Prerequisites: System 6.0.1 or later. Any Macintosh machine that's a Mac Plus or newer. QuoterNotes™ supports color on machines that deal with color (ie. have Color Quickdraw).
WHAT IS QUOTERNOTES™?
QuoterNotes™ is an application (along with a Control Panel Device (CDev) and Function Key (FKey)) that allows you to assemble, format, and view "quotations" from any file you choose from anywhere you want.
The package consists of:
• QuoterNotes™ - an application for converting text files into QuoterNotes™ files, viewing QuoterNotes™ files, and changing the font and color characteristics of QuoterNotes™ files. This application also supports extensive online help.
• QuoterCDev - a Control Panel Device (CDev) that allows you to set up the preferences and file information used by the Function Key (see below). You can also install and remove the Function Key using this CDev.
• The QuoterNotes™ Function Key (FKey) - [NOTE: The FKey is embedded in the QuoterCDev file since the QuoterCDev file has the ability to install and remove the FKey for you.] This FKey allows you to display randomly-chosen quotes from a QuoterNotes™ file at any time.
How is QuoterNotes™ better than "the other guys" (mainly the Fortune INIT and Murphy's INIT)?
• QuoterNotes™ does not have the quotations embedded in its application. This means, you can create or use any file you want. In fact, accompanying this upload should be several QuoterNotes™ files already set up for you. You can use or modify these files to your heart's content.
• QuoterNotes™ is not an INIT, so you are not confined to viewing quotes simply at start-up time. The included Function Key allows you to view quotes at *any* time.
• QuoterNotes™ quotations are not confined to a single font. Using the QuoterNotes™ application, you can choose the font, font style, font size, and on machines with Color QuickDraw, text, frame, and background colors.
CREATING QUOTERNOTES™ FILES.
What you first need to do is put together a file full of quotations (or whatever you wish to view) delimited by either a '%' character or a blank line. The advantage of using the '%' character to delimit quotes is that you can embed blank lines within a single quote. (See the help screens on "Convert..." within the QuoterNotes™ application for more on how to set up your files.)
Second, you need to run the QuoterNotes™ application and "convert" your text file into a QuoterNotes™ file. (The reason for doing this is that QuoterNotes™ builds a seek table and creates resources for style, color, and statistics.) Don't worry about "losing" your text -- QuoterNotes™ allows you to convert from a QuoterNotes™ file back to text.
Finally, you can "open" the newly-created file and view the quotations. In the "Preferences" dialog, you can specify where you want the quote to appear on the screen and if you want to see quotes in sequential or random order.
MODIFYING QUOTERNOTES™ FILES.
At this stage, you can customize your quotes file. You can choose fonts, font sizes, and font styles. If you are on a machine with Color Quickdraw (meaning, if you are using a machine other than a Mac Plus or SE), you can also set up colors.
SETTING UP AND USING THE FKEY.
The real power, however, lies in the Control Panel/FKey combination. If you move the QuoterCDev file into your System Folder, you can bring its screen up in the Control Panel. There, you can choose a QuoterNotes™ file and preferred quote window location. The Control Panel takes this input and creates a preferences file in you System Folder entitled "QuoterNotes™.Prefs". Don't rename or move this file, or else the Function Key (FKey) will fail to find it.
Within the Control Panel, you can also install and remove the FKey. When you press the "Install" button, you get to choose which Shift-Command-# key combination you wish to assign to the FKey. Unlike many other Control Panel Devices, QuoterCDev does *not* require you to reboot for the changes to take effect. The preference file get updated as soon as you leave the Control Panel.
Now you can view quotes from any application you want by simply pressing the appropriate Shift-Command-# key sequence.
COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
• How do I change the quotes or add quotes in an existing QuoterNotes™ file? You can go into the QuoterNotes™ application and convert the QuoterNotes™ file back into a text file. Then use your favorite editor. When you're done, convert the text file back into a QuoterNotes™ file.
