Preferences

The Preferences... command in the Edit menu displays the Preferences dialog, which is used to configure several aspects of the way File Buddy behaves. The preferences are now divided into four groups: General, Get Info, File Finding, and File List. They are:

General Preferences
When File Buddy Launches:
   Use this popup to set what File Buddy does when you start it up without dropping files on it.

Default Drop Action:
   Use this popup to set what File Buddy does when you files on it while holding no keys down. The four choices are discussed in Drag & Drop Behaviors.

Hide Windows When In Background
   When this box is checked, all windows except the Copy progress dialog box will be hidden whenever another application or Finder is brought forward while File Buddy is running. This is to reduce clutter if you like to leave File Buddy running most of the time.

Get Info Preferences
Don’t Alert When Setting Invisible Flag
   Setting an item’s Invisible flag in the Get Info window prevents it from being seen in the Finder. By default, there’s an alert warning you that if an item is made invisible, File Buddy or some other utility will be needed to make it visible again. If this box is checked, you won’t see the warning.

Use Larger Dialog if it fits on Main Screen
    The Get Info dialog presents a lot of information, which requires the use of fairly small text in order to fit on the 512x342 Macintosh monitors. For the benefit of those using larger monitors, there is an option to use a larger dialog on 610x384 or larger monitors. This should be of particular interest to Kanji users and users who have difficulty reading 9 point Geneva text.

File Finding Preferences
Faster (Less Responsive) Searching
   File finding now runs in two modes. The default is more responsive than in previous versions. When this box is checked searches are a little faster, but expect noticable delays responding to your actions during some searches, especially those that search for text in files.

Don’ t search a disk
   if the name starts with
   Use this to always exclude certain disks from searches. In a future version this may become a list.

File List Preferences
Option-Key File List Action
   This popup lets you set what File Buddy will do if you act on an item in the file list window while holding the Option key down. The options are to close the file list window and to quit File Buddy.

   On very rare occasions the preferences file can become corrupted. Indicators include certain weird behaviors or a message when File Buddy starts that says "A problem was encountered creating or accessing the required preferences file." The only solution is to replace the FB Prefs file in the Preferences folder. Prior to v3.2, this meant throwing the file away and letting File Buddy create a new one. This lost registration data, alias destinations, file types and creators used in the Get Info and Find windows, heading adjustments and default button settings in the File List window, and more. It didn’t happen often, but when it did, is was frustrating. Starting with v3.2, registered copies of File Buddy backup all data in the preferences file to a file in the Preferences folder called "FB Prefs Backup" whenever you click Save in the Preferences dialog, enter your serial number, and every 7 days upon quitting.  If the prefs file ever becomes corrupted, remove "FB Prefs" from the Preferences folder, rename "FB Prefs Backup" to "FB Prefs", and restart File Buddy.