This section showcases the software that makes using AOL even nicer. Using "AOL" as a file search keyword, I found over 350 files. The best of them are listed below, along with some other files AOL users should know about. All of these files can be downloaded from AOL.
Updates Some of this software will have been updated by the next version of the FAQ. I've arranged for the software authors to notify me of updates.
Instructions To locate these files, choose Keyword from the Go To menu, type "file search" (without the quotes) into the text box, and click OK. In the file search dialog, type the file search words for each program. (You must separate each file search keyword with a space, otherwise the search will fail.) Then click the button labeled "List Matching Files".
15.01 America Offline 1.1
  FileMaker Pro database. 206202 bytes. Shareware, $15.
Author: David J. Schwartz (FileMakerP)
File search: "america offline"
America Offline is a FileMaker Pro database of features and services on AOL. FileMaker Pro enthusiasts should download America Offline just to look at the interface, which closely mimics the AOL software. The version on AOL is a demo version that lacks some of the information in the full version. To get the full version you'll have to pay the shareware fee.
  America Offline requires either the payware FileMaker
Pro or the FileMaker Pro demo, available in the Claris
company support area (keyword "claris"). ClarisWorks
can't open America Offline.
15.02 AOL Keywords DA 3.0
  Desk Accessory. 41519 bytes. Freeware.
Author: Daniel Fishbach (AFA Dan).
File search: "aol keywords da"
This handy little DA lists all of the public AOL keywords as of January 16, 1993. Free areas are marked with an asterisk. Keywords can be copied from the DA and pasted into AOL's Keywords dialog. Browsing the keywords provides an excellent overview of AOL's services.
15.03 AOL sounds and icons
  Freeware
Various authors
File search: "aol sounds" "aol icons"
There are too many to list here, but you can search for them using file search keywords "aol sound" or "aol icon". I'm partial to the Ren and Stimpy sounds (file search "aol stimpy".
15.04 Chat Log Filter 1.0
  HyperCard stack. 23166 bytes. Shareware, $10.
Author: Derek Chee (Exter).
File search: "chat log filter"
This stack scans chat logs and produces more readable logs. For instance, if a chat log looks like this:
yerhost : Heyyyyyyyy Kids! Tonight in the Romper Room:
Krusty the Clown! Krusty will tell us about
yerhost : his new product: Krusty Underwear!
Chat Log Filter can produce a log that looks like this:
yerhost : Heyyyyyyyy Kids! Tonight in the Romper Room: Krusty
the Clown! Krusty will tell us about his new product:
Krusty Underwear!
Chat Log Filter can also report the number of people attending the conference and produce an alphabetized list of attendees. Conference hosts sometimes use this stack to produce mailing lists and chat archives. Mere mortals may also find it useful.
15.05 Disinfectant 3.5
  Application. 175854 bytes. Freeware.
Author: John Norstad.
File search: "disinfectant"
Disinfectant is the most popular antiviral program for the Macintosh. When new viruses are discovered, Disinfectant is always one of the first antiviral programs to be updated. It can also install a protection init that prevents infected applications from launching. Disinfectant has proven to be one of the least troublesome virus fighters available.
Every Macintosh user should own and use an anti-virus utility like Disinfectant. See chapter 7 for more information about viruses. Use keyword "virus" to visit the Virus Information Center on AOL.
15.06 E-Secretary
  HyperCard Stack. 113768 bytes. Shareware, $15.
Author: Kevin Garrett (Level 6)
File search: "e-secretary"
E-Secretary is meant to be used in conjunction with EasyView and the AOL Browser. If you're not familiar with EasyView, read that section first before continuing. E-Secretary can convert a folder of individual mail files and convert them to a single text file. When opened in EasyView, the individual messages appear in the upper right hand window with the message subject and the screen name of the sender.
E-Secretary offers several advantages:
A hard drive has what's known as a minimum allocation block size. For example, on a 160 megabyte drive, the smallest file takes 3 kilobytes of hard drive space. Most mail messages are smaller than 3K, so combining many small files into one big file makes sense.
Organizing a large number of mail messages is time consuming. It's much easier to keep track of a few files. One use of E-Secretary is to archive an entire month's worth of messages into one file.
The EasyView AOL Browser only works with FlashMail that was saved as a text file. E-Secretary allows you to save FlashMail as a mail file, then convert it into a document that EasyView can read.
