This document contains important information regarding the PowerBar Pro application and should be read in its entirety before use. If you are looking for payment information, please scroll to the bottom of the document to the Pricing & Payment Options section (before the legal goo).
Contents
Requirements
Installation
Description
What's New in 3.1?
What's Fixed in 3.1?
What's New in 3.0?
Known Issues
Pricing & Payment Options
Contact Information
Requirements
A Color Macintosh or Power Macintosh
System 7.0 or greater
Some features require Macintosh Drag & Drop (available in System 7.5 or greater)
8 MB RAM minimum (PBPro uses around 500K on 68K, 700K on PPC, less if you use small toolbars with small buttons)
1 MB hard disk space
NOTE: while PowerBar Pro 3.1 may work with a Mac Plus, SE or PowerBook 100, it has not been extensively tested under these conditions and these machines are therefore not supported.
Installation
Unstuff the archive and drag the PowerBar Pro folder that results to your preferred location. Upon first launch, it will ask if you want to install an extension that will improve hot-key response (please see the user's guide to learn about the hot-key feature). You can choose to install and restart immediately, skip, or instruct PowerBar Pro to not install and never to ask again.
If you are upgrading from a previous version, please archive the older release. Launch the PowerBar Pro 3.1 Updater and double-click to launch. The updater will ask you to locate the application file you wish to update. Select your version of 3.0. Once completed a new application file will be created (your old one will remain intact). If you are registered, the new version will remain registered. Replace all remaining files with the newer versions you will find in the update package.
Description
PowerBar Pro is a desktop launcher for Mac OS computers. With PowerBar Pro, you can create any number of "toolbars" into which you can drag icons of your favorite or most frequently used applications, files, folders or other items. You can also use PowerBar Pro to easily connect to your favorite Internet web sites and to contact your friends via eMail (using a preferred Web Browser or eMail application respectively).
PowerBar Pro also contains shortcuts to many Finder commands so you can issue those commands by simply clicking the shortcut button. You can also drag control strip modules into PBPro toolbars to use them (without requiring the presence of Control Strip itself). Finally you can install (and develop if you’re so inclined) custom PowerBar Pro plugins and install them. A calendar and document file/creator-type changing plugin are included.
Finally, PowerBar Pro is highly customizable, so you can tailor its appearance and functionality to suit your needs. Use the custom button colors, styles and sizes to create your own "look."
What's New in 3.1?
A Verify Toolbar menu option has been added to the Toolbar menu. This new option allows one to verify all panels that exist on a toolbar at once. The Verify Panel menu option (introduced in 3.0 and still remaining in 3.1) allows you to verify only the currently visible panel of a toolbar.
Contextual Menu support for MacOS 8 and later has been added.
The "Toolbar Factory" feature is new. This feature provides step-by-step instructions for creating a new toolbar and will appear the first time PowerBar Pro is launched (or if selected from the File menu). With this new feature, you can scan for and select applications or other files to include on a toolbar. You can also specify which Power Commands to include and which attributes to use (e.g. large versus small buttons, horizontal versus vertical orientation, etc.).
Power Bar Pro Key is now installed by the application if it is not found but only if the user requests it. (There is a "don't bother me with this question" response available.)
Improved Appearance compliance for MacOS 8 and later.
What's Fixed in 3.1?
- shorten pause before tool tips are shown and show them for shorter period as well
- fixed drawing of resize icon
- fixed verify toolbar dialog
- fixed panel handling anomalies...panels should work a bit better now
- made "pressed" buttons look a little darker than before
- Mac Drag & Drop is now required and PowerDrag is obsolete and no longer included
- fixed problem with Finder drag/copy events not producing error if file in destination folder already exists
- fixed dealing w/vertical/horiz and 'by name' button freedom, including processbar weirdness
- observe user preference and don't play click sound if appropriate when using keyboard navigation to hit buttons
- fixed rare occurrence of a bug where you would click and get no response from button
- IconBOSS will *always* come to the front when in PowerBar you select an icon and choose to edit it via IconBOSS. Previously, if IconBOSS was already launched, it wouldn't come to the front.
- fixed problem in IconBOSS where sometimes you couldn't save the changes because the menu option remained unavailable ("grayed").
What Was New in 3.0?
