Tape is a new Macintosh program that will allow you to quickly and easily create Mac OS 9.0 "packages". Packages are a new way to distribute applications or other files that can have multiple components associated with them in a single unified file.
Using Tape you can convert any existing folder into a properly formatted Mac OS 9 package format. This includes creating a relative alias file at the top level and setting the "package" bit of the folder's Finder Information flags.
Tape is fully graphical and operates easily via Drag 'n' Drop. Simply drop a folder containing all the relevant components you wish to package onto the Tape icon and it will be automatically wrapped for you.
Tape can also scan the selected folder and verify that it is setup correctly for packaging. This includes looking for multiple alias files as well as pre-existing package settings.
Common Package Formatting Mistakes:
• File Sharing can not be active while you are using Tape or BoxCutter. File Sharing will have problems if you modify folder's low level information while it is active. Tape or BoxCutter will warn you if File Sharing is active when you use it.
• Packages can not contain more than one alias at the "top" level. The top level is what you get when you double click on the folder in the Finder. Tape will create the one required alias file for you.
• The main file of a package, that is the file that the package will appear to be under Mac OS 9, should be within a sub-folder inside the package. This is not a hard limit at this time, but it may become one in a future Mac OS version or possibly Mac OS X. Tape has support to check the location of the main file, but it is not activated at this time.
• The alias file at the top most level must not point to a folder. Packages are meant to encapsulate multiple files and folders into what appears to be a single file. Making a folder be the main file of a package is redundant and should not be done.
Tape will report problems with the target folder only if you use the "Verify..." option.
BoxCutter™
BoxCutter is a simple Contextual Menu Module (CMM) that will allow you to quickly and easily remove the package setting from a folder. Only folders that are designated as packages will be affected by BoxCutter.
To use BoxCutter simply drag its icon to the System folder and click okay in the window that will open asking if its okay to move the file. You must be using Mac OS 8 on a PowerPC-based Macintosh to use BoxCutter.
You will need to reboot the computer for BoxCutter to be loaded properly.
After that point any time you click on a folder within the Finder BoxCutter will determine if the folder is a package. If the folder is a package BoxCutter will add an item to the pop-up menu labled "Cut open Package". Selected the item will remove the package setting instantly.
Under Mac OS 9.0 packages appear to be applications or even other files. If you click on any item and the menu contains "Cut open Package" then it was a package.
Misc. Notes
Tape makes use of Navigation Services, a replacement to the old Open/Save windows of the Mac OS. While providing a quantum leap in usability to the user, Navigation Services are a bit more bulky and slow to appear.
Tape helps to aleviate this performance lag a bit by pre-loading Navigation Services when Tape is first launched. On older Macs you will notice an appreciable delay in launch time. This is normal and actually saves you time when you actually make one or more packages using the program.
There are now several alternatives to Tape that are also free of charge. That is great, in my opinion. Competition is healthy and necessary to further develop ideas. However you may wonder why bother with Tape at all?
Tape is not an AppleScript or a quick and dirty application. It is designed to be as easy to as use as the Macintosh it is running on. Anyone can make a package on any Macintosh running Mac OS 8.5 or better (or any Mac OS with Navigation Services). It is small and lightweight yet packs enough functionality to handle package creation from start to finish as well as verify that a package is formatted correctly.
And Tape is anticipated to handle Mac OS X Packages as well when the time comes. All that for a modest fee of $10. Will the authors of an AppleScript or simplisitc quickie app be around when Mac OS X rolls out? We will be, and Tape will be able to help you take advantage of the new Operating System.
Licensing Requirements
The Tape software package is freely downloadable but is in a limited form. You can use Tape to create one package per-launch of the software. After creating a package, Tape will automatically quit itself.
The license fee for Tape is $10 USD. Once you have paid you will receive a registration code that is entered into the Tape program and allows you to create more than one package per-launch.
For more information contact us at: <pasoft@pasoftware.com>
To purchase Web Register please go to: <http://www.pasoftware.com/products/tape/register.html>
System Requirements
Tape is available as a PowerPC-native program that will run on any Mac OS computer with Mac OS 8.5 or newer (or any PowerPC-based Mac running the Mac OS with Navigation Services available).
Tape requires 384k of RAM to run or a bare minimum of 256k. Setting RAM lower may cause Tape to fail.
BoxCutter requires a PowerPC-based Macintosh computer running Mac OS 8 or newer with the Contextual Menu Extension enabled.
