PowerMenu is the definitive, comprehensive Contextual Menu utility. PowerMenu adds powerful commands to the Finder's Contextual Menu under MacOS 8, and provides its own Contextual Menu for System 7 users. PowerMenu's wide range of commands lets you:
• Open selected files into any running application
• Open selected files into any other application on your drive
• Move, copy or make an alias of selected files into target folders of your choosing
• Quickly open commonly used files or launch any application.
As if that weren't enough, PowerMenu also provides a pop-up menu, accessible from any application, that lets you quickly open or launch your commonly used files and applications. Items on this menu can be opened instantly from any application with a single click.
To top it off, PowerMenu features "File Copy and Paste", which lets you pick up files and drop them into another folder without having to position windows to perform a drag-and-drop. You can even gather multiple files from different locations and drop them all into a destination folder with a few clicks or keystrokes. See below for more information on File Copy and Paste.
PowerMenu's Contextual Menu items and its Quick Access popup menu are all fully hierarchical, which means you can organize your applications and files into groups for even faster access. As well, PowerMenu rebuilds all your menus in the background while you work, which means even very deep, complex menus come up instantly.
PowerMenu has been around since well before MacOS 8, providing a Contextual Menu to System 7 users. Now, under MacOS 8, PowerMenu adds its unique commands to the Finder's Contextual Menu for seamless integration. Of course, PowerMenu still works great under System 7, even providing Finder commands like Open, Print, Delete, etc. on its Contextual Menu, just like MacOS 8.
PowerMenu is heavily customizable and is optimized for both Macintosh and Power Macintosh computers, meaning it will run at full speed on whatever model you use. PowerMenu requires MacOS 8, System 7.5.x, or System 7.1.x with the Scriptable Finder installed. PowerMenu is $15US shareware.
How do I install PowerMenu?
PowerMenu comes as two main components, a system extension called "PowerMenu Extension", and a control panel called "PowerMenu Controls". Drop both of them onto your (closed) System Folder and answer "Yes" when your computer asks you if you want to store them in their appropriate place.
If you are running MacOS 8 on a PowerPC-based computer, PowerMenu provides two additional components that enable it to add items to the Finder's Contextual Menu. Just drop the "PowerMenu CMPlugin" and the "PowerMenu SupportLib" items onto your (closed) System Folder and answer "Yes" when your computer asks you if you want to store them in their appropriate place. These items are not needed under System 7, nor under MacOS 8 on 680x0-based machines.
PowerMenu, as well as all other Contextual Menu Plug-ins under MacOS 8, require that an extension called "SOMObjects for MacOS" be present in your System Folder. Unfortunately, this important extension is sometimes not installed by the MacOS 8 installer. You should check for its presence when installing PowerMenu, and use your MacOS 8 Installer to install it if it is not present. This extension is not required under System 7, nor under MacOS 8 on 680x0-based machines.
On 680x0-based machines running MacOS 8, PowerMenu is unable to add its commands to the Finder's Contextual Menu, so you should follow the instructions below for System 7 users. This is deficiency is a shortcoming of the Finder's design, not a flaw in PowerMenu.
Restart your computer to activate PowerMenu.
Since it may take a few moments to prepare your menus when you first boot your machine, PowerMenu sounds a short chime when it is ready to use. You can disable this chime with the control panel.
How do I use PowerMenu?
Basics
If you are running MacOS 8 on a PowerPC-based computer, you will notice that PowerMenu will add commands to the Finder's Contextual Menu. You get the Contextual Menu by clicking on an icon while holding down the Control key (usually the leftmost button on the bottom row of your keyboard).
If you are running System 7, you get the Contextual Menu in the Finder by clicking anywhere on your screen while holding down certain control keys. Initially, PowerMenu is set to pop up its menu when you hold down the Command ("cloverleaf" or "Apple" key) and Control key and click anywhere on the screen.
The first time you open the Contextual Menu with PowerMenu installed, you'll notice that there are several options, including a list of all running applications. If you choose the name of a running application, PowerMenu will try to open any currently selected items with that application. Try it out! Make sure that the item or items you want to open are selected and the application you choose is able to work with those documents.
Most of PowerMenu's other commands won't do anything until you add items to PowerMenu's lists. See the next section for information on how to do this.
PowerMenu also provides a pop-up menu, available from any application, that lets you quickly open your commonly used files or launch applications. To get this menu, click anywhere on your screen while holding down the Command and Control keys. If you are running System 7, switch to an application other than the Finder first. When PowerMenu is first installed, this menu will be empty until you add items to PowerMenu's lists.
