This file is not intended to be a manual, but just to read something about the program, because I'm programmer not writer.
Apple is a small program, that extends functionality of program manager. It shows the apple icon which is always on top, so it's instantly accessible.
To run a program or open a file, you just click on Apple icon and choose the command from the menu or you can make menu command separate window, so that you can double click on it to run program or drag files onto it.
2. Installation:
System requirements:
- Windows 3.1 or later
- standard libraries: COMMDLG.DLL and SHELL.DLL
- 150 K free disk space
Just copy files APPLE.EXE and APPLE.WRI to any directory on your hard disk and add them to Program manager with File|New command.
I put the program in Startup group so it is invoked automatically, when Windows is started.
APPLE is multilingual. Originally, it has built in english and slovene messages, but You can add your own. Just take any resource editor (...Borland's Resource Workshop) and translate the strings with ID-s from 401 to 550 and dialog box templates with ID-s from 900 to 920. Send me a translated copy so that I can include it in the next release.
APPLE.INI is created, when APPLE is configured and must reside in Windows directory.
To use it as Windows shell (instead of Progman), just replace the line "shell=progman.exe" with "shell=apple.exe" in your SYSTEM.INI. Formally, this program cannot completely replace the program manager, because it does not support DDE topics that some software expect (for example: installation programs). If you use it as Windows shell, you should add Program manager (PROGMAN.EXE) to APPLE's menu and run it from there, when any program explicitly wants it. It works just fine except in case mentioned above and eats less resources.
Just try it and you'll love it. I do!
3. Features:
- resource monitor - Click "Special->Resource monitor" to enable/disable tracking current resource status
- supports drag&drop - to add a program or file to Apple menu, just drag it from File manager
- you can make it "top window", so that it is instantly accessible
- you can make often used menu command separate window, so you can:
- double click on it to run program
- or drag files onto it to open them
- make it "top window", so that it is instantly accessible
- move it anywhere on the screen
- use special parameters for particular purposes
- change its icon
- shows current time in its caption
- implements Mac like "Trash"
- it's a "memory eater" - needs less than 1% of system resources and 41K main memory
-
4. Built-in commands:
- Configure command lets you change menu commands, their parameters and groups
- Special->Allways on top: enables/disables topmost-window status
- Special->Resource monitor: enables/disables tracking current resource status
- Special->Restart windows: shuts down and restarts Windows
- Special->Exit windows: orderly shuts down Windows.
- Special->Exit & Reboot: orderly shuts down Windows and reboots the computer.
4.1 Configuring APPLE
Configure command lets you change menu commands, item names and groups; can have 4 groups of commands, because you need different set of commands when you're programming than when you're drawing pictures or working with a word processor.
- list box shows all commands in the selected group
- Item name is the name of command as appears in the menu. Menu items are allways sorted alphabetically, but if you want an item be placed before the others, then start its name with non-alphabetic character (for example dot). You can create an access key, if you insert an ampersand (&) before the character to be the access key. If you want the & character to appear in the item name, insert two of them consecutive
- Command line is the command itself - can be:
- any program name (the path should be included) with optional parameters
- any file with associated application
- any valid command
If the command is a DOS mode application, you should use the PIF file instead. For example: if you want to run COMMAND.COM, you run PIF editor and specify COMMAND.COM as the program name, set other options then save the file as COMMAND.PIF and add it into APPLE menu, otherwise Windows uses settings in _DEFAULT.PIF.
- "Add item" button shows an open file dialog to choose the file to add. You can add an item by dragging it from file manager, too.
- "Item is window" check box:
enables a program window for that command. See below
- "Allways on top" makes it the topmost window
- "run minimized" check box:
runs the program as icon. If the command is a DOS program, its PIF file (or _DEFAULT.PIF) must specify Windowed display usage, otherwise Windows ignores this setting.
- "prompt for parameters"
prompts for parameters whenever you run the command
- "Language"
change the language for messages and dialogs
- Allways on top:
by default, APPLE is allways on top; it might be annoying when you need the full screen (for example when working with DTP tools), so you can disable this and later reenable it.
- Resource monitor:
if enabled, shows the percent amout and the coloured block, which is the graphical representation of free system resources. It's size is proportional to percent amount and it goes this way:
- more than 50% : it's green and proportional (means: go ahead, resources at will)
- 25 - 50% : it's yellow and proportional
- 10 - 25% : it's magenta and proportional
- less than 10% : red FULL sized - means: PANIC !!!! very low resources
- Restart windows:
this command is useful, if the system becomes unstable or has low resources after a program crash (for example, when you're programming)
4.2 Command windows
In Configure dialog box you can make often used menu command separate window, so you can double click on it to run the program. To close it, just click on it and press <Alt-F4>. It will be reopened the next time you choose Configure command.
