Snitch 2.0.1 Copyright ｩ 1993-95 by Mitch Jones, All rights reserved.
What is Snitch?
A System 7.x Finder enhancement that extends the Get Info command allowing you to see and edit a variety of different information about a file, folder, or disk. Snitch itself is also extendable, allowing other software developers to create new uses for Snitch.
Snitch will run on any Macintosh, 68K or PowerPC, that is running at least System 7.0. Snitch is fully native on Power Macintoshes.
Installing Snitch
Just drop the Control Panel into your System Folder, and put the Snitch Plugins folder into the Preferences Folder and Restart.
Note: If you are using an older version of Snitch, you'll need to remove it from the Extensions folder.
Using Snitch
Once installed, select an item on your desktop, choose Get Info from the File Menu, and Snitch will display its modifications in the resulting window.
Holding down the option key when selecting Get Info from the File menu will also get info on the original item if an alias is selected.
Next to the Snitch title at the top of the Get Info window is a pop-up menu containing several commands and the list of installed Snitch Plugins.
About Snitchﾉ - Displays the About Box for Snitch and the current plugin.
Get Info - Opens a file selection dialog box where you can select a file, folder, alias, or volume to have the Finder Get Info on. If the item that that is in the info window is an alias, then holding down the option key before selecting the pop-up menu will change the menu text to Get Original Info which will then Get Info on whatever the alias points to. Get Original Info will be disabled if the selected item is not an alias.
Change All/Only modified - Change All will force all open Get Info windows that are currently displaying the same plugin to reflect the current windows settings. Change Only modified will only change those items that you have modified.
This item is disabled if only one Get Info window is open. This feature is currently only supported by the More Info plugin.
Close All - This will close any open Get Info windows.
Below the commands are all of the Snitch Plugins that are currently installed.
Use command-up arrow and command-down arrow as a shortcut for moving between plugins.
Snitch Plugins
Snitch 2.0 is extendable through the use of Plugins. Plugins are files that are placed into the Snitch Plugins folder within the Preferences folder in the System Folder.
A plugin may be added or removed from the Snitch Plugins folder at any time. Snitch will automatically detect the change and update the pop-up menu accordingly, although the change will not take place until all open Get Info windows are closed.
A disabled plugin in the pop-up menu indicates that it is not compatible with the installed version of Snitch or that it was removed while a Get Info window was open.
Holding down the option key while selecting a plugin will cause all open Get Info windows to switch to that plugin.
The current plugin used will be remembered when the last get info window is closed, so that it will be the selected plugin the next time Get Info is selected.
All of the standard Edit menu commands are available for use with a plugin although not all plugins may support the edit menu.
More Info - This is the original Snitch Plugin. It is built in to Snitch and cannot be removed. Use it to edit the type and creator of a file and its attributes. The pop-up menus next to the type and creator edit boxes contain commonly used types and creators. These menus can be modified to include whatever items you use frequently. Individual items can be removed from these menus by option-selecting them.
Other useful pieces of information are also displayed such as if the selected file is PowerPC native and whether or not the file contains information useful to AppleScript writers.
The Edit menu is fully supported by this plugin. Undo acts more like a Revert command and it only applies to the type or creator edit boxes. When selected it will revert the respective edit box back to the value that the file had when the window was first opened.
Dates & Sizes - This plugin allows you to edit the modification and creation dates of a file and it sizes. Warning: While changing the creation and modification dates of a file is relatively harmless, changing a file's data fork or resource fork size can potentially leave the file unuseable. Both of these fields are initially locked so that they can't be accidentally typed into. To unlock them, option-click on the respective padlock icon. A warning dialog will appear when you close the window asking you to confirm any changes to the sizes.
Dates & Sizes fully supports the Edit menu. Undo works similarly to the same function in More Info.
Preview - Use this plugin to see previews of QuickTime movies and some JPEGs. Marathonｪ fans will find that saved games will show the position in the map and the level name. The preview can be selected and copied to the clipboard.
Stuffit Comments - This plugin will display the Stuffit Comments if they exist within the selected file.
Make Visible - Written by Lee "The Sheep Guy" Gummerman (fdyrhd@aol.com). This plugin will make any invisible files in a folder visible. Send comments to Lee; ask him about the Emergency Sheep Alert sound.
Text Preview - Written by Marvin Carlberg (marvin@netcom.com). Similar to Preview, this plugin will show the first hundred or so bytes in a file. You may toggle between the data and resource forks.
Edit Menu
The Finder's Edit menu can be used with Snitch. All of the commands are available when appropriate though not all plugins support them.
Undo is supported, although each plugin may handle it slightly differently. More Info and Dates & Sizes treat it more like a Revert command. Undoing any text box in either of these plugins will cause the text to revert the original text when the window was opened.
