| 2/26/99
Robosite is a new to the Macintosh neighborhood. This site has one of the best looking 32 bit icon collections I've seen to date. They've done an excellent job converting many of the huge Linux icons to the standard 32x32 Mac size.
Kenneth Lu points out some flaws in the techique used by MacAmp to insert 32 bit icon resources.
If you ever change the creator of the file to another application, you need to manually cut the MacAmp icon! If you don't do this, you are presented with a misleading icon which does not represent the file's true creator! Not to mention the increase in file size due to all those redundant custom icons which can add up over many files.
The additional icons add about 7k to each file. While not a lot, it will add up if every application used the technique. On a hard disk with 8000 documents (like mine), that would equal more than 50 megs of disk space!
2/24/99
I really feel bad for all of you Internet Explorer users. No, really! I mean it.
Jordan Bojar emailed to let me know that ResExcellence was improperly formated when viewed in IE 4.5. While I often check ResExcellence in both browsers, I had not done so since the first of the month.
Somehow, odd italic and bold styles were left hanging all over the place. I apologise for the mess. Hopefully, it looks better today!
If you use MacAmp, you may have noticed that your MP3 files have 32 bit document icons after you play them. So you think to yourself, "Hey, I thought ResExcellence said that programs can't assign 32 bit document icons because of compatibility concerns with the desktop database!"
Well that's true! Here's what I think the clever folks at MacAmp have done. When you open an MP3, the MacAmp application copies the appropriate icon family (including icns) into the resource fork of MP3. If you're running MacOS 8.x, the 32 bit icon is used.
Very clever. I hope more programers adopt this trick, since it's unlikey the format of the desktop database will be updated anytime soon.
Pete Mellows created this Applescript to launch Eudora and check for mail every 30 minutes.
I use it because at work we have a timed account. I'm often away from my machine, so email doesn't get checked as regularly as it should. When I'm surfing the internet I like to have Eudora Pro check my mail every 5 minutes. Eudora Pro cannot be set up to check every 5 minutes AND every 30 minutes when I'm offline.
To set it up, open to the "Settings" panel. Click on "OT/PPP MacSlip" and check both boxes. You don't want Eudora Pro to connect automatically (there is a reason for this) and you do want Eudora Pro to disconnect after checking the mail. In "Remote Access" Options, you can have connect automatically when starting TCP/IP Applications if you like, but it is not necessary. Eudora Pro bypasses this.
property checking : true
property CheckTime : 30 -- minutes til next check. Change according to taste.
on run
-- No setup required
end run
on idle
try
tell application "Eudora Pro" -- if "Eudora Pro" name exists, then launches
connect [|checking|] -- and checks mail
end tell
on error
tell application "Finder"
activate
tell application "Finder" to set app_name to application file id "CSOm" as string
select file app_name -- finds Eudora on computer, no matter what it's named
set name of selection to "Eudora Pro" -- changes name of Eudora to "Eudora Pro"
end tell
tell application "Eudora Pro" -- launches "Eudora Pro"
connect [|checking|] -- and checks mail
end tell
end try
delay CheckTime * 60 -- minutes*60 seconds
end idle
You can download the source and saved application which allows you to customize it for other email programs.
(added to the Sloppy Applescript Archive)
2/22/99
About 75% of ResExcellence readers have kept ResEdit as their resource editing tool of choice. Approximately 25% have made the move up to Resorcerer. I imagine most owners of Resorcerer are software developers or Scheme creators.
"Mac Chicago" was a magazine for multimedia content creators and graphic artists in the Windy City. They changed their name to "Digital Chicago" and began cross platform coverage (similar to the recently defunct emedia weekly).
Similarly, MacWorld has also stuck their toes into the cross platform pond to test the water.
This week's Polling Place asks, "Do you like when Mac magazines cover Windows?"
StartupScreenRandomizer has been updated to version 1.1. It takes a folder of pictures, and rotates through them on each restart.
Everybody stops by Ilicon looking for great icons - that's a given, but don't forget to open the Surprise Sack for a nice collection of background patterns, Startupscreens, and desktop pictures.
The edit to add an icon to Stuffit Expander for BinHqx files has an update to take into account the fact that several applications can make a BinHexed archive. If all of your icons were not correctly changing, try this addition:
 Open BNDL ID#128.
From the Resource menu, select Create New File Type.
Once again replace the ???? with TEXT and assign icon 4000.
If you're looking for a great way to script your network configurations or work with ResEdit resources, take a look at Akua Sweets V1.3.