Adding items to PowerMenu's lists
For PowerMenu to be useful, you should add items to PowerMenu's list of applications, target folders, and commonly used items. Then you will be able to open files directly into any application, and quickly launch or open your commonly used items. You can add items to PowerMenu's lists by putting aliases into certain special folders located in your System Folder. Using the Contextual Menu in the Finder, choose the "Open PowerMenu Items folder" command. You should see a window like this one:
Putting aliases into the Applications folder makes applications available for opening files or for quick launching. Be sure to only put aliases of applications into this folder.
Putting aliases into the Quick Access Items folder makes items available for quick opening.
Putting aliases into the Target Folders folder makes folders available as targets for the "Move to...", "Copy to..." and "Make alias in..." commands. Be sure to only put aliases of folders into this folder.
You can create folders inside these folders to create submenus in the popup menu.
Suggested Setup
You may want to begin by putting an alias to every application you use into the Applications folder. This will allow you to open a document from the Finder into any of your applications with just one click, and launch your applications from within any program with just one click.
Put aliases to documents you use often in the Quick Access Items folder to be able to open them at any time, from inside any application.
Put aliases to your commonly used folders or network servers in the Target Folders folder to be able to quickly move files to them.
For your convenience, PowerMenu is initially configured to include "Add to Applications", "Add to Quick Access Items" and "Add to Target Folders" commands in the popup menu. When working in the Finder, these commands let you add any selected items to PowerMenu's lists quickly and easily. These commands can be disabled with the control panel.
Remember that by holding down the Control and Command keys and clicking anywhere on your screen, you can obtain the popup menu for quickly launching any of your applications or opening any of your files.
Using File Copy and Paste
PowerMenu features "File Copy and Paste", which makes it easier than ever to manipulate files in the Finder. This feature has been available under Windows 95 for some time, but PowerMenu provides a more powerful implementation by letting you gather files from different locations for a single paste operation.
The concept of operation is as follows:
If you wish to move a file to another location, select the file you wish to move and choose "Cut Item(s)" from the Contextual Menu. Then navigate to the folder you wish to move the file to, and choose "Paste Files Here". The file is moved to the destination without the need for a drag-and-drop gesture. (Note: if the destination is on a different disk, the file is copied to the destination and the original is moved to the Trash).
If you wish to make a copy of a file to another location, perform the same steps, but select "Copy Item(s)" instead of "Cut Item(s)". The file is copied to its destination.
PowerMenu's unique implementation of File Copy and Paste lets you gather up files from different locations for a single "paste" command. If you have already cut or copied a file, you will notice that the Contextual Menu provides four cut / copy commands: "Cut Item(s) (add to list)", "Copy Item(s) (add to list)", "Cut Item(s) (replace list)" and "Cut Item(s) (replace list)". If you choose one of the "add to list" commands, the selected files are added to the files already cut or copied. When you do your final paste operation, all the gathered files are copied or moved to the destination. Note that some of the files could have been "cut" and others "copied"; correct operation will always be provided!
PowerMenu also provides convenient keyboard shortcuts for the File Copy and Paste operations. When working in the Finder, the following keystrokes are recognized:
Cmd-Shift-C "Copies" the selected files, adding them to the list.
Cmd-Shift-X "Cuts" the selected files, adding them to the list.
Cmd-Shift-V "Pastes" the list of files to the current folder.
Note that the keyboard shortcuts always add files to the current list. If you wish to cut or copy selected files and replace the current list of files, you must use the Contextual Menu.
The keyboard shortcuts can be disabled with the Control Panel.
How can I configure PowerMenu further?
The PowerMenu Controls control panel lets you change a great many aspects of PowerMenu's behavior and appearance. The PowerMenu Controls control panel looks like this:
Most of the checkboxes are self-explanatory; they let you turn certain features on and off. Note that the "Finder Commands" option is not available under MacOS 8, since the Finder provides its own such commands already. Under System 7, this option gives you many of the same commands as MacOS 8's Contextual Menu.
Some options that may need explanation include:
PowerMenu commands: When checked, PowerMenu includes "Add to Applications list", "Add to Quick Access Items", "Add to Target Folders" and "Open PowerMenu Items folder" commands to the Finder's Contextual Menu to allow you to quickly customize PowerMenu. Under MacOS 8, these commands are only shown as appropriate (for example, if you have selected a folder, the "Add to Target Folders" command is shown but not the "Add to Applications list" command).
Rebuild menus in background: When checked, PowerMenu will monitor the items in your Applications, Quick Access Items and Target Folders folders for any changes and rebuild your menus in the background when necessary, while you work. If this option is off, you may experience a delay in opening a menu if items in the menu have changed since the last time you used it.
Sounds: When checked, PowerMenu will play a short chime when it finishes building its menus for the first time, so you will know when it is ready to use at startup. Also, when using the File Copy and Paste commands, PowerMenu will play distinctive "pick up" and "drop" sounds as feedback.