15.07 EasyView AOL Browser
  EasyView view. 580 bytes. Freeware
Author: Sterling Ledet (SJLedet)
File search: "aol logger"
  When you do a file search for "aol browser", the file
you find will be called "aol logger". It's the same
file. After you download "aol logger" and decompress
it, the file will be called "aol browser".
If you have a large mail folder, reading all of your mail can be painfully slow. Likewise, reading a folder full of logs is no picnic. The process is easier with EasyView and the AOL Browser. EasyView is normally used to read digests, TidBITS magazine, and other text documents that are formatted with setext. To find out more about the setext format, send email to "fileserver@tidbits.com" with the word "setext" (without the quotes) in the Subject: line.
EasyView creates an index of all mail messages or logs in a folder. You can scroll through the list of messages and click the messages you want to read. EasyView offers a choice of fonts and font sizes, and has a fast search facility.
To take advantage of the Browser, you'll need AOL 2.1 and Easy View.
Instructions for reading mail with EasyView
1. Choose Preferences from the AOL Members menu, then click Mail Preferences. Put a check mark next to the "Save FlashMail as Text" option. This option is not available in versions of AOL earlier than 2.1.
2. Place the AOL Browser inside the folder where you store your FlashMail. FlashMail is automatically downloaded to the Online Mail folder, but you can move the mail elsewhere.
3. Launch EasyView. EasyView will prompt you for a file to open. Navigate to the Online Mail folder and open the AOL Browser. Under System 7, you can place an alias of the Online Mail folder inside the EasyView folder.
4. The first time you use the AOL Browser, you'll need to choose Preferences from the EasyView menu and put a check mark in the options for "Include all files in folder" and "Remove files not found".
5. Your mail messages will appear in the upper right hand window. Select a message to read it.
Instructions for reading logs with EasyView
Except for step #1, the process is essentially the same. You should create a folder for logs, and place a copy of the AOL Browser in that folder.
EasyView is a reader, not an editor. To edit or reply to a message, select the message and click the letter "E" in the lower left hand corner. The mail message will open in the America Online software as a text document. Email addresses can be copied and pasted into new mail messages.
Reading mail with EasyView isn't for everyone. You probably won't like it if you have very little mail and rarely use FlashSessions. The ideal EasyView user is someone who retrieves large numbers of mail messages with FlashSessions, and who wants to archive and search old mail messages. It's also ideal for anyone who reads message logs offline.
15.08 GIFConverter 2.3.7
  Application. 329495 bytes. Shareware, $40 plus S&H.
Author: Kevin Mitchell (KevinM17)
File search: "gifconverter"
GIFConverter can open and save files in EPS, GIF, JPEG, QuickTime, MacPaint, PICT, RIFF, RLE, StartupScreen, Thunderscan, and TIFF formats. GIFConverter can also create slide shows, scale images, and print in half tones on many printers.
See chapter 8 for instructions on how to use GIFConverter. Kevin provides company support on America Online. Use keyword "gifconverter".
15.09 GIFWatcher 2.2.0
  Desk Accessory. 51061 bytes. Shareware, $15 plus S&H.
Author: Kerry Shetline (Shetline)
File search: "gifwatcher"
If GIFWatcher was just another GIF viewer, I wouldn't even mention it. But GIFWatcher can do something none of the others can - it allows you to preview GIFs as they're being downloaded. This isn't just cool. It's practical, too. If you see that the GIF isn't what you wanted, you can cancel the download and save money. Instructions for using GIFWatcher are in chapter 8.
GIFWatcher is a desk accessory, so it's a good choice for System 6 users who don't use MultiFinder. If you're short on RAM, you'll be glad to know that GIFWatcher only uses 20 K of memory.
GraphicConverter can translate a tremendous number of graphics formats. GraphicConverter is generally faster than GIFConverter, particularly when opening GIFs. The slide show option can't be beat. You can select individual files for a slide show, or select an entire folder full of files. GIFConverter's slide show has more features, but it's harder to use. See chapter 8 for a discussion of graphics formats and instructions for using GraphicConverter.
GraphicConverter has a really nifty feature. When it saves a file, it uses a miniature version of the picture for the file's icon. That way you can look at the icon and tell what the picture looks like. That icon will also show up as a preview in GraphicConverter's Open dialog. From the file description:
  GraphicConverter requires System 7. System 6 users
should use GIFConverter. GraphicConverter requires
3000K of RAM, so you'll need a machine with at least
5 megabytes of RAM, and preferably more.
15.11 Instant Message Saver 1.0
  Extension (init). 4975 bytes. Freeware.