More generous readers have added to the quality of ResExcellence with their User Contributions:
2/19/99
Are you getting "Out of Memory" errors when trying to replace the MacOS Startup Screen (MOSS)? Some of the recent PICT resources  submitted by users weigh in at 8 times the file size of the original Smilin' Mac!
After pasting in the replacement, select the ResEdit menu item "Get Resource Info". Make sure the System Heap and Purgeable boxes are checked before saving the file.
Weedhopper Press has updated two of their software packes that may appeal to ResExcellence readers.
The resource-savvy Scripting Addition, Weedhopper Commands, is at 1.01; a bug in the readStrings command has been fixed. These additions are free for your personal use, and $9 if you distribute them with any of your own software packeages.
The Mac OS 8.5 Resedit TEMPlates for adding small and large System fonts have been updated; the sfe# template now uses radio buttons rather than numerical codes to set the font style.
Chris Green uses this Applescript to get the path of a file using the creator code:
tell application "Finder" to set app_name to application file id "MOSS" as string
quit application app_name
This works great because it's more concise, and uses a full path string, which is a better form to get into the habit of using so that you won't be asked where the application is if it's not running.
Painting 1.6 has been released! This shareware graphics program boasts all the standard paint tools, plus special effects, support for multiple file formats, customised colour sets, graphics tablet support, and much more.
New features in version 1.6 include:
- support for pressure-sensitive graphics tablets. Colour and/or width of brush strokes can be controlled.
- Uses QuickTime 3 Effects. You can apply several special effects to your documents and add more to your system.
- 360° rotation. Requires QuickTime 3.
Ten new 8Tuner Packs have been added at Interface, including the great iMac set by Hide Itoh. I think it would be great if all System Icon replacements were 8Packs. It's so much easier; and if you still want to use ResEdit, the icon resources are still in there.
Add an icon to Stuffit Expander for BinHqx files.
 Have you ever noticed that a freshly downloaded Stuffit BinHex (hqx) archive has a generic document icon? This new edit, submitted by Tom_0, shows you how to create a new Bundle Bit resource and assign an icon for all those hqx files! (Continued...)
"If you cannot control yourself, you cannot command others." - Old Klingon Proverb from the Klingon Honor Guard manual.
2/17/99
Apple has set up a web page that allows text based software searches. Enter phrases like "iMac" or "Powerbook" and you will be presented with an appropriate list from the archive.
The Mac Community is a new site listing all thing Mac. It recently posted 4 smiling Mac desktop pictures colored for the new iMacs.
Fellow Chicagoan Justin Dauer has a nice collection of icons at The PseudoRoom. Smooth Gold is the latest release, but PseudoOS is definately worth a look.
I did something interesting at the Coyle House this past weekend. After wiring three Macs to a hub for 10Base-T ethernet, I looked into the possibiliy of sharing my Powerbook's ISDN PCMCIA modem with other computers on the network.
It turns out it was quite easy using a program called IPNetRouter from Sustainable Softworks. By assigning each machine an IP address, and then routing the slave machine's PPP connection to ethernet, I was able to share my 128k ISDN connection - keeping the analog phone line free, and allowing the slave computers to have faster access.
IPNetRouter is a time limited demo (30 days) if you want to give it a try. Within a month, I hope to have my DSL line installed and a dedicated LinuxPPC box acting as an IP Router for the "Coyle Family Network". :)
These are interesting times!
(BTW, ethernet allows us to have some great games of Marathon.)
All of the little Applescript tips that have been piling up on the monthly ResExcellence News Pages have been placed in a central location: "The Sloppy Applescript Collection".
Don't forget to look on the Previous Edits page for some of the larger, better documented Applescripts.
The User Contributions pages have been trimmed down to facilitate faster loading.
Today's additions include:
And finally,
- With a tip-of-the-hat to Bill Dawson's MacASS, Stephan Roth has created BondiButt OS; a collection containing a Desktop Picture, MOSS, and 32 bit folder icon.
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo." - Random Signature
2/15/99
In what was the biggest landslide vote to date, 88% of you think Apple should open up the source code for ResEdit. While it would be an unprecedented act for Apple, I figured it couldn't hurt to mention it to Steve Jobs.
I haven't found an edit yet that I could do in Resorcerer, but not in ResEdit, so the program still has life in it. But I wonder, and this week's Polling Place asks, "Do you own Resorcerer?"
The hardworking crew at The IconFactory has released this year's winners of Pixelpalooza. While all the sets are outstanding, my favorites are the Kitchen Icons by Hide Itoh. In fact, just last week I had downloaded beautiful Hide's iMac system icons for the kids computer. Be sure to check his web page for the rest of his work.