The checkboxes under the group titled "To pop up menu" allow you to control what keys will cause the Quick Access popup menu to appear. You may not uncheck all of them. Under System 7, this also controls what keys you use to pop up the Contextual Menu in the Finder.
The checkboxes under the group titled "Popup Menu Commands" determine which items appear on the Quick Access popup menu. If you turn off both options, the popup menu is not available.
How can I customize my menus further?
PowerMenu orders items in your popup menu and in the Contextual Menu the same way the Finder orders them in list views, that is, alphabetically. For example, if you have an alias called "A document", it will appear in your popup menu or in the Contextual Menu ahead of an alias called "Second Document".
You can cause items to be re-ordered with respect to each other by renaming them, or by adding spaces at the beginning of alias names. Items with spaces will come first in the menu, even if they would otherwise appear after other items. For example, adding a space to the beginning of the alias called "Second Document" would cause it to appear ahead of the alias called "A document". PowerMenu will strip off the leading spaces when adding items to your menus, so they will appear in the menus without the leading spaces.
By default, PowerMenu will not make a hierarchical menu listing the entire contents of folders that you have aliases to, because very large menus can lead to a variety of problems (see the next section). However, you can get fully hierarchical menus for any folder by adding a plus ("+") to the end of its alias. If an alias to a folder has a plus as the last character, PowerMenu will build a complete hierarchical menu of the contents of that folder. PowerMenu will always make hierarchical menus for real folders within your PowerMenu folders.
If you encounter problems after adding a plus to an alias to a large folder, see the next section.
Why do I get an error message from PowerMenu?
PowerMenu does not work properly when At Ease is active. PowerMenu relies on several features of the Finder that At Ease does not provide. If you attempt to use PowerMenu with At Ease active instead of the Finder, PowerMenu will produce a warning error message. PowerMenu will remain available, though, and if you leave At Ease and return to the Finder, PowerMenu will work fine.
PowerMenu cannot create more than 255 submenus, due to limitations in the MacOS. If you have aliases to large folders, you may get a message telling you that PowerMenu "tried to create too many submenus". In this situation, you must remove the plus ("+") sign from some of your folder aliases, or remove some aliases from your PowerMenu folders. This limitation is not due to any flaw in PowerMenu.
Currently, the MacOS 8 Finder does not handle very large Contextual Menus very well. In particular, the Finder will sometimes run out of memory when PowerMenu tries to add a large number of items to its Contextual Menu. If this occurs, you will get a message telling you the Finder ran out of memory while PowerMenu was adding its items. Under certain circumstances, the Finder may crash soon after this message. You must remove the plus ("+") sign from some of your folder aliases or remove some aliases from your PowerMenu folders to prevent this from happening. Alternatively, if you only have aliases to folders in your Quick Access Items, try turning off the Quick Access Items option for the Finder's Contextual Menu, using the PowerMenu control panel. You can still access your Quick Access items by using the Quick Access popup menu.
This problem is due to a flaw in the Finder that may be corrected in future versions. If you are adventurous, you may try using ResEdit or a freeware utility to increase the Finder's memory partition to alleviate the problem, although this should not be taken as an endorsement of that option.
Some users report that immediately after installation, the extra PowerMenu commands do not appear on the Finder's Contextual Menu, even though the Quick Access popup menu is available. This problem only occurs under MacOS 8 on PowerPC machines. If this happens to you, check that an extension called "SOMObjects for MacOS" is in your Extensions folder. All Contextual Menu plug-ins require this extension, as does OpenDoc and a number of other pieces of software. However, under certain circumstances, the MacOS 8 installer may not place it on your hard disk. If it is missing, you should use your MacOS 8 installer to install it. The extension may be with the OpenDoc software in the Installer.
If you get any other error message, or if you have suggestions for additional features, please contact the author for assistance.
What's the catch?
PowerMenu is shareware. That means that although it is freely distributable, it is not free to use indefinately. You may try PowerMenu for one month to decide whether you want to keep it or not. If you decide to keep using it, you must pay the license fee of $15.00US.
The shareware system lets users try out software before deciding whether or not to buy it, and offers much lower prices than retail packages. However, abuse makes the system less attractive for developers and drives prices up. I write Macintosh software for pleasure and experience, but I can't justify the investment of time and money without support. Please support shareware and register your copy if you use PowerMenu. You will be doing yourself and the Macintosh community a favour.
How can I register PowerMenu?
Registrations for PowerMenu are handled by a company called Kagi Shareware. They accept payments in a wide variety of forms, and have automated the procedure of sending you registration information for PowerMenu.
Using the Register program
PowerMenu comes with a "Register" program that lets you pay for your license in any one of a variety of ways, including most major credit cards, First Virtual, cash in a wide variety of currencies, and cheques drawn in US dollars (cheques drawn in foreign currencies are not accepted due to processing charges).
