Default Folder is a control panel that lets you "link" a default folder to any application or desk accessory. When you launch a desk accessory or application by itself (ie. not by double clicking on a document), Default Folder arranges for file dialog boxes to initially open in your default folder. Default Folder also provides pop-up menus in file dialogs to allow you to switch between folders, disks, and Link Sets, and allows you to modify the default file dialog behavior.
The folder menu allows you to:
- Access the current application or desk accessory's default folder.
- Access a folder you recently used.
- Access one of a reserved set of folders "locked" in the menu.
- Create new folders.
- Move the currently selected file or folder to the Trash.
- Get and change attributes of the currently selected file or folder.
The disk menu allows instant switching to any available disk, and can display the amount of space free on each one.
The Link Set menu allows you to switch between Link Sets, change the current application's default folder and "lock" additional folders in the folder menu.
To use Default Folder's pop-up menus, place the mouse over the volume name in the file dialog and three pop-up menu buttons will appear. Push on the button with the folder icon for switching between folders, the one with the disk icon for disk switching, or the one with both a folder and a disk icon for Link Set switching. Default Folder puts a small icon next to the disk icon to remind you that it's running.
Default Folder also provides:
- A "rebound" feature in file dialogs. When you bring up a file dialog, the file you selected last time will be highlighted, saving you the trouble of scrolling through the list if you want to reopen the same file.
- The option to make "Replace" the default button instead of "Cancel" when you try and save a file with the same name as an existing one.
- The ability to turn off the "improved" icons used in the file dialogs of System 7.1 (with System Update 3.0), System 7.5, and beyond. The new icons look much better, but they display more slowly than the old generic ones, so many people prefer to turn them off.
Default Folder requires System 7 or above to operate.
This control panel is shareware. You are welcome to try Default Folder free for a period of 30 days. If you choose to keep it after the trial period, please send $25 (cash, check, Postal Money Order, VISA, or Mastercard) to:
St. Clair Software
2025 Mohawk Road
Upper St. Clair, PA 15241-1526
Click on the "Registration Form" button below to fill out a registration form and print or save it. For credit card orders, you may also email or fax the form, or you can register via CompuServe - type GO SWREG and register for product #1669.
As a registered user, you will receive a registration code to stop the reminder that Default Folder displays after the trial period has expired, free technical support via email or fax, and we'll keep you up to date on any new releases or bug fixes as soon as they become available. For installations of more than one machine, site licenses are available. Please contact St. Clair Software for pricing information.
Default Folder is a copyrighted product and all rights are owned by St. Clair Software. It is not to be redistributed for profit or bundled with any other product without written consent.
For information and support, we can be reached by mail at the above address, by FAX at (412)835-4402, or by electronic mail on the Internet at gotow@ansoft.com, through Compuserve as 72330,3455, or through America Online as StClairSW. The internet email address will generally give faster response than the pay services - we suggest that you use Compuserve and AOL's gateways to the internet and send comments or support questions to the first address.
The Default Folder control panel lets you create different "Link Sets," each with any number of default folders for applications and desk accessories, and any number of folders "locked" into Default Folder's pop-up menu in the Open and Save dialogs. To make a new set, click in the "New…" button. You will then be able to use the "Edit Set…" button to add applications, desk accessories and folders (see Editing Link Sets below). The "Delete" button simply deletes the selected link set. The "Prefs…" button is used to set preferences which control Default Folder's operation.
Note that the active link set (the one Default Folder uses) is the one you leave selected when you close the control panel.
You can make several link sets for different people, or one for work and one for personal correspondence, etc. Entire link sets can be duplicated by using the "Copy links from current set" check box in the "New…" dialog.
If you want to edit links by hand when you change the name of your hard drive, for example, you can export and import link sets to and from text files using the "Export" and "Import" buttons. The file format is simple, and is documented in the file itself. The easiest way to learn about importing and exporting is to export an existing link set and look at the file - it's simply a table of links with the data separated by tabs. When importing, Default Folder will check all of the links as it imports them. If any of the folders do not exist, you'll get an error message and the link will not work (unless it's just on an unmounted disk, in which case Default Folder will figure it out later).
After clicking the "Edit Set…" button, you'll be presented with the link set editing dialog. To add applications or desk accessories to the link set, click "Add…". You'll be prompted to link a default folder to each one as you add it. The "Link…" button can be used to cha 0default folder of any application in the set. The "Delete" button deletes the currently selected application or desk accessory.
Note that when adding desk accessories and applications, only desk accessories with a file type of dfil (a System 7.0 desk accessory) and applications with a file type APPL will normally be shown. For extensions like Font/DA Juggler, and for desk accessories in the System file, click the "Show All Files" check box in the file selection dialog so you can pick from other file types.
The "Default…" button generates a link that will apply to all applications and desk accessories not explicitly included in the link set. This can be useful if many people use your Mac and you want all applications' documents to go into a "Miscellaneous" folder or to the Desktop if they don't know what they're doing.
The list of locked folders can be modified using the "Add&Lock" and "Remove" buttons next to the list. These folders will be permanent choices in the pop-up menu which Default Folder puts into your file dialog boxes.
To save any changes you've made during the editing session, click on the "Save" button. If you click "Done" without first saving, the Link Editor will ask you if you want to save your changes.
