A contextual menu plug-in for use with items in the Mac OS X Finder is included in this release. When File Buddy 7.5 is launched and sees that the plug-in is not installed in your Contextual Menu Items folder, it will offer to copy it there for you. It should be available for use in the Finder immediately, but if it isn't, try logging out and back in.
Improved File Searching
The file searching code used when conducting searches in Mac OS X has been completely rewritten to address several issues:
• The file catalog searching function in Mac OS X occasionally returns errors for which no cause is given (the error code returned is not appropriate), but they warrant terminating the search before it is completed. It's generally the case that the volume being searched when this happens is the Mac OS X startup volume. If it encounters these errors, File Buddy 7.5 will make multiple attempts before giving up. If the count of found items is seen to drop back down to 0 during a search, this means an error was encountered and File Buddy has restarted the search.
• Many searches should be faster, from a little faster to a lot faster. It's impossible to quantify this more precisely since the specific criteria used in a search play an important role in the time required to complete the search.
• Searches of folders listed in the folder list of the Find window are now significantly faster than in previous versions. The previous approach provided acceptable performance in Mac OS 9 and earlier, but it bogged down under the massive numbers of files and folders on Mac OS X startup disks.
Find Window
• There is a new preference in the Find window to 'Treat packages as files'. When this option is on, File Buddy will return packages such as packaged applications in file searches which would normally exclude folders. Thus you can now search for files of type 'APPL' and File Buddy will find iTunes and other packaged applications.
• The contents of packages can now be excluded from searches.
• Several groups of special folders can now be excluded from searches: System, Library, Preferences, Applications, and Trash folders can all be excluded. All domains are excluded, which means that if you opt to exclude Preferences folders, the search will exclude all three of the following:
/Library/Preferences
~/Library/Preferences
/OS 9 System Folder/Preferences
• Searches based on file name can now be case sensitive.
• There's now an option to limit the number of items returned in a search.
• A new pop-down menu has be added to the folder list's 'add' button for adding folders such as your Desktop and Home folders in one step.
• The window has been reworked slightly to improve overall appearance and conformance with Apple's Aqua guidelines.
What's New for Everyone (Mac OS X and Mac OS 9)
Find Window
• Numerous improvements to the folder list in the More Options panel, including icons, theme saavy status indicators, help tags for each item, and increased space for viewing more items.
• A small button to the right of each of the date fields can be used to insert common dates into the active text box to its left.
• Other minor improvements.
A Note to our Mac OS 9 Users - Some of the improvements to the Find window are only available to users of Mac OS X. This is generally for one of two reasons:
1. The feature really only makes sense in Mac OS X.
2. The new file searching code written to address problems in Mac OS X facilitates the improvement. At this time we have not written a version of that code which can be used with Mac OS 9.
Info Window
• Two new buttons have been added to the toolbar: Get Finder Info and Group Info. The latter provides aggregate information for all items in the current Info window.
• Some buttons in the toolbar have been moved to make the layout more consistent with the toolbar in the List window.
List Window
• A new option has been added to treat packages as files. When this option is on:
Packages will not have disclosure triangles next to them.
Option-clicking the disclosure triangle of a folder in the list to expand that folder and all subfolders will not expand any packages in the folder.
Snapshots
• Some people reported a problem taking snapshots of their Mac OS X startup disk in which the process would abort before completion. This was a consequence of the search errors discussed earlier. Snapshot recording now uses a different mechanism for finding items to include in the snapshot and as a result should complete more reliably in Mac OS X
• Snapshot recording should be marginally faster in v7.5.
New Drop Key Defaults
• Drop key default settings have been revised to reduce the dependencies on modifier keys such as the Command and Option keys. This was done to reduce conflicts which could arise as a result of the Mac OS X Finder and Services' use of modifier keys.
All specifications and descriptions are subject to change prior to the final release of File Buddy 7.5.