To send in your payment, launch the Register program and fill out the required information. If you are paying with cash or a USD cheque, you can print a copy of the information, enclose your payment, and mail it to the address below. Payments sent in the mail take time to reach Kagi, and then up to 10 days for processing.
If you are paying by First Virtual or a credit card, you can fax your information to Kagi at the number below, or save the information as a text file and email it to Kagi for even faster response. Payments sent via email are processed within 3 to 4 days. Faxed payments take up to 10 days.
When your payment is processed, you will receive an acknowledgement and information on how to disable PowerMenu's "reminder" messages.
email: sales@kagi.com
Fax: (510) 652-6589
Kagi Shareware
1442-A Walnut Street #392-MA
Berkeley, California, 94709-1405
USA
Registering online
For even faster turnaround, you can register PowerMenu online. A small "Register Online" application is provided with PowerMenu; launching that program will take you directly to the PowerMenu Registration Web Page. Alternatively, you can visit PowerMenu's web page (the URL is given below) and follow the links to the online registration service.
How can I get help with PowerMenu?
If you have any questions or are having trouble with PowerMenu, please drop me a line; I'll be happy to answer any of your questions. See the next section for how to reach me.
Where can I get more information?
You can get more information on PowerMenu, and all of my other Macintosh programs, on my Web site. The version of PowerMenu you have may be out of date, especially if you got it from a CD-ROM or a users' group, so you may want to check this site right away for a more recent version. You can access my Web site at:
http://www.kagi.com/authors/marka/
You can reach me by email at
marka@kagi.com
Please drop me a line if you have thoughts or suggestions for PowerMenu, or if you have any questions about how to use it more efficiently!
Where's the legalese?
Here. Enjoy!
Terms of usage
In this document, “software” refers to all computer programs, codes, or documents included with this document, or any copy of any part of the items mentioned above. “you” refers to any entity that acquires this software.
You are licensed to use the software provided you respect the following terms:
You may:
1. Use the software for the purpose of evaluating it for a period of time not exceeding one month, beginning at the date that you begin using the software.
2. Redistribute the software to any person or organization, provided you redistribute a package identical to the one you obtained.
3. Make as many backup copies as you like of the software.
You may NOT:
1. Alter the software in any way.
2. Redistribute the software in an altered form.
3. Redistribute the software as a package that differs in any way from the one you obtained. (i.e., you may not add or remove elements of the package when redistributing it, or distribute any altered versions of the original elements).
You MUST:
Register the software by paying any applicable fees (Registration instructions are given in the documentation) after your evaluation period. When you have registered your copy, you may:
1. Use the software on as many computers as you like as long as you are the sole user of the software (ex: A single person installing the software on both his / her work and home machine, for personal use).
OR
2. In lieu of 1), you may install the software on ONLY one (1) computer for use by several people, as long as not more than one person at a time can use the software (ex: A person installing the software on a lab computer functioning for the benefit of many).
If your needs are not covered by the cases above, contact the author for additional licensing information.
Redistribution
This software may be distributed via any means, physical or electronic. Excluded from this statement are organizations wishing to distribute this software in a commercial compilation, or organizations wishing to redistribute this software for profit. Such organizations must contact the author for written authorization to distribute the software. Permission is hereby granted for organizations wishing to distribute the software in non-commercial compilations (i.e., ones which are made available solely for the cost of materials, shipping, etc.), to do so.
Disclaimer of warranty
Mark Aiken hereby disclaims all warranties relating to this software, whether express or implied, including without limitation any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Mark Aiken will not be liable for any special, incidental, consequential, indirect or similar damages due to loss of data or any other reason, even if Mark Aiken or an agent of his has been advised of the possibility of such damages. In no event shall Mark Aiken 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.
US Government:
Government End Users: If you are acquiring the Software on behalf of any unit or agency of the United States Government, the following provisions apply. The Government agrees:
(i) if the Software is supplied to the Department of Defense (DoD), the Software is classified as “Commercial Computer Software” and the Government is acquiring only “restricted rights” in the Software and its documentation as that term is defined in Clause 252.227-7013(c)(1) of the DFARS; and
(ii) if the Software is supplied to any unit or agency of the United States Government other than DoD, the Government’s rights in the Software and its documentation will be as defined in Clause 52.227-19(c)(2) of the FAR or, in the case of NASA, in Clause 18-52.227-86(d) of the NASA Supplement to the FAR.
Complete agreement
This agreement constitutes the entire agreement and supersedes any prior agreements between you and the author concerning this software. This agreement cannot be amended, modified, or waived except in writing.
General
If any provision of this agreement shall be found to be unenforceable, it shall be deemed severed from the remainder of this agreement.