Quick Hint #769: Holding down the option key while clicking the Delete, Remove, and Done buttons bypasses the normal warnings.
The "Prefs…" button in the control panel displays lists of preferences. These settings are divided into several groups, which you switch among by using the menu at the top of the Preferences dialog box.
File Dialog Menu settings:
- Put pop-up menu in file dialogs. This option tells Default Folder to put its pop-up menu in all file dialog boxes. The remaining options modify the pop-up menu's behavior.
- Auto-remove deleted folders from menu. Before a file dialog comes up, Default Folder will normally check to see if all the folders in its menu still exist. If any have been deleted, it removes them from its pop-up menu. This is very friendly, but can be slow over large networks since Default Folder must physically check to see if each of the folders exists. Unchecking this box disables this, making the file dialogs appear more quickly, but you may occasionally get a message saying that a folder no longer exists when you try to switch to it.
- Include recently used folders in menu. Default Folder will keep track of the folders you've recently used and offer them as menu selections if you wish. Check this box to enable this "history" tracking. Click on the small arrows to change the number of folders to keep in the menu.
- Allow moving files to the Trash. This checkbox adds a menu item to the folder menu which lets you move the selected file or folder to the Trash from within a file dialog.
- Provide Get Info command. Turning on this option gives you a menu choice which gets the name, size, creator, modification date, and Finder attributes of the selected file or folder. Novice mode only lets you view the information, while expert mode will allow you to change this information. Note that the file name is editable, so you can rename files using this command, too.
- Allow linkset switching from the menu. This allows you to modify and switch linksets from a pop-up menu in the file dialog. Note that in addition to adding locked folders from the linkset menu, you can delete them by holding down the option key while selecting one from the folder menu. Also, if you set a new default folder for an application that is not in the current LinkSet, the application will be automatically added.
- Show available disk space in disk menu. When this option is checked, Default Folder shows the amount of free space available on each disk in the disk menu.
Command Keys:
- Four edit boxes allow you to set command keys for the Use Default, New Folder, Get Info, and Move to Trash commands in Default Folder's folder menu.
- As a standard part of the file dialog boxes, pressing the cmd+up arrow keys moves up a folder level, while cmd-left, cmd-right, and cmd-down, move to the next volume, previous volume, and selected item, respectively. Default Folder adds option-left, option-right, option-up, and option-down which switch to the previous locked folder, next locked folder, previous history folder, and next history folder, respectively.
- Use command key without pop-up menu. Even if you don't use the pop-up menu, you can still use the basic Default Folder shortcuts via the command and option keys. Selecting this option results in a "hidden feature" in your file dialog boxes which may confuse novice users, but keeps the file dialog interface simpler.
General Settings:
- Show Default Folder cursor during disk access. This is primarily to show you how much overhead you're incurring when the "auto-remove deleted folders" option is turned on.
- Rebound to last selected file. This turns on a feature that remembers the last file you selected in an application's file dialog box, and reselects it the next time you use a file dialog.
- Turn off pretty icons in file dialogs. With the release of System Update 3.0 for System 7.1, and later in System 7.5, Apple began showing the actual icons for files in the file dialog boxes. While this is much more attractive (and even informative), it slows down the file listings, especially on slow networks or across ARA. Turning on this checkbox reverts the icons back to their generic appearance and speeds their display significantly in those cases.
- When a file already exists, make "Replace" the default button instead of "Cancel". Normally, when you try to save a file using a name that's already taken, you are warned with a dialog. If you hit the Return or Enter key, "Cancel" is chosen for you. Turning on this option makes the Return or Enter key click the "Replace" button instead.
Folder Switching:
- Also switch to the application's default folder every time a file dialog is used. This always switches back to the application's default folder, even if you just switched away from it last time you opened or saved something. This is primarily useful for network administrators who want to more forcefully "suggest" where users should save their work.
- Also switch to the application's default folder the first time after starting with a document. Normally Default Folder will not switch to the default folder if the application was launched with documents, since you would presumably want to open or save files in that same folder. This overrides that behavior by switching even if an application is launched with documents.
Default Folder was inspired primarily by the complaints and vision of a friend, Adel Assaad. We'd like to thank him for his contributions to both the conceptual and user interface design.
Thanks to the many folks who have served as beta testers and provided valuable feedback throughout Default Folder's lifetime.
Thanks to Paul Mercer for his ShowInit code.
Thanks to Green Mountain Software, whose DOCMaker product is used to distribute Default Folder's documentation as a standalone application.
Thanks to Michael Kahl and all the folks who made Think C the most fantastic development environment around. Now if the editor would only work like 'vi' and Symantec would get their act together on C++…
TMON Pro is a great product -- thanks to Waldemar Horwat and those at ICOM Simulations, Viacom New Media, and anyone else that made the product possible. Let's hope TMON finds a good home and support continues despite Apple's rapid changes and TMON's relatively low price. It would be a shame to see it go by the wayside.
"Thanks" to Microsoft, who's programmers seem to have a wonderful knack for making all other programmers' lives a little more difficult.
Finally, the biggest thanks have to go to my wife, Jessica, for putting up with me disappearing into the study for hours (days?) at a time. Really, I promise I'll take out the garbage right after this one last change…
