File Tweaker

Version 2.0.1     July 26, 1995
Copyright © 1994-95, David L. Sterner.  All rights reserved.

What Is File Tweaker?

File Tweaker is a file management utility that provides some functionality not readily available in the Macintosh Finder™. Using File Tweaker, the user is able to change the type and creator of a file, as well as some of the common Finder flags, such as the Invisible, Bundle, Name Locked, Stationery, and Custom Icon flags. A file may also be locked or unlocked using File Tweaker.

File Tweaker utilizes a drag and drop interface. A file (or files) may be dragged onto the File Tweaker icon and opened. Files may also be opened from within the application by using the “Open” command in the “File” menu.

When several files are opened by File Tweaker, they may either be manipulated separately, or optionally, they may all be changed to match the file in the top-most window. This is handy for changing the type and/or creator of several files all at once.

At this time folders and devices cannot be dragged onto File Tweaker; this may be addressed in a future version.

One novel feature of File Tweaker is the display of the file’s Finder icon, which changes – on the fly – as the file type or file creator is edited.

File Tweaker 2.0.1 is Freeware.  No shareware fee is required.  File Tweaker is NOT public domain. I maintain the copyright to this program.  File Tweaker may be distributed on bulletin boards that do not charge for downloads over and above normal access time charges.  It may also be distributed on user group diskettes of 2 MB or less as long as no fee is charged except for a nominal charge for the media itself.  Distribution otherwise, including but not limited to CD-ROM collections, requires my written permission which may be obtained by contacting me at the E-Mail addresses listed at the end of this document.  In no case may File Tweaker be modified in any way, nor may any profit be derived from its distribution.

Who Might Find File Tweaker Useful

If used carelessly, File Tweaker has the potential to make a file partially or totally unusable. Fortunately, in most cases, the damage can be undone by using File Tweaker to restore the file’s characteristics to the original state. For comparison, consider the capabilities of ResEdit™. If you are comfortable using ResEdit, you should feel comfortable with File Tweaker. If the thought of ResEdit makes you nervous, File Tweaker may not be for you.

System Requirements

System 7.0 or later is required.

Installation

Simply place the File Tweaker application in any convenient place on your hard disk.  Many users may find it useful to create an alias to File Tweaker and to place the alias directly on the desktop. As long as the alias is not covered by a window, File Tweaker is available and ready to have one or more files dragged onto it.

File Tweaker is initially set up to use 512K of RAM, but will load in as little as 128K. At the normal 512K size, approximately 50 files may be open simultaneously; at the minimum 128K, only about 8 files may be open at the same time. If you need to have more than 50 or so files open simultaneously, you can change the memory allocation by performing at “Get Info” on File Tweaker and changing the preferred memory allocation to a higher number.

User’s Manual

You’re reading it right now! To get a hard copy of the user manual, press the “Print” button displayed on this window. You may also press the “Copy” button to copy the entire text to the clipboard, where you can paste it into your favorite word processor.

How To Use File Tweaker

File Tweaker may be invoked in one of two ways. File Tweaker may be opened from the Finder by double clicking its icon. Or, more usefully, one or more files may be dragged onto the File Tweaker icon.

At this point, the user sees a window containing information about the file. Items that can be edited are: the code for its file type, the code for its creator, check boxes for its Locked, Invisible, Bundle, Name Locked, Stationery, and Custom Icon bits. Other information displayed, for informational purposes only, are the creation and modification dates of the file, the size of both the data and resource fork, the file’s Finder icon, and the file’s custom icon (if it has one). If a file has a label, the icons will be drawn in the label color.  Although the icons are not editable, they change on the fly as the file type and file creator are edited.

(Note: The display of the file’s Finder Icon does not work for files residing on floppy disks, nor for any read-only or locked media that has only been written by system software earlier than System 7.0.  This is not a limitation of File Tweaker, rather it reflects how Apple has implemented the desktop database prior to System 7.0, when such Finder icon data was considered private.)

If the “Save All Files Like This One” check box is turned on, File Tweaker will, when saving, will save all open files like the topmost file.  For example, the user can select a number of text files with various creators and change them all to TeachText™.

Once changes have been made to the user’s satisfaction, the changes may be saved by clicking the “Save” button in the window.  To back out of any changes made to the file, press the “Revert” button. Clicking the “Cancel” button in the window will terminate editing of the file without making any changes; if any changes have been made, the user will be prompted for confirmation.  Likewise, selecting “Quit” will also ask for confirmation if any changes have been made.

If you get this confirmation dialog after doing a “Quit” or “Cancel”, you will have three choices. “Save” will save the changes you have made.  “Don’t Save” will acknowledge that you do not wish to save the changes; the window will still close, and the Quit/Cancel operation will continue if working with multiple files.  “Cancel” will abort the Quit/Cancel operation.  The window will remain open.

When saving a file, the user is presented with a confirmation, asking in essence, “Do you really want to do this?”.  It is there to follow user interface guidelines.  I xpect, however, that it will become annoying to expert users. Fortunately, it can be turned off in the user preferences (see below).

Preferences

Under the “Edit” menu is a menu item that can be used to alter the behavior of File Tweaker. The available options are described below.

Quit application when last window closed - Off by default; if selected, will cause File Tweaker to quit when the last open window has been closed.

Confirm changes to files - On by default; if deselected will inhibit the (admittedly annoying) Confirm Save dialog. Note that this is only the dialog that appears when saving; the confirmation dialog that appears when quitting the application or pressing “Cancel” when there are changed and unsaved files is not affected by this option.

Special Situations

When selecting an alias with File Tweaker, the original file is opened instead.  When selecting a stationery pad, a single document derived from the stationery pad is opened.  When selecting a locked file, a warning is displayed about the file being locked and no changes being allowed (not true in File Tweaker’s case).  This is the “normal” behavior for most applications, but not necessarily for File Tweaker.  I hope to address this in a future version.

Contacting the Author

I would like to hear any feedback, comments, bug reports,and the like – both positive and negative – regarding File Tweaker. I can be reached via E-mail at the following addresses.

Author - David Sterner

Internet — dsterner@charm.net
America Online — DSterner
CompuServe — 71341,2441

Legal Stuff

The software and related documentation are provided “AS IS” and without warranty of any kind and the author expressly disclaims all other warranties, express or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.  Under no circumstances shall the author be liable for any incidental, special or consequential damages that result from the use or inability to use the software or related documentation, even if the author has been advised of the possibility of such damages.  

Coming Attractions

There are a number of enhancements that I am planning for future releases of File Tweaker.  They include, in no particular order of priority:

• Balloon Help.  Maybe AppleGuide support?
• Set a file like another file, as an alternative to remembering arcane type and creator codes.
• The ability to “tweak” folders and volumes as well as files.
• The ability to handle aliases directly instead of the files they refer to.
• Handle stationery pads properly.
• Fat binaries with native PowerPC code.
• Changing the “Help” dialog from modal to modeless.
• Ability to print an open window.
• Anything else? I’m open to suggestions.

Version History

Version 2.0.1 - July 26, 1995 - Corrected a bug that caused the Confirm On Save dialog box to appear twice when saving a file.

Version 2.0 - July 23, 1995 - Overhaul user interface. Change from modeless dialog (files processed sequentially) to using one window per file, with multiple windows open simultaneously. Support System 7 AppleEvents.

Version 1.0 - February 6, 1994 - Initial release of File Tweaker. A single modeless dialog was presented for the first file selected with each file selected presented sequentially in the same dialog. Rather crude, but it was functional.

Version 0.0 - January 15, 1994 - Birth of File Tweaker. The vision of File Tweaker was conceived and development was started.