PowerBar Pro 3.0 contained several key updates:
1. Incorporation of Web URL buttons and eMail Address buttons so you can easily and quickly access your favorite World Wide Web sites and friends.
2. Toolbars can now contain more than one panel, that is, set of buttons so you can have one toolbar that you use to switch among several sets of buttons.
3. Preference options have been expanded and improved so you can make PowerBar Pro work the way you want it to.
4. The visual appearance of PowerBar Pro has been enhanced to give it a more modern and appealing look.
5. Many minor tweaks make the utility easier and more flexible.
6. Miscellaneous bugs from earlier versions have been addressed.
Known Issues
eMail Addresses
PowerBar Pro 3.1 includes a useful new feature whereby one can install eMail address buttons for use with popular eMail applications. However, there are some limitations that are noted here.
First, as of 3.0, the eMail address feature supports the following applications:
Claris Emailer - version 1.1 or later
Eudora Lite/Pro - version 3.0 or later
CyberDog
Netscape Navigator Browser
Microsoft Internet Explorer Browser
Second, caution should be used when creating large groups of eMail address (which one can do). Netscape, Microsoft Internet Explorer and CyberDog only support small groups (it appears that the address fields are limited to 256 or so characters).
Third, when using Eudora, there is a short delay between the launching of the Eudora application and the creation of the new mail that results by clicking an eMail address button in PowerBar Pro. This delay does not occur if Eudora is already running when the eMail address button is clicked.
Fourth, PowerBar Pro 3.1 only supports eMail attachments (which can be included by dragging the desired attachment files to the eMail address button) when Claris Emailer or Eudora are the preferred eMail applications.
Control Strip Modules
PowerBar Pro 3.1 also includes support for Control Strip modules. However, some modules may not be compatible with PowerBar’s implementation, especially modules that expect to be "around" as long as the Macintosh is turned on. Such modules include "Terminator Strip". Do not use these modules with PowerBar Pro because the first time you quit PowerBar Pro you may get bitten.
When using Control Strip modules, make sure that the module files themselves remain in the Control Strip Modules folder inside the System Folder. This is required because some modules need to "find themselves" during use and sometimes, if they don’t find their file within the Control Strip Modules folder, they may produce an error or, worse yet, crash the system.
Be very careful when adding modules to a toolbar. Some modules are targeted for very specific machines (e.g. battery indicator modules are only useful on PowerBooks). Unfortunately, not all modules do a good job of checking what equipment they are being used on and fail miserably which often results in a system crash. Be sure to check the release notes or ask the author of the module to ascertain whether the module is appropriate for your system.
It is recommended that you remove Control Strip itself from your Control Panels folder if you choose to use PowerBar's implementation.
Pricing & Payment Options
1- 19 single user licenses, $25 per user
A Site License costs $300 and covers all locations for your organization
within a 160 kilometer radius of your site (100 miles). One big advantage
of a Site License is that you do not need to keep track of how many people
at your site are using the software.
A World-Wide License costs $1500 and it covers all locations for
your organization on the planet earth.
An Upgrade License costs $15 per user (free for users of 3.0 and up). You must be a registered user of an earlier version of PowerBar Pro to be eligible for the upgrade.
An Upgrade Site License costs $150 per site. You must be a registered site licensee of an earlier version of PowerBar Pro to be eligible for the upgrade.
An Upgrade World-Wide License costs $600. You must be a registered world-wide licensee of an earlier version of PowerBar Pro to be eligible for the upgrade.
Paying for PowerBar Pro is fairly simple. Open the Register program that accompanies PowerBar Pro. Enter your name, your email address, and the number of single user licenses you desire for each program you wish to purchase (or Site or World-Wide licenses). Save or Copy or Print the data from the Register program and send the data and payment to Kagi. More specifics on the Register program to follow. Kagi handles all payment processing. You can also register online via the World Wide Web; just point your browser to <http://order.kagi.com/?OTV>.
If paying with Credit Card or First Virtual, you can email or fax the data to Kagi. Their email address is sales@kagi.com and their fax number is +1 510 652-6589. You can either Copy the data from Register and paste into the body of an email message or you can save the data to a file and you can attach that file to an email message. There is no need to compress the data file; it's already pretty small. If you have a fax modem, just Print the data to the Kagi fax number.
