This utility works with the Desktop Manager, included as part of System 7, to save and restore the Finder comments of your files. These are the comments which you can type into a “Get Info” window. They can be used to keep notes about what’s in your files, or as keywords which can be searched with the “Find…” command.
The problem with using Finder comments is that they are lost under some circumstances. Some older software erases comments when you save a file, or when you “optimize” a hard drive. If you rebuild the “desktop file” on your disk (this can happen, for instance, if you use the same hard drive with both System 6 and System 7), all of the comments are erased.
Comment Keeper can be used as a backup tool, or to keep Finder comments through a rebuild of the desktop file. In addition, some disk utilities may remove Finder comments when they are used; Comment Keeper can be used to restore these comments afterwards.
This version of Comment Keeper does not work on floppy disks. Since Finder comments are stored differently on floppy disks, the comments are much less likely to be lost.
When Comment Keeper is run, its menus will appear, but nothing else will happen until you choose a menu item. To save the Finder comments from a disk so that you can restore them later, choose “Save comments…” from the File menu. To restore the Finder comments from a file onto the disk, choose “Restore comments…” from the File menu (or double-click on a saved comment file). When you’re done, choose “Quit” from the File menu.
When should you save the Finder comments? Here are some good times to run Comment Keeper.
• Just before you make a backup.
• Just before you run a hard drive optimizer.
• Once in a while, “just in case.”
When do you need to restore the Finder comments? Here are some of the most common cases.
• You restore your hard drive from a backup.
• You rebuild the Desktop file (or it is rebuilt for you).
• You run a hard drive “optimizer”.
Some backup programs, and some hard drive optimizers, will take care of comments properly. If in doubt, save your comments once in a while and restore them afterwards—it won’t hurt. (Make sure that you use the “Restore without replacing” mode; see the Mode menu, below.)
The Apple menu has only one item, “About Comment Keeper”. This displays information about the program, including its version number and some copyright information.
The file menu is used for saving and restoring Finder comments, and for controlling windows. It has four commands.
This command brings up a dialog box for you to choose a disk whose Finder comments you wish to save.
Use the pop-up menu, which displays mounted disks, to choose the disk you want. Only hard drives and certain network disks may be selected. Other disks, like floppies, do not support the Desktop Manager (software which allows Comment Keeper to run).
Once you choose a disk, a standard dialog box lets you choose where to put the file of comments from that disk. The default name is “Comments from” and the name of the volume you chose.
Finally, the Finder comments from the disk you picked will be stored in the file you chose. A window appears, with a bar to let you watch Comment Keeper’s progress.
Clicking in the “Stop” button, the window’s close box, or choosing “Close” from the File menu brings up a dialog which lets you cancel the save.
Clicking “OK” will stop the save. Clicking “Cancel” will let it continue. (The save continues until you click on a button, and the dialog box will go away if it finishes before you click either one.)
A standard dialog box lets you choose a file of stored comments to restore. Only files of comments will show up in this dialog box.
Next, a dialog box appears which lets you choose a disk to restore the comments to. Normally, this will be the disk you saved the comments from; Comment Keeper will try to find that disk, and will select it for you if it succeeds. (You still have to confirm its choice, though.)
As when saving comments, the pop-up menu lets you choose the disk you want to restore the comments to.
If you choose to restore the comments to a disk with a different name, Comment Keeper asks you if you’re sure, to help prevent mistakes. You would want to do this if you renamed the disk since you saved its comments, for instance.
(If “Always ask” is checked in the mode menu, another dialog box will ask you for a mode to use. Read the mode descriptions, below, for more information.)
Finally, the Finder comments will be restored to the disk you chose. A window appears, with a bar to let you watch Comment Keeper’s progress.
Clicking in the “Stop” button, the window’s close box, or choosing “Close” from the File menu brings up a dialog which lets you stop the restore. Even if you stop it, though, any comments which have been restored will still be there. There is no way to truly “Cancel” a restore in this version of Comment Keeper.
Clicking “OK” will stop the restore. Clicking “Cancel” will let it continue. (The restore continues until you click on a button, and the dialog box will go away if it finishes before you click either one.)
If a desk accessory is open and in front, this command will close it. If a save or restore window is in front, a dialog box will let you choose whether to stop it, just as if you had clicked in the “Stop” button. If no windows are open, “Close” does nothing.
