Substitute Pro page: http://users.iol.it/yellowsoft/substitute.html
(Reading this file or WEB Pages of above, please, consider that English is not my primary language. I did my best...)
Overview.
Substitute Pro is a useful general purpose utility, it has a lot of options:
• Version checking. It checks, automatically, the contents of many folders class. It may also check the version of any object you want.
• Extension Manager. It may enable/disable lots of System Objects, not only the contents of usual folders.
• Removes extra code from FAT application, allowing you to select the code you want to remove. It can also scan disks and folders, searching for FAT objects to optimize.
• File conversion by means of QuickTime™.
• File comparison.
• Plays any kind of file QuickTime™ supports: movies, sounds, images and so on.
• Joins multiple files (any kind of file QuickTime™ supports: movies, sounds, images and so on) in a new one. You may select the format of new file.
• Processes management: tracks the foreground process reporting useful infos onto its main window; switches to foreground any individual process; closes any individual process; gathers accurate infos about any individual process; closes all processes but itself.
• Scripts. It checks for compiled scripts, or aliases, inside a proper folder to build a menu from where may launch the scripts.
• Yellow Extensions. It may use this kind of external file. The Yellow Extension Development Kits is enclosed.
• Numeric conversion. It may convert integer values (signed and unsigned) to diverse format (decimal, octal, binary, hexadecimal, ascii).
• Launches Applications, Desk Accessories and files having type APPC, appe, adrp, APPD, FNDR with the skill to make a permanent, but alterable, lists of these files and run them from a proper menu. It can restart-launch the Finder and At Ease.
• Desktop rebuilding.
• Monitor depth changing.
• Sound level changing.
• Gathers accurate informations about files, folders and disks.
• Mouse tracking: it shows onto its main window the global and local cursor coordinates. Also displays the graphic area, enlarged, around the cursor.
• TransStyle: to simplify 'styl' resources for a faster text drawing between script systems. Many options available, 'styl' deletion also.
• Compacts the System Heap as well as the free System memory.
• Files and folders copying (even in background).
• Files and folders moving, even to trash.
• Tracks all online volumes and can unmount/eject them.
• Reports any Keyboard Layout available.
• Shows all installed fonts (it may also change its own window font).
• Mac Shutdown/Restart.
• Current and International Clock. It displays, into its main window, the local and an international Date/Time. You may select one city among a lot of preset cities.
Substitute Pro sports Drag and Drop and is Drag Manager aware: you may perform some actions of above simply dropping objects onto its main window or onto its desktop icon. You may choose the action Substitute Pro should perform by using Drop Keys.
Substitute Pro is Internet Config and Navigation Manager aware, moreover it's Appearance savvy. It requires at least System 7 to run.
What's new in 1.8.5 version
• QuickTime™ Streaming playing.
• File joining.
• Linked with MoreFiles 1.5.
• Linked with Internet Config 2.0.2.
• A bug in Navigation routines fixed.
• Recompiled with Interfaces-Libraries 3.3.2.
• Better cursor management in numeric conversion window.
Hardware and software requirements.
Substitute Pro should work on any Macintosh with a minimum of System 7. It's accelerated for PowerPC. If you have the Appearance Manager and/or same the Navigation Manager and/or same the Drag Manager, they will be taken advantage of. Some menu items may be disabled or some feature may be inactive if you don't have Internet Config 2.0 installed (only on PowerMac), if you don't have, at least, QuickTime™ 2.0 and if you don't have AppleScript.
How to use.
Main Window.
The Substitute Pro main window shows, continuously, infos about the foreground application: the name (in the window title), the Type and the Creator, the Desktop Icon, the CPU time (in seconds) accumulated, the memory allocated and the application free memory .
Note: the "memory allocated" is the real memory allocated by System to the application.
The Substitute Pro main window shows the current date and time plus the date and time of a different city. You may select the city you prefer from the "City" popup menu.
Note: cities inside popup menu cover all time zone. Drop me a note if you find some mistake or if you want different cities.
The Substitute Pro main window tracks also the mouse movements displaying the global and local coordinates of the cursor and the graphic area aound it, but enlarged.
