c't freeware shareware 2001 January/CT_SW0101.ISO/mac/software/betrieb/desktop/dropdrwx.sit/Drop Drawers X 1.5.4/Drop Drawers X.rsrc/TEXT_32745_Clip Drawer Arranging.txt

Text File | 2001-04-10 | 5KB | 41 lines

There are many sophisticated options for resizing, cleaning up, aligning and distributing items in a clip drawer. These can be carried out either on the entire drawer or on a selection of items within the drawer.

To arrange all items in a clip drawer, click More Options… in the Contents panel of a clip drawer’s options window or choose Arrange All… from the drawer’s contextual menu. To arrange the selected items in a drawer, choose Arrange Items… from the items’ contextual menu. The Resize Drawer and Keep Drawer Arranged options are only available when arranging all items.

As you change the arranging options, the drawer will be updated to reflect the chosen settings. Once you are happy with the results, click OK. To cancel arranging, click Cancel. If Keep Drawer Arranged is checked, the drawer will automatically be kept arranged using the chosen settings.

Although the options described below sound complicated, clip drawer arranging provides a lot of flexibility with the minimum of complexity. We recommend simply experimenting to see what different combinations of settings do. Some options depend on the drawer’s grid setting – this can be changed in the Contents panel of its options window.

Resize

To switch on item resizing, check Resize - this will enable the options below.

• Smart, Minimize, Maximize. These three options resize each item independently and cannot be combined with any other resizing settings. The Smart option uses the current size of the item to calculate its new size, for example by showing an alias’ full name or text’s full height. The Minimize and Maximize options make items as small or as large as possible respectively.

• To Grid Width, Thinnest, Average, Widest. These four options resize items to the same width, equal either to the width of the drawer’s grid or the thinnest, average or widest item being arranged. They can be combined with height resizing by checking the And box.

• To Grid Height, Shortest, Average, Tallest. These four options resize items to the same height, equal either to the height of the drawer’s grid or the shortest, average or tallest item being arranged. They can be combined with width resizing by checking the And box.

Clean Up

To switch on item cleaning up (which repositions items in order), check Clean Up - this will enable the options below.

• By Position, Name or Text, Shown Type, Item Size. These four options determine how the items should be reordered. Choose By Position to leave the items close to their current positions, By Name or Text to reorder by name or text (depending on the items' shown format), By Shown Type to group by the type of format shown (e.g. text, picture or sound) and By Item Size to reorder based on rectangular area (not size in memory).

• Spacing. This setting determine how much, if any, spacing should be left between items when cleaning up. If the Distribute and To Grid settings are on in the right panel, the grid spacing will automatically be used instead of this.

• Right then Down, Right then Up, Down then Right. These three options determine the direction in which items should be reordered.

Align / Distribute

If the Clean Up option is off, this section is entitled Align and allows you to align items either relative to each other, or to the drawer’s grid. If Clean Up is on, it is entitled Distribute and allows you to determine whether, and how items being cleaned up should be distributed. When cleaning up, the Distribute setting will cause items to be spaced equally by width and/or height, otherwise they will be packed as tightly as possible.

• Items, To Grid. These two options select whether items should be aligned relative to each other, or using the drawer’s grid. In either case, the remaining settings determine exactly how the alignment should take place.

• Smart, Left, Center, Right. These four options align or distribute items horizontally. The Smart option aligns or distributes appropriately for each item and its name, while the Left, Center and Right options align or distribute all items by their left edge, horizontal center or right edge respectively. These options can be combined with vertical alignment or distribution by checking the And box.

• Top, Middle, Bottom. These three options align or distribute items vertically. The Top, Middle and Bottom options align or distribute items by their top edge, vertical center or bottom edge respectively. These options can be combined with horizontal alignment or distribution by checking the And box.

Resize Drawer

Clip drawers can be resized automatically to fit their contents at the end of the arranging operation by using these options. There separate options for resizing the drawer’s width and height.