Thanks for using OneStep. To transform your Mac's user interface, OneStep uses so called "Appearance" files. You can choose and install the Appearance files using the provided OneStep Inspector application.
To create you own Appearance files, simply make a copy of one of the Appearance files provided with OneStep, and modify it using your favorite resource editor. Then, if you wish, you can freely distribute your Appearance file so that other users can try it out.
As you will see, we have made our best to give you total control over your Mac's user interface. Using OneStep, you can transform it easily to suit your tastes, without ever writing a single line of code.
Of course, your suggestions are welcome. Send them to us at this address: <onestep-objectivesw@dial.oleane.com>.
The Appearance file contains three main types of resources which you can modify in order to create your own customized interface:
• The Preferences resource (type '1PRF'), containing the various settings affecting your user interface (such as the presence of a resize bar in windows, square or rounded buttons, NeXT-like or Mac-like scrollbar arrows, etc.), as well as various basic colors (menubar and menu background color, Finder windows background color, colors to use in the 3D effects, etc.).
• The icon suites (types 'ICN#', 'icl4', 'icl8', 'ics#', 'ics4', 'ics8', 'icm#', 'icm4', 'icm8'). These icons can be edited very simply, using your favorite resource editor, such as ResEdit, Resorcerer, Constructor, etc.
• The patterns (type 'ppat'). They will fill a given area with a repeated pattern, allowing you to alter the appearance of window title bars and scrollbars whatever their size. They can also be edited using a resource editor.
In addition to these 3 required resource types, you can add the following optional resources to your Appearance file:
• A 160x160 pixels picture (type 'PICT', ID = 27080), containing a preview of your interface, a copyright notice, or whatever information you care to place in there. This picture will automatically be displayed in the OneStep Inspector window whenever the user selects your Appearance file.
• A version resource (type 'vers', ID = 1) containing the version of your Appearance file. This resource is required if you plan to distribute your Appearance file, so that users can check if they have the latest version.
• Other resources overriding System resource files, such as color icon resources (type 'cicn', ID = 0, 1, 2) for alert dialogs.
• If you are a developer, you can also add defProc code resources ('WDEF', 'CDEF', 'MDEF', etc.) for an even higher level of customization.
The Preferences resource ('1PRF' ID = -27980) contains the following fields, which you can edit using the provided ResEdit template.
Note:
- Groups of 3 fields such as "Color (R), Color (G), Color (B)" contain color information (the red, green and blue components of the color). You should enter hexadecimal values in these fields.
- In most other fields, write 1 (to enable the corresponding setting) or 0 (to disable it).
1 - General Preferences
OS/Finder Window Color (R)
OS/Finder Window Color (G)
OS/Finder Window Color (B)
The background color of Finder windows.
OS/Dark Shadow (R)
OS/Dark Shadow (G)
OS/Dark Shadow (B)
The color to use for the dark shadow border of Finder Copy/Delete progress bars.
OS/Light Shadow (R)
OS/Light Shadow (G)
OS/Light Shadow (B)
The color to use for the light shadow border of Finder Copy/Delete progress bars.
OS/Font Size
OS/Font Name
The size and name of the font to use as System font
(note: you can independently set the font to use for the window titles and the menus, see below).
2 - Button Preferences
BT/Btn Light Shadow (R)
BT/Btn Light Shadow (G)
BT/Btn Light Shadow (B)
The color to use for the light shadow border of buttons.
BT/Btn Content (R)
BT/Btn Content (G)
BT/Btn Content (B)
The content color of buttons.
BT/Btn Dark Shadow (R)
BT/Btn Dark Shadow (G)
BT/Btn Dark Shadow (B)
The color to use for the dark shadow border of buttons.
BT/Btn Alt Content (R)
BT/Btn Alt Content (G)
BT/Btn Alt Content (B)
The content color of hilited buttons.
BT/Btn Title (R)
BT/Btn Title (G)
BT/Btn Title (B)
The color to use for the title of buttons.
