7/29/98
IconTools has been updated to version 1.1. In addition to a few software tweaks, the positioning window has been enhanced with new controls for moving, nudging, colorizing, minimizing and changing stamps. Other enhancements allow more options when stamping CD's, folders, and drive.
Beastie It Software has updated two utilities. Help to Icon now lets you select from several possible icons to replace the word "Help". Wapp Pro not only inserts a menu that lists the windows of the current application, but also the other applications running and their respective windows, letting you switch between any window. You can also quit or hide applications that are not the frontmost one.
If you use the Kaleidoscope scheme, NotePad, take a look at the startup replacements on the Users Contributions page. Jeffrey Stowell submitted two new additions: NotPad and Stealth.
Thank's again to all ResExcellence contributors. You're building a library of unique resources on the net. Remember, your tips and questions keep this site going strong.
While I'm thinking of it, Eudora could use a new, Mac-centric splash screen. The maroon one screams Windows. Instructions on changing Eudora's splash are here.
If you're an educator, or you create presentations in html, here's a little trick for Netscape that starts the application in Kiosk mode. Kiosk mode has a very small menu set and no access to toolbars, tightly controling the movements of the user.
Paste this text into Apple's Script Editor (in the Applescript folder), modify the folder path to Netscape, and save it at as Application (check "Never show startup screen"). If you paste Netscape's icon into it, students can double-click it, and never realize they're running an Applescript. You may want to create another script that sets kiosk mode to 0 for normal access.
tell application "Finder"
activate
select file "Netscape Navigator" of folder "Netscape" of folder "Internet"
open selection
end tell
tell application "Netscape Navigator"
set kiosk mode to 1
end tell
As the month draws to a close, I want to thank the folks at Binary Software for teaming up with ResExcellence for a KeyQuencer promotion. It looks like several hundred of you stopped by the site to check out the software. I hope you find it as indispensable as I do.
Add a command key for Mark as Read to MacSoup
I love MacSoup for newsreading. Every morning, I log in and get my news and mail, then read it on the train on the way into work. I like to select large blocks of articles and remove them by Marking as Read. Instead of always making a trip to the menu bar, why don't we add a Command Key. (Continued...)
7/29/98
The Users Contributions page has been rebuilt and updated. Contributions are now grouped in several categories for quicker load times. Almost all the sections have new elements including several ResExcellence StartupScreens and MOSS screens.
One of the Extension Managers not listed in the Polling Place is Now Startup Manager. Rather than change the poll, if you are using it please select other.
A nice place to browse for textures and pictures is The Desk Stop.
7/28/98
Alberto Ricci, one of the authors of Icon Tools, has revamped the web site with Reviews, a FAQ, and the Icon Stamp archive. As ResEx'ers, I believe it's our moral obligation to submit as many wonderful Icon Stamps and Frames to the archive as possible! You can find instructions on creating them here.
I've been "adjusting" the html and cgi on ResExcellence. If you experience any lost images, broken links, etc, please let me know.
Replace the "Change Desktop Pattern" contextual menu
I never change my desktop pattern using the contextual menu. And now, thanks to a great tip provided by Chul Kim, I can show you how to change that menu item to open any file you would like.
7/27/98
 Thank you Mac Altered States for selecting ResExcellence as your site of the week. At this weekend's employee picnic, I congratulated the staff for all their hard work, and informed them to take Sunday off. We all agreed, it's nice to have your work noticed. In fact, ResExcelence has turned out better than I had ever hoped. Reader suggestions help drive the content, and our sponsors help cover the cost of server space. Thank you ResEx'ers, and if you ever need anything our sponsors offer, let them know you heard about them at ResExcellence.
Jason Zimmer dropped a line to let me know the link to RGB Calculator was broken. The correct one is here.
Many of you have written about the complexity of the Launcher color edit. I agree it's a tuffy. Maybe some enterprising shareware author can create a Design Studio type program to edit the Launcher.
Sometimes the answer to a question is right under your nose! Marlon Deason writes about assigning Function Keys with programs other than KeyQuencer:
I use the keyboard command feature of SpeedDoubler 8/8.1. If you have SpeedDoubler 8 on your machine, there is no need to install another extension. Just use the feature which is already there.
I have filled all of my F-Keys and still have room for more. You can
even run AppleScripts with the touch of a button.
It seems most people are loading 10 to 25 extensions at startup. Does that tell the whole store? Maybe not. Several readers pointed out that some extension managers show more startup icons than others! I assumed everyone had Conflict Catcher. Was I wrong? The week's Polling Place askes, "Which extension manager are you using?". I've included an option for Other. If you select it, please drop me a line to tell me which manager I've forgotten.
