ApplWindows is a control panel that helps you easily navigate through many windows. ApplWindows works under System 7.0 or later. (It does not work under System 6.0.x or earlier.) It adds a list of available windows off the Application menu at the top right corner in the menu bar. To illustrate what it does, suppose there are three open windows in the Finder as shown in Figure 1. ApplWindows extends the window list for the Finder as displayed in Figure 2. The check mark indicates the present front most window for each application. The front most application is marked by an underline.
Fig. 1 Windows in the Finder
Fig. 2 Window submenu off Application menu
To bring another window to the front, select its name in the windows submenu. If the selected window belongs to an application which is not the front most, then the application will be also brought to the front.
The windows in the submenu can be arranged in alphabetical order or in front to back order. This can be selected using the ApplWindows control panel as is described below. The front most window is marked by a check mark.
The Shift key can be used to temporary disable all of the ApplWindows features. For example, if you hold down shift key before you click on the menu bar, the Application menu is not modified.
Other useful features of ApplWindows are:
1) Automatically hide applications/DAs which are not the front most.
2) Show the Application menu anywhere you click.
3) Switch applications/windows using arrow keys.
4) System 6 style application swithcing by clikcing the icon of the Application menu.
The section 3, “Customizing ApplWindows”, describes the details.
§ 2. How to Install ApplWindows
To install ApplWindows, put the ApplWindows icon in the Control Panel folder in the System folder, or drag it on top of the System folder icon. Then restart your Macintosh. ApplWindows works on all types of Macintoshes running under System 7.0 or later. It does not work with System 6.0.x. ApplWindows uses 10.5K of the system memory.
§ 3. Customizing ApplWindows
You can customize the behavior of ApplWindows from the ApplWindows Control Panel. Figure 3 shows the ApplWindows control panel window. When it is opened for the first time after installation, some settings are different from the ones in Fig.3.
The following subsections explain
§ 3.1. How to use Balloon help.
§ 3.2. How to change the display order of windows in the window submenu.
§ 3.3. How to automatically hide programs which are not the front most.
§ 3.4. How to bring up the ApplWindows menu besides from the top right corner of the menu bar.
§ 3.5. How to switch windows and applications using arrow keys.
§ 3.6. How to switch applications by clicking the icon of Application menu (System 6 style switching).
§ 3.1. How to use Balloon Help
ApplWindows supports Balloon Help. You can turn on and off the Balloon Help by using the Balloon Help in the menubar or by clikcing the “?” mark at the top right corner of the ApplWindows Control Panel. When Balloon Help is on, “Tips” marks apprea in the window, and when you move the cursor on to one of the “Tips” mark, a helpful message will be displayed.
Fig. 3 ApplWindows Control Panel
§ 3.2. Window Ordering
By selecting one of the options, “Alphabetical” or “Front to Back”, the window names in the window submenu can be arranged either in alphabetical order or front-to-back order. The front most window is marked with a check mark when there are two or more open windows.
§ 3.3. Always Hide Others
It may be handy if unused applications and DAs are hidden automatically, whenever a selected application is sent to front. It reduces window cluttering. ApplWindows lets you do that in a couple of ways. When you lick the popup menu in “Always Hide Others”, the following menu shows up.
Fig. 4 Options to hide others
“Don’t hide other automatically”
When this is selected, auto hiding feature is disabled.
“When application/window is selected from the Application menu”
When this option is selected, whenever you use ApplWindows menu to select an application or switch application by clicking the icon of the Application menu (see below § 3.6), all other applications will be hidden automatically.
“When an application is brought to front in whatever way ”
If this option is selected, whether you use ApplWindows menu or ordinary window clicking, whenever the front most application or DA is switched from one to another, all other applications will be hidden.
If you want to temporary disable this auto-hiding feature, hold down the shift key when you select another application. Then the selected application and the previous front most application will remain visible together.
“Apps/DAs... which don’t hide others” and “Apps/DAs... which will not be hidden”
Sometimes it is desirable to keep some programs visible, even while they are sent to behind. Programs of such categories include Alarm Clock and Battery DA. Also, there are cases where you wish to keep other applications visible when you bring a particular program to the front. The Alarm Clock, again, may be such an example.
If you want to prevent some programs automatically being hidden, or hiding others, add those programs to the list of programs using the one of the “Appl/DAs...” button. When you click one of these buttons, a file selection diaog box appears and you can add or remove programs to and from the program list. If you want to disable auto hiding others or being hidden features for all DAs, turn on the “All DAs” check box at the right bottom in the dialog.
