MenuChoice is a control panel device which enables hierarchical menus under the Apple menu.  With it, you can open applications, control panel devices, and documents of all kinds quickly and easily using your Apple menu.

INSTALLING MenuChoice

Just drop the MenuChoice file in your System 7 control panels folder.  (MenuChoice is not compatible with system 6.)  You can immediately use the control panel device to set your preferences for how MenuChoice will behave, but hierarchical menus will not show up under your Apple Menu until you restart your computer.

MenuChoice is compatible with System 7.5 and provides many features not found in the built-in Apple Menu Options control panel.  You can use MenuChoice in addition to, or instead of the built-in program.  For speediest operation you should disable Apple Menu Options when you install MenuChoice.

USING MenuChoice

With MenuChoice installed, every folder in your "Apple Menu Items" folder will show up as a sub-menu under the Apple menu.  You can easily launch applications and open documents anywhere in the folders you create.  You can also use aliases to point to folders that already exist elsewhere on your hard disk.

MenuChoice has some additional features to make your Apple menu even more powerful.  

Hiding the Menubar
When this feature is enabled, the menubar is kept hidden until you click at the very top of the screen.  The menubar remains visible as long as you hold the mouse button down, and menus behave normally.  Once you release the mouse, the menubar is hidden again.  This effectively enlarges your screen by reclaiming the space occupied by the menubar.  Since this feature significantly changes the way your Macintosh operates, there are possibilities for caveats, so if you decide to use it, please read the caveat section.

Opening folders
You can open folders as well as applications and documents.  Even though a folder shows up with a sub-menu beside it, you can release the mouse while it is above the folder's name and the folder will open.

Mounting Appleshare volumes
If a volume is offline, a sub-menu will show beside it with a single disabled item "Volume Off-Line".  Releasing the mouse above the name of an Appleshare volume will cause it to auto-mount.  Hard disk volumes that are off-line cannot be mounted this way.

Recent
When you select an item from a sub-menu, it is added to a list of the 20 most recent items used.  This list is always available at the top of the Apple menu, as a sub-menu called "Recent."

Deeper Menus 
It is convenient to put an alias of your hard disk in the Apple Menu.  With it you can access any item on your disk from the Apple Menu.  As you can imagine, dealing with sub-menus that go as deep as your folders can be unwieldy.  For this reason, and because the Macinosh operating system is limited to 5 simultaneous menus, MenuChoice has a feature called "Deeper Menus" which lets you access menus as deep as you care to go.

It works like this:  Select the Apple Menu with the mouse and move through the menu structure as though you were going to select a folder somewhere deep in the hierarchy.  Now hold down the SHIFT key and release the mouse over the name of the menu.  Instead of opening the folder, MenuChoice will just remember it for you.  Now, go back to the Apple Menu, this time holding down the SHIFT key when you first press the mouse.  The Apple Menu will now contain an item called "Deeper."  Beside "Deeper" a menu will appear and you can reach the entire subfolder hierarchy below the folder you selected.

Desktop
The "Desktop" feature displays a menu item called "Desktop" which can bring up a submenu containing all the items on the desktop, including all mounted volumes.  This is also an easy way to access folders on a CD-Rom or floppy without having to create an alias in the Apple Menu Items folder.

Folder Sorting
The MenuChoice control panel lets you control the order which MenuChoice displays folders and items in submenus.  You can choose to have folders "at top", "at bottom", or "intermixed".  Segregating folders at the top or bottom makes it faster to navigate through many levels of menus.  Try each option to determine what you like best.  Please note that the top level menu is unchanged by this option.

Extended Features

In addition to opening items through the Apple menu, MenuChoice also provides the capability to print, duplicate, or create an alias of the item.  These features, plus some others described below are enabled when you check Extended Features in the MenuChoice control panel.  You access these features through the Apple menu, by holding down a key combination (option, command, and/or control) when you release the mouse above an item.  You can choose the key combination when you click to enable Extended Features in the control panel.

When you select an item in the Apple menu and hold down the option key (or whichever keys you have configured) when you release the mouse, a dialog will appear to let you choose which action to take.  There is a list of choices as follows:

    • Alias in Finder
        This option lets you create an alias in the
        folder with the original item, just as 
        though you selected"Make Alias" from 
        Finder's file menu.

