File Buddy 4.3
This is an HTML version of the File Buddy 4.3 Read Me file with one exception.
To conserve space, this document only describes the changes and fixes implemented
in version 4.3. The full version history is given in the Read Me document
that comes with File Buddy and on File Buddy's web site. Please read through
this entire document. You may or may not find it super exciting, but I've
edited and supplemented several items, and it may save you and me time in
the long run. Many of the questions I receive via e-mail are answered in
this file or one of the files 'Read These FAQs' and 'Upgrading/Registering
FB'.Thanks.
- Registering File Buddy
- Mac OS 8 Compatibility
- 68k, PPC, and fat binary versions now available!
- Latest Changes and Fixes
- Bugs fixed since version 3.4.8
- Known Problems in File Buddy 4.3
- What the Future Holds
- Disclaimer
- Acknowledgments
- Contact Information
- Obtaining the latest version
Registering File Buddy
File Buddy is shareware. Shareware is try-before-you-buy-software. It
is not use-it-as-long-as-you-like-for-free software. That kind of software
is called freeware. If you like it and use it more than 10 days, please
read the document Registering/Upgrading FB and register.
Overview
File Buddy is a general utility for working with files and folders. It
can:
- Obtain and set a wide range of file and folder information.
- Find files using an extensive set of search criteria.
- Find files containing specified resources.
- Modify a batch of file names, e.g., remove ".txt" from several
file names at once.
- Rename a batch of files sequentially.
- Create custom icons: from PICTs on the clipboard; from other icons;
for folders; with blank icons; using only small icons.
- Create aliases.
- Create volume and folder inventories that can be compared to report
new, deleted, and modified files and folders.
- Find empty files and folders, duplicate files, unattached aliases,
and unused preference files.
- Rebuild the desktop, even on floppies.
- Move and copy files.
- Delete resource forks and data forks.
- Erase files and unused disk space.
Note that all dragging features of File Buddy require that you have Macintosh
Drag and Drop installed, either as an extension, or as a part of Mac OS
versions 7.5 and above.
See Latest Fixes for a description of release version bugs that have
been fixed since v3.4.8.
Mac OS 8 Compatibility
A few problems were found with 4.1.1 running under Mac OS 8. They have
all been fixed and File Buddy 4.3 has been tested with Mac OS 8. The verdict
so far is that File Buddy runs fine under Mac OS 8. The only exception is
rebuilding desktops, and this is discussed in the section Known
Problems in File Buddy 4.3.
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68k, PowerPC, and fat binary versions now
available!
Starting with version 4.2, File Buddy is distributed by way of an installer
that will install your choice of 68K, PowerPC native, or fat binary versions.
The installer for File Buddy 4.3 was created using Installer VISE Lite from
MindVision Software. For more information on Installer VISE Lite, contact:
MindVision Software
7201 North 7th Street
Lincoln, NE 68521-8913
Voice: 402-477-3269
Fax: 402-477-1395
Internet: mindvision@mindvision.com
http://www.mindvision.com
Changes and Fixes in v4.3
25 Sept 1997
Changes
The Get Info Window
- Changed File Buddy's behavior when launched by dropping a file onto
File Buddy's icon and it comes up in the Get Info window. In prior versions,
trying to drop a second file produced an alert that said "Only one
Get Info window is allowed when File Buddy is opened by dropping files
to the Get Info window.", and File Buddy would quit when the window
was closed. Dropping a second file opens another Get Info window, and sets
File Buddy to not quit when they close.
- File droplets created by the Get Info window now have the option to
launch files dropped on them after making changes. Double-click a droplet
to set this capablility.
The Find Window
- As before, if a folder in the Find window's folder list is not available,
the icon next to it is dimmed (or blank). Now, instead of ignoring clicks
on dimmed icons, one of two alerts will appear. If the item resides on
a volume that is not available, an alert asks you to insert the disk on
which the folder resides. If the folder has been deleted, a different alert
is displayed.
