There is very helpful usage information below that will greatly increase the usefulness of this product.
Introduction
Delayed Startup Items is a small program that runs when your computer starts up. It waits until your computer is idle for a few seconds and then runs any programs that are in a special folder called “Delayed Startup Items”. This functionality is similar to the Startup Items folder, except that you have to wait for all the items in the Startup Items folder to open before you can use your computer.
Rationale
Often it is convenient to have your frequently used programs running all the time. The easiest way to accomplish this is to have them opened when the computer starts up. However, if you have a large number of frequently used programs, it often takes a while for all of them to load. Using Delayed Startup Items, you can have those programs loaded while you are not using your computer, giving you the convenience of having your frequently used programs running without the annoyance of waiting for them all to load when you start up your computer.
Shareware Fee
After trying out Delayed Startup Items, we urge you to consider paying the shareware fee of only US$8. (There are even educational and multi-license discounts. And T-shirts.) It will help the authors pay off college debts and upgrade their aging computer equipment. Payment is made simple through a system called AutoPay by Digital Money. Select “Purchase Delayed Startup Items” from the Apple menu, and a series of windows direct you through the payment process. You can pay instantly and 24 hours a day with your credit card using your modem or by calling a human operator. Or you can print out the order form and pay by check through the mail.
As stated above, the fee is US$8 for a single license. Mulitple-license discounts for non-educational sites are: $4 each for 2-20 copies, $2 each for 21-50 copies, $1 each for 51-100 copies, and $0.50 each for 100+ copies. For educational sites, the prices are: $2 each for 2-20 copies, $1 each for 21-50 copies, $0.50 each for 51-100 copies, and $0.25 each for 100+ copies.
We also have a T-shirt available for $15 (plus $3.50 shipping). It has the lovely “Exta” logo on the front, and our slogan “The Power To Be Pretty Good” on the back. The shirt is black and the text is white. It is available in large and extra large sizes. It is only available in the U.S.A. because of shipping costs.
Requirements
Delayed Startup Items requires MacOS version 7.0 or higher. Earlier versions of the operating system do not have a Startup Items folder.
Installation
To install Delayed Startup Items, select “Install” from the “File” menu. You will be asked if you would like to create the “Delayed Startup Items” folder in your System Folder, and the “Delayed Startup Items Startup” file in your Startup Items folder. This step is necessary for the proper operation of the program. You will also be asked if you wish to move all items from your Startup Items folder to the Delayed Startup Items folder. This step is optional.
Configuration
You will then be asked to specify how many seconds or minutes your computer should be idle before Delayed Startup Items starts opening items from the Delayed Startup Items folder. You can change this setting later by running Delayed Startup Items and choosing “Preferences” from the “File” menu.
Uninstallation
If you wish to uninstall Delayed Startup Items, choose “Uninstall” from the “File” menu. The program will remove the “Delayed Startup Items Startup” file from your Startup Items folder and its preferences file from your Preferences folder, and it will move all the items from the Delayed Startup Items folder back to your Startup Items folder. The actual program will not delete itself.
Opening All Items Without Waiting
You can tell the program to open all of the items in the Delayed Startup Items folder immediately. Just choose the program from the application menu (the menu that is always in the upper right hand corner of your menu bar), and then select “Open All” from the “File” menu. This open all items.
Adding Items To The Delayed Startup Items Folder
The most obvious way of doing this is to just drag a program, file or alias into the Delayed Startup Items folder. You can also drag a program or file onto the Delayed Startup Items program’s icon. An alias of the item will be put in the Delayed Startup Items folder. Also, there is a menu item in the “File” menu called “Add Alias…” which will perform the same function.
Forcing Items To Open In The Foreground
Delayed Startup Items will normally open programs in the background. That is, the program that is currently active when Delayed Startup Items opens an item will stay active. If you want an item to become the active (foreground) program when Delayed Startup Items opens it, open the Delayed Startup Items folder in the System Folder, and append “(fg)” to the end of the program name. For example, “Stickies (fg)” would open in the foreground.
How It Works
The operation of the program is quite simple. The file called “Delayed Startup Items Startup”, which is in your Startup Items folder in your System Folder, opens the program and tells it to wait until the computer is idle for the time period specified in the “Configuration” window. Idle time is defined as time that the user is not moving the mouse or typing on the keyboard. After that idle time period, the program opens the first item in the Delayed Startup Items folder. Then, if the computer is still idle, it opens another item. If the computer is still idle, it opens another item, and so on until all the items from the Delayed Startup Items folder have been opened. Then the program quits. If you wish to change the configuration or uninstall the program, you just open the program by double-clicking on it. The program will not try to launch any items because it was not opened via the “Delayed Startup Items Startup” file.
Problems and Technical Support
If you experience trouble, have questions or have comments, please send us email or visit us on the World Wide Web. Our addresses are in the next section.
About Exta Software
Exta Software is a new, small computer company. We hope to write a number of low cost, useful tools. Your shareware payments will help us realize that goal. We can be reached via internet email at exta@jagunet.com, and we would be happy to hear your thoughts, questions or problems about us or our software. We have a site on the World Wide Web that we welcome you to visit at <http://www.jagunet.com/~exta/exta.html> .
About The Authors
Delayed Startup Items was written by Josh Adams and Erik Hanson. Josh Adams (jadams@eng.umd.edu) is a senior Computer Science major at the University of Maryland and hacks QuickTime in the school’s multimedia lab. Erik Hanson (ehanson@jagunet.com) received his B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Maryland Baltimore County in 1994. He now writes Macintosh software full time.
Thanks
We didn’t write this in total isolation, so we’d like to thank the people who helped us out, directly or indirectly.
For development tools: Metrowerks for CodeWarrior, Symantec for THINK Reference, and DigitalMoney for AutoPay.
For code examples: Marshall Clow, grobbins, Peter N. Lewis, Dave Mark, John Norstad, Cartwright Reed, Leonard Rosenthol, and Stephan Somogyi.
And for beta testing (we just couldn’t say no to beta requests): Houvillado Beltran, Jon Bodner, Chris Colburn, Brian Findlay, Jon Gefaell, Dair Grant, Valerie Hanson, John Hetherton, Thomas Kephart, Simon Kidd, Stephen F. Levinson, Juan Martinez, Patrick McClaughry, Christian Moensted, Harry Mueller, Mark W. Pitto, Kent Pollard, David E. Price, Marc Respass, John Roberts, Michael Roman, Mike Rosenberg, Michael Sattler, Larry Sherman, Matt Sterling, Bohdan Suprun, Naomi-Leah Tibaldo, Owen Watson, Michael Wise, Christoph Zumbach, and Mark Zurbuchen.
Disclaimer
No warranty of the use of the application is expressed or implied. In no event will the author be held responsible for any damages or loss as a result of using Delayed Startup Items.
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS. IN NO EVENT SHALL EXTA SOFTWARE (HEREAFTER REFERRED TO AS "COPYRIGHT HOLDER") BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT OR SIMILAR DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY LOST PROFITS OR LOST DATA ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SOFTWARE OR ANY DATA SUPPLIED THEREWITH EVEN IF THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY CLAIM BY ANY OTHER PARTY.
SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
IN NO CASE SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER'S LIABILITY EXCEED THE PURCHASE PRICE FOR THE SOFTWARE.
