BeHierarchic will work on any Macintosh model from a Mac Plus up to the latest PowerMacintosh with system 7.0 to and including 7.5.3.
What BeHierarchic will do for you :
- Display more than five level of sub menus.
- Change the font and size used to display the AppleMenu.
- Display small icons in the submenus.
- Menu items grouping and sorting.
- Create a ╘Desktop Folder╒ item where you will find your disks and documents located on the Desktop.
- Collect recently used files and folders.
- Enhance the opening procedure of a file or folder by using modifier keys.
- Instant swapping of the contents of the AppleMenu.
Ñ Notes about viruses detection software.
If a virus detection software is active such as SAM¬ or GateKeeper¬, this may result on messages indicating a suspicious activity when BeHierarchic is running and try to create an alias file to remember the recent selected items.
Note that it is NOT possible to create an alias file without getting theses messages. Please note that 'AppleMenu Option' suffers from the same problem.
You have two solutions :
- disable recent items/folders tracking in BeHierarchic or
- configure your viruses detection programs to be less strict about system activities.
e.g in SAM¬ 4.0 you can set the prevention option to 'None', but it is better to set it to ╘Custom╒ with everything checked but ╘Add startup document╒ unchecked.
Ñ Release Notes
What's new:
- Compatibility with MasterJuggler¬ using ╘MasterJugglerLauncher╒.
- Version 3.0.2 is now able at startup to warn user if some other similar utility is present which may cause conflict. If you still want to use both utilities, you can disable this check by configuring BeHierarchic.
Bug fixes:
Fixed by 3.0.2
- Some of the last Apple Menu items could be disabled, observed in SimpleText.
- With multi scan display, when changing screen resolution, some sub menus aren't properly sized, and may cause a system crash if their size become greater than the screen.
- If the first menu selected after starting up wasn't the Apple Menu, this may cause an address error.
- If you configured Item Sorting with Applications item on top, then clicking the Apple may result in a system crash.
- With a Debugger Nub into your system, clicking in the Apple may cause an access fault.
These bugs are now fixed in BeHierarchic version 3.0.2
Fixed by 3.0.1
- Sometimes, BeHierarchic 3.0 disabled itself at startup showing its icon with a X into it.
- Changing the settings of the Items Sorting part of the control panel may result in a system crash.
- BeHierarchic 3.0 wasn't able to open the volumes by selecting them in the special desktop item.
These bugs are now fixed in BeHierarchic version 3.0.1 (and 3.0.2 of course).
Ñ Installation
Please remove from your system any utility of the same kind (e.g AppleMenuOption)
Place the control panel in the Control Panels Folder and restart your Macintosh.
Ñ Tips and tricks from the author
BeHierarchic is by default preconfigured to do a lot of things, but here follow some ideas to get more from it.
Ñ Quick access to your applications:
Open the Apple Menu Items Folder located in your System folder.
Create a new folder inside it, with the name ╘Applications╒.
Then for each application located on your disk, select its icon and make an alias.
Drop this alias in your newly created Applications folder.
Result: in the AppleMenu, you can now select the ╘Applications╒ item, and, in the displayed submenu, the application you want to open.
Ñ Quick access to your desktop
- Sometimes with a small screen, I experienced the following problems:
I dropped a document on the desktop, but I can╒t find it because there is too many windows open.
The same thing could appear with any disk (e.g CD-Rom) that you insert in a drive.
You can configure BeHierarchic to help in such a case.
Open the BeHierarchic Control Panel,
Select the Special Folders section with the popup menu.
Check the box ╘Desktop Folder╒
Result: at the top of the AppleMenu, you will find an Item named ╘Desktop Folder╒.
Selecting that item, will display a submenu with every disks, servers, folders and files located on your desktop. You can now choose one of them to open.
- Problem: Browsing a CD-ROM can take time because the Finder displays custom icons that are on the disk.
With BeHierarchic, you can speed the access of folders or files located on a CD-ROM.