You may drag object on Substitute Pro main window, if your Mac support Drag Manager. See "Drag&Drop" chapter of this document
Menu File.
from this menu you can launch all Applications and Desk Accessories you want.
In addition you can launch files having type: APPC, appe, adrp, APPD. You may also restart/launch Finder-At Ease if you've closed them by using Substitute Pro or else another utility.
Substitute Pro allows you to launch At Ease even if your Mac has started with the Finder, a caveat: don't select users having Finder access or else you will have a hellish restart/shutdown!!!! Always select users having access only to At Ease panel.
By means of menu item "Open Stream…" you may try to play movies, sounds, images and any file QuickTime™ sports. To close the "playing window" use Command+w.
By means of menu item "Join Stream…" you may try to join multiple files into a new one. You may join any kind of file QuickTime™ sports: movies, sounds, images and so on. It's especially useful to join little sequences, inside 'MPEG' or 'MooV' files, into a single movie. But you may mix different kind of files then save them in a new one having the format you prefer.
When you try to join files, Substitute Pro asks you to select the files one after the other by using a "Get file" dialog per file. If you press the Cancel button at the first or at the second dialog Substitute Pro cancels the whole operation. From the third dialog on, after pressing Cancel, Substitute Pro can write the new file.
By means of menu item "Convert file…" you may try to convert files from a format to another by using QuickTime™ conversion ability. If QuickTime™ sports the file you choose then it shows a "Put file" dialog containing some options; vice versa Substitute Pro warns you with an alert.
Note: QuickTime™ sports lot of files, it's beautiful, but you should know a little imperfection of it: when you try to save a file through its "Put file" dialog, but a file with the same name already exists into your choosed location, it puts on the usual alert "Replace existing [file name]?". If you press "Replace" it first deletes the existing file, then try to write the new one. The imperfection is obvious: if it fails you lose the already existents file.
This is my suggestion: when QuickTime™ asks you to replace a existing file you should always press "Cancel" then use a different name. When the conversion successful you may delete the old file.
By means of menu item "Compare files…" you may compare data forks and resources forks of two files. Substitute Pro tells you whether files are identical or else whether they are different.
Menu Substitute.
from this menu by selecting "Add Item..." you can add items of types of above (Finder-At Ease also), and launch them from the sub menu "Items".
You can remove items from the list through "Remove Item...".
Substitute Pro saves the items of these menus, so you may retrieve your last setting any time you relaunch it.
Note: Substitute Pro assigns a shortcut to the first twenty-six items you add to the sub menu "Items", if you're running under Appearance.
Menu Special.
Through 'Special' menu you may:
1) Copy files and folders. Substitute Pro can perform this task in background. A progress window informs you about the copy state.
2) Move files and folders inside the same disk.
3) Move files and folders to trash.
4) Remove the unneeded code from FAT objects. USEFUL!!!! Substitute Pro allows you to choose the code type to remove (68k or PPC) from selected items. If you select disks or folders, Substitute Pro shows a progress bar, while it scans them, searching for unneeded code.
Note: Substitute Pro just removes unneeded code. It recognizes also 68k CFM applications and leave them untouched. But you should consider that some applications running PPC code may still require the presence of 68k code. I konw a few applications you shouldn't strip:
TechTool, TechTool Pro 2, Stuffit 5.1.2 (thanks to: Al Rubin <Aygeear@aol.com>)
5) Use TransStyle. What's TransStyle? read, please.
Many applications and documents have 'styl' resources inside them.
If you're running a non-Roman 2-byte script system (Japanese, Korean, Chinese...), and if your machine is not really fast, the first text drawing can be rather slow, when you open a file compiled under a Roman 1-byte script system . This is because your System should translate the style of text, before showing it.
To dramatically increase the text drawing speed, you should optimize your files with TranStyle before using it. TranStyle has several option to translate styles:
it can change any style of 'styl' resource to TransStyle default (font geneva, size 9, style plain, color black), or accordingly your preferences.
