The Macintosh has always been a user-friendly environment. Furthermore, its System Folder has come to be a very dependable spot to store and locate files integral to the running of your machine. Files were put here not only by Apple software, but also third party vendors and even the user. Unfortunately, users of older systems found this led to very disorganized System Folders whose contents were extremely hard to maintain or decipher.
System 7 brought about a new way of organizing the System Folder, which facilitated management for the user and gave a spot for software venders to store important files and customization. What this new management system did was create subdirectories to hold related files. One set of files are preferences. The Preference Folder holds important information about various applications.
If we were to look through our hard drives we would probably find preference files still existing for applications we no longer have. While keeping these preference files won't cause any damage to your machine, they can take up valuable disk space. What we at SP extreme decided to do was create Preference Packer, which will go through your Preferences folder and move or report preferences for which the application no longer exists.
Before you run Preference Packer for the first time, please continue to read through the documentation as it contains some important information.
Directions for use
Before you begin it is highly recommended that you rebuild your desktop. This will guarantee that all the information in the Desktop Database is correct and up to date. To rebuild your desktop hold Command + Option when you boot up your computer.
Now you are ready to run Preference Packer. Once you open Preference Packer you will see that main screen:
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This screen has all the options available for Preference Packer. The options are: 'Create Report' and 'Move Preferences'. The 'Create Report' option will create a report called 'Prefs Packer Report'. This file will list all the preference that Preference Packer thinks are no long needed. The Move Preference option will move all the preferences that Preference Packer believes to no longer be need to a folder called 'Moved Prefs ﾄ'. WARNING: It is recommended that you make sure that all the prefs that are moved are no longer needed before deleting them. After you have selected what you want Preference Packer to do, press Start.
Once Preference Packer has complete it will display the following screen:
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After this has appeared press the OK button and quit Preference Packer. Depending upon your choices Preference Packer will save the information to your hard disk.
Known Bugs
- Multiple volumes applications not available to Prefs Packer. This is still being worked on and will be fixed in the next release.
Please report anything out of the ordinary, whether you feel it's a bug or not. Also if you have an idea to improve Preference Packer feel free to send it along. Send all bugs, concerns, and ideas to:
prefspacker@spextreme.com
or visit our web site at:
http://spextreme.com/
Version History
* 0.1, 0.2(Mid 1997)
Internal versions used for test purposes. Was never released. Still toying with name ideas.
* 1.0a(December 1997)
Internal version used to do testing. Used for writing documentation and other information purposes.
* 1.0b(January 1998)
First official beta release. Very basic operations are contained. More is to come. Still working on an icon.
* 1.0(July 1998)
Release of functional shareware version.
* 1.1(August 1998)
Minor bug fix to not pull out free PPP preferences
Added a better user interface
Improved documentation
Future Endeavors
Preference Packer has been tested on a vast array of 68K and PowerPC machines. There are a number of features we plan to implement and update as soon as we can. We also hope to incorporate your ideas as they come in. Here are some of our plans:
* Improve the detection algorithm
* Add a rebuild desktop feature
* Addition of a stop feature
* Allow user to select where the report is saved
* Allow user to open a report from Prefs Packer
* Allow choice of deleting files
Shareware Version
This software is distributed under the shareware system. There is a significant difference between shareware and public domain: public domain software is free, shareware isn't. This means that you have to pay for it, just as you have to pay for commercial software. The most important difference is that a shareware program is distributed through low-cost distribution channels, without fancy packaging and advertising. This system allows you to evaluate software before you decide to pay for it. Support the shareware system by paying your shareware fee!
You can try out Preference Packer for 15 days. If you decide to keep it past the 15 days, you have to pay $10(make checks payable to Steve Paulin). If you don't keep it, at least pass it along to a friend!
Mail checks to:
Steve Paulin
SP extreme
13 Boothby Dr.
Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054
Registered Version
Registered versions are not to be freely distributed like the Shareware version. It is against the license agreement to distribute registered copies of this program. The number of registered copies is the number of copies you may own and use on any 1 system. There must be a registered copy for each computer that Preference Packer is used on.
Distribution
You can distribute the shareware version of this software by giving it to friends, upload it to a BBS or to on-line services such as AOL and CompuServe. You may also send it to any ftp site. Basically you can distribute it any way you like, so long as you don't ask for any money for it without prior consent from SP extreme. Preference Packer must be distributed with this unmodified document in the original compressed archive this product came in.
You may not sell this product or bundle it with any other products (commercial or other) without the explicit written consent of the makers of this software.
You may not modify Preference Packer or this document in any way.
Warranty and Liability
THIS SOFTWARE COMES 'AS IS'. THE MAKERS MAKE NO WARRANTY AS TO THE PERFORMANCE OF PREFERENCE PACKER. THEREFORE, THE AUTHOR CAN NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE OR LOSS OF DATA CAUSED BY THIS PRODUCT DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY.
