Running 19 days
without a restart.

I'm opening up the ResExcellence Mailbag!
by Michael Coyle, 08-02-1997

I thought I'd use this weeks update to share with you the answers to mail I've received.

AA writes:

I am currently using OS 8 and I would like to know how to disable those zooming rectangles that appear everytime you open something.

I'm with you AA! I hate those spinning folders. They affect my inner ear and make me feel woozie. Fortunately, there is a little hack called Finder Features that stops them. Read how to configure the extension here.

Finder Features is an extension that mysteriously appeared on the net awhile ago. I got my copy off of MacInTouch, but it was pulled shortly after its release because of some compatibility issue, so use it with caution.

From MacInTouch:

At the request of the Mac OS 8 product manager, we have removed the Finder Features extension, which he termed "a potential support nightmare." Another reader pointed out a compatibility glitch with the extension:

"This is just a quick warning to all those people who may be having trouble sending faxes with the Apple Telecom 3.0 SW installed on a Mac running MacOS 8 and the 'secret finder features extension'. Holding down shift-control to enable faxing instead of printing conflicts with key-shortcuts in the finder extension and either causes a system freeze or system error. Turning the extension off solves the issue completely!"

Muneto Murooka asks:

For the last couple of days I've been trying to find with Resedit where I could change icons in the new Mac OS 8... I wanted to change the icons that appear on the desktop when I am inserting a CD and a diskette...

Well Muneto, your answer lies in the Appearance Extension. Most icons that were split between the System suitcase, Finder, and even ROM are now stored here. Be careful never to move the Appearance Extension out of its folder. Work on a copy of it while leaving it in the Extensions Folder. Then throw the old one away, and rename the new one when you're finished. In the next couple of weeks, I'll delve into the Appearance Extension in more detail.

Martin Bowen wants to know...

I've always wanted to have more control over which (monitor) resolutions are available rate , much in the way that a PC user with Win 95 may have, such as any resolution at any refresh rate - not a Mac like thing, since you can damage your monitor, but a nice customization if you know what you're doing.

I highly recommend Keyquencer, a shareware macro editor along the lines of Quickeys. One of the many thinks Keyquencer can do is allow you to pick any resolution and depth available in the Monitors control panel.

In fact, I want everyone to go there and get a copy of this incredible program. Next week, I'm going to chat about Keyquencer and demonstate how powerful macros can be.

Michael D. Muzzie sent me an email stating...

I really can't stand the italicized style that the Mac OS uses for aliases. In previous OS versions, I could just use Alias Stylist 1.3.1...

Alias Styler was written by Peter Kaplan. If anyone has his email address, I'd be glad to write him to see if he plans an update, or can tell me what he patched. The program seems to have been pulled from all the archives. Hmmm.....

Keith Johns wrote...

I've been clicking window widgets ever since the release of Aaron. What I
need is a shortcut to "windowshade" a window, just as cmd-w closes the
window. And, of course, it would be nice if another keystroke, or the same
one hit again, would open the window back up.

I haven't tried it yet, but I believe Keyquencer should be able to handle this. I'll find out and show you next week.

Keith Crosbie has an idea...

How about showing us how to change our startup screen using ResEdit. I think a lot of people would like to know how to do this.

Here's the technical mumbo-jumbo on a StartupScreen. It's a PICT file that has the information stored in a PICT resource with ID# 0. (Normally, when you save a PICT in Photoshop or ClarisWorks, the drawing is stored in the data half of a file with maybe a preview and custom icon stored as resources.)

Here's how to make a StartupScreen:

Open your favorite picture in any graphics application. Select the whole picture and copy it to the clipboard.

Open ResEdit and create a new document called "StartupScreen".

Select the menu: Resource -> Create New Resource... and scroll down to, or type in PICT and click OK. Several windows will immediately create themselves and the front most will be PICT resource ID #128.

Paste you picture into this window, then close only this window.

The next window is titled "PICTs from StartupScreen and there's your reduced picture with ID 128.

Highlight resource 128 and select menu option: Resource -> Get Resource Info...

The info window will open. Change 128 to 0, then close and save the file.

Place the new StartupScreen loose in your system folder, and the next time you start the computer, your picture will be scaled and centered on the screen during the startup sequence.

After all that explanation, I should tell you the easier way to do this is with Screenman. This little utility imports your pictures and cycles through them each time you restart.