The real power of command windows comes with drag&drop feature. You can drop files from any file manager, if the command is a program and use some special command line parameters:
%1 - inserts full name of dropped file (default)
%2 - inserts file name without path
%3 - inserts full name without extension
%p - inserts prompted parameters, if any
By default, it appends full name of the dropped file and then the prompted parameters.
For example: You are browsing files with File manager and there are many text files that have extensions other than .TXT and are not associated with NOTEPAD (or other ascii editor). You can insert NOTEPAD into Apple's menu, make it a window and then drag those files from File manager and drop them onto NOTEPAD program window to view or edit them.
Another example:
Item name: MAKEBAK
Command line: COMMAND.PIF /C REN %1 %2.BAK
You make this item a window, check "Run minimized" and with PIFEDIT edit the COMMAND.PIF and specify Windowed display usage. Any file you drop onto the window, will be renamed to file with .BAK extension
5. Trash
Trash is temporary storage for deleted files. When you move files to trash, they aren't actually deleted but hidden for use by other applications. You can later open trash and undelete files or permanently remove them with the "Empty trash" command. Use "Refresh" command if you have trashed files on network or floppy drives.
6. Frequently asked questions
Q: Does APPLE run on Windows NT and Windows '95?
A: Well, it should, but it was not fully tested on NT. NT's 16-bit interface sometimes crashes the system with or without the obvious reason. It happened the first time I ran APPLE on NT and then never again (so where's the bug?!). Also, on NT the resource monitor becomes obsolete. 32-bit version will be released as soon as Borland releases the 32-bit pascal compiler.
Note on one of Windows'95 bugs:
When an application creates "owner drawn" menu, it receives two messages prior to displaying the menu:
- WM_MeasureItem - asks the the window for size of the item
- WM_DrawItem - creates the window or the rectangular area of specified size and asks the window to draw the item. Here's the bug. The system creates the rectangular area with the default menu height instead of the custom (specified in the previous message). However, this happens only to menu-bar items.
There would be a workaround for this problem, but it's dirty, so I didn't implement it.
It would go this way:
- draw the menu in the whole area (client and non-client)
- trap the click in non-client area and see if it is in presumed client area and then handle it
- maybe some other steps
Q: When I have the resource monitor activated, there is a big green blotch covering about half of the gray display rectangle (on the left side) ...
A: It is the graphical representation of free system resources. See above Resource monitor command
Q: Do "program windows" eat system resources?
A: Naturally, but not much
Q: When I activated the window for a command, it happened from time to time that it's icon disappeared
A: It's because APPLE can not find the file to extract icon from (file was deleted or renamed or due to network access conflicts, logoff,...)
Q: When I close the program window with Alt-F4, it reappears the next time I run APPLE, but Trash does not
A: Trash is controlled through the Special->Trash menu command, which is instantly accessible. Program windows closed with Alt-F4 are reopened when you click on Configure command. If you don't want them to reapper, you must uncheck it's "Item is window" option in Configure dialog.
Q: What is the "language combo" in Configure dialog used for?
A: APPLE is multilingual. Originally, it has built in english and slovene messages, but You can add your own. Just take any resource editor (...Borland's Resource Workshop) and translate the strings with ID-s from 401 to 550 and dialog box templates with ID-s from 900 to 920. Send me a translated copy so that I can include it in the next release (and your address, naturally).
History:
1.0:
First version: written in Visual basic.
I needed about 6 hours to create a full functional program, but:
- it had long load time
- too much memory needed for such a small program
- I could not distribute VBX-es as freeware
1.1
So, I wrote the second version in pascal and compiled with Borland pascal 7.0, but I spent a week for it (at least I was satisfied with it), because it was my first program in pascal for Windows. Functionally the same as version 1.0.
1.2
- Added resource monitor - shows dinamically the amount of free Graphic and User resources
- shell aware - detects, if it is run as shell
- some users did not like reboot after exiting Windows - added as another command
1.3
- 3D look for dialogs, if CTL3D.DLL present
1.4
- "command windows"
1.5
- "change icon" for command windows
- TRASH command added
- multilingual support
This program is free under following conditions:
- it is distributed with this document and is not modified in any way (except the custom language resources)
- no fee is charged for copying and distribution
The commercial fee is 15$ per copy.
Please report any suggestions or problems to the following address:
