Desktop Strip is a $20 shareware Control Panel that has the same functionality as the utility 'Control Strip' that ships with recent Macintosh PowerBooks and with System 7.5, but with several key enhancements.
Key features of Desktop Strip:
･ Works on all Macs that support Color QuickDraw.
･ Allows both vertical and horizontal strips.
･ Features multiple strips.
･ Allows you to place strips anywhere on the screen.
･ Strips shrink/grow automatically to fit the modules.
･ Compatible with all Control Strip modules.
･ Extends the Control Strip API to allow modules greater control of their appearance.
･ Includes three useful modules, Program Menu, Monitor Depth and Program List.
･ Works with System 7.5 and 7.5.1
Desktop Strip was a runner up in MacUser's 1995 Shareware Awards, in the System Enhancement category. (MacUser October 1995: <http://www.ziff.com/~macuser/mu_1095/shareware_awards.html>)
Major on-line services offer a selection of shareware and freeware Control Strip / Desktop Strip modules.
Requirements
Desktop Strip requires System 7.1 or greater and a Macintosh that supports Color QuickDraw. To get the best use of modules that support Drag and Drop (such as Program List ) you need Drag Manager 1.1 or System 7.5 or greater.
Registration
Desktop Strip is shareware. You are allowed to try out Desktop Strip for 15 days for free. If you would like to keep on using it after that time you are required to register your copy.
To register your copy, open the Desktop Strip Control Panel, and either save or print the registration form. Fill out the registration form and send it to one of the addresses supplied. When you have sent the registration form, you can check the 'I have paid' checkbox. After you have registered you are allowed to use this version and future shareware versions of Desktop Strip on as many computers as you are registered for.
Distribution
Desktop Strip may not be sold or distributed for profit in any form, either with other products (commercial, shareware, or freeware), or in shareware/freeware collections sold for profit, without the prior written consent of Men & Mice. Desktop Strip may be distributed freely provided it is distributed in a non-profit manner, and is provided in its original unmodified form. We would appreciate that you contact us if Desktop Strip is to be included in non-profit collection on disk, CD ROM, or other media.
Installation
Important: If you use Control Strip, make sure you remove it before installing Desktop Strip.
To install Desktop Strip, drag the Desktop Strip Control Panel and the folder 'Desktop Strip Modules' into your System Folder and reboot.
If you have previously used Control Strip, Desktop Strip will use the modules located inside the folder 'Control Strip Modules' instead of using the 'Desktop Strip Modules' folder.
How to use
When Desktop Strip loads it will display a floating window containing the installed modules on the screen. The window can be placed anywhere on the screen, and it can be minimized using the zoom box located in the title bar.
To create multiple strips, create folders inside the 'Desktop Strip Modules' folder, place modules or aliases to modules you want to use inside those folders, and reboot.
To switch a strip between horizontal and vertical orientation, option-click the strip's zoom box.
Settings
Operation of the Desktop Strip Control Panel is simple. To show or hide the strips, check the 'Show Desktop Strip' or the 'Hide Desktop Strip' radio button.
If you would like Desktop Strip to be hidden while a Screen Saver is active, check the 'Hide when screensaver is active' checkbox.
Included modules
Desktop Strip comes with three modules, Program Menu, Monitor Depth and Program List. To use these modules, put them into the folder 'Desktop Strip Modules' inside the System folder, or if you have previously used Control Strip, put them into the folder 'Control Strip Modules' inside the System folder. You have to reboot to activate the modules.
Program Menu is a Control Strip Module that allows you to view a list of active applications (including background applications) and switch between running applications. Command-clicking on the module displays a menu that allows you to select if you want to include background applications in the list.
Monitor Depth is a Control Strip Module that displays and allows you to change the color depth of the main monitor. Command-clicking on the module displays a menu that allows you to select if you want to show number of colors or bit depth.
Program List is a Control Strip Module that displays all running applications, using a horizontal or vertical list of icons, and allows you to switch between the applications by clicking their icons. If Drag Manager 1.1 is installed you can drag and drop documents on the applications (System 7.5 has the Drag Manager included). Command-clicking on the module allows you to change its settings. Option-clicking on a program will switch to that program and hide the current one, unless you option-click on the current program in which case all other programs will be hidden.
Tip: Put this module into its own strip and use it to switch between applications and drag and drop documents onto running applications. This module is an ideal candidate for putting in a vertical strip.
Troubleshooting
Symptom:
You have just installed Desktop Strip and the Desktop Strip icon shows up at the bottom of the screen with the rest of your extensions when you reboot, but no strips show up. Or you have just upgraded your System and now your strips seem to have vanished.
Fix:
Open the Desktop Strip Control Panel and make sure that the button "Show Desktop Strip" is selected.
If this is not the problem, then the most likely explanation is that Desktop Strip modules folder is either empty or incorrectly named. The modules folder is located in the System Folder and has the name "Control Strip Modules" or "Desktop Strip Modules".