    • Create Alias
        Allows you to  create an alias for the
        selected item, and choose to put it in the
        Apple Menu Items folder or anywhere on
        your disk.

    • Duplicate
       Make a duplicate in the folder with the
       original item.

    • Get Info
       Show Finder's Get Info window for the item.

    • Open
       Launch or Open the item through Finder, as
       though you double clicked the item.  If the current
       application is System-7 savvy and can open
       files of the type you selected, you can choose
       instead to open the item directly in the
       application.  This is quivalent to using drag-drop
       in the Finder—it allows you to open a file  created
       by a different application.

    • Print
       Print the item. As with Open, you can print directly
       through  System-7 savvy applications, by checking
       the option titled "Print in current application".

    • Show in Finder
       This choice will activate Finder and automatically
       open the folder which contains the item and select
       the item for you. This is useful if you wish to use
       Finder to move or delete the item.

    • Add to Recent menu
       Only adds the item to the MenuChoice Recent menu,
       for easy access later.

    • Remove from Recent menu
       Removes the item to the MenuChoice Recent menu.

The Open, Print, and Get Info choices may also be applied to every item within a selected folder.  In this case, you will be given a choice to "Use all items in folder".  When you check this option, MenuChoice will display the number of enclosed files or folders to which the command will apply.

When the item you select is an alias, features like "Get Info" and "Duplicate" will, by default, apply to the alias rather than the item which the alias points to.  Clicking the "Find Original" button will let you apply "Get Info" or "Duplicate" to the original item instead.

Caveat

(read this section if you experience problems, or to learn more about certain feaures)

The Hide Menubar feature has, by nature, many caveats.  If it proves to be too strange for your taste, simply disable it in the MenuChoice control panel.  I included this feature primarily because I use a specific application, MacX, in which more screen area is a value and the menu is seldom used at all.  The feature works well with many other applications, and if you find you like it, consider it a free bonus added to the functionality of MenuChoice.

Programs that draw directly in the menubar, such as SuperClock, may not be compatible with the Hide Menubar feature.  Fortunately, if you rename SuperClock version 4.0.4 to aSuperClock, so that it loads before MenuChoice, it will function properly whenever you click to display the menubar.  (It is hidden along with the menubar otherwise.)

With the Hide Menubar feature enabled, flashing icons which show up in the menubar to tell you that an application needs your attention are drawn even when the menubar is hidden.  For this reason, there are two small rectangular areas at the top left and right of the screen which are reserved, and unavailable for use by the application.  They should show up with your background pattern, or occasionally with a grey pattern, until the menu is activated.  Any application window that overlaps these areas will be clipped.  This is normal behavior, and prevents the flashing icons from drawing into the application's window. 

The Hide Menubar feature requires an application to respond to the mouse button before the menubar can be drawn.  If the application is too busy to respond to the mouse, or is hanging your Macintosh, the menu will not appear when you click at the top of the screen.  This can give the false appearance that MenuChoice is failing to show the menu.

Occasionally an alias may become corrupted and no longer display a menu from within MenuChoice.  If you experience this difficulty, please try re-creating the alias.

GateKeeper can cause a variety of problems with MenuChoice.  If you are unable to configure GateKeeper to stop issuing erroneous messages, I recommend using another virus utility, such as Disinfectant.

If you use the Extended Features to Open or Print directly through an application, you should be able to access as many files as you want.  Finder, however, seems to be limited to handling 13 files at a time.  MenuChoice checks for available memory to send the open or print messages to another application, but the application is responsible for handling the request.  It is possible that this can cause an application to crash due to low memory conditions.  Use caution if your application is sensitive to such problems.

Version 1.0 of the extension called "TrashAlias" conflicts with MenuChoice.  You can move TrashAlias out of the extensions folder and into the system folder to cause TrashAlias to load after MenuChoice, which resolves the problem.  Also, a later version of TrashAlias is said to resolve the conflict.

MenuChoice will only display up to 40 folders at the top level of the Apple Menu.  The number of folders in lower levels is unlimited.

Setting the disk cache in the "Memory" control panel to a larger value can help speed up the time it takes MenuChoice to redisplay submenus in your Apple menu.

