NOTE: Balloon help is available for all items in the General Settings dialog. To turn on
  balloon help, choose the Show Balloons item from the Help menu.
To change various general settings which Acme Movers uses each time it opens, select the “General…” menu item from the Settings menu (or type ⌘-F). The dialog box that comes up will allow you to customize how you interact with Acme Movers.
 
The various settings and controls and their effects are summarized below:
NOTE: The Same Volume Mode and Different Volume Mode (discussed below) are used to
  determine whether files will be Moved, Copied or Moved & Aliased when the
Auto-Transfer option is on (automatic operation), when the “short” version of the
Destination dialog is used (see the section “Modifier Action,” below), or when the
“Default” radio button is selected in the “long” version of the Destination dialog. Note, however, that the “long” version of the Destination dialog also has radio buttons which allow you to override the settings saved in the General Settings dialog for the current transfer only.
Same Volume Mode: This set of three radio buttons determines the mode used for transferring files when both the source and destination are on the same volume. The choices are:
(1.) “Create a copy of the item at the destination (leave original)”: This option leaves the original item where it is and creates a copy of it in the specified folder (the same as dragging a file or folder from one volume to another or “option-dragging” a file or folder in the Finder).
(2.) “Move item and create an alias of it in original location”: This mode moves the original item to the specified location and creates an alias of the item at the item’s original location (the file or folder ends up where you specify and you have an alias to the item where the item started out).
(3.)“Move original to the destination (normal mode)”: This mode moves the item to the specified location (normal operation — the same as dragging the item from one spot to another on the same volume using only the Finder).
Different Volume Mode: As above, this set of three radio buttons determines the mode used for transferring files, but when the source and the destination are on different volumes. The choices are:
(1). “Create a copy of the item at the destination (normal mode)”: This mode leaves the original item where it is and creates a copy of it in the specified folder (normal operation — the same as dragging the item from some spot on one volume to a spot on another volume using only the Finder).
(2.) “Move item and create an alias of it in original location”: This mode creates a copy of the original item at the specified destination, then moves the original item to the Trash and creates an alias to the item’s new location at the location where the item originally was.
(3.) “Move original to the destination (delete original after copying)”: This mode moves the item to the specified location (which, in this case, actually means creating a copy of the file at the new destination and then moving the original item to the Trash). This last mode is similar in its final results to dragging the item from one spot to another on the same volume using only the Finder.
Trash button active: If Acme Movers is set to use Expert file dialogs (see below), this checkbox determines whether the Trash button in these dialogs will be active or dimmed. If Acme Movers is set to use Standard file dialogs, the “Trash button active” checkbox itself will be dimmed (as shown here).
The Trash button in the file dialogs allows you to move whatever item is selected in the dialog to the Trash without returning to the Finder and dragging the item to the Trash. To use this feature, make sure the “Expert” dialogs radio button is selected and the “Trash button active” checkbox is checked. To disable this feature either select the “Standard” dialogs radio button or uncheck the “Trash button active” checkbox.
Empty Trash on Quit: In some of its modes (particularly the different volume modes), Acme Movers will occasionally move the original item to the Trash after copying it to its new location. When the Empty Trash on Quit checkbox is marked, Acme Movers will empty the Trash when it quits if (and only if) it placed any items in the Trash while it was active. (If the Trash contained items when Acme Movers was launched but Acme Movers never placed any items there while it was running, it will not empty the Trash when it quits, even if this checkbox is marked.)
If the checkbox is unmarked, Acme Movers will simply leave the items in the Trash for you to empty at your leisure.
NOTE: Use the “Empty Trash on Quit” option with caution! When Acme Movers empties
  the Trash ALL items in the Trash will be deleted, including any items that were in
the Trash before Acme Movers was launched.