BT/Btn Alt Title (R)
BT/Btn Alt Title (G)
BT/Btn Alt Title (B)
The color to use for the title of hilited buttons.
BT/B&W Design (Syst 7)
Forces the use a black & white design for buttons (System 7-style).
BT/Square Buttons
Use NeXT-style square-corner buttons instead of Mac-style rounded-corner buttons.
BT/Title V Offset
Correction for the vertical position of the button title (useful for certain fonts).
3 - Scrollbar Preferences
SB/Group Arrows
If this flag is set, both scrollbars arrows are grouped at the bottom (vertical scrollbar) or right (horizontal scrollbar) of the scrollbar (NeXT-style). Otherwise they are positioned at both ends of the scrollbars (Mac-style).
SB/Hide Inactive Arrows
If this flag is set, the scrollbar arrows are hidden when the scrollbar is inactive, i.e. if the whole length of the window is visible (NeXT-style), otherwise they are displayed in a disabled state (Mac-style).
SB/Gap When Active
SB/Gap When Inactive
These flags determine whether a line will be drawn to "close" the scrollbar patterns (see below, Top Left Gap and Btm Right Gap options), when the scrollbar is active and when it is inactive.
SB/Hide Inactive Scrollbars
If this flag is set, the scrollbars are hidden when the window is in the background (Mac-style), otherwise they are displayed.
SB/Min Thumb Size
The minimal length of the scrollbar thumb.
SB/Top Left Gap (R)
SB/Top Left Gap (G)
SB/Top Left Gap (B)
The color to use for the (dark shadow) line which borders the top of the vertical scrollbar pattern and the left of the horizontal scroll bar pattern.
SB/Btm Right Gap (R)
SB/Btm Right Gap (G)
SB/Btm Right Gap (B)
The color to use for the (light shadow) line which borders the bottom of the vertical scrollbar pattern and the right of the horizontal scroll bar pattern.
4 - "New Folder" Button Preferences
The "New Folder" button appears in the "Save.../Save As..." directory dialog boxes.
NF/Folder Icon ID
The ID of the icon to use in this button (this ID should normally correspond to the icon suite you are using to represent folders in the Finder).
5 - Window Preferences
WN/TitleBar (R)
WN/TitleBar (G)
WN/TitleBar (B)
The color to use for the background of the window title bar.
WN/AltTitleBar (R)
WN/AltTitleBar (G)
WN/AltTitleBar (B)
The color to use for the background of the title bar of inactive (background) windows.
WN/Title (R)
WN/Title (G)
WN/Title (B)
The color to use for the window title.
WN/AltTitle (R)
WN/AltTitle (G)
WN/AltTitle (B)
The color to use for the title of inactive windows.
WN/Finder Window Text (R)
WN/Finder Window Text (G)
WN/Finder Window Text (B)
The color to use for the text of Finder window items.
WN/Light Shadow (R)
WN/Light Shadow (G)
WN/Light Shadow (B)
The color to use for the light shadow top & left borders of windows.
WN/Dark Shadow (R)
WN/Dark Shadow (G)
WN/Dark Shadow (B)
The color to use for the dark shadow bottom & right borders of windows.
WN/Alt Light Shadow (R)
WN/Alt Light Shadow (G)
WN/Alt Light Shadow (B)
The color to use for the light shadow top & left borders of inactive windows.
WN/Alt Dark Shadow (R)
WN/Alt Dark Shadow (G)
WN/Alt Dark Shadow (B)
The color to use for the dark shadow bottom & right borders of inactive windows.
WN/Title V Offset
Correction for the vertical position of the window title (useful for certain fonts).
WN/Show ResizeBar
Add a NeXT-style resize bar at the bottom of windows (allows to constrain the resizing of windows in the vertical or horizontal direction).
WN/Full TitleBar Pattern
If a pattern is used to draw the window title bar, this flag indicates whether the pattern should fill the whole length of the title bar, or leave the window widgets (close box, etc.) alone.
WN/Use Patterns
If this flag is set to 1, a pattern is used to draw the window title bar
(see below for the IDs to use for the 'ppat' resources).