Available options:
Font -> default, don'change, any font you've installed,
Size -> default, don'change, 12 pt,
Style -> default, don'change, change any non plain text to italic,
Color-> default, don'change, change any colored text to underline,
also TranStyle can zap all 'styl' resources of file opened.
TransStyle was a stand-alone application but, to reduce the number of circulating application of mine, I've merged it into Substitute.
6) Open the "Converter" dialog. Substitute Pro may convert integer values (signed and unsigned) to diverse format (decimal, octal, binary, hexadecimal, ascii).
7) Compact the System Heap.
8) Compact the free memory.
9) Gather accurate info about files, folders and disks.
Menu General.
Through General menu you may:
1) Check the version of objects. Substitute Pro may automatically check object of following folders:
Apple Menu Items, Controls, Disabled Controls, Extensions, Disabled Extensions, Startup Items, Disabled Startup Items, Shutdown Items, Disabled Shutdown Items, Fonts, Applications, System Folder, Disabled System Extensions, Speakable Items, Apple Extras, Utilities, Internet, Internet Search Sites, Internet PlugIn, ControlStrip Modules, Contextual MenuItems, Text Encodings, Scripting Additions, Voices, Assistants, Help, Modem Scripts, Printer Description, Printer Driver, Appearance, Themes, Sound Sets, ColorSync Profiles, Speakable Items, Startup Volume, Application Support, ALM Modules, ALM Locations, Find Support, Find By Content, Scripts, QuickTime Extensions, Find By Content Plugins.
You may also select individual objects to check, as well as folders and disks. You may break the checking when you want by pressing Escape key.
2) Extension Manager. Substitute Pro allows you to enable/disable items inside System folders, just as other Extension Managers, but Substitute Pro, in addition to usual folders, sports a lot of other ones. These are the folders Substitute Pro manages:
The left list of Extension Manager window contains the enabled items, the right list the disabled ones. Double-clicking an item move it.
After selecting an object inside a list you may view it by pressing the "Show" button. By pressing the "Info" button, instead, you may gather infos about the selected object by using the powerful "Info" feature of Substitute Pro.
3) Scripts. Substitute Pro creates, inside System Folders->Preferences->Yellowsoft a folder named "Scripts". You may put there compiled Scripts or, better, aliases of compiled Scripts and run them from "Scripts" menu.
Note: Substitute Pro assigns a shortcut to the first twenty-six items of menu "Scripts", if you're running under Appearance.
4) Yellow Extensions. Substitute Pro creates, inside System Folders->Preferences->Yellowsoft a folder named "Yellow Extensions". You may put there this kind of external codes and run them from "Yellow Extensions" menu.
Note: Substitute Pro assigns a shortcut to the first twenty-six items of menu "Yellow Extensions", if you're running under Appearance.
Enclosed to Substitute Pro there are some example extensions. If you're a programmer (even a beginner) you may write by yourself the extensions by using the enclosed Yellow Extensions Toolkit. The project example is for CodeWarrior Pro 5. Inside its sources you may find all explaining notes you want.
5) Rebuild the Desktop Database of disks.
Note: before rebuilding the Desktop Database, Substitute Pro attempts to close all running applications (also Finder). If fails within a default timeout (about 20 seconds) it stops the action and informs you. This isn't a solemn trouble: simply you may try again.
Be careful: use this feature with prudence and only if really necessary: is more easy, simple and free from problems, rebuilding desktop at startup, holding down command+option keys.
6) Unmount and Eject disks.
7) Know all available keyboard layouts. To change the current layout, type command-option-space.
8) Temporarily change the default application font.
9) Change the sound level.
10) Change the monitor depth.
11) From "Support" Menu you can open Internet Config or Internet Control, send me e-mails, visit my web pages or copy my addresses.
Menu Process.
Through Process menu you may:
1) View all running processes and switch to foreground the process you want (just like the Finder's Application menu).
2) Close the process you want.
3) Gather infos about the process you want.
4) Close all processes. Just like rebuilding Desktop, Substitute Pro attempts to close all running processes within the default timeout. If fails it informs you. As above, simply you may try again.
