Copyright: FixeBox eXtender by Hyperionics


FileBox eXtender Help Index

New users: Please read at least the first two topics below.

•	What is FileBox eXtender (FbX)?

•	How to Configure FileBox eXtender

•	How to Change the Pictures on FbX Buttons

•	Registration and Licensing

•	Technical Support

•	Other Products from Hyperionics

•	Credits and Thank you!

To be notified of new releases of FileBox eXtender, subscribe to our announcement mailing list by sending an empty email message to filebx-subscribe@egroups.com.


What is FileBox eXtender
What is FileBox eXtender?

FileBox eXtender (FileBX or FbX) is a program that extends the standard Windows File|Open and File|Save dialog boxes with handy little icon buttons on the right side of the title bars, next to the minimize, restore and maximize buttons. It can also resize for you the standard Windows file boxes to be much bigger. The two pictures below show a portion of the Windows standard File|Open dialog box:

Without FileBX buttons	With FileBX buttons

These buttons appear for all styles of file dialogs (the old Windows 3.1 style file boxes, new “Explorer” style boxes introduced with Windows 95, and even with the latest file boxes in MS Office 2000 and Windows 2000). And don’t worry, If you don’t like the pictures on our buttons, there is a way to change them!

FileBX has also an option to display these buttons on Windows Explorer folders to ease the navigation.

What do this extra buttons do?

The button with a little heart on it [image] displays a “Favorites” menu. The FileBX Configuration window allows you to place your favorite folders, file or document names, or other text items on it. This is what happens when I press that button on my computer:

As you can see, a little menu of my favorite places appeared and I can go where I need to with just a single click. Additionally I created a “File Filters” sub-menu, which lists the file types I open frequently, such as *.zip and *.doc, which I often attach to email messages. Please note also the “Add: …“ item near the bottom of the menu. It lets you add the current folder to the Favorites list. If the current folder was already found on that list, this item would be “Remove: …” to let you delete it.

The button with a little clock on it [image] is the “Recent Folders” menu. It pulls down a menu of the folders you recently accessed through the File|Open or File|Save dialog boxes. The most recently accessed folders are at the top. You can decide how many of the recent folders are listed here, or hide this button completely (with the FileBX Configuration window).


How to Configure FileBox eXtender

When you start FileBX, it places its tiny icon in the System Tray area, next to the time display in the lower-right corner of the Windows desktop. This is a folder icon with a little red heart on it. If you have the FileBX buttons disabled, the heart has an 'X' through it – see below.

FileBX icon in the System Tray (folder with a hart):

 Enabled on the left, and disabled on the right.

To configure FileBX, click on the icon in the system tray. The FileBox eXtender window, similar to the one below, appears:

The Favorites tab is where you configure your favorite folders. Under Settings tab, you can enable or disable the FileBX buttons (described under the What is FileBox eXtender topic), set the maximum number of items on the “Recent Folders” menu, enable/disable FileBX buttons on Explorer windows etc.

Please note the question mark button [image] in the top-right corner of the FileBox eXtender window. When you click on it (in the real FileBX window, not on the picture above), the mouse cursor changes to an arrow with a question mark. Now, you can click any button or area of the FbX window to obtain instant help on that element.

The big white rectangle on the right is the Favorites Menu Editing Box. It displays the sequence and structure of your Favorites menu, which, of course, can be quite different for you than mine is, as shown above. You can populate the Favorites menu with folders, files, and text items of your choice. The easiest way to add a folder or file shortcut is to drag them from the Windows desktop or other folders, onto this area. You can also create new items with the New Item… button on the left.


How to Change the Pictures on FbX Buttons

Some of you told me that you didn’t like the yellow folder icons on FbX toolbars. When I changed them to blue, others said they were even worse… Now you can change them as you please. In the folder where you installed FbX, there is a sub-folder named ICONS with several icon files (.ICO). Copy a pair of these files into the main FbX folder, renaming them to FAVORITE.ICO and RECENT.ICO, then exit and restart FileBX (note – in some cases you will have to reboot your machine; exit and restart may not be enough). The new icons then display. You can also edit these ICO files to create completely different pictures on them, if you want. You would need an Icon Editor program for that. I use MS Visual Studio for icon editing, but you can find a lot of shareware programs for editing icons on the net.


Registration and Licensing

Unlicensed version of FileBX will display only 2 items on the Favorites menu. To have all items available, you should obtain and install FileBX license file on your computer.

