Snail: Dejal Userware, PO Box 33-1011, Takapuna, Auckland 1309, NEW ZEALAND
Internet: dejal@iconz.co.nz (preferred) or dejal@deepthnk.kiwi.gen.nz
Dejal Userware Web pages: http://amug.org:80/~dejal/
Anonymous FTP: ftp.amug.org in the /pub/contrib/dejal directory
CompuServe: >INTERNET: dejal@iconz.co.nz or 100033,2435
I read the Internet mail every day, and will reply immediately (allow a day or two for net.delay), but only call CI$ once a fortnight, or less.
Note: my software is now available for anonymous ftp at ftp.amug.org in the /pub/contrib/dejal directory. Most of the software is also available on sumex-aim and its mirror sites, though my ftp site has the advantage of having all my software in the one directory, and you know they are the latest versions.
All of the applications support Apple events: you can drop a file or files — or even a folder full of files — on any application, or start by simply double-clicking on the application icon.
Upon opening a file or files, a progress dialog will then appear, reporting the activity as it proceeds. You may click the Stop button, choose Stop from the File menu, hit Escape, or Command-period to stop at any point, or choose Quit from the File menu to stop and leave. When done, the progress dialog will be removed, and you will find the results of the process in the same location as the source file(s), unless otherwise specified. The exact behaviour of the applications depends on the options of the current workset.
Worksets:
The applications feature multiple worksets: the active workset affects how the files are processed, and may be chosen via the Worksets menu, as a quick way of reconfiguring the programs to do different operations. I believe that the user should always be in control, hence the “Userware” in the name Dejal Userware — short for “user-friendly software.”
The applications come with a number of ready-made worksets, but you can also add your own, or modify or delete existing ones. When you add a workset, the options start off the same as in the active workset, so that you can add one that is very similar to an existing one, but with a few differences.
Worksets may be locked or unlocked via the Worksets menu. If a workset is locked, it cannot be deleted or modifed without first unlocking it; you might like to lock some of your worksets if you find yourself accidentally changing the wrong set occasionally.
The Worksets editing dialog features multiple “pages” of radio buttons, checkboxes, and entry fields, each page grouping certain kinds of functions. You can switch between pages simply by choosing them from a popup menu. Here follows a description of the various pages:
Workset Info page:
Here you can change the name of the current workset, the keyboard equivalent used in the Worksets menu to select this workset, and a description of, or comments about, the workset.
• TextMerge:
Separator page:
You can enter some text to place between each merged component of the file, e.g. a dashed line or a few blank lines. As with the split text field in TextSplitter, you can type Returns into this field. If you don’t want to add anything, leave it empty.
Destination page:
This page features several choices for where to merge the text, basically grouped into three options that create a new output file, and three that append the text to an existing file.
The create in same place and append to first file options are the most trivial to use, as they simply use the same location as the source file, creating a new file next to the source file or appending to the first file opened, as appropriate.
The next options in each group allow you to use a standard file; they are useful if you wish to merge text into a specified file each time; you set the file once, and that is used thereafter.
The last two will prompt you for a destination each time, so you can decide on-the-fly.
Filename page:
Here you can specify a default filename to use — this is used whenever prompting you for a file.
You can also specify what to base the name on, and a suffix to add to the filename to indicate that the file contains merged text.
File Info page:
Here you can specify whether to use the earliest created and most recent last modified dates for the output file, or simply use today’s date (i.e. don’t alter the dates). The first option is useful to indicate the time-frame that the output file covers. You can also set the creator code here; see the Creator page section of TextSplitter for a description.
• TextSplitter:
Split Text page:
This page lets you specify the text to search for when splitting; when this text is found, a new output file will be started. You would type whatever text distinguishes one part of the file from another. You can include Returns in the entry field: press Enter or click the OK button to accept the changes. You can even include “Control” characters: simply type “^” (without the quotes) followed by an uppercase letter, e.g. “^L” to search for Control-L. If you want to search for the sequence “^L” instead, prefix it with a bullet, e.g. “•^L”; the bullet will be ignored when searching.