§ 3.4. Popup Menus
There are two ways you can use the Application menu besides from the top right corner of the menu bar. They come out handy when you use large monitors. The Application menu works exactly the same way as you use from the menu bar.
“Modifier keys to show popup menu when you click the mouse ”
Select one or more of the modifier keys there. Then the Application menu shows up anywhere you click mouse with the modifier keys being held down.
“Show popup menu when hot spot area is clicked”
When this option is on, you can bring up the Application menu when you click the mouse in a specified area. No modifier keys are required. The hot spot can be selected using the “Hot Spot” menu in Fig. 5.
Fig. 5 Hot Spot selection menu
The top three items in Figure 5 show the choices concerning the hot spot at the left end of the menu bar. The active area of each hot spot is marked by the gray box. ApplWindows provides you with three variations of this kind. This is to maintain the compatibility with other utilities, like PopChar or NowMenus™, which use the same area of the menu bar.
If the fourth one is selected, the boundary edge of the monitor screen becomes the hot spot area. If you have multiple monitors, all the boundaries (more precisely, the lines beyond which you cannot move the mouse any more) will be the hot spot areas. The corners of the monitor are excluded from the hot spot to avoid the conflict with other utilities which use the corner for special purpose.
§ 3.4. Window/Application Switching using Arrow Keys
“Modifier keys to cycle windows(up/down) or applications(right/left)”
When one or more of the modifier keys are selected there, you can use arrow keys to cycle through applications and windows. For example, suppose you select the control key as is shown in Fig.3, and suppose the Finder windows are like shown in Figure 1. If you type down arrow key with control key held down, next window, “ApplMenuWindow ƒ”, comes to front. If you type again, then comes “Macintosh HD” to front. If you type up arrow key, the switching order is reversed. (Change from ApplWindows 2.0 : Action of down and up keys are revered in ApplWindows 2.0.2.)
Similarly you can cycle through applications. The order of the applications in the cycle is the chronological order you used them. For example, in the example in Fig.2, if you used Think C, then use MacWrite, the switching order is,
MacWrite - Think C - Finder.
In MacWrite, if you type left arrow key with control key held down, Think C comes to front, then comes Finder. When you comes to Think C, do something, and hit left arrow, then MacWrite comes to front, because the application ordering is now
Think C - MacWrite - Finder.
In short, when you want to move to the last program you used, always use the left arrow key. If you type right arrow key, the oldest one comes to front. (Change from ApplWindows 2.0 : Action of left and right keys are revered in ApplWindows 2.0.2.)
“Exclude these Appl/DAs... button”
If you do not want some programs to be part of this switching cycle with arrow keys, add them to the exclusion list using this button. The Finder, Battery or DarkSide may be such candidates. These programs are excluded when left arrow key is used to switch programs, but not excluded when right arrow key is used.
“Exclude Hidden Applications”
When this option is on, hidden applications will not come to front when you cycle through applications using left arrow key. If you use right arrow key, all programs show up in the cycle. If “Always Hide Others when an application is brought to front in whatever way” is selected, this option is not available (the option item will be dimmed in the control panel).
§ 3.6. How to switch applications by clicking the icon of Application menu (System 6 style switching).
Under System 6 with MultiFinder, one could switch to the next application by ckicking the icon of the application shown at the top right corner. Under System 7, one have to select an application from the menu. By tutning on “Application icon click switching” option, you can use the System 6 style switching by clicking the icon of the Application Menu shown at the top right corner. If you hold down the mouse button long enogh, the Application Menu is displayed and can be used in the normal way.
§ 4. Final words
ApplWindows is freeware. Users may feel free to distribute it. However, ApplWindows is not in the public domain. All rights on ApplWindows are reserved by the author Hiro Yamamoto and zeta soft, and this document must accompany the software whenever ApplWindows is distributed. It may not be sold commercially (e.g., public domain and shareware disks). Exceptions are that user's groups and on-line services may distribute it as long as any costs are for the actual cost of the service (i.e., connect time or media costs). ApplWindows is provided as is without any warranties, and the author assumes no responsibility for any damage caused by this program. If you have any comments or incompatibility reports, please send electronic mail to the following address:
AppleLink D5611
CompuServe 76407,3251
America Online Hiro Y
GEnie H.YAMAMOTO2
I appreciate the help offered by all beta testers. Special thanks go to James W. Walker for his valuable comments and nice color icons, to Don Melton for letting us know about the information of the Layer Manager, and to Nobu Toge for the last minute check up of the program and this document.
All trade marks are the property of their respective owners.