If the folder is empty, drop some modules into it and reboot.
If the folder does contain some modules and the Finder allows you to change the module folder's name, try to rename the folder from "Control Strip Modules" to "Desktop Strip Modules" or vice versa, then reboot. If this still doesn't solve the problem, please contact Men & Mice for assistance.
Known problems and limitations
We are not too happy with the option-click method for changing the orientation of the strips. We are open for suggestions.
Desktop Strip and Control Strip don't work together. To use Desktop Strip, first remove the Control Strip Control Panel from your System Folder.
Some modules that bring up dialog boxes aren't fully compatible with Desktop Strip. One example of such a module is Apple's AppleTalk Switch. If you use this module, make sure that the Finder is in the foreground before accessing it.
We've had a report of a conflict with Microsoft PowerPoint and OLE, we're looking into it.
One user has reported a conflict with Timbuktu Pro. We recommend that you disable Desktop Strip while you install Timbuktu Pro. There also seems to be a cosmetic bug in Timbuktu that fails to update the Desktop Strip palettes correctly in some cases.
There seems to be a bug in After Dark 3.0 that causes Desktop Strip to hide while the AD 3.0 "Control Panel" is open, and remain hidden until the next time AD goes to sleep and wakes up again. There is also a conflict with AD 3.0 where AD 3.0 fails to activate when the cursor is moved to the "Sleep Now" corner and the Finder is in the foreground, this also appears to be a bug in AD 3.0 as there are other utilities that produce the same effect.
Tips for programmers
The whole of the Control Strip API as documented in the New Techical Notes OS 6 ﾐ Control Strip Modules (this information originally appeared in the PowerBook 500 series Developer Note) has been implemented in Desktop Strip, with the following exceptions:
SBTrackSlider does not pop up a slider and always returns 1.
SBSafeToAccessStartupDisk always returns TRUE.
Desktop Strip implements one teensy little extension to the Control Strip API, where you can request Desktop Strip not to hilite your module when it's clicked, but pass you the click anyway. This is achieved by returning the "sdevDontAutoTrack" flag set with the "sdevWantMouseClicks" flag clear from the "sdevFeatures" call.
Also a new gestalt selector has been added for modules who need to determine if they are running with Desktop Strip. The selector is 'CsWT', currently bit 0 is the only bit used, a 1 in that bit indicates that Desktop Strip is installed.
New in version 1.1:
Modules can now control their height as well as their width, via the return value from "sdevGetDisplayWidth", by returning the requested height in the top 16 bits of the return value. A value of zero in the top 16 bits is zero means to use default module height, for compatibility with the CS API.
Disclaimer
The author makes no warranties, either express or implied, regarding Desktop Strip. Use of Desktop Strip is at your own risk. The author claims no liability for data loss or other problems caused directly or indirectly by Desktop Strip.
How to contact us
You can contact us using one of the following methods:
Electronic mail:
AOL: MenAndMice
CompuServe: 100045,2425
Internet: info@menandmice.is
registrations@menandmice.is
Mail to:
Men & Mice
P.O. Box 7238
107 Reykjavik
ICELAND
Fax:
+354-525-4991
Also check out our Web Server at <http://www.menandmice.is/> where you will find information about us and our products. You can always download the latest version of Desktop Strip from <ftp://ftp.menandmice.is/pub/desktopstrip/>.
Version history:
-1.2.1 August 23, 1995
Fixed a conflict with some versions of Greg's Buttons.
Fixed a bug that would cause a crash at startup if the modules folder was empty or nonexistant.
Improved compatibility with double-byte language systems.
Apple event creation in Program List changed to improve compatibility.
Fixed a bug in Program Menu.
-1.2 June 1, 1995
Included HandyMan launcher module by Bert Wynants in the distribution. See the enclosed HandyMan.readme for instructions regarding usage of HandyMan. Changed fax number in "Read Me" file and registration form.
-1.1.2 March 30, 1995
Fixed a bug that would result in strips being moved to default locations after dragging in some cases. Fixed a bug that would make a strip with zero size "walk" across the screen (a cute one). Increased compatibility with modules that use popup menus, worked around a bug in some modules that use popup menus.
-1.1.1 February 2, 1995
Fixed preference defaults in Desktop Strip and Program List.
-1.1 January 24, 1995
Added the much requested vertical strips feature. Made the Program List module take advantage of API addition for arbitrarily sized modules. Fixed bundle bits and creator codes on modules.
-1.0.2, December 8, 1994
Fixed a silly bug in Program Menu that would for obscure reasons only cause crashes on Power Macs when quitting native programs that change the palette (go figure).
-1.0.1, November 16, 1994
Improved compatibility with various screen savers. Now checks menu bar height if 'SAVR' gestalt is not installed, and hides when menu bar height is 0. Also added a checkbox that enables or disables Desktop Strip hiding, for those who have screen savers that know about floating palettes or use gamma fading.