Occasionally, we may offer free temporary licenses for FileBox eXtender. Such licenses work for one week at a time. To see if we currently offer free temporary licenses, visit Hyperionics Web Site http://www.hyperionics.com and there click on the Free Temporary Licenses link.

To purchase FileBox eXtender permanent licenses please visit the Hyperionics web site at http://www.hyperionics.com and click on Hyperionics Store link. This will display the latest pricing and purchase information. If for some reason you cannot reach our web site, please fill out this form and mail or fax it to us. Note however, that the Internet based ordering system may have lower prices than the one included here – the prices on the form included with the program files are initially set about 25% higher to compensate for future price changes, while the Internet pages display the most current prices.

Click here for an off-line order form

We appreciate and welcome any comments, enhancement requests, improvement suggestions and bug reports that you may have. Please email them directly to me, Greg Kochaniak, at gregko@hyperionics.com.


Technical Support

For support, please first look at the Hyperionics web site at http://www.hyperionics.com. We will post a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) list and run a user forum to answer your concerns. If you don’t find the answer to your question there, please send an email message to support@hyperionics.com.

I appreciate and welcome any comments, enhancement requests, improvement suggestions and bug reports that you may have. Please email them directly to me, Greg Kochaniak, at gregko@hyperionics.com.


Other Products from Hyperionics

To see our most current software offer, please visit the Hyperionics web site at http://www.hyperionics.com. Here is a brief description of our other products as of November 13, 1999:

HyperSnap-DX is the screen capture work-horse for everyone; the only program that can capture regular Windows screens (also from multi-monitor setups), DirectX, Direct3D and 3dfx Glide Games (Voodoo series cards) and even some video/DVD players.

HyperCam records AVI movies directly, from your monitor, for software presentations, demos, tutorials, etc.

Scribbler 2000 is a professional quality, yet easy to use, DHTML, JavaScript and VBScript editor with a library of over 30 built-in scripts. It is written by CreamSoftware.

Free Math Calculator that works in a Windows9x, 2000 & NT command prompt window. Use the many built in functions and define your own! Type expressions in natural math syntax! Best of all, it's completely FREE!


Credits and Thank you!

Many thanks to all of you who have helped me in the testing of this product and for providing suggestions for improvement. My particular thanks go to:

Jon Gotow of St. Clair Software, the author of Default Folder product for Macintosh computers, who talked me into making FileBox eXtender, and tested the very first versions under Virtual PC on his Mac.

Dennis Hays, for proof-reading the help text, correcting my English, and for improving on my icon design. Dennis Hays, Dennis Hays Information Design (http://www.haysdesign.com), is a international writer, graphics artist, and trainer.

David Sheffman, for testing the very first “alpha” versions of FileBX and suffering through many system crashes.

Greg Kochaniak, Hyperionics.


Favorites Tab Controls


The New Item Button

Press this button to create new shortcuts to files or folders on your “Favorites” menu, or new text items (such as file filters, e.g. “*.zip” text to list all ZIP files in a file box, etc.).

Note: You may also create new shortcuts by dragging document, file or folder icons from the desktop or other Windows Explorer folders onto the white favorites menu editor box on the right.


The New Sub-Menu Button

Press this button to create a sub-menu on the Favorites menu, such as the “File Filters” sub-menu shown below. Immediately after creating it, you can change the name of this sub-menu, from the default “New Sub-Menu” title to something that better describes the items you want to put there.


The Add Separator Button

Press this button to add a separator (a horizontal line) to your Favorites menu, to logically group your favorite items. The separator displays beneath the currently selected item. However, you can easily drag it to a new position within the Favorites Editor window (the white box on the right).


The Update Shortcuts Button
The Update Shortcuts Button and Options

This operation tries to update the shortcuts to folders and documents on your Favorites menu, which were moved or renamed. Optionally, this function can also remove broken shortcuts (e.g. to folders or documents that were deleted), or to convert such shortcuts into FileBX text items.

Please note: if some of your shortcuts point to network drives or folders that are currently disconnected, this function can take quite long.


The Test Menu Button

Press this button to test how your Favorites menu looks.


The Edit Item Button

Press this button to edit the currently selected Favorites menu item. You can change both the name (title) or item and its target – that is the folder or file to which it will switch your File dialog box, or a text that will be entered into the file name edit field of such box.

Separator and sub-menu items cannot be edited in this way. If you want to change the name of a sub-menu, please select it and use the Rename button.


The Rename Button

Press this button to rename (change the title) of the currently selected item on the Favorites menu.

