Macintosh has always been a user-friendly environment. Furthermore, it's System Folder has come to be a very dependable spot to store and locate files integral to the running of your machine. Files were put here not only by Apple software, but also third party vendors and even the user. Unfortunately, users of older systems found this led to very disorganized System Folder whose contents were extremely hard to maintain or decipher.
System 7 brought about a new way of organizing the System Folder, which facilitated management for the user and gave a spot for software venders to store important files and customization. What this new management system did was create subdirectories to hold related files. One set of files are preferences. The Preference Folder holds important information about various applications.
If we were to look through our hard drives we would probably find preference files still existing for applications we no longer have. While keeping these preference files won't cause any damage to your machine, they can take up valuable disk space. What we at SP extreme decided to do was create Preference Packer, which will go through your Preference folder and inform you of preferences that no longer have an associating application.
For more information and updates, see <http://www.spextreme.com/shareware/prefspacker/>.
Preference Packer requires System 8.5 or later.
Preference Packer is shareware. You may try it out, but to continue using it, you must register it. The registration fee is US$20 per user. More information is available in the Registering section.
The document describes the operation of Preference Packer. In addition, Preference Packer has created a website that holds more information. A FAQ is also available <http://www.spextreme.com/shareware/prefspacker/faq.asp>
The Main Screen is the first screen you will see when Preference Packer is started. This screen allows you to choose whether you would like Preference Packer to build a report for or not. This is also where you can commence the checking process.
The progress window provides information about how the checking is progressing. If you decide you want to cancel the operation press stop and the checking will terminate.
Preference Packer's listing window displays all the preference files that were found that didn't have a parent. This list gives you the ability to only move the items you feel are no longer needed.
You can select a file name from the list by clicking on it and information will be displayed on the right. The information that is displayed will be the icon, the file name, and the last time the file was modified. Usually if a file has not been modified for a long time then it's parent has not been used in a while. That could mean either the application no longer exists on your machine or it just hasn't been used.
If you click to the left of the name a check mark will appear. This is how you select items to remove them from the preference folder. Click on the check mark to unselect the file.
Another way to select files is to press the select all button. This will place a check mark next to every item in the list. The button will be re-labled to 'Deselect All' which will remove the check marks from all the items in the list. This can be a good and quick way to select the files.
Before you press done you also have the ability to choose where the preference files should be moved to. If you haven't set this in the preferences section then the default folder will be created and chosen. You can change this move folder by pressing the 'Move To...' button. A choice dialog will appear where you can select which folder you would like to move to. Once you select the folder you wish to move the files to, the name of the folder you selected will appear next the 'Move To...' button.You can not choose a differnt volume for the files though. The files can only be moved on the same volume. A warning dialog will appear if you choose a different volume to move the files.
Once you have completed going through the list to decide if you want to move the suggested files, and selected where to move the items to, click the done button. All the files that you selected and put a check mark next to will be removed from the preference folder and put in the folder you selected.
Under the settings menu is an item labeled 'Preferences'. This will open a dialog that will allow you to set different default settings for Preference Packer.
The first item that you can configure is the move to directory. By pressing the button next to the label 'Default Move Location' you can specify the default location where you would like to move preferences. When you press the button a choice dialog will appear. Select the folder you would like to make the default location and press 'Choose'. The name of the folder will then appear as the button label. You can not choose a differnt volume for the files though. The files can only be moved on the same volume. A warning dialog will appear if you choose a different volume to move the files.
The next set of options are 3 check boxes. The rebuild desktop option is disabled and can not be changed in this version of Preference Packer. The other two options are for reporting. The 'Create Report' option will set the create report option on the Main Screen when you start Preference Packer. The last option is 'Show Old Prefs on Report'. This option will display a list of files on the report that have modification dates older then one year.
There is also a 'Factory Settings' button on the Preferences dialog. This will set the default options for Preference Packer. These settings are recommended for the best use of Preference Packer.
Once you have set everything the way you would like it, press 'OK'. This will save all the settings for Preference Packer. If you decide that you don't want to change the way it was set before you started changing things, just press 'Cancel'.