- In the destination popup (the one above the OK and Cancel buttons),
the last two items are only available if a file list window is available.
Previously they were always available, but did nothing if there were no
file list window open.
File List Windows
- The Rename Sequentially... command (in the Special popup menu in file
list windows) has a new feature. If the base name entered begins with an
asterick '*', the rest of the base name and number are appended to each
file's original name instead of replacing the original file name with the
base name.
- You can now drag the selection from a file list window to a File Buddy
window in front of it without bringing the file list window to the front.
The current selection is now outlined when the window in not in front.
Copying Files
- File Buddy now supports multiple copy operations, and the copy progress
dialogs are no longer modal.
- Copying files is more responsive to canceling, faster, and more accurate
in predicting whether or not there is adequate space to complete the copy.
- There are several changes to what is seen when copying files with the
Replace Different option: First, only the number of items that will actually
be copied is shown, not the number of items that would be copied in a normal
copy operation. Second, the progress bar now reflects only the progress
of files actually copied. Third, while skipping files that don't need to
be copied, the only feedback is the spinning watch cursor. It may appear
that nothing is happening when you look at the progress window at those
times, but File Buddy is actually working hard at identifying files and
folders that don't need to be copied. The two improvements that result
from these changes are that a Replace Different copy operation is much
faster if there are a lot of files to skip, and the information in the
copy progress window is more indicative of what File Buddy is really doing.
Miscellaneous
- Volumes over 4GB are now fully supported.
- When selecting disks to search, the label "<custom set>"
has been replaced with the number of disks currently selected, for example
"< 3 disks >".
- Find Duplicate Files... has been rewritten. Previously, a duplicate
file scan could only be run on whole volumes. The new implementation allows
running a duplicate file scan on any files you choose. The command gives
you a window with a list into which files, folders, and disks can be added.
Read the online help for more details about the new implementation, which
should be faster. In addition, the window that displays the progress of
a duplicate file scan is no longer modal, so you can do other things while
it runs in the background.
- Added a Window menu for accessing windows hidden behind other windows.
- Multiple windows of the same type are now offset if necessary to prevent
a window from being created in the same place as an existing window.
- The Get Info, online help, Find, preferences scan reporting, unattached
aliases reporting, empty files reporting, and duplicate files windows remember
their last size and location and reopen there next time.
- Sorting code was rewritten to make if require less memory and be a
tiny bit faster. Many features sort one thing or another, so there should
be fewer "out of memory" messages.
- Some alerts always came up on the main screen, even if the window to
which the message applied was on a different monitor. Fixed.
- Window and dialog positioning is improved.
Fixes
- A bug introduced in v4.2 kept File Buddy from being able to access
all the memory it had available to it, causing it to state that there was
insufficient memory for some operations even though that was not the case.
Fixed.
- You couldn't type into the text fields in the Preferences window (under
File Finding). Fixed.
- After renaming a group of files with either of the multiple file renaming
commands in the file list special popup menu, if any items could not be
renamed (it was locked, had its name locked, etc.), File Buddy would crash
when trying to tell you some files could not be renamed. Fixed.
- Rectangles zoom out when some windows open (such as the About... box).
There were not always zooming to the right place. Fixed.
- On rare occasion, File Buddy could fail to pick up which keys were
held down when something was dropped on it even though the cursor indicated
otherwise. Fixed.
Back To Topics
Known Problems in File Buddy 4.3
- Some users have reported crashing when clicking on the little magnifying
glass in the lower left corner of some of the file directory boxes. I have
never been able to reproduce the problem, though it now seems it is a problem
with the FaxAction Extension.
- After dragging a file from one file list window to another file list
window without the option key down, File Buddy moves the file to the other
window. Or so it should. Seems it copies on some computers. I don't yet
know why.
- On some Macs, if you drag a file from a file list window to a location
in the Finder that is on a different volume than the item, the Finder will
put up an alert about error -1,708 and do nothing. On others it will copy
the file. If the file and the destination folder are on the same volume,
the Finder will move the file to that location. A workaround is to switch
to the Finder immediately after dropping the files to be copied. I believe
I know what the problem is and will try to have it fixed in the next release.