If the prompt for split text radio button is selected, you will be asked via a dialog to provide the split text when opening a file (or the first file, if opening several at once). If the following box is checked, your entry will be remembered for next time, otherwise the text you type into the Worksets dialog will be provided as the default each time.
The following radio buttons indicate whether the workset is intended as a general one, or whether to treat the text found following the split text as the date the message was received, for Berkeley or CompuServe format e-mail.
Berkeley format e-mail folders are used by the Pine and Elm e-mail programs, and possibly others, under unix; using TextSplitter you can download these folders (which are stored as single files) and retrieve the individual messages.
Include At page:
Here you can indicate whether to omit blank lines around the split text, and whether to include the split text at the start or end of the output files, or omit it altogether.
Folder page:
Here you can specify the suffix to add onto the names of the output folders (or leave it blank to have none), and indicate whether to include all of the output files in the same folder or separate folders; this only applies if you open more than one file at a time.
Filenames page:
Here you can indicate what filenames to use: if the files are e-mail messages, the output files can be named based on the “Subject:” header line of each message. Since “:”s are illegal in filenames, you can enter something to be used instead, if anything. Alternatively, the filenames can be based on the name of the source file, or some fixed text. Note that unique names are always created, in the same way as the Finder does, by adding numbers to the end until a unique name is found.
Dates page:
If the source file contains e-mail messages, you can indicate whether to use the dates that the messages were sent or received for the created and last modified dates of the output files. Otherwise, you can choose whether to use the date the source file was created or last modifed, or simply use today’s date (i.e. don’t alter the output file dates).
Creator page:
Here you can indicate whether to use the same creator code as the source file, or specify a custom one. You can even specify two different codes, based on the size of the output files; this feature was provided because some text editors (e.g. SimpleText and it’s predecessor, TeachText) can only handle files up to 32K, whereas others don’t have this limit, and you might want to use a different one in each case. You can choose one of the applications from the popup menu, or type a code into the entry field.
• TextConverter:
Folders page:
Here you have the option of specifying a standard folder to look in when the application was opened by double-clicking on its icon, instead of dropping files on it. If you choose this option, the program will process any files it finds within that folder. Alternatively, you can get it to convert the contents of the Clipboard — this could be combined with the Auto-Quit preference.
You can also choose where to put the destination (output) files:
The ‘put in the same folder’ option is the most trivial to use, as it simply uses the same location as the source file, creating a new file next to the source file.
The ‘standard folder’ option allows you to put the files in one particular folder; you choose the location once, and it’s used thereafter.
The ‘prompt for destination’ option will ask for a destination each time, so you can decide on-the-fly.
Creator page:
Here you can indicate whether to use the same creator code as the source file, or specify a custom one. You can even specify two different codes, based on the size of the output files; this feature was provided because some text editors (e.g. SimpleText and it’s predecessor, TeachText) can only handle files up to 32K, whereas others don’t have this limit, and you might want to use a different one in each case. You can choose one of the applications from the popup menu, or type a code into the entry field.
File Info page:
Here you can specify a suffix to append to converted files (or leave it blank for none). You can also choose what dates to use for the converted file. You can use the date the original file was created or last modifed, the date the original was created and use today’s date for the modification date, or simply use today’s date for both (i.e. don’t alter the output file dates). Finally, you can choose whether to offset the converted file’s icon from the source, or not.
Preferences:
Also included is a Preferences dialog, which allows you to configure common features. The preferences file is only created or modified when you actually change the prefs.
Settings page:
This page lets you specify whether the first or most recently used page of the Preferences and Workset editor dialogs is displayed when you open them. Other options are:
Sort Worksets Alphabetically: If checked, the worksets will be listed in alphabetical order in the Worksets menu (from the next time you run the application), otherwise they will be listed in the order they were added. This is on by default.