Payments sent via email are processed within 3 to 4 days. You will receive an email acknowledgement when it is processed. Payments sent via fax take up to 10 days and if you provide a correct Internet email address you will receive an email acknowledgement.
If you are paying with Cash or USD Check you should print the data using the Register application and send it to the address shown on the form, which is:
Kagi
1442-A Walnut Street #392-OTV
Berkeley, California 94709-1405
USA
You can pay with a wide variety of cash from different countries but at present if you pay via check, it must be a check drawn in US Dollars. Kagi cannot accept checks in other currencies, the conversion rate for non-USD checks is around USD 15 per check and that is just not practical. If you have a purchasing department, you can enter all the data into the Register program and then select Invoice as your payment method. Print three copies of the form and send it to your accounts payable people. You might want to highlight the line that mentions that they must include a copy of the form with their payment. Kagi can not invoice your company, you need to act on my behalf and generate the invoice and handle all the paperwork on your end.
Please do not fax or email payment forms that indicate Cash, Check or Invoice as the payment method. As far as we know, there is still no technology to transfer physical objects via fax or email and without the payment, the form cannot be processed. Payments sent via postal mail take time to reach Kagi and then up to 10 days for processing. Again, if you include a correct email address, you will hear from Kagi when the form is processed.
Protection
PowerBar Pro has a protection scheme and when you pay, we tell you how to indicate to PowerBar Pro that you have paid the registration fee. If you do not have an email address, please enter your complete postal address and please remember we do not know what country you live in so please enter that into the postal address also.
Once Electric Puppy receives notification of your payment, a registration code will be sent to you via e-mail. It is essential that you use this code immediately to unlock the application, as it is time sensitive. If you let it go for several days, the code will expire. I know this may sound like an odd way to do this, but it has worked pretty well thus far.
After entering the code, you should backup the registered application to some external media so that, should you lose your hard drive, you can restore the registered application from your backup. Otherwise, you will have to contact us for a new registration code.
Contact Information
Electric Puppy Software
eMail: info@electricpuppy.com
Web: www.electricpuppy.com
The PowerBar Pro web site is hosted by Electric Puppy Software, where you’ll find the latest updates and a PowerBar Pro FAQ.
All other company and/or product names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective manufacturers.
The PowerBar Pro applications and documentation are Copyright 1992-98 Scott A. Johnson. They may not be distributed commercially without permission. They may be redistributed non-commercially (electronically or magnetically) as long as all of the files are kept together and are unmodified.
SOFTWARE PRODUCT LICENSE
PowerBar Pro and its component parts (hereafter SOFTWARE PRODUCT) are protected by copyright laws as well as other intellectual property laws and treaties. The SOFTWARE PRODUCT is licensed, not sold.
1. Grant of License
Software. You may install and use one copy of the SOFTWARE PRODUCT on your computer.
Storage. You may retain one backup copy on your computer or other medium in case you need to restore it to your computer in the event of an emergency.
2. Other Rights and Limitations
Separation of Components. The SOFTWARE PRODUCT is licensed as a single product. Its component parts may not be separated for use on more than one computer at a time.
Rental. You may not rent or lease the SOFTWARE PRODUCT.
Software Transfer. You may permanently transfer all of your rights under this license agreement only as part of a sale or transfer of the computer, provided you retain no copies, you transfer all of the SOFTWARE PRODUCT (including all component parts, media and printed materials, any upgrades, and this license agreement), and the recipient agrees to all terms of this license agreement.
3. Copyright.
Scott A. Johnson owns all title and copyrights in and to the SOFTWARE PRODUCT. The SOFTWARE PRODUCT is protected by copyright laws.
DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY
Neither the author, Scott A. Johnson, nor the software developer, Electric Puppy, make any warranties, either express or implied, as to the suitability of the computer programs or documentation included in the SOFTWARE PRODUCT for any purpose. Use them at your own risk.
LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
Neither the author, Scott A. Johnson, nor the software developer, Electric Puppy, will be held liable for more than a) the replacement of a defective SOFTWARE PRODUCT or b) the full refund of the purchase price of the SOFTWARE PRODUCT as set by Electric Puppy Software.