Make sure that BeHierarchic displays the Desktop Folder (see above). You are now ready to access any disk. Select the Desktop Folder Item in the AppleMenu, then in the displayed submenu, you should see your inserted CD-ROM, select it and navigate in the submenus hierarchy to open a folder or a file.
If BeHierarchic is displaying small icons, and that you find it slow, change it to force it to look for them only on fast disks.
Open the BeHierarchic Control Panel, select the ╘Icons╒ section with the popup menu.
If the button ╘Small Icons╒ is selected, then check the box ╘Only With Fast Disks╒.
Make sure that BeHierarchic is able to display more than five levels of submenus, by selecting ╘DeepLevel╒ in the ╘General╒ section of BeHierarchic╒s Control Panel.
If you have trouble using DeepLevel, see below more information in the user manual.
Problem: I can╒t locate easily my disk on the desktop submenu.
Solution: You need to inform BeHierarchic to group and sort disks at the top of BeHierarchic╒s menus.
Make sure that BeHierarchic is configured like the following:
Open the BeHierarchic Control Panel,
Select the Items Sorting section with the popup menu.
Look at the small submenu located on the left side, if you see an item named Volumes, drag it to the top of this menu. Otherwise, get it from the list located at the right side and drag it to the top of the small submenu located on the left side.
You can also drag a separator line to make the grouped items more visible.
Result: When BeHierarchic displays a menu, your disks will be displayed at the top of that menu.
Ñ Quick access to your recent documents:
- I need to open several files located in the same folder.
With BeHierarchic, you have several ways to help you do it.
Make sure that BeHierarchic is configured like the following:
Open the BeHierarchic Control Panel,
Select the Special Folders section with the popup menu.
Check the box ╘Recent Items╒
Check the box ╘Recent Folders╒
Open the first document by selecting it browsing the Apple Menu and submenus.
Now, you may notice that the enclosing folder of that document is located in the ╘Recent Folders╒ submenu. You can now open the next documents selecting that enclosing folder to display its content.
- I am beginning a work, and the documents I need are located in the same folder.
When my work is finished, I will no longer need to access that folder.
Make sure that BeHierarchic is configured like the following:
Open the BeHierarchic Control Panel,
Select the ╘Modifiers Actions╒ section with the popup menu.
Check the box ╘Apple Menu Swapping╒
Check some modifiers keys below. I suggest ╘Shift╒.
Locate that enclosing folder via the Apple Menu. Select it and press the ╘Shift╒ key while releasing the mouse.
Now, the Apple Menu will display the content of that folder. You can then open easily the documents. Note that you can still access the original Apple Menu Items e.g to open the ╘Chooser╒ via the special ╘Apple Menu Items╒ item located at the top of the Apple Menu.
To revert to the original Apple Menu, select the special ╘Apple Menu Items╒ item located at the top of the Apple Menu and press the shift key while releasing the mouse.
Note that this system works also with the special items e.g the ╘Desktop Folder╒.
Ñ Opening documents with other applications than their creator.
Because BeHierarchic is able to display small icons everywhere, you can see that the document you want to open wasn╒t created by the same application that you are currently using. This is often the case with TEXT or PICT files.
You can tell BeHierarchic to open the selected document with the Front Application by pressing a modifier key while releasing the mouse.
Make sure that BeHierarchic is configured like the following:
Open the BeHierarchic Control Panel,
Select the ╘Modifiers Actions╒ section with the popup menu.
Check the box ╘Open with Front Application╒
Check some modifiers keys below. I suggest ╘Option╒.
Please note that the document aren╒t translated by BeHierarchic but are translated by the target application. As a result, if that application isn╒t able to open it, an error may occur.
Ñ For some reason I need to change the memory allocated to an application.
If you have created an ╘Applications Folder╒ (see before), select the corresponding application and press a modifier key while releasing the mouse.
Then the Finder will display the corresponding information window.
Make sure that BeHierarchic is configured like the following:
Open the BeHierarchic Control Panel,
Select the ╘Modifiers Actions╒ section with the popup menu.
Check the box ╘Get Original Info╒
Check some modifiers keys below. I suggest ╘command╒.
