This is an icon-collection to supplement the 3D style icons in Mac OS 8, or to give pre 8 Mac OS the new look. With this new style some older icons really seem outdated. You can use this collection to replace them with 3D style icons.
What does this collection contain ?
Icons created (some just copied and pasted together) by Dennis SCP.
-Mac OS 8 : icons to make your system ecstatically correct (3D icons).
-Author extras : some personal legacy icons by me and more 3D.
-Basic Icons (DIY) : icons you may use to create your own icons in my style.
-Originals by Apple : icons created by Apple which you may not have seen because they are hidden in your Mac OS Appearance Extension resource, are now available to be used.
-For SimpleText : A new 3D icon resource for SimpleText (and it's file icons) you can simply paste with ResEdit.
-For MoviePlayer : Replaces QuickTime Movie icons with 3D ones.
-For Appearance Extension : Updates all your textclippings and many other icons on your system.
The icons in this collection may be spread only in this collection.
This collection may only be spread completely intact, with all icons, folders and texts.
Feel free to give this collection to friends or spread it using any network or media (including commercial CDs)
Unless stated otherwise in the Info Window ('command' and 'i'):
(Don't use the addresses for commercial advertising, but comments are always welcome, unless you start stalking:-)
This software is delivered as is, use at your own risk.
This software may only be used to supplement legal copies of Mac OS by Apple.
This software may only be used to identify your personal bytes.
How do I use them ?
Just select one of these icons, press 'command' () and 'i' (Info).
-You should now see the Info window of the selected icon.
Click the icon picture in the info window.
-A black border appears around the icon picture.
Press 'command' () and 'c' (Copy).
-the icon information is now copied to the clipboard.
Now select an icon (as above) on your system and
Press 'command' () and 'v' (Paste) to replace the icon.
Advanced use.
First read the rest of text, backup the Appearance Extension when told, then you update all your icons using the guide named 'Quick reminder'
Replacing all your text files with custom icons is of course a lot of work and every time you create a new file you have to replace it's icon again. There is (lucky for you) a solution to this problem.
How does that work ?
When you save a new file a new icon appears, so where does it come from? Well, the original icon is hidden in the resource data of the program, when your computer shows a file which was created with that program it shows you an icon from that resource. With a resource editor you can replace the original icon with a custom one. And now every file which was made with that program has the icon which you put in the resource.
And...
If you give a file away and the other person does not have updated icons in his program he will see (his own) old icons.
The finder is also a program so you can swap it's icons for other ones and after a restart the icons are changed system wide.
But...
If you change anything else in the resource the program will probably crash or mess up your work. So be careful and always make a direct copy ('' and 'd' or 'option' (alt) drag) of the program you want to change so you can switch it back quickly when something goes wrong.
And it goes like this...
SimpleText
Get a program as ResEdit (version 2.1.3 was used by me) from Apple (free on your magazines CD or from the internet).
Drop SimpleText (version 1.31 ... 1.4 are ok, translated versions too) on top of ResEdit.
Doubleclick the file named 'For SimpleText' (located in the same folder as this text file you're now reading).
-You'll see six icon collections named 'ic...something', each one contains the same icons but for different view settings.
Press 'command' () and 'a' (select all).
-all six pictures have a selection border.
Press 'command' () and 'c' (Copy).
Click (activate) the 'SimpleText' window (you opened in ResEdit).
Press 'command' () and 'v' (Paste)
-ResEdit asks 'Replace resources with the same ID?'.
Click 'Yes'.
Close all windows in ResEdit (by clicking all the close window boxes of course).
-ResEdit asks 'Save changes in SimpleText?'
Click 'Yes'.
Make sure this is your only version of SimpleText (use 'command' and 'f' to find and trash old ones), or update your other versions too. You don't need a backup copy on your disk because SimpleText can be found on your (Mac OS 8) CD.
MoviePlayer
Movie player is updated the same as SimpleText but now you open MoviePlayer and For MoviePlayer. The notes of SimpleText (only one program on your system) apply to MoviePlayer too. The update is MoviePlayer 3 compatible.