- When you drag text out of the File Buddy Help window, the style information
gets lost.
- It has been reported that the help window can't be accessed from the
Apple Guide menu if you are using Apple Guide 2.1. This is a bug in that
version of Apple Guide. The problem does not show up in versions 2.0.2
or 2.1.1.
- The Finder of Mac OS 8 has been known to not show the correct icon
for some files after rebuilding the desktop of non-floppy drives. Specifically,
sometimes an icon is blank or the 1-bit (black and white) icon is used
even though a color icon is available. This may be a bug in Finder 8.0
(not the only one I've found), as the correct icon is available (File Buddy
can get it from the desktop). Restarting Finder doesn't correct the problem,
though they always appear correctly after restarting the computer. I will
be studying this one and hope to have it fixed by v4.3.
- The memory allocation fields in the Get Info window are not PPC savvy.
When virtual memory is off on a PowerPC Mac and you do a Get Info in the
Finder for a PPC native application, the suggested, minimum, and preferred
values in the window are the sum of the size of the application's data
fork (where PowerPC code is stored) and the memory allocation values stored
in the application. When virtual memory is turned on, the size of the data
fork is not included. File Buddy does not include the size of the data
fork in either case. Hope to be fixed by v4.4. It was hoped it would be
fixed for v4.3, but it didn't make it.
Back To Topics
What the Future Holds:
Many of my goals for 4.3 were accomplished, but there were a few things
that didn't quite make it in, but will appear sometime. They are:
- A better multiple file selection dialog.
- Full support for dragging files out of a file list window.
- Making the preferences file more resistant to damage.
- Other stuff.
Disclaimer:
I have endeavored to make File Buddy as reliable and stable as possible.
Nevertheless, it undoubtedly has bugs of which I am currently unaware. I
don't know of any bad ones, but just about every piece of software with
more than 20 lines of code has bugs. I use File Buddy all the time. However,
you--as I--use it at your own risk.
PLEASE contact me if you find any bugs, unexpected behavior, or
have a suggestion for a new feature. I welcome ideas, but please keep in
mind I can't use them all, or File Buddy will need over 4 megs of disk space,
and the interface will suffer terribly. If you've used Word 6, or heaven
forbid, Microsoft Exchange, you know what I mean. Only features which would
have wide appeal can make it in.
Well, that's all for now folks. PLEASE let me know if you find any bugs,
so I can fix them asap.
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Acknowledgments
I want to thank the people who registered a prior version of File Buddy
for their financial and moral support. Without their appreciation, File
Buddy 4 would never have been done.
Thanks to those users who reported bugs so I could fix them and you could
have a better product.
Thanks to everyone on CompuServe that helped me with technical questions,
now too numerous to mention. Thanks to everyone who tested some version
of File Buddy to see if I had been successful in fixing a bug I couldn't
reproduce.
Thank you,
Laurence Harris
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Contact Information:
Laurence Harris
17 Old University Station Rd
Chapel Hill, NC 27514-1572
919-933-9595
Web: <http://www.skytag.com/>
FTP: <ftp://ftp.skytag.com/skytag.com/>
E-mail addresses:
- CompuServe: 76150,1027
- Internet: <76150.1027@compuserve.com> or
<larry@skytag.com>
A few e-mail requests:
- Please do not e-mail files without asking first, and if I okay a file,
please send it to <skytag@mindspring.com>.
- E-mail me jusdiciously. Since the same guy designs the software, writes
the software, processes registrations, and answers e-mails, the more e-mail
I get, the less time I have for other activities like writing code.
Obtaining the latest version
Please try standard info-mac sites or on-line services to obtain the
latest versions of File Buddy, RegisterFB, or FindFile Chooser before downloading
from my site, as there are limitations to the amount that can be downloaded
from mine.
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