1) Disable any virus detection software you may be using, unless it's Disinfectant. The patch won't work properly otherwise.
2) Make a back-up copy of the original Appearance Extension and put it someplace safe. Once you patch it, it's patched, and you'll have to replace it with the original OS8 extension to get the old, boring icons back (if you ever want to, that is.)
3) Double-click the "Appearance Extension Patch" to launch the patcher.
4) A dialog box will appear. Read the information in the window, and click the "Patch" button to begin.
5) You will prompted to locate the original Appearance Extension--navigate to the Appearance Extension, select it, and click the "Patch" button (or just double-click its name.)
6) Once the patch has been applied, Restart your computer and enjoy the new icons!
The Five Most Frequently Asked Questions:
What does the patch do?
My Appearance Extension Patch will replace all the OS8 folder icons on your Mac.
How does it work?
Without getting too technical, my patch basically compares the existing Appearance Extension on your Mac with the information stored within the patch. Since my patch contains only the resources that make up folder icons, only the folder icon resources in the Appearance Extension are replaced--the patch looks for identical resource numbers, and swaps the old icons with the new icons in my patch.
Why the Appearance Extension?
The Appearance Extension Patch was created to permanently replace your current system icons with my icons. By doing that, no matter what color scheme you choose, my custom icons will be used. This also saves disk space by making the color scheme files smaller (which improves their performance as well.) The only problem is when scheme designers don't include light versions of their schemes--if a color scheme file has its own icon resources, they override the Appearance Extension's icons.
Why don't you just keep making "heavy" color schemes?
Basically, because they're a pain to distribute. Not everyone wants their system's icons replaced, and it's presumptuous for a designer to think people do. So, I began including both light and heavy versions of my schemes in each archive--but this was just a waste of server space in my opinion.
If you like my icons, just replace them at the System-level, and keep away from bloated color scheme files. However, if you choose to use a color scheme that contains its own icons, they will override the icons contained within the patched Appearance Extension.
Is this patch dangerous? Is it going to mess-up my Mac?
My patch is totally safe, if you follow the directions and use common sense: Always work with a copy! If you edit the one and only original of anything, you've lost its original form. If you edit a copy instead, all you have to do is replace the edited version with the original to get back to where you started.
If you have any questions, comments, gripes or otherwise, you can contact me in the following ways:
email: maurym@bwoodtx.com
WWW: http://users.abilene.com/~maurym
The resources added by Maury's Appearance Extension Patch are ｩ copyright 1997 by Maury McCown.
The patch was created with Michael Hetch's program, ResCompare.