Note: Separator items (---) cannot be renamed. If you want to remove a separator, please select it and use the Delete Item button.


The Delete Item Button

Press this button to delete the currently selected item on the Favorites menu. You can delete single items (including separators) or entire sub-menus.

Hint: If you delete an item or sub-menu by mistake, and want to restore it back, you can restore it from Windows Recycle Bin. To do so, open the Recycle Bin folder, select one or more of FileBox eXtender items found there (you can select multiple items by holding the Control key on the keyboard, and clicking on icons, or by drawing a rectangle around them with the mouse). Once you selected the items to restore, choose File/Restore from the Recycle Bin’s menu.


The Delete All… Button

Press this button to delete all items and sub-menus from the Favorites menu. You will be asked to confirm your choice. Once you answer Yes, you’ll have a completely empty Favorites box and menu.

Hint: If you delete any items or sub-menus by mistake, and want to restore them, you can restore them from the Windows Recycle Bin. To do so, open the Recycle Bin folder, select one or more of the FileBox eXtender items found there (you can select multiple items by holding the Control key on the keyboard, and clicking on icons, or by drawing a rectangle around them with the mouse). Once you select the items to restore, choose File/Restore from the Recycle Bin’s menu.


The Currently selected item Information Area

This area displays information about the currently selected item on the Favorites menu. It tells you if this item is a shortcut to a file or folder, a text entry item, a sub-menu, or a separator, and the actual target of a shortcut, or text that this item enters into file dialogs.

If necessary, you can mark the text in this box with your mouse, and copy it to clipboard (press Ctrl+C or Ctrl+Insert keys, or right-click with the mouse to copy selected text).


Favorites Menu Editing Box

This box allows you to view and modify the structure and sequence of your Favorites menu. If it is empty, please first create some new items, sub-menus, and/or separators.

Click and hold down the Left Mouse Button (LBM) on any item, then move the mouse pointer to drag that item to a new position. An item can be moved within the same branch of the menu, or moved to sub-menus or parent menus relative to its current position. If you want to place the dragged item into a sub-menu that is currently not opened, stop the mouse pointer over that menu for a few seconds, while still holding the LBM. The sub-menu then expands. If your target area is above or below the visible part of this editing box, hold your mouse pointer (while still pressing the LBM) briefly near the bottom or top of this box. The box starts scrolling through its contents. You may also drop an item anywhere and enlarge the whole FileBox eXtender window, then pick it up again to move further.

You can drag the items out of this box to the Windows desktop, other folders, or to the Recycle Bin. Items that you drop on the desktop or other folders can be dragged in later. Items from Recycle Bin should be restored from Recycle Bin’s menu.

You can also drag file and folder icons from the desktop and other Explorer folders into this box to create new Favorites menu items (shortcuts).


Settings Tab Controls


The Enable FileBox eXtender buttons Check Box

Click here to enable or disable the “Favorites” and “Recent Folders” buttons that FileBox eXtender places on the title bars of Windows File/Open and File/Save boxes.


The Display FbX icon in the system tray Check Box

Turn off this option if you don’t want the FbX icon to appear in the system tray. Please note that the icon is hidden only if the FbX buttons are enabled. If you disabled the FbX buttons with hidden FbX buttons, you will have no way to access FbX to re-enable it when needed, or even to exit it completely.


Display FbX buttons on Explorer windows

If you enable this option, FileBX displays its buttons also on Explorer folder windows. Selecting any folder from our buttons opens another window in explore mode on that folder (with the folder tree displayed in the left panel and files in the right).

Please note: the “Add:” or “Remove:” current folder menu items on Favorites menu accessed from Explorer windows will appear only if you are running Explorer either in the “Active Desktop” mode (introduced with IE 4.0 and later), or else if you enable a “Folder Option” to display a full directory path in folders title bar. If you do not see the “Add” or ”Remove” item on your Favorites menu, please click “View/Folder Options” menu of the Explorer window, select the “View” tab and put a check mark into the Display the full path in title bar option box.

Please note also that this setting may not work at all (FBX buttons will not appear on Explorer windows) on some Windows configurations.


The Display full path on the Recent menu Check Box

Turn this option on to have the Recent menu display full system paths to the recently accessed folders, e.g. C:\MyDocuments\Invoices. When this button is off, text, such as Invoices (C:) displays there instead.