5) Restart or shutdown your Macintosh. If you're running a scriptable Finder there's no problem. Differently Substitute Pro attempts to close all running applications before restart/shutdown. See above.
Drag&Drop:
Substitute Pro sports Drag&Drop and Drag Manager, but only on registered version and during trial period.
When you drag one object on Substitute Pro main window or onto its desktop icon, by default its shows infos about the object. You may hold down a Drop Key, dropping object to perform different job.
Drop Keys:
C: Converts files (does nothing if you drag a folder).
R: Removes unneeded code (also sports folders).
T: TransStyle (does nothing if you drag a folder).
V: Version Checking (also sports folders).
P: Plays streams (does nothing if you drag a folder).
J: Joins files (returns error if you drag a folder).
Acknowledgement:
Carla "The Stylist" Bidone. Lucilla Guendalina "The Leader" Moliterno. Alessandro "The Doctor" Giolitti. Alberto "The Priest" Novelli. Giovanni "The Bear" Rava. Alessandro "The Ace" Levi Montalcini. Giorgio "The Guitar Hero" Avezza. Fabrizio "The Guru" Oddone. Tony Wight. Al Rubin.
Author's note:
My software development group is made up by: me :-/
On the other hand, my beta-tester group is made up by: me :-(
This means that if you find a bug, both developer and beta-tester groups would greatly appreciate your reporting ;-)
And don't forget to register your copy of Substitute Pro Remember that a shareware author should be supported. If you don’t pay for shareware software today, you will pay much more tomorrow for exactly the same features (but enclosed in a 'nice' commercial box).
Version history:
1.8.5: QuickTime™ Streaming playing. File joining. Linked with MoreFiles 1.5. Linked with Internet Config 2.0.2. A bug in Navigation routines fixed. Recompiled with Interfaces-Libraries 3.3.2. Better cursor management in numeric conversion window.
1.8.0: International clock. File comparison. Value converter. Extension Manager. Mouse tracking. Mouse area displaying. Script menu. Yellow Extensions. Better date updating. Added memory partition fields inside Info window. Added version field inside Info window. Added more preset folders to version checking. New About box. More keyboard shortcuts. Better Appearance dialogs. Better Navigation dialogs. Better main window redrawing. Minor bug, saving window position, fixed. Position saving for each window. Minor bug in version window fixed. Minor bug checking versions fixed. Rearranged menus. Recompiled by using the newest compiler. 'aete' resource. Drag and Drop. Drag Manager support. Drop Keys. Linked with Appearance SDK 1.04. Recompiled with Interfaces-Libraries 3.3. Pro version.
1.7.8: Bug, selecting disks, fixed. Bug, creating new files, fixed.
1.7.7: Substitute Pro may, virtually, convert any kind of files QuickTime™ support. Improved QuickTime™ conversion. Better test for QickTime™ 2 presence. Increased the number of folders class for automatic version checking. About box position saving. Code optimized for better performances. Improved Internet menu. Addresses update. Removed registration form from About Box. Added Registrations folder. Added Support folder.
1.7.6: Bug selecting a process fixed. Bug closing a process fixed. Addresses update.
1.7.5: Version checking. File conversion. Permanent list of files. Navigation Manager aware. Window position saving. Improved Modal Dialog filters. Better alerts. Better error checking. Better error infos. Internet menu. Improved desktop icon. Linked with Internet Config 2.0. Linked with MoreFiles 1.4.9. Linked with Appearance SDK 1.03. Recompiled with Interfaces-Libraries 3.2. Recompiled by using the newest compiler. Addresses update. All code revisited. Better break keys management. Moved some menu items. Fixed some menu problem. Minor changes.
1.7.2: Fixed a bug occurred on B&W Macs, thanks to Tony Wight. Fixed a bug who shut out Get Info feature. Sound level now work rightly on old 68k Macs. Added default timeout, closing all running processes. Shutdown/Restart now works on all Macs. Fixed some cosmetic error.
1.7.1: Substitute Pro doesn't strip Fat applications containing CFM 68k code. Free memory compacting. Better support of Appearance Manager in ModalDialog filters. New trial time term. Adresses update. Minor changes.
