will remove the select item(s) and all attachments. If you remove a group, all applications and documents for the group are removed, and if you remove an application, all documents for that application are removed.
Changes are not saved until you choose Save from the File menu (or quit and save), so if you make a mistake, simply quit without saving changes to recover.
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FINDER FEATURES
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A/S uses AppleEvents to request services from the Finder. To use these features, simply select applications or documents from the appropriate list. The following Finder features are available from the Special menu:
---- Get File Info ----
Get File Info will ask the Finder to display the Get Info windows for the selected files. Use this to quickly change the memory partition sizes for applications, or just to get information about your files.
---- Show File Location ---
Aliases are great, unless you need to get to the original file. Use this feature to ask the Finder to locate and select the file. This is a nice shortcut to quickly locate a file.
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UPDATING YOUR ALIASES
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Inevitably, your aliases will someday need updating. This normally occurs when you rearrange your hard disks, rename drives, back files up to other media, or change machines altogether. Normally you would have to recreate aliases for all of your files, and totally reconstruct your Apple Menu Items folder. With A/S, aliases updating is quite painless.
If you know that a file has been moved and is no longer where A/S thinks it is, simply choose the file and select "Update File Location" from the Special menu. A/S will prompt you to locate the file in it's new location, and will retain this information.
If you are not sure what files have changed, you can select "Scan And Update" from the Special menu to scan all applications and documents in your groups and check their validity. If a file cannot be located, you will be asked to manually find it with the standard file dialog. However, in cases where the file has simply been moved to a new location on your hard disk, A/S can update the alias automatically.
You normally will not need to use the Update File Location or Scan And Update features, because A/S will ask you to locate a file if it cannot locate it during the launch process. However, I normally scan my aliases once a week just to keep them clean to save myself time later when I'm in a rush.
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A/S PREFERENCES
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A/S has a few preferences you can set that affect launching, suspending, and activating.
---- Activating ----
Normally, A/S will be running in the background waiting for you to select it when you need to launch an application. If you like, you can define which modifier keys will automatically bring A/S to the foreground. By default, the control and options keys are defined to bring A/S to the front when held down. You can select other keys, or turn them all off if you do not wish A/S to come to the foreground automatically.
---- Launching ----
If you wish, A/S can quit itself after a launch is performed. You may want this if you need the extra 420K freed up after the launch. However, remember that A/S must launch applications FIRST before quitting, so you cannot rely on the 420K that A/S uses to be available at the time of the launch. By default, A/S does not quit after launching.
---- Suspending ----
Normally after a launch, I was A/S out of the way until I need it again. For this reason, you can choose if you want A/S to be invisible when in the background, or if it's window should remain visible. Choose whichever option suits you best. By default, A/S will hide itself when switched to the background.
NOTE: There are two instances where A/S will NOT hide itself when sent to the background. This is when you use the "Get File Info" or "Show File Location" features. In most cases, when you use these features you want to quickly view a files information or location, then switch back to A/S.
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CHANGING WINDOW COLOR
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Just to make A/S a little more personal, I allow you to change your window background color for the A/S window. This feature is only available for machines which support Color Quickdraw.
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POSTFIX
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A/S offers full Balloon Help support if you need a quick reminder of what each menu item or button does. If this still doesn't answer your question, feel free to send me an e-mail. I'd like to hear any and all feedback, comments, suggestions, requests, bug reports, etc., concerning A/S.