 Tuesday's Update:
Previously, Neil Holcomb asked about assigning an AppleScript to the Contextual Menu that lets you change the Desktop Pattern. Tomorrow, I'll show you how to rename that position and have it open any script or application!
7/24/98
Last night's chat at the GUI-Junky Hotline server was a blast. If you were unable to stop by, watch their site for a transcript. Thanks to everyone who participated.
Roni K asked, "I would like to see is how to assign my F-Keys to do something than taking up space. Like empty trash, Clean Up Desktop etc...."
While some of the items you mention can be done with previous command key edits, assigning function keys is a perfect job for KeyQuencer. On my Powerbook, each function key either launches an application, or executes some another KeyQuencer script that gets a job done.
Matthew Gazzara wonders, "Will ResExcellence ever have its own startup-screen like GUI Junky?"
GUI-Junky has its own Startupscreen! Why wasn't I informed of this? Readers are always asking if ResExcellence has a Screen or Kaleidoscope Scheme. All I can say is - I'm not making it!
And finally, Neil Holcomb pondered, "Is there a way to, when you bring up a contesual menu the change desktop patterm could be set to open an applescript instead of the controll panel. I use an apple script to set a random picture each time. and using FinderPop I have just stuck the script in the menu's but I am not happy with this setup. can you help or is there a plug in that could do this?"
Have you tried Michael Schuerig's CMScript? It's a plugin for the MacOS 8 Contextual Menu that makes AppleScripts available from the Contextual Menu. Maybe it will do the trick for you.
Run multiple Launchers with different looks and items.
Are you up for one more Launcher edit? If one Launcher window isn't enough for you, this little edit allows two or more Launchers to run simultaneously, and even allows for different color styles based on a previous edit. (Continued...)
7/22/98
This Thursday, July 23rd at 8pm CDT, I will be chatting with guests and the good folks from GUI-Junky on their Hotline server. Free copies of You Don't Know Jack! from Berkeley Systems will be given away at random during the evening, so stop by to visit and maybe win a great game!
For more information on Hotline and to download a client to attend
the event, please visit Hotline Communications website.
Greg Wexton has an interesting perspective on this week's
Polling Place:
I'm always amused and disturbed when people complain to me about how they've used Macs and will stick with Unix thank you very much not so much for the features as the stability. I find that in the vast majority of those cases, they've had or used systems with tons of extensions installed. People never seem to quite understand that these are patches to the OS. Discounting the ones actually from Apple, it's unlikely that any two of them have been validated against each other... I run with as few extensions as possible, and rarely - even counting the time I spend coding - have to reboot.
Since I have over 40 little pictures displaying on my monitor at startup, I'm certainly at the high end of the OS-Patch scale. Surprisingly, my system is very stable (perhaps still not by UNIX standards). One tool I use to keep track of what area control panels and extensions are patching is Conflict Catcher.
Ask Conflict Catcher for a report, select System Traps, and you will get a log like the one below:
A93D MenuSelect
0055F4AC 680x0 680x0 Appearance Extension
0063CDEA 680x0 680x0 Glidel
00643B22 680x0 680x0 Instant Organizer
006B044E 680x0 680x0 KeyQuencer Engine
00658798 680x0 680x0 STFInit
00693CB0 680x0 680x0 BeHierarchic
0069ACF0 680x0 680x0 FinderPop
00730DDE 680x0 680x0 PDFWriter Shortcut
00645D50 680x0 680x0 Spell Catcherô
006A3180 680x0 PowerPC Window Monkey
If I start having problems after adding a new extension, I can look for conflicts by looking at the patches. This can help narrow my choices on which extensions are fighting for the computer's attention!
Disabling the Help key on an extended keyboard.
Do you constantly slip and tap the Help key when you really wanted Delete? This edit creates a new keyboard layout with the Help key disabled, and if you ever need it back, it's a simple as selecting the old keyboard layout from a menu. (Continued...)
7/21/98
Here's a rare Tuesday update!
I stumbled upon some very nice textures at info-mac. Real World Patterns is one of the best collections of subtle patterns I've ever come across.
The first issue of the new Mac weekly, MacReport is out. You can download it in pdf format from their web site. The magazine's hope is to fill the void left with the departure of MacWeek.
Is your hard disk a mess? Is it starting to look like the closet you had has a child? then you need to stop by MacPlaza and read "Hints & Tips for Beginners - Organization of the Mac for Beginners".
Edit Apple's Launcher Colors...
Originally, I had planned the Launcher color edit for Monday, but as I got involved with the graphics, I realized I needed to spend a little more time, even though it would delay the edit. Over the past several months, several readers have emailed with information on how the colors are stored, (thanks Marlon and Bryan), but it has taken some time to distill the information down to a reasonably sized ResExcellence edit. (continued...)