1.7.0: Ability to remove unneeded code from FAT items. Ability to simplify 'styl' resources (TransStyle). System Heap compacting. Desktop Database rebuilding. APPC, appe, adrp and APPD files support. Ability to launch Finder/At Ease. Monitor depth changing. Unified all "Open" menu items. Unified list of files menus. Unlimited items inside list of files. Ability to remove items from list of files. Directory copying. If errors occur, during copying, new files aren't deleted. Single process closing. Single process info. Ability to move items to Trash. Ability to unmount/eject volumes. AppleEvents to Finder for Restart/Shutdown. Continuous free memory tracking, onto main window. Improved registration form. Added registration infos. Added serial number. Better memory management. Better error management. Appearance Savvy. Linked with MoreFiles 1.4.8. Removed: rename, delete, lock, alias, format. Changed e-mail address. Changed web page address. Changed desktop icon. Lot of minor changes.
1.6.0: Now, in main window, Substitute Pro reports continuously infos about the foreground process. Removed close box from main window. Removed any button from main window. Added ability to copy files in background. Correct a little shortcoming in copy mode. Added ability to format HD and removable HD. Removed the useless skill to format DD diskette to 400k. Added ability to make alias of anything. Added ability to move folders. Added ability to rename folders and disks. Added ability to gather info from disks and folders. Removed any check box from Info Window. Added menu "Info". Now Substitute Pro tracks all online volumes. Moved sub menu "Keyboards" to menu "Info". Added ability to change the Application Font. Added ability to change the Sound Level. Added the list of all open processes. Added ability to close all open processes. Added ability to call back any open process. Removed the useless sub menu "Font" from menu "System". Removed the useless sub menu "Extensions" from menu "System". Removed the useless sub menu "Sound" from menu "System". Added Registration form. Changed some keyboard shortcuts. All modal dialog are now movable. Removed the useless Drag & Drop features. Recompiled with custom libraries and improved any routine. E-mail address updated. Minor changes.
1.5.2: Three (very little) bugs fixed.
1.5.1: Added the Shutdown/Restart option. Removed color from menu. Changed the main window format. Changed, in Drag&Drop mode, the access possibility to main window. Improved some routines.
1.5: Added Drag&Drop of multiple files, lock/unlock, alias creation. Increased the achievable informations number, and added the copy of type or/and creator of another file option. Improved the ability to move lock files. Added, moving a files, the substitution of files with same name option. Added, for DD diskettes, the 400k or 800k format option. Added the erase catalog skill with verification and initialization option (also 400k or 800k for DD diskettes). Improved the diskettes format treatment. Added the "Eject" button. Leave out the automatic exit from format window. Optimized many code's part. Minor changes.
1.0: First release.
SHAREWARE.
Substitute Pro is distributed as SHAREWARE: if you use Substitute Pro you should pay the author.
Look at the enclosed "Registrations" folder to know how the register.
Pricing.
Single User: US $ 20
Site license: US $ 400
World-Wide license: US $ 2000
Academic Site license: US $ 200
The unregistered version.
After the trial period of one week, the unregistered version of Substitute Pro is, still, fully operational; however it will always show a reminder and its "about" box when you open it and disable Drag&Drop features. When you register Substitute Pro the irritating windows don't appear, the "unregistered" notice will be replaced by the registration information and Drag&Drop features work again..
Notice: soon after registering, you will receive the serial number via e-mail.
Substitute Pro can also be included, without my prior permission, without changes and with this "Read Me", in all CD-ROM or disk shareware collections and in all CD-ROM or Disk magazines (anyway an e-mail or a snail mail would be welcome, as well a copy of the magazine or media would be welcome :-).
Substitute Pro may not be included in a commercial package without my prior permission.
Disclaimer of Warranty.
This software is provided "as is" and without warranty of any kind, implied or expressed. When using it you assume all responsibility for any damages caused, directly or indirectly, by its use. Also registering this software doesn’t give you the right to require extra services (bug fixing, special assistance, the latest version on disk, and so on): you should pay only because you think the program you’re using now is worth the money.
