This file contains answers to some questions you may have about QuickChar and how it operates.
Of course, please feel free to contact me at clicksoft@kagi.com or alimatthews@geocities.com or by snailmail if you want to know more or have any comments or queries that aren’t addressed here.
How come the floating picker won’t work properly in some applications?
In some applications that use their own floating windows, such as Photoshop, the floating QuickChar window doesn’t behave properly. There isn’t much you can do about this, unfortunately; I recommend you use cmd-escape to hide the window in such programs. You will, however, still be able to use the popup picker to enter characters.
Why doesn’t QuickChar display the active Font correctly in Application “X”?
For QuickChar to be able to display the active font correctly, an application must be QuickChar aware. There’s a list of current applications at the end of this answer. If your program isn’t QC aware, tell the programmers about this and suggest they add support! Or tell me and I’ll get in contact with them.
Current QC aware applications…SuperMicrosoftMasher 6.7a3-97$$$ (yeah, right…)
What’s in the “Developer’s Kit” Folder?
This folder contains the information programmers need to support QuickChar in their applications. If you are not a programmer you can delete it.
What is “Quit Floater” AppleScript for?
Running this applet quits the small application that displays the floating character picker. Use it, for example, if you want to free up memory, or else when installing a new version of QuickChar to get round the Finder’s “Can’t replace because it is in use” messages.
Why does the floating Picker sometimes disappear without my telling it to?
Since the QuickChar control panel and the floating picker share the same preferences file, they can’t both access it together. This means that you can’t use any of the picker’s features while the control panel is open— so it hides itself. The same explanation is actually the case with the popup picker too— if you try to use it when the control panel is open you’ll find that nothing happens.
What is the “TSM Fix” Extension? Do I need it?
This is optional but highly recommended. Without it you may notice that the floating picker doesn’t respond to every click inside its window. Install the extension by dragging it onto your System folder and restarting.
Why does the Cursor often appear as the I-beam or as another Cursor than the Standard Arrow when it’s in the floating Picker?
This is because the picker application doesn’t change the cursor to an arrow when it moves inside the window. The reason for this is that the application “underneath” the picker window doesn’t know there’s another window on top of it, so it sets the cursor itself. So, if the picker did try resetting the cursor, it would be changed back by the frontmost program, and then changed again, and back again, and so on, leading to annoying flicker.
Why doesn’t the floating Picker work when I’m using a Save As Dialog Box?
The quick answer to this is that I don’t know! If it is possible to fix it I will do so, but at the moment I’m not sure as to why this happens. At least it is not a fatal problem— it doesn’t cause a crash— and the popup picker works fine (for some reason).
Are there any known conflicts or problems I may meet when using QuickChar?
At present, there is only one. When using the Nomai removable media driver, QuickChar may not function correctly. The best solution is to only use the Nomai driver when you need it; the problem is not QuickChar’s fault.
I think I’ve found a Bug…
This version of QuickChar has been extensively tested and is far more stable than previous versions (finally :). However, if you think you’ve found a problem, get in contact me with as much information as possible and I’ll take a look.