“Quit” exits Comment Keeper, and returns you to the Finder. If a save or restore is running, a dialog box will ask you if you want to stop it.
If you do not answer the dialog box, Comment Keeper will quit as soon as all saves and restores have finished.
This menu is only used when you are using a desk accessory. It will be disabled if no desk accessory is open.
This menu has five items. The first four items are grouped together, and exactly one of them will have a checkmark, indicating Comment Keeper’s current mode of operation. These control exactly how a comment restore operation works.
When this mode is selected, a restore will set up the Finder comments on a disk exactly as they were saved. Any existing Finder comments on the disk will be removed, and then the Finder comments being restored will be attached to the files which they came from. This may be useful when restoring from a backup, but can also be dangerous: it DESTROYS any Finder comments which have been added since the comments were saved.
Some backup programs which restore all of the files on a disk, including the Desktop file, do not understand System 7. These backup programs may randomly assign your comments to files after a restore. If this happens, an image mode restore will cure the problem. There is probably no other time you need this mode.
THIS IS THE RECOMMENDED MODE OF OPERATION. When this mode is selected, restoring comments from a file will only add Finder comments to the disk, never removing any. In addition, no existing Finder comments will be changed. This is useful if you want to fix a few comments which were lost because of a disk optimizer or a rebuild of the Desktop file.
This mode will never remove a Finder comment (unlike the “Image” mode). If the Finder comment of a file has been changed since the comment was stored, though, it will be changed back to the old comment. This may be useful in some circumstances.
When “Always ask” is checked, any restore operation will ask (using a dialog box) which mode is to be used.
Any of the three modes described above may be chosen. You may double-click on a radio button to select it as if you had clicked OK.
This menu item saves the current mode in a preference file (in the “Preferences” folder in your system folder).
You must hold down the option key to see this menu item. If you are the only user of the application, and you don’t want to use the extra disk space which a preference file takes, you can save your preferences in the application itself.
If you already have a preference file, you must delete it before the preferences saved in the application will be used.
To summarize a few important points:
• Comment Keeper makes your Finder comments more permanent.
• Save comments at least as often as you make backups.
• Restore comments when you restore backups.
• Restore comments when you rebuild your Desktop file.
• Use the “Restore without replacing” mode most of the time.
Comment Keeper simply does a straightforward traversal of the directory hierarchy, saving or restoring comments as it goes. It keeps track of comments by filename, so renaming a file or folder will cause problems if you try to restore from an earlier save. Save your comments frequently for best results.
It will work on any volume which uses the Desktop Manager. This includes most hard drives, but not floppy disks. Eventually, I may come up with a good way of having it work for floppies, too.
It has been tested fairly well, but as with all programs, keeping backups is a good idea anyway. There is no guarantee that it will work on your system configuration. It works properly on a Mac SE running 7.0 and a Quadra 700 running 7.0.1 •, so it probably works on all other systems.
System 7.0 (and 7.0.1) contain two problems which you may notice when using Comment Keeper; they’re described here.
You cannot save comments on a locked file. If you use “Get Info” to get information about a locked file, change its comment (after unlocking it), re-lock it, and then close the window, the comment will not be saved after a restart. As a workaround, change the comment and close the window, then use “Get Info” again to lock the file. Apple should be fixing this soon.
The Finder keeps some Finder comments in memory, even after you close a Get Info window. After you restore the comments to a volume, you may need to restart before they all show up in the Finder. This does not interfere with saving comments; any comments you have entered will be saved. I hope to fix this in a future version.
Comment Keeper was written by Anton Rang, using Symantec’s THINK C development system (highly recommended, it’s lots of fun). I used Michael Hecht’s Task Manager, which allows you to have more than one save or restore running at the same time. It’s also highly recommended. If you find a bug, or have comments, or suggestions for other programs you’d like to see, write me at:
Anton Rang
215 S. Green Ave.
New Richmond, WI 54017
U. S. A.
Comment Keeper is a free program, though it is copyrighted. You may redistribute it as you like, provided that this documentation is distributed with it, and neither the program nor documentation are modified in any way. You may not charge for distribution or use of this program. (To arrange for distribution of modified versions of this program, or for distribution at a fee—as on a CD of shareware material—send me a letter.)
It would be neat to get mail if you like the program; send a postcard if you feel like it. There’s no obligation, of course.
