hierLauncher is an application that allows you to add applications hierarchically to the menu lists provided by OnCue¬ and MultiMaster¬. As released, these two products let you put applications into the main menu and attach documents that belong to the application. If you have a lot of applications, the list gets too long to be easily scanned and may well run off the bottom of your screen. If you're like me you have large classes of applications like utilities and games that cry out for a single entry in the main list (say Games with a hierarchical list containing all the games). hierLauncher lets you do this. If you are an OnCue user you will need to make a minor modification to OnCue in order before proceeding with the How To Use section (see below).
How to Use hierLauncher
To use hierLauncher, duplicate a copy of it, rename the copy with the name you want in the MultiMaster or OnCue application list, like "Low Use" perhaps, add it to the application list under MultiMaster. Now choose "Attach Documents", click the Show All Documents box, and choose your low usage applications (like Font Da Mover, Mouse Odometer or whatever) as documents. When you are done and next use MultiMaster, you will find an entry labeled "Low Use" and its hierarchical submenu will list your low use applications. Now you can shrink back your lengthy application list making finding frequently used applications a faster proposition. hierLauncher does not give you a second level of hierarchical menu (i.e. you cannot attach a document to an application in its hierarchical submenu. Fortunately, most of the things one wants to make hierarchical submenus for don't need documents.
There is no magic to hierLauncher. It is simply another application. All it does is launch all the documents it is started with as applications. Note that if you use MultiMaster, you can select several applications at once from the MultiMaster dialog box and hierLauncher will launch them all when you press Enter.
OnCue users
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The authors of OnCue took extra steps to protect you from doing something silly like attaching an application as a document. Therefore, OnCue as you currently have it cannot have applications attached to hierLauncher when it is in the OnCue menu. This limitation can be removed by a one byte patch to OnCue. Of course, you should save your original and patch a copy in case you decide you want to go back or if you should make a mistake. The patch is to the INIT resource to change the first occurrence of the string APPL to @PPL. This patch applies to version 1.3 of OnCue. If you have some other version, you are probably safe to make the patch if the bytes surrounding the first occurrence of APPL in the INIT are as shown below but you'll have to try it and see.
If you are patching with ResEdit, open your copy of OnCue, open the INIT resource, and open the single INIT within that, then do a Find Ascii... from the Find menu and specify the string APPL. The change should look as follows:
Before: 0C80 4150 504C 6700 001E
After: 0C80 4050 504C 6700 001E
^^^ Changed
Now Quit from Resedit and OK the query about saving changes. Next restart your machine to get the modified OnCue into action. It should now show you applications among the documents when you specify "Attach Documents".
If you don't have Resedit, you can make a similar change in the resource fork with any of a number of binary file editors. The byte to be changed is at 2E54.
USE AND DISTRIBUTION
hierLauncher and this document are copyrighted material. You have permission to use them non-commercially, but you may not sell them or use them to perform a service for which you charge a fee. Copies of the program may be freely distributed, provided that the program is in no way altered and that this documentation accompanies the program.
hierLauncher is free, but it is NOT in the public domain. I reserve all rights to it.
I╒m giving it away, and so can you, though there are a few restrictions:
(1) You must GIVE hierLauncher away; you can NOT charge anything for it.
(2) You must give away unmodified copies.
(3) You must include this documentation.
If you╒re a national BBS╒ such as CompuServe, Delphi, MacNET, GEnie etc., you have my permission to post hierLauncher and this document.
If you╒re a local BBS that does not charge ╥per download╙ of a file, you have my permission to post hierLauncher (and this document) too.
If you sell compilations of ShareWare/FreeWare you do NOT have my permission to include hierLauncher.
If you are a NON-PROFIT user group, and your group sells compilations, (such as BMUG does), you have my permission to include hierLauncher and this document.
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OnCue is a trademark ofIMI Software. MultiMaster is a trademark of Now Software.