Default Workset: This popup menu allows you to specify a particular workset you want to always be active when you start the application, or specify that whichever one you used most recently should be active.
Processing page:
This page allows you to control whether sub-folders are processed, or only top-level ones, and whether or not folder and file aliases are resolved; if not, they are skipped.
Also, you can choose to process files dropped on the application in the reverse order from normal; this is occasionally useful, e.g. when dropping the contents of a folder sorted by date in the Finder, to process them in chronological order instead of reverse-chronological. Sub-folders are still processed as normal.
Progress page:
Animate Icons: If checked, the icons in the progress dialog will be animated. If you have a slow machine, you might experience a small speed improvement if you uncheck this option. It is on by default.
Lock the Progress Dialog Position: This radio group controls whether the progress dialog will always appear in the same location, or the new position will be remembered for next time whenever you move it. The progress dialog position is unlocked by default (you might like to turn it on once you’ve positioned the dialog in a favourite location).
Progress Bar Pattern: Clicking this will cycle through the available patterns for the progress bar, so you can find one that you prefer.
Automation page:
Auto-Open If Nothing From the Finder: If this is checked you will be automatically prompted with the Open file dialog when you launch the application by double-clicking it’s icon (as opposed to dropping a file on it). This option is off by default.
Present Open Dialog Until Cancel: If checked, you’ll be repeatedly prompted with the Open file dialog after processing a file until you Cancel the dialog. This is off by default.
Auto-Quit When Done: If checked, the application will automatically quit after successfully processing a file or files; it won’t quit if you stop the operation, in case you wish to modify the Preferences or a workset. This is off by default.
Show Splash-Screen on Startup: if this is checked, a title dialog is displayed when the application is started. You can only uncheck this box if the application is registered, and the Registered Name matches the Owner Name in the Sharing Setup control panel. This is as a small protection from illegal copies of the application — if your Registered Name is slightly different from your Mac’s Owner Name and you want to disable the splash-screen, please contact Dejal Userware and I’ll be happy to provide you with a new code.
Notification page:
Play When Complete: This popup menu and the following one all contain a couple of standard options at the top of the menu with a list of all the available sounds (in your System or opened by Suitcase™ or similar products) below. Selecting one of these options will, in the case of this popup menu, cause that sound to be played when the process has successfully completed. The sound will not play when an error causes the process to be terminated. A system beep will be played by default for this event. These sounds are especially useful if you are converting in the background with the progress window hidden. The available options are:
- Silence: No sound will be played for this event.
- System Beep: The default system alert sound (chosen in the Sound control panel or a replacement like Riccardo Ettore’s excellent SndControl) will be played.
- A list of the currently available sounds: Choosing one of these will cause that sound to be played for this event.
Play If Error Occurs: Selecting from this popup menu one of the above options will cause that sound (or kind of sound) to be played if an error occurs, when the error alert is presented. The System Beep is the default selection.
——— What’s in a Name? ———
For your information, I recently changed my name from David Lambert to David Sinclair, as my wife and I chose that new name for ourselves when we got married (April 1995). Registrations would make nice wedding presents. <grin>
——— Dejal Sound Utilities™ ———
If you’re into sounds, you may be interested in this popular bundle: SndConverter Pro™, SndConverter Lite™, SndPlayer™, and SndCataloguer™; four Shareware utilities that can be registered separately or together. You’ll find them on the Dejal Userware distribution disk and many online services, CD-ROM discs, etc.
——— Compatibility ———
The Dejal Text Utilities applications require at least System 7, and are 32-bit compatible.
The usual disclaimers apply: David Sinclair and Dejal Userware accept no responsibility for any incidental or consequential damage of any sort as a direct or indirect result of using this software. The software is provided “as-is”, and no warranties are made as to its fitness for a particular purpose or whatever. I would be very interested to hear of any problems, though. <grin>
——— Release History ———
The following is a reverse-chronology of the changes in each release of the Dejal Text Utilities package:
