Congrats! You've just downloaded a really neat package to help you customize your Finder 7 Desktop using ResEdit!
What is this? Well, you know when you use the Finder's Find command, and a window comes up telling you it's searching? Well, this package lets you change those boring barber-pole, candy-stripe pictures to much more interesting things!
REQUIREMENTS
You need:
1) System 7.0 or later
2) ResEdit 2.1 or later
3) An open mind and a willingness to take risks - there is no reason for this procedure to screw anything up, but this is not for the timid!
WHAT ALL THIS DOES
To show you that it's trying to find something after you use the Find command, the Finder puts up that scrolling stripe pattern. This is accomplished by cycling through several PICT's (pictures). This package contains a template for making sense out of the fAni resource and a couple of examples of alternative animation sequences.
By the way, fAni stands for findAnimation (I guess).
IMPORTANT!!!
YOU SHOULD ONLY HAVE ONE fAni RESOURCE IN THE ACTIVE FINDER. HAVING TWO OR MORE IN THE FINDER WILL CAUSE UNPREDICATBLE (THOUGH NOT AT ALL FATAL) RESUTLS.
WHAT TO DO - FOR BEGINNERS
First of all, open the file called "fAni resources" in ResEdit. Then, click on the TMPL icon. Next, choose Copy from the Edit menu. Now choose Open from the file menu, and choose the file called "ResEdit preferences" (in the Preferences folder of the System folder). Now, choose Paste from the Edit menu. Then, close the ResEdit preferences window and choose Yes when ResEdit asks if you want to save changes.
Next, go to the Finder. Open the System folder, click on the Finder, and choose Duplicate from the File menu. This should produce a file called "Finder copy". Now, go back to ResEdit. Choose Open from the File menu, and choose the Finder copy file. Next, go back to the fAni resources file still open in ResEdit. Double-click on the PICT's icon. A new window listing all pictures (that's what PICT stands for-picture) will appear. Select all the resources except the ones that begin with "Stripe" (there's 4 that do) and choose Copy from the Edit menu. Now, click on the Finder copy window, and choose Paste.
Next, go back to the fAni resources window. Double-click on the fAni icon. This will bring up a list of 3 fAni's - animation sequences you can choose from. The first one is the original stripe one that Apple gave you. Choose either of the other two, click on it, and choose Copy. Now, go to the Finder copy window. Double-click on its fAni icon. You will see a window with only 1 fAni in it - the one that Apple gave you. Click on it and hit Clear (don't worry about deleting this - there's always a copy in the fAni resources file!). Now, choose Paste from the Edit menu. You will then see the fAni you copied earlier appear. Now, close all the windows and choose Yes when asked if you want to save changes.
Now, go back to the Finder. Change the name of the file called "Finder" to "Safe Finder". (If for some reason your modified Finder doesn't work right, simply rename the messed up copy "Bad Finder" or something like that, rename "Safe Finder" back to "Finder", and restart.) Then rename "Finder copy" to "Finder" - this will cause it to be used at the next startup. Finally, choose Restart from the Finder's Special menu. When your computer comes up again, choose Find from the File menu. Now type in some random garbage and hit Return to send the Finder looking. Assuming it takes a long time, a window will come up telling you it's looking. The new animation sequence should appear where the stripes used to be!
WHAT TO DO - FOR HACKERS
Copy the TMPL resource from the "fAni resources" file into your ResEdit prefs file.
Make a copy of the Finder and open it in ResEdit (you HAVE TO do this unless you want to restart with a different disk) - ResEdit won't let you open the Finder that's running). Now copy all the PICT's from the "fAni resources" file except the ones beginning with "Stripe" (there's 4 that do) into Finder copy.
Open the fAni resources in "fAni resources". You'll see 3 - the first is the stripe one that Apple made, the other two are ones I designed. Copy either the second or the third. Now open the fAni resources from "Finder copy". Delete the stripe one that's already there (don't worry about deleting it - there's a copy in both your original Finder and the "fAni resources" file!) and paste in the new one.
Go to the Finder and rename "Finder" to "Safe Finder" (this is your backup in case something goes wrong) and "Finder copy" to "Finder". Restart. When the Desktop comes up, choose Find and search for some long, random string. That window should come up with the new fAni animation!
TROUBLESHOOTING
Problem: Nothing comes up where the stripes were - just blank white space!
Solution: This probably means you have more than 1 fAni in your Finder. You need to delete all but one in ResEdit (NOTE: you can't change the Finder in use, so you'll have to restart with the "Safe Finder" file renamed to "Finder").
HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN fAni's - HACKERS ONLY
Take a look at the fAni resuorce in ResEdit. You'll notice it has a field for the number of frames, and a field for each corresponding PICT. All you have to do is create some new PICT's in a paint program, copy them into ResEdit, and modify the fAni resource so it has the right number of frames and the correct PICT ID's.
POSSIBLE PROBLEM: If your paint program write white pixels as transparent rather than opaque, your animation won't work right. One solution is to copy all your PICT's into HyperCard and make them all opaque (Paint menu).
Thanks very much for the fAni TMPL, written by:
Fred Hucht, Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of Duisburg, Germany
email: fred@hal9000.uni-duisburg.de
NOTE: All of his System 7 TMPL's are available on America Online. Get them - there's pickers for fmnu's and lots of other great stuff!
Of course, I am not responsible for any problems/damage/stress this may cause, and neither is Fred Hucht.