Confirm Before Emptying: This checkbox, which is active only if the Empty Trash on Quit checkbox is marked, determines whether or not Acme Movers will ask you for confirmation before actually emptying the Trash. If this checkbox is marked, you will be asked for confirmation; if it is unmarked, you won’t be asked (the Trash will be silently emptied).
NOTE: Be very careful with this option: all items in the Trash (not only those that Acme
  Movers placed there) are deleted when Acme Movers empties the Trash.
Use this option only if you know that you NEVER leave ANY items in the Trash
that you might later change your mind about deleting. If that happens to be the case, this option is there as a convenience; but if you use it and lose some important files, don’t come crying to us — we warned you!
Locked at Launch: This checkbox allows you to “lock” your settings so that a password must be entered before (almost) any of the settings may be changed. The one major exception to requiring a password is turning the Auto-Transfer option (automatic operation) on or off (⌘-U or “Auto-Transfer” in the Settings menu).
The first time you mark the “Locked at Launch” checkbox you will be asked to type a password and then retype it for confirmation (unless you have done so already using the “Assign Password…” menu item — ⌘-R — from the Settings menu). Passwords must be less than 12 characters in length, and should be something you can easily remember but someone else can’t easily guess.
NOTE: If you forget the password you assigned to lock your settings, the only option is
  to throw away the “Acme Movers Preferences” file (in the “Preferences” folder
of your System folder) and allow Acme Movers to create a new one.
Note that Acme Movers is “smart” enough not to ask for your password every time you try to change a setting that is password protected. Once you successfully enter your password in a given session, the session then becomes “unlocked,” and you may freely change any settings. If you wish to “re-lock” a session, you may either quit and re-launch Acme Movers (if the Locked at Launch checkbox is marked) or simply select the “Lock Settings” menu item (⌘-K) from the Settings menu. After selecting this item, a password will again be required before any password-protected settings may be changed.
NOTE: The Splash screen (the screen that remains open whenever Acme Movers is
  active) will display either “Settings Locked” or “Settings Unlocked” so you may
determine at a glance whether you will be required to enter a password before
changing settings.
Group Transfer Mode: This set of two radio buttons determines how Acme Movers will handle groups of items dropped on it. If the upper of the two radio buttons, “Single Destination,” is selected (as shown here), every item in the group will be moved to the same destination, as a group. If the lower radio button, “Prompt for Each,” is selected, you will be prompted for a destination for each item in the group.
Beep after copying: If this checkbox is marked, Acme Movers will “beep” after copy operations are completed. This is useful if you are copying large files/folders or groups of items which may take a considerable amount of time to copy. With this option selected, you may turn your attention away from the computer while the copy is in progress, and Acme Movers will beep to inform you when it is finished.
Log Activities: If this checkbox is marked, Acme Movers will write a log file of all of its move, copy, or move & alias operations. If the checkbox is unmarked, no operations will be logged.
For options dealing with the type of log file Acme Movers creates, where the log file or files will be saved and how long log files will be saved, see Chapter 9, “Log File Preferences.”
NOTE TO COPY DOUBLER USERS: If CopyDoubler (from Symantec) is installed on
  your computer and logging is turned on, if you click the Stop button during a copy
operation, Acme Movers will log the operation as if it were completed. This is
because CopyDoubler doesn’t return the same information to Acme Movers as the
Finder does. When CopyDoubler is installed Acme Movers must simply assume that the operation was completed. This is one of the reasons we are planning to install a copy engine in a future version of Acme Movers.
NOTE: The Splash screen will display either “Logging: On” or “Logging: Off” so you may
  determine at a glance whether Acme Movers is currently set to log its operations.
Where… button: This button, to the right of the “Log Activities” checkbox, opens a file dialog which lets you choose a folder to contain the log file(s) Acme Movers writes. If Acme Movers is set to use Expert file dialogs (see below), the file dialog will also contain a “New Folder” button which will allow you to create and name a folder for the log files without returning to the Finder to do so.
