File Buddy 4.1.1

This is an HTML version of the File Buddy 4.1.1 Read Me file. Please read through this entire document. I know it's not super exciting, but I've edited and supplemented several items, and it may save you and me time in the long run. Thanks.

68k and PowerPC versions now available!

Latest Fixes

Bugs fixed since version 3.4.8

Known Problems in version 4.1.1

What the future holds

Registering File Buddy

Disclaimer

Acknowledgments

Contact Information

Obtaining the latest version

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.

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68k and PowerPC native versions now available!

File Buddy 4.1.1 is available in both 68K, PowerPC native, and fat binary versions. Currently each version is available in its own complete package. I hope to distribute future releases with an installer that will build the version of your choice, but that will depend on the installer licensing requirements.

Latest Fixes

4.1.1 13 July 1997

• Believe I have fixed a bug for users of ObiWan that caused a crash when the PPC version of File Buddy was switched to the background.
• Believe I have fixed a bug that would cause a crash when the PPC version of File Buddy received a 'quit' Apple Event while in the background.

4.1 27 June 1997

• The progress bar reflects skipped files when using the Replace Different option.
• Rebuilding the desktop is now an option for an action on a dropped disk. Added this to make it easier to rebuild a floppy's desktop by dropping it onto File Buddy. The default keys to hold down are Command + 'd', but you can set them to your preference. Also added Rebuild Desktop button to the dialog that lets you choose the action to take on dropped items, and the Balloon Help has been corrected for that dialog.
• The File Path Popup Menus topic now works in the help window.
• Fixed several minor bugs.
• First PPC native version.
• 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, but it seems to have been traced to an extension called the FaxAction Extension.

4.0.4 23 May 1997

• There is now an Erase Files command in the file list special popup menu.
• A DebugStr() call unintentionally left in at the end of the code that erases the unused space on a disk would cause a crash if no debugger were installed. Fixed.
• The first time a file list window was opened after a new prefs file was created, the default button marker (little black line under the default button) appeared as a gray line spanning the width of the window. This has been fixed.
• File directory dialogs used to select applications now display aliases to applications as well as actual applications.

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4.0.3 17 May 1997

• When the registration form was saved to disk, the file was not closed until File Buddy quit. This has been fixed.
• Some machines would crash when doing a Find that did not use a name in the search criteria. This has been fixed.
• Moving a folder to a different volume would sometimes copy without deleting the original. This has been fixed.
• The code to save a file list to a text file has been reconnected.
• The drag & drop applications for setting file info have not been rewritten yet. Those created by 4.0.3 will show a little more current information, but will still not be able to recognize a valid 4.x serial number. This will hopefully be addressed soon.
• File and free disk space erasing are new to version 4.0.3.
• Fixed a bug that would cause finds using More Options and searching for exactly one file name with the "is any of" setting to ignore the name.

4.0.2 12 April 1997

• Version number is correct in registration form.
• Fixed some minor bugs when pasting a picture that isn't square into an icon in the Get Info window.
• Registration will now persist after quitting.
• Some searches that shouldn't report folders would report them anyway. This has been fixed.
• The Erase commands have been removed from the Cleaning menu. The code is written but is not currently "hooked up" since it hasn't been tested enough. They will be back soon.

4.0.1 27 March 1997

• There were beta alerts that prevented access to the registration form. These should have been removed as of version 4.0b4, when registration was allowed, but I forgot the alerts and no one reported them. Now they're gone.

Bugs in 4.0b6 that are fixed in 4.0

• There were some problems when doing certain name-based searches such as "starts with any of". That code has been reworked. It now works correctly, and in many cases is faster.
• Moving a file to a different volume-essentially a copy followed by a delete-was only copying and not deleting the original. This has been fixed.
• Cancelling a resource file search while the Cancel button was the default would not really cancel. This has been fixed.
• Fixed a bug that would result in folders being reported in certain searches intended to find only files.
• Fixed a bug in setting the label of a file using the Get Info window.
• Select All now works correctly in the file directory dialog when it is available.
• Fixed a bug in the Find Empties reporting window that caused a crash if you marked something to not be reported and then trashed something else.

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Bugs in 3.4.8 that are fixed in 4.0

• The get file directory boxes with finding capability now look for extra space added at the bottom when using SuperBoomerang's Get Info and clean up the info when expanding.
• Canceling out of making a folder icon in the Get Info window is now respected.
• The Find Duplicates code has been rewritten. There were some problems with it that are now fixed.
• Fixed an apparently long-standing bug when restricting a find to or excluding specific folders using the list in the Find window. This feature now works.
• Sped up searches that use the Intersect with Existing List option.
• When viewing the results of a Preferences folder scan, Command-"." and the escape key were clicking the button to trash the current file. This has been fixed. Now the window goes away.
• Fixes a bug that could happen when expanding the Find window while it's spanning 2 monitors.

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Known Problems in File Buddy 4.1

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 (I've tried on a Centris 610, IIsi, 8500, and a 180c), 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 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. I'm still looking into the problem.

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 drag & drop applications for setting file info have not been rewritten yet. They will work correctly but are not able to recognize a valid 4.x serial number. I plan to address this by version 4.2.

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What the Future Holds:

• There are a few things I wanted for 4.1 that didn't quite make it, but will appear sometime. They are:
• A better multiple file select dialog.
• Full support for dragging files out of a file list window.
• Updated code for the drag & drop applications that file info.
• A Windows menu.
• Other stuff.

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.

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.

To those upgrading from 3.x I hope you find 4.1.1 an improvement.

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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. Specifically, my web hosting account allows 500 Mb of downloading each month from my web site. After that I am charged $0.12/Mb. During the month of May, 1997, people transferred 6,039.6 Mb, with the additional 5,539.6 Mb costing me $664.75 over and above my normal monthly fee. I just can't afford that. My web site was intended to provide a place where File Buddy could be downloaded if users couldn't find it anywhere else. I will try to post the latest File Buddy anywhere I can, including one or more info-mac sites. I'll will monitor the stats each month and pull it as the downloads approach the limit.

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