Switch-It is fully compatible with all system versions from System 7 through Mac OS 8.5 and later.
However, Mac OS 8.5 introduces its own built-in Application Switcher, which provides the user with an optional floating palette of running applications (brought up by "tearing-off" the Application system menu), and with a basic keyboard-based application switching feature (Command-Tab by default).
Still, the new system-level Application Switcher doesn't implement most of Switch-It's powerful features, such as:
• displaying the running applications in front-to-back order, which gives quicker access to the most recently used applications, and is specially convenient to toggle between the two last-frontmost applications,
• allowing the user to easily quit and hide/show any number of running applications,
• providing a visual feedback through a "pop-up" dialog window, from which you can select the application you wish to switch to, open its information window, or reveal it in the Finder.
Nevertheless, it is absolutely possible to keep on using Switch-It under Mac OS 8.5, as long as the built-in Application Switcher's key combination (Command-Tab) is turned off, as it interferes with Switch-It's own default. Please note that this has to be done only once and for all, and is only useful for Mac OS 8.5 and later.
For that purpose, Switch-It's control panel now includes a menu item called “Toggle "Application Switcher"...” located in its new “System” menu, which lets you toggle on and off the current system setting. For your information, what is does is functionally equivalent to the following AppleScript:
tell the application "Application Switcher"
copy the keyboard cycling active to currentState
set the keyboard cycling active to not currentState
end tell
Alternatively, you can modify the keyboard shortcut (for instance, change it to Control-Tab) or disable the feature entirely (same as above), through the new Mac OS Help browser (open the link: "Files and Programs", then: "Switching between open programs"). From there, you can also learn more about the new system built-in Application Switcher.
Copyright 1999-2000 Michel MARIANI <mikaeru@worldnet.fr>