For other preferences concerning Acme Movers’ log files, see Chapter 9, “Log File Preferences.”
Confirm Transfers: If this checkbox is marked, Acme Movers will display a dialog with information about any move, copy, move & alias or delete operations immediately after the operations are completed. If this checkbox is unmarked, no confirmation dialog will be displayed.
 
NOTE TO COPY DOUBLER USERS: If CopyDoubler is intalled on your computer while
  confirmation is turned on and you click the Stop button during a copy operation,
Acme Movers will confirm the copy as if it were completed. For an explanation of
why this is so, see “Log Activities,” above.
NOTE: The Splash screen will display either “Confirmation: On” or “Confirmation: Off”
  so you may determine at a glance whether Acme Movers is currently set to use
confirmation dialogs.
Auto Quit (drop launch): This checkbox determines how Acme Movers will behave when you drop items on it when it is not already running. If this checkbox is marked, when you drop something on Acme Movers and the application was not already running it will automatically quit after it completes the transfer of the items you dropped on it to launch it. If the checkbox is unmarked, Acme Movers will remain open after transferring the items; in this mode, you must manually quit after you are finished using Acme Movers.
If Acme Movers was already running when you dropped something on it, it will always remain open after transferring the item(s), regardless of the setting of this checkbox.
NOTE: The Acme Droplets all always use the Auto Quit mode.
 
Edit Presets… button: This button opens the Presets dialog to allow you to set your Preset destinations and select a Preset to be used as your Default. Clicking this button has the same result as choosing “Edit Presets…” (⌘-D) from the Presets menu. For an explanation of the Presets dialog and how to use it, see Chapter 6, “Using Presets.”
Auto-Transfer: This checkbox determines whether or not Acme Movers is set to automatically transfer items to the Preset you have designated as the Default (see Chapter 6, “Using Presets”). If this checkbox is marked, as soon as source items are selected (either by dropping them on Acme Movers or selecting them from the source file dialog), the items will automatically be transferred to the Preset folder you designated as your Default using whatever mode you have set (either same volume or different volume mode, as appropriate).
If this checkbox is unmarked, source items will not automatically be transferred; you must specify a destination as you normally would. Marking or unmarking this checkbox has the same result as selecting the “Auto-Transfer” item (⌘-U) in the Settings menu (which places or removes a checkmark next to the item to indicate whether Auto-Transfer mode is on or off).
NOTE: The Splash screen will display either “Auto-Transfer: On” or “Auto-Transfer:
  Off” so you may determine at a glance whether Acme Movers is currently set to
automatically transfer items to the Default Preset.
Modifier Key: This set of four radio buttons lets you choose which key you will use as your modifier key: the Shift key, the Control key (marked Ctrl), the Option key (marked Alt on some keyboards), or the Command key (marked ⌘). For an explanation of what the modifier key does, see the next section: ‘Modifier Action.’
Modifier Action: This set of two radio buttons lets you choose whether you will be allowed to change your session settings “on the fly” when the modifier key specified above (1) is or (2) is not held down during a drop launch (when you drop files and/or folders onto Acme Movers). The default settings specified above (using Same Volume Mode and Different Volume Mode) will be used otherwise.
In the mode where you are allowed to change settings “on the fly,” the destination dialog is lengthened to include radio buttons for Move, Alias, Copy, and Default, and checkboxes for emptying the Trash on exit and confirming before emptying the Trash. Changing these settings “on the fly” affects the current transfer only (it does not change your settings in the General Settings dialog).
 
The “on the fly” mode offers the most flexibility, but also the greatest chance of error for inexperienced users.
File Dialog Mode: This set of two radio buttons lets you specify whether you would rather use Standard or Expert file dialogs.
The Standard dialogs are much like the ones you are used to from other Macintosh applications, with the addition of a Default button (which is the automatic equivalent of maneuvering to whichever folder you have set as the Default Preset and then clicking the “Transfer…” or “Transfer to…” button), and a larger button beneath the file list which allows you to choose a folder rather than open it (as the standard Open button will do).