While admiring some of the Creative Desktops at MacPlaza, I came across a link to a great collection of desktop pictures. Digital Blasphemy has over 100 desktops in all the standard sizes. It's amazing work from a guy with a Windows computer. :)
While you're at MacPlaza, be sure to view the K-Scheme by Albie Wong. With the hundreds (thousands?) of schemes at the Kaleidoscope archive, I'm always surprised when someone finds another way to define "beautiful"! Albie was also a winner in Pixelpalooza.
If you're familiar with KeyQuencer, you know that you can address an application by using its creator code rather than by name. I had wondered if AppleScript could do this, and thanks to Myonghon Lee, I have the answer.
In this example to quit Netscape:
tell application "Finder"
get name of application file id "MOSS"
end tell
tell application result
quit
end tell
The Finder gets the path and exact name of the file with the creator code: MOSS (Netscape), and then quits that application. This small addition stops two annoying problems. You will no longer be prompted to find an application the first time you run a script. You scripts won't break when you update an application and the name changes slightly. The Eudora betas are an example of this.
This next script was submitted by Gary Jastrzab:
Here's a simple AppleScript that will automatically clear the America Online 4.0 Browser Cache, which often takes up more than 5M of hard drive space. Placed in the "Shutdown Items" folder (in the System folder), it will "trash the cache" at the end of ever Mac session:
tell application "Finder"
set PrefsPath to the path to preferences folder as text
set AOLCachePath to (PrefsPath & "America Online:Browser Cache:cache.waf") as text
try
delete alias AOLCachePath
empty folder "Trash"
on error
end try
end tell
 Lucas Everett uses the magician's slight of hand to add Huge Icons to the Mac.
Here's a tip if you use them: to open a folder, click on the name - not the icon.
Ouch! Several readers have written to complain that the ResExcellence Sherlock plugin insists on updating on every query. Michael Munger, a MacSoldier, recommended DateKiller to fix the problem when a Sherlock plugins act up. The program is an Apple-Donuts exclusive.
The previous ResExcellence article on "Ticks and Patches" describes using Conflict Catcher's report to identify potential problems with 68k code patches. If you haven't looked at your report since updating to MacOS 8.5, you may be as surprised as I was! With each update, more of the system is PowerPC native, so new potential speed problems arise where 68k patches are applied to PPC code.
One result was that my ol' stand by, "SpellCatcher" has become so bug ridden, and puts such a drain on the OS, that I finally had to remove it.
This forces me to learn the several different spell checkers that are built in to my favorite applications, but at least the computer has stopped crashing and the system feels peppy.
2/12/99
Here are a couple of additions to the previous AppleScript to log off the net.
If you are using the PPP control panel instead of the newer Remote Access control panel, you can end your session with the command: PPP disconnect.
Are you using FreePPP? Download the FreePPP Scripting Addition by Sebastian Kloska, and use the command: close FreePPP.
The Interface Page has been completely redone. Eight new sets of icons have been converted to 8Tunersets by Michael Dicker. (Using 8Tuner makes it easy to add icons to the System.)
New User Contributions by Brian Zoll:
 Yet Another AOL Instant Messenger Edit. Choosing an internet search site is like buying underware - it's a very personal decision! This edit lets you change the default search engines in AIM. (Continued...)
2/10/99
EpochIcons released several Mac Themed Desktop pictures along with Neon Genesis EVA icons, but what really caught my eye was the slick StarWars font.
Jim Henderson was looking for options to automatically log off the internet when he quits Netscape Communicator. Here are two ideas:
KeyQuencer:
quit 'MOSS' -- creator code for Netscape
PPPSwitch off
Save this as an application and stick it in the Apple Menu, or assign it to a key combination.
AppleScript:
tell application "Netscape Communicator™"
activate
quit
end tell
RA disconnect
Type this into the Script Editor and save it as an Application.
Maybe it's because spring is in the air, or because Valentine's Day is just around the corner. Either way it seems the hormone levels are elevated! In addition to Brian Basgen's Lynn Schiller MOSS screen from the other day, Erik Barzeski from AppleWizards E-zine has submitted a beautiful Outlook Express splashscreen featuring the lovely Sandra Bullock!
The prolific Sean Terrill created a new MOSS featuring the eye-candy formerly know as iMac.
And finally, starving, impatient Ethan sent ResExcellence some great replacement icons that look good enough to be 32 bit. If you're running an earlier OS and suffer from icon envy, give these a look.
