TinkerTool Version History

Newest items are listed first.

Release 2.32

• Fixed a user interface bug where the Cocoa font-smoothing control could mistakenly be enabled in Jaguar.
• The Icelandic language package has been revised completety and is now fully translated.
• The documentation has been revised completely.

Release 2.31

The preference pane package of TinkerTool 2.3 had been released in 10.2 format which caused it to appear as folder in Mac OS X 10.1. Because 10.1 remains the primary platform of TinkerTool, this problem was corrected and the package format was downgraded to 10.1.

More controls are disabled when running TinkerTool in Jaguar.

Release 2.3

The TinkerTool Jaguar Developer Edition has been merged with the full version, which now can be used both on Mac OS X 10.1 (any build) and Mac OS X 10.2.
Note that the first release of Mac OS X 10.2 (known as build 6C115a) is a bit immature. Unfortunately, Apple decided to ship this system as 10.2 even though many functions do not work as advertized. We hope that Apple will publish an update for 10.2 shortly after the official release date (August 24, 2002). If this is the case, the next version of TinkerTool (which will support preference settings of Jaguar more specifically) can be expected to come out four weeks after the release of a Jaguar build with higher product quality.

The preference setting that controlled the smoothing of fixed-width fonts in Cocoa has been removed because it did no longer have an effect in recently released versions of Mac OS X 10.1.x.

Release 2.2b

Language packages for Russian and Ukrainian have been added. The software itself has not been changed.

Note: To use TinkerTool in Russian or Ukrainian, you'll have to enable support for those languages in Mac OS X. See http://unlink.narod.ru/tinkertool/ for more information.

Release 2.2a

Language packages for Finnish, Brazilian Portuguese, and Polish have been added. Partial support for Icelandic has been reactivated.

Release 2.2

This is a minor update which addresses very specific installation problems on some systems. It does not add any new settings.

• The installer will now automatically find an old version of TinkerTool and automatically select its location as destination for the new release, hereby replacing the previous one. This will avoid problems of having two different versions installed at the same time.
• By request of many users, the display of the TinkerTool icon in small sizes has been improved.
• Some preinstalled versions of Mac OS X 10.1 bundled with Apple hardware in some countries come with a bug in the language setup: Users of such versions will notice that the startup messages are displayed in English, not in the language they had selected during system setup. TinkerTool is now capable of repairing such defective installations. If this problem is detected in your system, TinkerTool will display "-?-" as active setting at the "Startup- and Login Language" button. You can then select the correct language to fix your system. Note that TinkerTool cannot undo the repair procedure.
• Applications with Icelandic language support crashed when some versions of Apple's Public Beta version of the Icelandic language package for Mac OS X 10.1 (Íslenskustuþningur fyrir Mac OS X 10.1) had been installed. As a temporary workaround, Icelandic support has now been removed completely from TinkerTool.
• Some new paragraphs have been added to the FAQ document.

Release 2.11

This is a maintenance update which fixes an issue on machines that have been updated from Mac OS X 10.1.2 to Mac OS X 10.1.3: Under certain conditions, the modified multi-monitor features of 10.1.3 could cause a problem in TinkerTool's detection of the main display which resulted in the Desktop background settings to have no effect. This bug has been fixed.

Release 2.1

• TinkerTool now comes with an automatic installer. The installer makes handling easier and uses workarounds for bugs in Mac OS X 10.1 that could prevent TinkerTool from appearing in System Preferences. Additionally, it is now possible to deselect TinkerTool language packages during installation. The installer itself supports 15 different languages.
• A Swedish language package has been added.
• The Icelandic language package had to be removed. However, a preliminary package is still included.
• A new reset button allows users to reset preferences not only to Apple's defaults but also to the state they were before using TinkerTool 2.1.
• New: a "Quit" menu item can be added to the Finder
• New: it is possible to control options of the Finder's column view. Icons, arrows, and the preview column can be disabled.
• New: the maximum number of lines the Finder uses to display long file names in icon view mode can be set
• New: the Finder can be relaunched from within TinkerTool to make its settings take effect immediately
• New: the file format for screenshots can be set
• An additional warning that explains the Finder's auto-correction of background image settings has been added
• Cosmetic fix: the version warning regarding incompatible operating systems appeared as panel, not as sheet
• Cosmetic fix: touching but not changing the startup language setting sometimes caused a password panel to appear. It now appears only if necessary
• Bug fix: the reset button established the "separate arrows" preference for scrollbar view mode. This has been corrected to "at both ends"
• Bug fix: changing scrollbar view mode displayed a "login to activate" message. This has been corrected to a "relaunch applications" message
• Bug fix: changing the startup language only had an effect on the boot phase but not on the login window. This problem has been fixed

Release 2.02

• added Norwegian language package
• the font and font anti-aliasing tabs are now closer together.
• minor changes in the wording of some language packages
• implemented a workaround for a bug in Mac OS X 10.1 which can cause TinkerTool to read invalid font settings for Cocoa applications in very rare cases