You can use this with any apple menu and submenu items (folders, files...)
Ñ I want to suppress some of the items located in the special ╘Recent Items╒ or ╘Recent Folders╒.
Simply, open the ╘Recent Items╒ or ╘Recent Folders╒ by selecting them in the Apple Menu. Then drop some of their content to the trash. You can do that because the content of these special folders are only aliases.
Ñ Settings descriptions
To configure BeHierarchic, open its control panel.
Any changes will take effect immediately except when specified.
Balloon Help is available. Don't forget to use it.
There are too many settings to be shown at once.
You must select one panel at a time with the popup menu.
Ñ General
When you select ╘General╒ from that popup, you will see:
╩
- ╘Show icon at startup╒ lets you enable or disable the display of BeHierarchic icon during startup.
- ╘Warning at startup╒
This is to warn you for possible conflicts at startup, if BeHierarchic finds another similar utility in your system. Uncheck it if you don't want theses messages to appear.
- ╘DeepLevel¬╒ enables a cascade of more than five level of submenus.
- ╘On/Off╒ speaks by itself.
- ╘Preferences Sets selection╒
It will be enabled on Macintosh PowerBooks only.
BeHierarchic have three sets of preferences (Manual set, Battery set, Power adaptor set). If ╘Auto╒ is selected, then at startup, BeHierarchic configure itself with the set corresponding to the current power supply.
If ╘Manual╒ is selected, BeHierarchic configures itself with the Manual set.
This is the one you see now.
The current set is indicated by the first popup.
Ñ Icons
╩
This lets you choose the kind of icons you want to see in the Apple Menu and the submenus.
- No Icons: self explained.
- Generic Icons: This will display standard icons for folders, applications, cdev, init, and documents.
- Mini Icons : Same as generic, but the icons are smaller (look nice with a small font size)
- Small Icons: BeHierarchic will display the same icons the Finder uses. This may be slow at first, but BeHierarchic keeps track of the most used icons to try to speed up the display.
In this case, there is another option to speed up: ╘Only With Fast Disks╒
When this is checked, BeHierarchic doesn╒t look for icons on CD-ROM and/or on mounted server(s).
Ñ Fonts:
╩
This lets you choose the font and size to use when displaying the AppleMenu and its submenus.
Ñ Special Folders
╩
At the top of the Apple Menu, BeHierarchic inserts some specials folders if you check them:
- Desktop folder
This displays a submenu with the elements of your desktop. Including any disk, server, CD-ROM, ...
This is useful to browse the contents of disks or to find an item hidden on the desktop by other windows.
- Recent Items
This folder collects any menu item you selected from the AppleMenu or submenus.
You can limit the number of items (16 is default)
- Recent folders
This folder collects any folder you selected from the AppleMenu or submenus.
If Recent Items is checked, it collects also the enclosing folder of any chosen menu item.
This is handy to open several items contained in one folder.
You can limit the number of items (8 is default)
- Open/Save lookup
Only items opened via the Apple Menu may be remembered by BeHierarchic.
Click this box if you want to remember also the documents opened with the standard file Open/Save dialog.
You may need to restart your Macintosh to make this change active.
Ñ Items sorting
╩
You can define the way some kind of items are grouped into the AppleMenu and submenus.
By dragging icons from the list on the right side into the submenu on the left side, you add a kind. The line represents menu items separator.
To change the ordering, drag them up and down.
To remove a kind, drag it outside the submenu.
The icon ╘Everything╒ can╒t be removed because it represents everything other than used kinds.
Ñ Modifiers Actions
╩
Pressing modifiers keys when selecting an item of the AppleMenu or submenu may result to different actions other than opening it.
This panel lets you choose the actions and the associated modifiers keys combination.
Please click on the action check box AND on one or more modifiers keys to enable it.
- Get original info
This will present the Finder╒s Get Info window, with the info of the original item even if the selected item is an alias.
- Open with Front Application
This will force open that item with the current application.
- Apple Menu Swapping
Selecting a folder with the corresponding modifiers keys down, this will replace the entire AppleMenu with the contents of that folder.