Add new colors to your Stickies' Notes. Jonathan Feeney requested a simple way to add new color styles to Apple's Stickies. In appreciation of Valentine's Day, let's make our notes as red as roses. (Continued...)
"We are being roughed up by the 1,000 pound gorilla of the industry,"
- Disney official Steve Wadsworth referring to Microsoft.
 2/8/99
Last week's Polling Place created a sack full of email. I was given many friendly reprimands for leaving out Robbie from Forbidden Planet. (Thanks to Dan for picture and link).
Today I read the question about your prefered robot or computer, and I couldn'd give my respons. Why ? Because you have forgotten the MOST fantastic robot of all humanity story : Robbie the Robot, of the movie "Forbidden Planet" (1957 or 1958), the most incredible Sci-fi picture in the universe (better than Star Wars). So, if you want my respons, add Robbie to the list, or your computer will receive the malediction of the mummie (other great picture of the 50's). - Jean-Jacques Cortes
Hey, how can you forget Hymie the Robot from "Get Smart"? - Louis Pagoulatos
"You left out my fave..Julie Newmar in the sixties TV show "My Living Doll" Now there's a robot that was easy on the eyes. Granted I was a young boy at the time." - Kevan
What no chance to vote for Marvin the paranoid android !!! "Brain the size of a planet - and they make me pick the paper up off the floor" (Douglas Adams - Hitchhikers Guide etc)" - Cyber CDP
My only comment about today's otherwise excellent survey would be the omission of Dora from "Time Enough for Love" by Robert A. Heinlein. So many deserving robots, I know some could not be included. - Hal
GORT (from The Day The Earth Stood Still) Do the words "Klaatu berada nikto" strike a familiar note? Any robot list without Gort must be put together by a very young person. But there's so much good stuff on your site, I really can't hold it against you. - Alan
Don't worry Alan, I'm an old-timer just like you, so I hope all of you forgive my memory lapse.
According to last week's results, Commander Data squeaked by the HAL 9000 as your favorite. Some of you asked who Ender Wiggins and Jane are. They're from an excellenct series of books by Orson Scott Card, the first of which is "Ender's Game".
There is a petition to convince Apple in release the source code for ResEdit. This week the Polling Place asks, "Should ResEdit be made Open Source?".
My personnel opinion is that the new Navigation Services from Apple still are not as good as some of the shareware/commercial offerings out there.
That's why I got goose-bumps when I read that MacPlaza has posted, "Action Files Hints & Tips". After reading the article, you can answer a simple question and be automatically entered for a chance to win a boxed, shrink wrapped copy of Action Files by Power On Software.
The give away will last for two weeks!
I know many of you have been very reluctant to upgrade to Stuffit Expander 5.x, but with version 5.1, the software is even faster and Jeff Ford wrote in to say that the Nag screen is finally gone!
To brighten your monday morning; a few Users Contributions:
AOL's Instant Messenger. My daughter has been pleading with me for more than a year to switch to AOL as our ISP. I've been happy with the service the Family has received from ATT Worldnet, and changing that email address would have meant changing an address book entry for many relative who could barely set it to begin with!
The solution to appease my 12 year old was AOL Instant Messenger. Like ICQ, this little program allows you to contact people online. If you have a lot of friends on AOL, it may be a more practical choice than ICQ.
While the program works as advertised, after a weekend of working with it, I saw obvious areas for improvment! (Continued...)
2/5/99
Many readers have emailed asking for addition tips on installing LinuxPPC. While it focuses on the Powerbook 2400, this page has tons of excellent information. If you're interested in installation on a Jazz drive, Anthony Saxton has compiled this page.
The artisans at The Mac Font Vault have emerged from their cloistered tower bearing over 40 new script fonts! Many of these beautiful creations are free or available for a small shareware fee.
Do you use or design online forms for Macs and PC's? You may be interested in ASI_Font, a Macintosh font that is a "MS Sans Serif" clone.
Using Cyberdog? Mike Pearson has created a completely new set of document icons that you can preview and download from the User Contributions.
Using "Export Icon" to modify the 32 bit System icons.
I find it odd that Apple went through the trouble of including 32 bit icons for STOP, NOTE, and CAUTION that were nothing more than 8 bit copies. This edit will show you how to use Export Icon to turn those boring icons into 32 bit wonders. (Continued...)
"The great irony of the iMac is that while it doesn't have a floppy, in order to update its ROM file, you still need a paper clip!" - Michael Coyle
2/3/99
The makers of Kineticon have released a shareware Photoshop filter for creating 32 bit icons. The $15, "Export Icon" plugin is easy to use (once you get the hang of transparencies!).