Release 2.01

• added Korean language package
• corrected typos in several language packages
• the reset button did not immediately update the Dock position. It also reset the scrollbar arrows to the "at both ends" style instead of "together at end position". These problems have been corrected.
• the FAQ document has been extended

Release 2.0

• added feature to control sizing and placement of the desktop background image
• added feature to control position of scrollbar arrows
• added feature for disabling automatic play of audio CDs and video DVDs
• added feature to change the startup and login window language of Mac OS X without having to reinstall the operating system
• removed features that can no longer be supported in Mac OS X 10.1. This affects "mark foreground application with blue arrow", and "show trashcan on the Desktop".
• the new version avoids a window flicker effect when TinkerTool is loaded into System Preferences
• changing Dock position no longer produces a "logout to activate" message
• the Terminal preview window now also respects the user-selected background color
• the wording of some user interface elements has been changed in five language packages to better match its counterparts in the standard preference panes
• an Icelandic language package has been added
• the language package for Traditional Chinese has been re-integrated into the 2.0 version
• TinkerTool now comes with an installation notes reader that automatically displays instructions in one of the nine supported languages
• the FAQ document has been updated

Release 2.0 Preview Edition

TinkerTool has now become a module for the System Preferences application. The Preview Edition is targeted at early beta testers having access to Mac OS X 10.1 preview releases. The feature set is subject to change until the official version of Mac OS X 10.1 is released.

Release 1.52

• because delivery of Mac OS X 10.1 might have a considerable delay in some parts of the world, it was decided to publish another maintenance update for Mac OS X 10.0
• added language package for Traditional Chinese
• added support for the "12 language version" of Mac OS X 10.0: When using earlier versions of TinkerTool together with this system release, the checkmark "Unlock Dock Extensions" could remain disabled for security reasons. Now, TinkerTool correctly detects this OS version and the checkmark will be enabled. (This affects Mac OS X 10.0.x versions based on Apple CD part number 2Z691-3064, released in June 2001. You don't need to update if you have the "7 language version" of Mac OS X 10.0.x, based on Apple CD part number 1Z691-2974-A.)
• the FAQ document was updated
• minimal changes in the user interface to optimize compliance with Apple Human Interface Guidelines

Release 1.51

The tool was adapted to work correctly with future versions of Mac OS X. Release 1.51 is the last version of TinkerTool that is compatible with Mac OS X 10.0. Future updates will work on Mac OS X 10.1 or later only.

Release 1.5

• This release will support a future version of Mac OS X. Here, the default paper size for printing can be set.
• TinkerTool still works fine on Mac OS X 10.0.x but no new features have been added for this operating system.
• The Italian language package has been revised.
• FAQ list has been updated.

Release 1.4

• New version supports all seven Mac OS X core languages
• Added shadow activation switch for the Dock
• The blocked features of the 10.0 Dock (v1.0) can be activated. This will enable the Dock's placement options and makes the position settings persistent.
• Font anti-aliasing can now be manipulated at the CoreGraphics level, which makes it possible to disable font smoothing in Aqua user interface elements (including the Lucida font).

Release 1.32b

• Added Dutch localization

Release 1.32a

• Added French and Spanish localization

Release 1.32

• Corrected problem with Italian localization
• Made clean-up of environment variables more reliable
• Disabling Cocoa font smoothing for large fonts now works under all conditions
• FAQ was extended

Release 1.31a

Added Italian language package

 

Release 1.31

• Refined layout of the font smoothing pane.
• Added stepper buttons to control font smoothing thresholds.
• Added switch to completely disable QuickDraw font smoothing.
• Corrected minor bug which could disable QuickDraw font smoothing under certain conditions.
• The TinkerTool FAQ and version history are now part of the distribution.

Release 1.3

• Added new feature to control font-smoothing (anti-aliasing).
• Added new menu item to reset all TinkerTool settings to their original values.
• The new version has English and German language packages only. The 1.2b release will still be available until all missing languages have been implemented.
  

Release 1.2b

Added Japanese language package.

Release 1.2a

Added Italian and French language package.

Release 1.2

• Version for Mac OS X 10.0. All controls that do not work in the official release of Mac OS X have been removed. Also, all settings that are now part of official preference values have been removed.
• Placing the dock at login time has been temporarily disabled by Apple. The dock can still be moved but the setting is not persistent.
• Added new control for "minimize windows" effect.

Release 1.1.2

Developed workaround for bug in Mac OS X Core Graphics: Under rare conditions, TinkerTool could set the gamma correction to zero which resulted in a black screen when starting the application. This bug has been fixed. The maintenance release will automatically repair corrupt screen settings and does multiple security checks to avoid the problem.

NOTE: If you used an older version of TinkerTool and have the "black screen" problem, you can easily repair the tool by deleting the file "de.bresink.system.tinkertool" in your Library/Preferences folder.

If you start TinkerTool for the first time, you should avoid that a Classic application which comes with its own color calibration or gamma correction tool has already run in the same login session. In this case, log out, then log in again and start TinkerTool without running Classic first.

Release 1.1

• Added new options to change not only the size but also the type of the system fonts.
  
• Added new dock options for rumored features of future versions of Mac OS X.
  

Release 1.0

First public version.