A Closer Look at the Control Strip

Examining it’s capabilities and potential

Apple’s Control Strip is a floating palette containing shortcut controls for a variety of the Mac OS’s features including: volume level, color depth, monitor resolution, and file sharing. Long used exclusively on PowerBooks, this handy utility finally became available to desktop users with System 7.5.3. While it may be used by some for the most basic features listed above, its potential as a productivity booster is much higher, especially with its inclusion of controls for Remote Access and the Location Manager.

Following is a closer look at some of these controls or Control Strip Modules (CSM’s). The first is CDStrip, a CSM that provides audio CD-player controls. Once an audio CD is inserted, CDStrip will list the track numbers or, if the song names have been previously entered into a CD player program, the track names. Track selection can be done by selecting the Skip or Back Track menu items, and a specific track can easily be played by selecting its track number or name. Although CDStrip’s features are bare-bones at best, it provides an unobtrusive way to enjoy audio CD’s.

Another very useful Control Strip Module is the Remote Access Control Strip. Connecting to the Internet is as easy as selecting Connect from the menu, and if the “Launch Status application when connecting” checkbox is set in the Remote Access control panel preferences, the Remote Access Status application will launch automatically. Disconnecting is done the same way. The Remote Access CSM also lists all Internet accounts that have been entered in the Internet control panel for switching back and forth on-the-fly, a boon for portable users.

Lastly, Location Manager Controls provides quick switching between location sets. With the selection of a location from the menu, Remote Access, AppleTalk and TCP/IP, volume, default printer, and time zone settings can be changed all at once! Although this feature is enjoyed most by portable users, its settings juggling capabilities can be harnessed by desktop users too. For instance, I use the Location Manager CSM to switch TCP/IP settings between my ISP and my home network. (Ah, the joys of network gaming!)

These a just a few of the Control Strip Modules that Apple provides with the Mac OS, but the real fun is realized when third-party CSM’s are added to the mix. The following are just a sample of Control Strip additions. CalcStrip by kykz’s Software is one of my favorites. This handy CSM provides a small calculator for quick computations. Copy, Paste, and backspace capabilities were thoughtfully included to make handling figures easier. I use it all of the time to calculate memory settings for programs and to convert between bytes, kilobytes, and megabytes. It also aids me in cropping large pictures to a dimension that scales easily to standard monitor resolutions.

Calendar by Young-Jin Kim offers a tiny calendar that is accessible at a moment’s notice. By holding down the mouse button and positioning the cursor over the arrows, past or future months can be viewed. Holidays and Sundays are displayed in red, but the CSM comes configured to Korean holidays. So a little resource editing is necessary to display others. The current day is displayed in bold. For me, knowing what day of the week a certain date falls on is reason enough to add this to my Control Strip.

SoBig by Patrick McClaughry is another handy Control Strip Module to have around. Instead of offering commands and settings like many other CSM’s, SoBig displays the largest block of contiguous memory available and the amount of disk space available on the startup drive. By invoking its menu, the free space of other drives is displayed, too. Although a small enhancement, this module provides a quick way to check free memory before launching an application and, with SoBig’s menu, the amount of free space on all mounted drives without the need to open a single Get Info window!

Apple’s CSM’s are short on frills and extra features. Luckily, for those that yearn for more, third parties have stepped in, providing enhanced replacements for their simplistic counterparts. These are just a few of them:

• Minuet by Brochu Shareware is a souped up replacement for the CDStrip, providing a slick interface and additional CD player functions. (shareware, $15)
• SwitchRes by Stéphane Madrau merges the capabilities of the Monitor BitDepth, Monitor Resolution, TV Mirroring, and Video Mirroring CSM’s all into one utility accessible via a CSM, CMM (Contextual Menu Module), or menu. (shareware, $15)
• Jeremy’s CSM Bundle by Jeremy Kezer includes a whole slew of Control Strip modules, many of which are designed with PowerBook users in mind. (shareware, $15)

Overall, Apple has designed a convenient way to configure settings on-the-fly without taking up much screen real-estate, and if a shortcut key is assigned in the Control Strip control panel, the entire strip can be shown or hidden with a mere keystroke. The Control Strip Extension is part system extension and part background process, meaning that once the extension has loaded the necessary system calls on startup, the background process can be quit and restarted without compromising stability. Plus, since Mac OS 8.5, CSM’s can be added and removed from the Control Strip without restarting. I hope that all will realize and harness the potential of this utility, especially since it’s included with the system software!

Jeremy Hoesly
ResExcellence Software Tester
January 2, 2000