• When I try and convert my text file into a QuoterNotes™ file, I get an error saying that there were no quotes in the file. What gives? First check to make sure you have chosen the delimiter appropriate for your file (in the "Preferences" dialog). Also, the first quote in your file should be the "title" or description of your file. QuoterNotes™ does not consider the first entry to be a quote.
• When I try and convert my text file into a QuoterNotes™ file, I get an error saying that there were zero-length quotes in the file. What gives? The most common cause for this is that you have placed a delimiter at the very beginning or at the very end of the file. Don't do that. Delimiter should only go *between* quotes in the file. Also, QuoterNotes™ complains if it finds redundant delimiters (ie. delimiters on two consecutive lines). Don't do this either.
• When I try and display a quote using the "Show Quote" menu item, I get a dialog box that says the quote is too big to display on my screen. What should I do? This is a problem when you are trying to view a quote that's larger than the screen (particularly a problem on the small Plus and SE screens). If you are viewing the file at a font size larger than 9-point font, the dialog box should ask you if you would like to try viewing the quote at 9-points. If that subsequently fails, your only recourse is to convert the file back to text and edit out the lengthy quotes. Alternatively, you can ignore these messages and simply choose "Show Quote" for another quote.
• Why isn't the "Color" menu ever enabled for me in QuoterNotes™? Color is only available on machines with Color Quickdraw (any machine that's not a Plus or an SE). As a Mac Plus or SE owner, you can view any QuoterNotes™ file and create any QuoterNotes™ file -- you just cannot modify the file's color. For files created on machines with color, Plus and SE owners will always see black text on a white background, regardless of the colors displayed on other machines.
• Can I copy text out of a QuoterNotes™ file? The "Copy" command under the "Edit" menu is supported by QuoterNotes™. So if you find a quote you absolutely must have, you can press the Command-C key combination, and the quote is yours in the Clipboard.
• When I use the FKey, it just beeps at me, or puts up a stupid alert with a cryptic error number. What gives? More than likely, the FKey can either not find the file specified in the Control Panel, or cannot find the preferences file in the System Folder. Check to make sure that the file you selected in the Control Panel still exists. Alternatively, make sure the preferences file ("QuoterNotes™.Prefs") exists in the System Folder. If you go into the Control Panel and select a file, then try the FKey again, chances are, things will work fine. If not, the FKey error was probably due to lack of memory. In that case, run the FKey only when there's more memory available.
• When I am in the Control Panel, make changes in the QuoterCDev, then try the FKey, the changes haven't occurred. Why? Changes in the Control Panel do not take effect until you leave the Control Panel.
• Can I get online help? Yes. Within QuoterNotes™, you can get help on any enabled menu item by pressing the "option" key while selecting that item. Alternatively, you can go into the "Help" dialog (under the "Apple" menu) and toggle the Help System on. All menu item are enabled at that point, and you can get help on all menu items. When using the QuoterCDev Control Panel Device, you can get help by pressing the "About..." button.
UPDATE INFORMATION
If you would like to receive the latest and greatest QuoterNotes™ package, along with almost 2 megabytes of QuoterNotes™ files, send $15 to the address at the end of this file. The money is not a shareware fee -- its intent is to cover my shipping, handling, and media costs.
As of this writing, the QuoterNotes™ files I have assembled are:
UsenetFortunes(I) - fortunes pulled off of USENET
UsenetFortunes(II) - more fortunes off of USENET
UsenetFortunes(III) - even more fortunes
ObsceneFortunes - obscene fortunes off of USENET
KamaSutra - little tidbits for the sexually aware
and I have a Shakespeare sonnets file in the works. If you want the dirty files, sign something that says you're over 21, OK.
Feel free to drop me a line if you have any comments/praises/suggestions, or if you have found QuoterNotes™ useful for displaying things other than quotes. I'm curious.
THE FINE PRINT
This software is FREEWARE provided that the program is distributed intact and includes this README file as well as the copyright notice inside the application. This software may be freely distributed for non-commercial purposes only. Since QuoterNotes™ files can be added ad-hoc, the author of this program bears no responsibility as to the suitability or legality of any accompanying QuoterNotes™ files.