Since any item in the top level of the Apple menu is readily accessed, MenuChoice's Recent feature remembers only items chosen from sub-menus of the Apple menu.  The Deeper Menus feature also works only with folders that are below the top level Apple menu.  

Version History

Version 1.0 - initial release

Version 1.1 - fixes compatibility with Mac Plus and SE, deals with removable storage and Appleshare volumes better than previous version.

Version 1.2 - fixes compatibility with foreign  Macintosh systems and the PowerBook 140.  Also fixes a bug which occasionally corrupted the "Recent" file in the Apple Menu Items folder, which would cause MenuChoice to stop working.  Also adds the "Desktop" feature described above.

Version 1.3 - fixes an incompatibility with 32-bit systems, and adds the "Folders at Top" feature described above.

Version 1.4 - fixes many caveats present in earlier versions, provides better compatability with various applications, adds the alias feature, and makes the Deeper menus function easier to use.

Version 1.5 - MenuChoice 1.4 slowed down the response of the menus.  Version 1.5 remedies this problem.

Version 1.6 - fixes a bug which entirely prevented MenuChoice from working on some Macs, and caused certain folders not work work on other user's Macs.

Version 1.7 - August 30, 1993 - speeds up menu access yet again.  Folders put on your desktop will now expand under the "Desktop" menu.  An alias to the Apple Menu Items folder will no longer re-display the Apple Menu repeatedly within the hierarchy.  The "Recent" menu is now permanent - items are remembered even after restarting your computer.  The "Recent" menu has been expanded to 20 items.  Fixes a bug which could cause the recent menu to become corrupt if the Freeware extension "JustClick" was used.

Version 1.8 - October 15, 1993 - fixed a bug which caused Finder to crash or misbehave in various ways when startup items -- especially sounds -- were included in the "Startup Items" folder.  (MenuChoice now restores the current resource file after an item is opened.)  

Version 1.9 - December 12, 1993 - the fix in version 1.8 was, well, less than helpful, and in in some cases 1.8 performed more poorly than 1.7.  Sorry folks.  This version should be a real improvement.  In addition to a better fix for the conflict with Finder, this version fixes a memory leak which was slowly swallowing up memory, and a rather obscure bug that caused problems with balloon help.

Version 2.0 - April 17, 1994 - fixed an incompatibility with the internet mail reader "Eudora".  Fixed a bug which prevented accessing volumes from the desktop menu, and another which prevented folders starting with "-" from displaying.  Also added the features described in the Extended Features section above.  Changed the Recent menu to show submenus for recently accessed folders.  Added a divider between volumes and other items shown in the desktop menu (when Folders at top/bottom is selected).

Version 2.1 - January 1, 1995 - added the "Hide Menubar" feature.  Also fixed a rather obscure bug which would display an alert off-screen if you selected a recent item which could not be found on disk, and there were no windows currently open in the Finder. An enhancement to make MenuChoice work with the new PrintChoice, version 1.2, is also included in this release.

Legal Stuff

I strive to make MenuChoice a solid and reliable product.  I am interested in hearing about any problems you experience so that I may make improvements in future revisions.

I make no warranty of the performance of this utility, expressed or implied.  In no event will I be held responsible for any damages or loss as a result of using MenuChoice.  When this disclaimer does not apply, my liability will be limited to the amount paid for the product.

REGISTERING MenuChoice

MenuChoice is shareware and costs $15.00.  Send a U.S. check or money order to the address below.  Please use the "Payment…" button in the control panel to print out an order form.  If you cannot print the registration form, be sure to indicate the product and version number you are registering, and specify your name and return address.  Once you have registered, click the "Payment…" button and then select "I have paid" to disable the "Not Registered" message on the MenuChoice startup icon.

I am sorry, but I cannot accept credit card orders.  Other forms of payment which you may use if you cannot write a U.S. check:
    (1) International postal money orders in U.S. dollars, readily available at your post office in the U.S., Canada, Japan, and France.
    (2) Compuserve's SWREG forum.
    (3) When no other option is available, cash, preferably in U.S. dollars.

Kerry Clendinning
PO Box 26061
Austin, TX  78755

Please include the version number and your mailing address with all correspondence.
Compuserve:  76424,2214
Internet: 76424.2214@compuserve.com
Apple Link:  KerryC