Once Preference Packer's Main Screen appears press 'Begin'. A progress dialog will appear saying that it is starting. Preference Packer will begin checking each file in the preference folder. The progress bar will show what file is being checked and how far along it is. Once it has completed the Listing Window will be displayed so you can start choosing which files to move. See the Listing Window for details.
Preference Packer has the ability to view reports that it creates. When you run with the 'Create Report' option selected a report will be saved and viewed once you press done on the Listing Window. The report will hold valuable information. The report will let you know what Preference Packer did and if any errors had occurred while running. It will also create a list of old preferences if you have this option selected in the Preferences section.
To open reports that Preference Packer has created select Open from the file menu. A open dialog will appear for you to choose the Preference Packer Report to open. When you press open the report window will appear with the contents of the file in it.
Warning: It is recommended that you do not modify this file. Modifying this file incorrectly could cause problems with Preference Packer. If you do not know how to find any of the needed information then use the submission form to submit as much of the information that you do know (Minimally the Application and Preference file name) to SP extreme and we will be happy to add the items to the database file for you.
In version 2.0 of Preference Packer, a standard text file was included to hold preference and application descriptions that don't follow the standards set forth by Apple Computers. This helps make Preference Packer more accurate in its checking of orphaned preferences.
This file was made to be a standard text file to allow people to modify it and improve the performance of Preference Packer. We recommend that if you have an application and preference that Preference Packer always fails on, to submit it to us at <http://www.spextreme.com/shareware/prefspacker/failedpref.asp>. This way we can included it in new releases of the database file which we will update regularly depending on the feedback that we get.
To add your own items to the database file follow these directions. Start by getting the following information from the Application and Preference file:
If you do not know how to obtain these items then, please do not attempt to modify the database file yourself as you will most likely run into problems. Instead, use the submission form to send us the application and preference file names. We will then be happy to add this information we will release a new database file on our website.
Next open the database file with a standard text editor like BBEdit or Simple Text. (DO NOT use Microsoft Word. It uses special characters which will cause problems when trying to import the file back into Preference Packer). Once the file is open go to the end of the last item in the list and press return. Then type in the information below in the exact order separating each by pressing the TAB key. Failure to do so could cause errors or problems with the functionality of Preference Packer..
<Application name> <Application creator> <Application file Type> <Preference file name> <Preference file creator>
You can get help via several ways. The first option is to read this document. It holds information about each area of Preference Packer and can probably assist with many of the problems you may experience when using Preference Packer. If you can't find the solution to the problem here then try the Preference Packer FAQ at
<http://www.spextreme.com/shareware/prefspacker/faq.asp>
If this still doesn't help you we then recommend that you email our support. We don't guarantee any support, but we always answer our email. If we don't answer your email it's because your message didn't get to us, or our reply bounced, so try again and include a valid internet email address.
Preference Packer 2.0 requires System 8.5 or later.
We allow Preference Packer to be downloaded and used for free in it's full functional entirety for three times. If you decide you want to keep it you can register it to get a registration key which will allow you to continue using it pass the 3 use limit and remove the register statements. For each and every Macintosh you wish to leave Preference Packer installed on you are required to pay a registration fee of $20 US dollars.
There are two options for registering Preference Packer 2.0. You can use the registration program provided with the installer or visit our web site.
To Registers using the program
To Register via the web
We currently use Kagi to process our registration payments.
You can distribute the shareware version of this software by giving it to friends, upload it to a BBS or to on-line services such as AOL and CompuServe. You may also send it to any ftp site. Basically you can distribute it any way you like, so long as you don't ask for any money for it without prior consent from SP extreme. Preference Packer must be distributed with this unmodified document in the original compressed archive this product came in.
You may not sell this product or bundle it with any other products (commercial or other) without the explicit written consent of the makers of this software.
You may not modify Preference Packer or this document in any way.
This program should do what we've described in this document. If it does not, you can simply stop using it. If you paid for it contact us and we will attempt to assist you with the problem.
This software comes 'AS IS'. As such, the maker makes no warranty as to the performance of Preference Packer. Therefore, the author can not be help responsible for any damage or loss of data caused by this product directly or indirectly.