Author: Joe Zobkiw (AFL Zobkiw).
File search: "instant message saver"
This extension prevents you from closing an Instant Message (IM) window with the Command-W key combination. Apparently some people press this key combination just as an IM appears, thus sending it off to IM Heaven.
15.12 JPEGview 3.2.1
  Application. 371728 bytes. Postcardware, or $20 for manual.
Author: Aaron Giles (AGiles)
File search: "jpegview"
JPEGview is a GIF, JPEG, and PICT viewer. It's unique in that it can be scripted using AppleScript. JPEGview author Aaron Giles has a company support area on AOL. Use keyword "jpegview". If you're interested in JPEGs, you should download JPEGview if for no other reason than to read the online help. It's filled with great information about the JPEG format.
There are three versions of JPEGview: one for regular Macs, another for PowerMacs, and a fat binary that works on either.
JPEGview requires a 68020 or higher, System 7,
  and any version of QuickTime. It won't work
with System 6, and it won't work unless QuickTime
was in the Extensions folder when the computer was
started. The QuickTime extension is available in the
Macintosh Operating Systems Forum (keyword "mos").
There are a number of ready-made AOL macros available for downloading. There are too many to list here, but if you're interested, search for them with the file search keywords above. All require either QuicKeys or Tempo. Both programs are payware.
Forget what :* is? It's a kiss, as this DA will show you. The DA lists smileys and abbreviations (collectively, shorthands), food and drink, and large ASCII drawings.
15.15 Stop AOL
  Application. 4247 bytes. Freeware.
Author: Adam Stein (AdamStein).
File search: "stop aol"
Programming wunderkind Adam Stein (author of System 7 Pack) wrote this application to overcome a problem with AOL. Sometimes the AOL software doesn't recognize that it has lost connection, so the beachball cursor just spins forever while the software waits for a response from the computer in Virginia. To force AOL to give up, click on the desktop or a window of another application, then launch Stop AOL. Stop AOL launches, disconnects AOL, and then quits itself. AOL will disconnect and report a serial port error.
15.16 StuffIt Expander 3.0.7
  Application. 93679 bytes. Freeware.
Author: Leonard Rosenthal of Aladdin Systems (Aladdin)
File search: "stuffit expander"
With StuffIt Expander on your hard drive, you can doubleclick StuffIt files (".sit" files) to decompress them. StuffIt can also convert Compact Pro (.cpt) and BinHex (.hqx) files, as well as AppleLink packages (.pkg). StuffIt supports drag and drop under System 7, and has a handy "watch folder" feature.
15.17 StuffIt Lite 3.0.7
  Application. 550584 bytes. Shareware, $25.
Author: Raymond Lau of Aladdin Systems (Aladdin)
File search: "stuffit lite"
If you want to upload files to America Online or your local BBS, compress them with StuffIt Lite or the commercial version, StuffIt Deluxe. StuffIt Lite opens all of the file formats that StuffIt Expander does, as well as many additional formats, including zip files. StuffIt Lite supports uuencoding and uudecoding.
If you're running out of space on your hard disk, you can use StuffIt to compress seldom-used files. Use keyword "stuffit" to visit Aladdin's company support area.
15.18 Text Capture FKEY
  FKEY. 13156 bytes. Freeware.
Author: James W. Walker (JWWalker)
File search: "text capture"
Text Capture FKEY allows you to copy text from the FAQ, and from other documents which don't normally allow copying, such as TeachText read only documents. See chapter 8 for help with installing FKEYs.
15.19 Text Editor Patches 1.3
  Application. 20106 bytes. Freeware.
Author: James W. Walker (JWWalker)
File search: "text editor patches"
Text Editor Patches can patch a number of applications to add functionality. One patch allows AOL members to use system menus during a download. Among other things, that means you can use SuperClock and System 7's Balloon Help and Applications menus while downloading. Another patch makes America Online use the page up and page down keys on an extended keyboard.
The patches are resources installed in the America Online application. The patches seem to be very safe. You can even unpatch an application if you change your mind. To be extra careful, store an original copy of the AOL application in a safe place.
15.20 ZipIt 1.2.6
  Application. 270861 bytes. Shareware, $10.
Author: Tommy Brown (Tommy67)
File search: "zipit"
ZipIt will open files compressed in the Zip format. ZipIt can also compress files in zip format. Zip files are common on PC BBSs and in the PC area of America Online. For information about zip files, see chapter 8.