Kaleidoscope
Kaleidoscope is a program to give your desktop another theme (like Windows 95, Mac OS 7 of 8), because of it’s popularity I decided to create an icon-resource for Kaleidoscope. This means that Mac OS 7 users too can now use 3D icons without having to mess with system files (like System and Finder). Just as the other resources this resource only replaces icons which are already there, but as Kaleidoscope has a few less than the Appearance Extension you may want to check your System Folder after installation to paste some icons by hand. Kaleidoscope is still being developed further so I advice you to only use this resource with version 1.8x of Kaleidoscope until further notice.
Before updating the control panel 'Kaleidoscope' (in the 'Control Panels' folder in your 'System Folder') you must make a back-up copy of it just like the Appearance Extension.
Kaleidoscope is updated the same as SimpleText but now you open Kaleidoscope (the one in your 'Control Panels' folder) and For Kaleidoscope 1.8.
Appearance Extension (from Mac OS 8 or 8.1)
Before updating Appearance Extension you must make a back-up copy of it. Do this now:
Open the folder Extensions in your System Folder.
Keep the option key (alt) depressed while you do the following:
Click and drag the extension named Appearance Extension out of the System Folder and onto the Desktop.
First let the mousebutton go.
Second let the option key go.
You now have a back-up copy of the view extension, if anything goes wrong while updating you start your computer with the Mac OS CD and place the backup into your System Folder. You can try again later.
Appearance Extension is updated the same as SimpleText but now you open Appearance Extension (the one in your Extensions folder) and For Appearance Extension. Icon changes in the Appearance Extension will usually take affect immediately after a restart.
But the changes to MoviePlayer and SimpleText will only be seen after a rebuild of your desktop database.
Rebuilding your desktop database
Restart your computer and press both 'command' and 'option' (+alt) until your computer asks to rebuild the desktop database.
Click 'Yes'.
Now all files which are (and were) generated with SimpleText and MoviePlayer are now seen with 3D perspective icons on your system.
That's all you need to know, now your are ready to update your icons, you can use the file 'Quick reminder' which contains the steps in short. Hope you enjoy my icons and understood the user guide. I would like to hear from you concerning this collection (and so it's future). (Hey Apple, want some? :-)
Dennis SCP
---
Trouble Shooting (stop reading, this is on a need to know basis and you don't need know :-)
Some movie icons are 3D but some are not.
--- The creator type of that movie is not MoviePlayer but is set to another program (maybe the 'AVI to QT program').
--- If you doubleclick them they will open in that other program, and that's why they have the icon of that program.
Some other icons are also not 3D, but they do open in an updated program.
--- They have a custom icon pasted on top of them, open the info window of those files and cut the icon; a 3D icon appears if the program who has there creator type uses 3D icons.
-or-The desktop database is messed up: rebuild it.
Does using 3D icons slow down disk or CD-ROM display times?
--- Pasting icons on each file does slow down display times, but if you open the folder again if will go faster because the icons are temporarily stored in the disk cache. (You can increase the size of the disk cache)
--- Replacing icons in the resource of a program does not slow things down, you'll just see other icons.
I want some one who has not updated his icons to see the new icon when I give him a file.
--- Give him/her the complete collection, and let him/her decide what icons he/she likes to use.
-or-Give the icon by pasting it on top of the file. (see top of this text file)
How do I know if a file has an custom icon pasted on top of it?
--- Select the icon in the info-window,
if Cut is available from the Edit menu it is a custom icon. To see it's standard icon select Cut from the Edit menu and paste to undo.
if Cut is not available ; it is an icon that comes from the resource of some program, can only seen by people who have the same program (or a program with the same resources), and is shown to you from the desktop database.
Other icon related problems...
---there is something broke on your system and it affects your icons, you can then try the following:
-rebuild your desktop database
-check the file (and icon) with a program as FileBuddy
-check your system with a disk first aid kit
-check your system with dedicated software as Norton Utilities
-ask about your problem in a appropriate internet newsgroup
Hope this helps
Dennis SCP
Wanted: an AppleScript
So you like my free to use icons and you're handy with AppleScript? I heared it is posible to work with resources in AppleScript using OSAX from ScriptDebugger. Can you make a script to paste the icons into the programs, then please contact me. Because many people don't have, or are a bit afraid of, ResEdit. Please, help all the novice users who like this collection just as you do.
dennis.scp@multiweb.nl
(If the addres has for some reasen been terminated ask for me in the Dutch newsgroup nl.comp.sys.mac)