 
The Expert dialogs also add four more buttons: (1.) a “New Folder” button which allows you to create and name a new folder anywhere in the Macintosh file system; (2.) a “Duplicate” button which makes a copy of whatever item is currently highlighted in the file list (exactly like typing ⌘-D in the Finder or choosing the Duplicate item from the Finder’s File menu); (3.) a “Rename” button which allows you to rename whatever item is currently highlighted in the file list (the Finder’s equivalent to this is clicking on the item’s name and then typing a new name); and (4.) a Trash button.
 
The Trash button is also a larger button, and its title changes to indicate what will be moved to the Trash if it is clicked (it will be the highlighted item in the file list).
Note that the Trash button may be made inactive, even though the Expert dialogs are being used, by unchecking the “Trash button active” checkbox (see above). The “New Folder,” “Duplicate,” and “Rename” buttons, however, will always remain active (as long as their action is appropriate given the currently highlighted item) whenever the Expert dialogs are in use.
Changing from Standard to Expert or Expert to Standard dialogs with these radio buttons is equivalent to selecting the “Switch to Standard Dialogs” or “Switch to Expert Dialogs” item from the Preferences menu (or typing ⌘-Y). The text of this menu item will change depending on whether Acme Movers is currently set to use Standard or Expert file dialogs.
NOTE: The Splash screen will display either “Standard Dialogs” or “Expert Dialogs” so
  you may determine at a glance which type of dialogs Acme Movers is currently set
to use.
Use Suffix checkbox: This checkbox determines whether the suffix typed in the text entry box to the right will be added to the end of the original filename for the aliases that Acme Movers creates. If this checkbox is marked, the suffix will be used; if it is unmarked, the original filename with no suffix will be used.
Note that the suffix must begin with either a space or a period: if you enter a suffix that does not begin with one of these two characters, Acme Movers will automatically add a space to the beginning of the suffix before saving your preferences.
Cancel button: To cancel the General Settings dialog and close it without saving any changes you have made, click this button. Note that this button is “grayed out” whenever the General Settings dialog is first opened and after you click the Save Settings or the Restore Original buttons: there are no changes to cancel under these circumstances.
Done button: Clicking this button closes the General Settings dialog when you are finished looking at the current settings and/or changing any settings. If you have made any changes but haven’t yet saved them, Acme Movers will ask you if you want to save the changes when you click this button. This is the only option for dismissing the General Settings dialog if the settings are password protected and the session is still locked (no password has been entered).
Save Settings button: To save your settings to disk so that Acme Movers will be able to later access these same settings, click this button. Note that this button is “grayed out” whenever the General Settings dialog is first opened and after you click the Restore Original button or this button itself: there are no changes to be saved under these circumstances.
POWER USER’S TIP: You can use multiple copies of Acme Movers on you machine, each
  with its own unique set of control settings and Preset destinations. If you hold
down the Option key while clicking the Save Settings button, Acme Movers will
create a new Preferences file in the same folder as the currently running copy of Acme Movers. This Preferences file will then be used each time that copy of Acme Movers is launched.
You can also use the “Save Presets As…” menu option to create a Presets file named “Acme Local Presets” in the same folder as the copy of Acme Movers (see Chapter 6, “Using Presets”). That Presets file will then be loaded each time this copy of Acme Movers launches.
NOTE: The standard License Agreement allows you to have multiple copies of Acme
  Movers on your computer as long as you never have more than one copy in use at
any given time. If you want to use multiple copies of Acme Movers concurrently,
you must license the number of copies you wish to use concurrently.
Restore Original button: To restore all settings to their original “factory” settings, click this button. Note that this button becomes “grayed out” after you click it and remains that way until you change one or more settings. It is also “grayed out” if the settings are password protected and the session is still locked (no password has been entered).