This will work also with the BeHierarchic╒s special folders.
It is useful if you want to have its contents at hand.
Because in this case, BeHierarchic inserts an Apple Menu Folder on top of the AppleMenu, you have always access to the original contents( e.g. to select the Chooser).
To come back with the original AppleMenu contents, select that AppleMenu Folder item while pressing the corresponding modifiers keys.
Ñ registration
To be able to use BeHierarchic without usage limitation, please fill the fields with your name and your serial number .
Then click on the button ╘Check╒ to validate your registration.
See below how to get a serial number.
Ñ Trouble shooting and compatibility issue
- Sometimes an alias may become corrupted and no longer display a submenu. You can solve this problem by re-creating the alias from the original.
- If you can╒t display more than five level of submenus despite the fact that ╘DeepLevel╒ check box is enabled and checked (this check box is located in the ╘General╒ section of BeHierarchic╒s control panel), try to put BeHierarchic in the ╘Extensions Folder╒ to force it to load before any other system utility.
- Desktop printer are in fact folders. And because there is no FAST way to distinguish them from real folders, BeHierarchic will display them as folder in the Desktop sub menu.
Even the icon is the same because BeHierarchic isn't able to display custom icon (it is a choice, because it is too slow... - Last minute note: this will be avialable in version 3.1).
- Suitcase¬ users.
If you are using Suitcase¬, you may have noticed that it has disappeared from the Apple╩Menu.
But, the command key equivalent (e.g. command-K by default) still works.
I don't want to put routines dedicated to other utilities into BeHierarchic, so in this case I made a small application ╘Suitcase Launcher╒ that you can put into your Apple Menu Items Folder. You can then open Suitcase¬ by selecting that item.
- MasterJuggler¬ users.
If you are using MasterJuggler¬, you may have noticed that it has disappeared from the Apple╩Menu. But, the command keys equivalent still work.
I don't want to put routines dedicated to other utilities into BeHierarchic, so in this case I made a small application ╘MasterJugglerLauncher╒ and its associate special documents grouped into a folder that you can put into your Apple Menu Items Folder. You can then open MasterJuggler¬ or any of its window by selecting the appropriate item from that sub menu.
Ñ Registration
This version of BeHierarchic is limited to 15 uses per working session.
To register your own copy, please send US$ 10 to:
Fabien OCTAVE
Avenue de l'Aigle 12
B-1150 Brussels Belgium
e-mail: 100020.1501@CompuServe.com
In return, you'll receive a serial number to extend the use of BeHierarchic indefinitely.
For faster processing, feel free to specify your e-mail address, if any.
Cash, checks (US and Canadian bank only), EuroCheck (in BEF), chÅque franìais (en FF) or postal money order accepted.
If you are intend to send cash, for your convenience, you can convert US$10 into your local currency.
NetCash and FirstVirtual payment also accepted, just ask for my account # by e-mail.
Site license is available from the 11th copy.
I can accept purchase order and send back an invoice.
Already registered users didn't receive a serial number because earlier BeHierarchic version didn't need it. However, they will receive it automatically. I need some time to recover my user database. For faster processing, feel free to send me your e-mail address.
Ñ Bug reports:
If you notice something wrong or if you have any suggestions, feel free to mail me at
100020.1501@compuserve.com
Feel free to contact me if you have any development project or idea; each proposition will be considered with the upmost interest.
Fabien OCTAVE
Avenue de l╒Aigle 12
B-1150 Brussels
BELGIUM
Ñ Important
You may freely distribute BeHierarchic but you must join this file (╘BeHierarchic - User Manual╒), the ╘For Suitcase¬╒ folder, the ╘for MasterJuggler¬ folder╒ and their content with the copy.
However, BeHierarchic may not be distributed in any commercial way without the permission of the author.
By using this software, you understand and agree that this software is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind.
In no event shall the author be liable for any consequential, incidental, or special damages whatsoever (including without limitation, damages for loss of critical data, loss of profits, interruption of business and the like) arising out of the use or inability to use this software.