The Use “Recent Folders” menu with … Edit Box
The Use Recent Folders menu with... Edit Box

Enter a value here, between 1 and 32, to display a  “Recent Folders” button [image] in the title bar of File/Open and File/Save boxes. This button displays a menu with folders recently accessed in different file boxes and the value entered here determines the maximum number of such folders FileBX remembers.

If you enter 0 (zero), FileBX does not display the “Recent Folders” button.


Move FbX buttons to left

If you think the FileBX buttons display too close to the standard buttons found in top right corner of the windows, enter a number, which FileBX uses to move its buttons to the left that number of pixels. For instance, if you enter 5, the FileBX buttons will be moved 5 pixels to the left.


Move FbX buttons more, if window is maximized

If you are using the Microsoft Office Shortcut Toolbar in its Auto Fit into Title Bar area mode, it will cover FileBX buttons on any window that you maximize. These would usually be Explorer windows, as regular Windows file boxes can not be maximized. If this happens to you (and annoys you), enter some larger value into this field, usually something between 200 to 400, to have the FileBX buttons moved farther to the left on maximized windows. They will skip over the MS Office Shortcut Toolbar and still be visible. Experiment with the best value that works well for your system.


Resize std. file boxes

Click on the Resize std. file boxes button to make FileBox eXtender resize the file boxes for you up to 300% of the original size. Enter the percentage of the original size that you want your file boxes to be in the edit boxes next to this button. For example, to have them 1.5 times wider, enter 150 into the first edit box, and to have them twice as high as normal, enter 200 into the second box – see below:

Please note, that the way FileBX resizes standard file boxes differs under Windows 98 or 2000 for those file boxes that can be resized by dragging their borders. FileBX will resize such box only the first time the program displays it. The next time you select any file box from such program - it will remember the last size you used, set either by FileBX or by you resizing it manually.

Note also, that non-standard file boxes, e.g. those displayed by MS Office 97 or 2000 programs, are not handled at all by FileBX resizing. However, they are made pretty big by default, so there should be no need to boost their size further with FileBX.


Main Window Controls


The About FbX Button

Press this button to see the current version number of FileBox eXtender, support and purchase contacts, and so forth.


The Help Button

Press this button to display Help information – such as usage tips, tutorial, support and purchase contacts, and more.


The Hide Button

Press this button to hide FileBox eXtender configuration window. FileBox eXtender will remain active, still displaying its buttons on Windows file dialog boxes, and, if enabled, its icon in the system tray (near the clock). If you want completely exit and deactivate this program, press the Exit button.


The Exit Button

Press this button to completely exit and deactivate FileBox eXtender. If you just want to close FbX window, but still keep it active to display Favorites and Recent buttons on file open/save boxes, please press the Hide button instead.


Hints Area

Watch this area for helpful hints as you learn how to use FileBox eXtender.


New Item / Edit Item Dialog Box


Item Properties Window

This window pops-up when you click on either the New Item… or the Edit Item… button of the FileBox eXtender Configuration Window.

Enter one of the following into the Target text or shortcut filed:

The path to the target folder (where you want the file box to switch after you select that item from the Favorites menu). You can either type in the path or click the "Browse for a Folder" button to select it from a window.

The path to the target file or document. When selected from the Favorites menu, this item opens that file (in File|Open boxes) or saves your current document under that name (in File|Save As… boxes). You can either type the name or click the "Browse for a File" button to select it from a window.

Any text you want, which FileBX enters into the file name part of a file box and then presses the OK button for you to try to open or save the name immediately. You can also type a file filter expression, e.g. *.zip to list all ZIP archives, *.txt to list all text files, and so forth.

Type the text (title) into the Item description field that should appear in the Favorites menu to describe this item.

FileBox eXtender automatically recognizes if the target text is a valid path to a file or folder and, if so, creates system shortcuts to them (displays as a small document or “folder with heart” icon in the Favorites menu editor), or displays them as text items (listed with a T icon in Favorites editor).


Order Form
Please print this form, fill it out and send or fax with your payment to:

Hyperionics, 3146 Chestnut St., Murrysville PA 15668, USA

Fax: +1-650-617-3721, Email: sales@hyperionics.com, http//www.hyperionics.com

Price List:         Number of licenses       Price per license*, US$

                           1 to 5                    $25.00

                           6 to 10                   $20.00

                          11 to 20                   $16.00

                          21 to 50                   $13.00

                          51 to 100                  $10.00

                         101 to 1000                  $8.00

                           over 1000                  $6.00

*Please note: these prices may be higher than those published on our web site!

 To obtain the most current prices, order at http://www.hyperionics.com

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