• Quitter allows you to easily quit any program running on your Mac, or on any mac on an Appletalk network (including ARA). Quitter works by sending a Quit Apple Event, the same way the Finder quits programs when you select Shut Down, so it is entirely safe.
• Quitter can be used to quit the Finder. This only works on the Finder running on the same Mac as Quitter. Just use the function mentioned above, and select the Finder. Various hidden apps can also be quit, including the File Sharing Manager. Quitting this is the same as turning off file sharing.
• New: Quitter can restart or shut down any Mac on your Appletalk network! Another copy of Quitter must be running on that Mac. You must have a copy of Quitter running on that Mac. When it restarts, be sure to have Quitter in the Startup folder if you plan on doing this again. If there are any running apps that have unsaved files, they will ask if you want to save them. If File Sharing is on, it will ask how many minutes you want to wait. So your mac will not be restarted until these items are taken care of.
System Requirements
• Requires less than 100k of ram and 20k of hard drive space!
• Requires the Apple Event Manager.
• Quitter is a 68K program, and works fine on PowerMacs.
• Quitter has so far been tested on MacOS Systems 7.1, 7.5, 7.5.1, and 7.5.2.
Why do I want Quitter?
• Network administrators will find it especially useful, for quitting server programs remotely. For example, if you run a Web Server, and wish to copy over a new version of a CGI, you must quit the running CGI first. Otherwise the Finder won't let you copy it over. This program allows you to quit the program across the network, so that you can copy over the new version, without having to go to the server. Then, the Web server will start up the new version the next time a user accesses that CGI program.
• Putting Quitter and your server programs in the startup items folder is a good idea. You can then use Quitter to restart the server, and your apps will all come online again. Quitter will be loaded up, so you'll be able to restart the Mac remotely again if you want to.
• I'm afraid to say this, but this is also a great practical joke.
How do I set it up?
• You need an Appletalk network. (Quitter should work over ARA - Please verify.)
• Turn Program Linking on in the Sharing Setup control panel, on the remote computers.
• Give Program Linking access to yourself in the Users & Groups control panel, on the remote computers. You can give access to anyone else, but remember, this allows them to quit programs running on your Mac, and use other programs that support Program Linking. You can even turn Program Linking on for Guests, but this may be a poor security decision. However, Guest Program Linking means you won't have to bother with a Password when you are using Quitter, which makes it easier. If no one else has Appletalk access to your network, guest access is the best choice.
• You may need to turn Program Linking on for individual programs. Click on the program and select "Sharing..." in the File menu, and check off Program Linking. Turn OFF Program linking in the same way, to prevent users from linking to programs you don't want them to be able to access.
• The server and client Macs must be running Apple Event Manager, which is built into some Systems.
Limitations
• Quitter doesn't let you know if a program did not successfully quit, or if an error occurred. However, if it was successful, you will see it disappear from the list of apps that are running on that Mac. This may take a few moments, especially over the network.
• Quitter can not launch programs, only quit them.
• Some programs do not let you quit them. They will not even be shown in the dialog box. This is because they have a flag turned off. Get out ResEdit and hack the SIZE resource if you want to fix this.
• Quitter's interface is still shabby, and there is still no icon. But it gets the job done!
About the Author
I am a graduate student at Drexel University, working towards my M.S. in Computer Science. I have a B.S. in Computer Science.
In my spare time (which is a scarce commodity) I do custom programming, and I currently specialize in Mac CGI programs. Be sure to contact me for quotes for your custom programming needs.
Visit my web page for other software products (listed below).
You may redistribute Quitter, as long as Quitter is not modified or charged for in any way. If you wish to include this version of Quitter on a CD-ROM, all I ask for is a copy of the CD. All redistributions MUST include this file. BBS distribution is encouraged.
If you use Quitter for commercial use, please pay what you feel it is worth.
Otherwise, Quitter costs one piece of E-mail that answers these questions, after you have had some time to use it. (E-mailware)
• Where are you located?
• Where did you get Quitter?
• What Mac do you use and what MacOS version are you running?
• What do you use Quitter for? Please be specific.
• What enhancements would you like to see?
• Have you found any bugs?
Contact Information
My E-mail Address: gbpliner@mcs.drexel.edu
My Web Page: http://www.mcs.drexel.edu/~gbpliner
Quitter's Web Page: http://www.mcs.drexel.edu/~gbpliner/quitter.html
I will continue to improve this product as long as there is an interest.