Looking for another way to empty the trash without resource editing in the Finder? Alessandro Levi Montalcini, the author of KeyQuencer, recommends this simple macro:
File empty trash dangerous enforce
Regarding Retrospect backups, Andre Hinds tipped me off to this potential problem:
Retrospect is a great program. I even use it to directly backup my wife's iMac over my Ethernet connection to my G3/233 minitower onto CD/R discs. But although it can copy files in use on the host hard disk, it cannot copy those files from a networked disk that is running on its own. I receive errors if copying the iMac font files, for example. Thus, I make sure I copy only files from the System Folder that I know aren't running, such as the files in the Preferences folder.
Sockyung Hong asks,
"Is it possible to add command keys to menu items on Photoshop 5.02?"
I took a look at the funky MENU and CMNU resources in Photoshop and couldn't get them to recognize my command key additons. Even if I managed to find the correct menu and aded a command key, it wouldn't work.
At this point, I'd recommend KeyQuencer macros, or even Photoshop Actions triggered by an AppleScript.
For example, I have a Photoshop action that creates previews for the Users Submissions. The Action reduces an image 50%, converts it to indexed color, and saves it on the desktop as an interlaced GIF. I've named it "Preview".
I can then create an Applescript named "Make a Preview":
tell application "Photoshop"
Activate
do script "Preview"
end tell
And finally, how about running the Applescript with a KeyQuencer Macro assigned to Shift-Control-P:
runscript "Path:to:script:Make a Preview"
Sure that's a lot of work, but that's why we call it hacking! :)
For a simple menu selection, you could create a KeyQuencer macro and assign it to Shift-Control-I as in the example:
Menu "Image Size..."
It seems the AppleCD Player is a more popular program than I had first expected! Two more Resource patchers have been submitted. One by Jean-Jacques CORTES, and the other by Edward O'Rourke! Download them and patch copies of the CD PLayer application to see which you like better (no, there won't be a poll!).
Contributor Michael Dicker has created a new MOSS to go with his new G3 Yosemite.
While I'm on the topic of contributors, Guinevere Orvis is the winner of January's random Contributors Drawing. Guinevere will receive a copy of "The Mac Bathroom Reader", an excellent look at the early days in Apple's history.
2/1/99
According to last week's poll, a third of you backup your important files at least once a month, another third of you never use any protection! There are few things in life that you can count on with certainty, and one of them is that your hard disk will fail. Backup!
The program I use is Retrospect. It's the only product I've found that copies everything on your disk - even if the file is hidden or in use!
After my most recent crash, I've even started uploading a Stuffit archive of my most important files to a protected directory with my ISP.
After Apple's HAL 9000 Super Bowl ad, I started reminiscing about old computers and robots. This week's frivolous Polling Place asks, "Who is your favorite Computer/Robot?"
The author of IconBuilder, Craig Hockenberry, gives us the nitty-gritty on the lack of support for 32 bit icon resources:
The reason you can't add icns resources to the file (and get 32-bit versions for the application and document icons) is because they are not recognized by the desktop database. The BNDL resource (which is used to build the desktop data) can only reference old-style icons. Apple did this because of compatibility reasons: if you could share a file with an icns resource, anyone with an older system (with no 32-bit support) would not be able to "see" the icon. Bad things would happen.
You're correct that the only way to add the 32-bit icons are to paste them as custom icon resources to the application. In this case, the desktop database is not affected (only the local Finder checks these resources).
At the recent MacWorld Expo, Anthony Saxton saw Douglas McKenna of Mathemaesthetics demonstrating a 32 bit icon editor for Resourcer! Hopefully an updated version will be available soon.
Epoch Icons released two new sets of icons. "iOS" is a set of icons and desktops-files based on the colors and textures of the new iMacs, and "Studio Icons" feature recording gear, pedals, amps, and players.
The great macro scheduling utility, T-Minus Ten has received an update and a new web site. Read more on the program in a past ResExcellence review.
A couple of Mac nerds have created a new GUI page called (cleverly enough) - MacNerds! While the selection is currently limited, the site is worth a look simply to see how badly these two need an ophthalmologist, and orthodontist!
You've heard me chat about LinuxPPC in the past, and maybe you were interested, but didn't want to go through the hassle of partitioning your drive to check it out. The wait is over thanks to LinuxPPC-Live, a version of Linux that boots right off of your Mac's HFS drive. (continued...)
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