WN/Font Size
WN/Font Face
The size and style (plain, bold etc.) of the font to use for the window title.
WN/True NeXT Look
If this flag is set, the positions of the close box and zoom box in the window title bar are inverted relative to their usual Mac-style position :
Mac style --> close box on the left, zoom box on the right,
NeXT style --> close box on the right, zoom box on the left.
WN/Iconizing
Add an "miniaturization" widget at the top right of the window. Clicking on it will either miniaturize the window (NeXT-style) or collapse it to its title bar (Mac-style), according to the Window Shade setting (see below).
WN/TitleAlignLeft
Align the window title to the left of the title bar (OpenStep-style)
WN/Path PopUp Symbol
Draw a small downward pointing triangle at the center of the window title bar, to denote the position where command-clicking will drop a file/folder pathway menu (may be useful if you use the TitleAlignLeft option)
WN/Window Shade
Clicking on the miniaturization widget will collapse the window to its title bar (Mac-style) instead of miniaturizing it (NeXT-style)
WN/Title Font Name
The name of the font to use for the window title.
6 - Menu Preferences
MN/Background (R)
MN/Background (G)
MN/Background (B)
The color to use for the menu background.
MN/Hilited Background (R)
MN/Hilited Background (G)
MN/Hilited Background (B)
The color to use for the background of hilited menu items.
MN/Dark Shadow (R)
MN/Dark Shadow (G)
MN/Dark Shadow (B)
The color to use for the dark shadow border of menus.
MN/Text (R)
MN/Text (G)
MN/Text (B)
The color to use for the menu text.
(Note: if there is an 'mctb' resource for the menu item or the menu, it will override this setting).
MN/Hilited Text (R)
MN/Hilited Text (G)
MN/Hilited Text (B)
The color to use for the text of hilited menu items.
MN/Divider Line (R)
MN/Divider Line (G)
MN/Divider Line (B)
The color to use for the menu divider lines.
MN/Light Shadow (R)
MN/Light Shadow (G)
MN/Light Shadow (B)
The color to use for the light shadow border of menus.
MN/Disabled Text (R)
MN/Disabled Text (G)
MN/Disabled Text (B)
The color to use for the text of disabled menu items.
MN/Font size
MN/Font face
The size and style (plain, bold etc.) of the font to use for the menu.
(Note: this setting may be overriden in some circumstances, for instance if the menu item contains specific style or script information).
MN/Has Disabled Icons
If this flag is set, OneStep will look for specific icons to draw the check mark, submenu arrow and popup symbol in disabled menu items (see below for the ID's of these icons). Otherwise, the normal icon will be used (plotted in a "disabled" state).
MN/NeXT-like Right Mark in Popups
If this flag is set, the popup symbol itself will be used as mark in popup menu items, and it will be positioned on the right of the item (NeXT-style) instead of the left.
MN/3D Look
(0=flat,
1=menu,
2=items,
3=NeXT)
This flag determines the 3D look of the menu:
1 --> No 3D effect (System 7-style),
2 --> 3D effect for the menu border only (Mac OS 8-style),
3 --> 3D effect for aech menu item (drawn as an individual "tile") (NeXT-style),
4 --> Same as 3, plus a black separation line at the bottom of every item (True NeXT look).
MN/Draw Command Key
This flag determines whether the command-key will drawn (Mac-style) or not (NeXT-style) in menu keyboard equivalents.
MN/Font name
The name of the font to use for the menu.
7 - Menu Bar Preferences
MB/3D Menubar
Draw the menu bar with 3D effects.
MB/Square Corners
Force the drawing of square corners (NeXT-style).
(May not work correctly on certain screens).
MB/Use Menubar Bottom Pixel
This flag determines whether the bottom line of the menu bar (drawn with the Dark Shadow color) will leave a black separator line at the bottom of the menu bar (flag set to 1), or be drawn above it (flag set to 0).
MB/7-like Menu Shadow
This flag determines whether the menus are drawn with a 1 pixel background shadow (Mac-style), or without it (NeXT-style).