Configuring Snitch
The Snitch Control Panel may be used to configure which plugin is displayed when Get Info is selected. Snitch may also be turned on and off here.
Registration
Snitch 2.0 is US $20. Upgrades for registered users of 1.0.x are free until January 1, 1996. Please use the accompanying Snitch Registration form to register your copy.
Using Snitch on non-English Systems
Snitch will automatically configure itself to run on the following non-English systems: German, French, Italian, Icelandic, Japanese, Spanish, and Swedish. Fully translated versions will be available soon for some languages. If you wish to use Snitch on a system not mentioned, please contact me to add it.
Support
For technical support, bug reports, or comments, I can be reached at the following addresses:
Internet: mjones@netcom.com
CIS: 76506,753
AOL: MitchJones
eWorld: MadMitch
SnailMail:
Mitch Jones
P.O. Box 354
Temple City, CA. 91780
USA
Note: My internet address is the best way to get in touch with me as I check there daily, but I do check the other services at least once a week. Also, if you contact me via postal mail, please include your electronic address(es), so I know where to send new versions, etc.
The latest version of Snitch can be found on Compuserve, America Online, eWorld, Info-Mac, and on my ftp site:
Snitch is not compatible with versions of SpeedyFinder7 earlier than 1.5.9h.
Snitch is not compatible with CyberFinder 1.0.
Version History
2.0.1 Fixed incompatibility with ClickChange 2.5.1. Fixed problem saving types and creators. Fixed problem using Dates & Sizes on PowerMacs. Snitch can now configure itself automatically for a variety of non-English systems. Fixed problem with Close All when the Finder Scripting Extension wasn't loaded.
2.0 Added plugins. Fully PowerMac native (Except for the Control Panel). Added a Control Panel interface. Now compatible with SpeedyFinder7 1.5.9h. Earlier versions of SpeedyFinder7 are not compatible.
1.0.1 Fixed incompatibility with the Stretch Control Panel and with certain foreign systems. See note on use with non-english systems.
1.0b9 Fixed problem with attributes not being saved for folders. Snitch now works with all flavors of System 7 thereby doing away with the need for the Use Skanky Hack flag. Added ability to close all open info windows. Fixed problem with tabbing when background color of info window wasn't white. Snitch will now force windows that might extend off of the main monitor back onto that monitor. Changed 'sknk' resource to 'flag' resource. Undo of the type/creator fields is supported. Also if the window is closed, and either of the fields is not four characters, then the field will revert to its original contents. Added 'additive flag' to flag resource. When selected, attributes are added when the Change All button is pressed instead of the front most attributes being passed to all modules. The clear and select all items in the edit menu are now supported by the type/creator fields. Arrow keys work within the text edit fields. Snitch now makes even more checks to make sure that the window that it's trying to add to is really an info window. Getting info via an apple event will now bring up Snitch.
1.0b8 Fixed incompatibility with System 7.0 and 7.0.1. Fixed crash when using Balloon Help. Fixed problem with Snitch displaying in Control Panels. Moved controls and text edit boxes up 10 pixels so that everything will fit in the Trash Info window. Changed the method in which Snitch determines what is selected in the Finder, so now it works for folders and volumes. Type and creator are greyed out when a non-file is selected. The Custom Icon checkbox now responds when an icon is pasted or removed from the window. Fixed problem where cursor would sometimes not be set to an arrow.
1.0b7 Fixed incompatibility with Alladin's Magic Menu. Fixed problem where the type, creator, and attributes were greyed out when they shouldn't have been. Now they are only greyed out when the file is really locked or is on a locked volume. Fixed problem where the checkboxes would display in whatever font was selected in the Views Control Panel. Fixed problem where the info window would resize if the file was moved, though at this point, any changes made will not be saved since Snitch won't know where the file has been moved to. Cleaned up some of the code; this should help it be more compatible. Fixed localization problems: Any system that uses a Roman script should be able to use Snitch. Fixed bug with The Debugger and NEC multi-dpi screen. Fixed problem in about box.
1.0b6 First release to the world. Only known bug causes info window to shrink to original size if the file is moved while the window is open.
Credits
Thanks to Marvin Carlberg, Stuart Davison, Lily Duong, Dave Ely, Steve Forgacs, Lee Gummerman, Herb Hrowal, Steve Lovett, Dave Schuyler, and Doug Watkins. Special thanks to all of my beta testers who put up with all the broken versions I kept sending them.
Legal Stuff
This program is shareware; I ask a mere twenty US dollars for it. You can redistribute it as long as you include Dates & Sizes, Preview, Stuffit Comments, Make Visible, Text Preview, this Read Me and Registration files and do not modify them in any way. It is Copyright ｩ 1993-95 Mitch Jones, All rights reserved.
This program is distributed without any warranty, neither expressed nor implied. Marathon is a trademark of Bungie Corp. Stuffit is a trademark of Aladdin Systems, Inc.