MB/Submenus Don't Overlap
This flag determines whether submenus overlap slightly over the parent menu (Mac-style), or are aligned to its edge (NeXT-style).
MB/Menu Title (R)
MB/Menu Title (G)
MB/Menu Title (B)
The color to use for the menu titles.
MB/Menu Left Edge (R)
MB/Menu Left Edge (G)
MB/Menu Left Edge (B)
The color to use for the left edge of the menus (e.g., black for Mac, gray for NeXT).
MB/Menubar (R)
MB/Menubar (G)
MB/Menubar (B)
The color to use for the background of the menu bar.
MB/Menubar Hilite (R)
MB/Menubar Hilite (G)
MB/Menubar Hilite (B)
The color to use for the background of hilited menu titles.
MB/Menu Title Hilite (R)
MB/Menu Title Hilite (G)
MB/Menu Title Hilite (B)
The color to use for the text of hilited menu titles.
MB/Dark Shadow (R)
MB/Dark Shadow (G)
MB/Dark Shadow (B)
The color to use for the dark shadow border of the menu bar (3D effect).
MB/Light Shadow (R)
MB/Light Shadow (G)
MB/Light Shadow (B)
The color to use for the light shadow border of the menu bar (3D effect).
8 - Pop Up Menu Control Preferences
PU/Content (R)
PU/Content (G)
PU/Content (B)
The color to use for the content of popup menu controls.
PU/Hilited Content (R)
PU/Hilited Content (G)
PU/Hilited Content (B)
The color to use for the content of hilited popup menu controls.
PU/Dark Shadow (R)
PU/Dark Shadow (G)
PU/Dark Shadow (B)
The color to use for the dark shadow bottom & right borders of popup menu controls.
PU/Light Shadow (R)
PU/Light Shadow (G)
PU/Light Shadow (B)
The color to use for the light shadow top & left borders of popup menu controls.
PU/Text (R)
PU/Text (G)
PU/Text (B)
The color to use for the text of popup menu controls.
(Note: if there is an 'mctb' resource for the menu item or the menu, it will override this setting).
PU/Hilited Text (R)
PU/Hilited Text (G)
PU/Hilited Text (B)
The color to use for the text of hilited popup menu controls.
PU/PopUp Style
(0 = old style-Sys 7,
1 = rounded button,
2 = square button,
3 = framed square)
This flag determines the 3D look of the popup menu control:
1 --> No 3D effect (System 7-style),
2 --> 3D rounded-corner button (Mac OS 8-style),
3 --> 3D square-corner button (NeXT-style),
4 --> Same as 3, plus a black frame.
PU/Use separator line
This flag determines whether the popup symbol will be separated from the text by a vertical line (Mac OS 8-style).
Type = 'ICN#', 'icl4', 'icl8', 'ics#', 'ics4', 'ics8'
ID = -3999 to -3968
• Window widgets (growBox, closeBox, zoomBox and iconizeBox)
Type = 'ics#', 'ics4', 'ics8'
ID = -27783 to -27773
• Scrollbar arrows
Type = 'ics#', 'ics4', 'ics8'
ID = -27070 to -27059
• Scrollbar thumb
Type = 'ics#', 'ics4', 'ics8'
ID = -27050 to -27043
Note: the scrollbar thumb is composed of two icons, one for the thumb itself and the other for its "anchoring point" (look up the provided Appearances).
Harry Alloul, Bernard Frangoulis and Alessandro Levi Montalcini (thereafter "the authors") disclaim all warranties relating to this software, whether express or implied, including without limitation any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. The authors will not be liable for any special, incidental, consequential, indirect or similar damages due to loss of data or any other reason, even if the authors or an agent of theirs has been advised of the possibility of such damages. In no event shall the authors be liable for any damages, regardless of the form of the claim. The person using the software bears all risk as to the quality and performance of the software.
Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Macintosh, Finder, ResEdit are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Finder is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. NeXT, NEXTSTEP, OPENSTEP are trademarks of NeXT Computer, Inc. All other trademarks belong to their respective owners.