7/20/98
As expected, 70% of ResExcellence readers connect to the net at modems of 56k or less. The number of high speed (T1 type) connections was surprising at 22%. I imagine most of these are people at work and maybe a few cable modems. What surprised me was the low number of ISDN users (7.8%). I've had my ISDN connection for one week and I love it. In many parts of the US, ISDN rates are very high, but here in the Midwest, in Ameritech's territory, the line charge is only $20 more per month than a regular line, any the usage rates are identical to a regular phone call.
Everytime I boot my Powerbook, I patiently watch the parade of icons march across the bottom of the screen. This week's Polling place wants to know, "How many icons crawl across your screen at startup?".
In addition to the Eudora 4.0 demo, another source for the Appearance manager is John Stile's Emulation.net. You can use the Appearance Manager under System 7, but be sure to read the Read Me file for known conflicts.(Thanks David Grogan)
If you're a newcomer to ResExcellence, be sure to view the Previous Edits. There are now over 75 edits archived there. Use these edits as building blocks and create your own variations on other applications.
Daniel Trattler asks a common question:
I've just arrived at your site and the first thing I wanted to do was to see if my version of ResEdit was current. Why is it that I have version 2.2.5 when everyone else seems to have version 2.1.3 - including the Apple FTP site?
Am I existing in the future?
Yes Daniel, you are in the future. Please adjust your Date & Time control panel to return to the present! The truth is, there are many unofficial versions of ResEdit floating around the net. Two common ones are Super ResEdit, and ResEdit 3.0.
Super ResEdit is a regular version of 2.1.3 with additional templates and extensions like Forker, that let you edit the Data Fork of a file. ResEdit 3.0 was a developer's version that supported additional resources that were to be a part of Copland. Since neither of these is an official release, I won't be covering them at ResExcellence. It doesn't appear that Apple has any plans to update ResEdit, instead referring developers to Resourcerer. I would expect that ResEdit will continue to work all the way through MacOS X, but support for new resources (like 16 bit or mini-icons) will be limited.
MOSS, the MacOS Startup Screen page, has benn updated with new progress bar startup screens to view.
7/17/98
I made a short trip to the Internet World Show here in Chicago. It was very low key, about 200 small vendors in their little display booths. Apple was there demonstrating WebObjects, and they had a Powerbook G3 with the 14" screen on display. (I'm saving my pennies for that little toy!) Sadly, there were no iMacs on display, and while I stood there test driving the Powerbook, several people asked about Apple's upcoming little iBox!
One interesting piece of info I took away from the McCormick convention center dealt with new IRS rules that are forcing Macintosh User Groups to change their names. It seems that in order to be a not-for-profit, tax exempt organization, your groups activities cannot benefit one organization (as Apple benefits from MUGs). Several groups have quietly changed their names, on paper at least.
A reader recently asked if it was possible to get the Appeance Manager on Systems older than MacOS 8. The latest demo for Eudora Pro installs a copy of the Appearance Manager that works with System 7.5.x and up. As an aside, the installer will overwrite the Appearance extension if you're running OS 8, removing any custom icons you may have changed!
Change the Fonts used in Apple's Launcher
Using ResEdit, you can assign four different fonts for use in the Launcher:
- The font used in the Folder buttons on the top
- A font for small button displays
- A font for medium button displays
- And a font for large button displays
(Continued...)
7/15/98
One of favorite control panels has been updated. Window Monkey 1.2.4 is now available for download. Recently, we posted a two part interview with Robert Mathews, the program's creator.
Speaking of interviews, the good folks at GUI-Junky have invited me to stop by their Hotline server for a couple of hours of online chat. The tentative date and time is Thursday, July 23rd, 8:00pm Central time. Hope to see many of you there.
Thanks to GUI-Junky, I visited a nice desktop picture site that boasts dozens of beautiful Bryce images called "Mike Bonnell's Computer Wallpaper". It's a Windows site, so the only way to download the images is by telling your browser to "Save Image to Desktop".
MacMarines, an in-your-face Mac Evangelist web site, has moved to a new PowerMac server, and also maintains a 2000 member strong mailing list. Stop by and pickup some ammo.
I've always maintained that ResExcellence readers are smarter than your average bear, but now I also think they're more creative. As I scroll through the Kaleidoscope Scheme archive, I'm amazed at the number of familiar names - many of which have contributed ideas or graphics to this page. For example, look at the fine schemes created by Maury McCown, and his many contributions to this site.
Today the User Contributions Page has a new About this Mac,and a MacOS Startup Screen. Nice stuff.
7/13/98
Amost 50% of ResExcellence voters feel this page is a snappy download. 43% of you think I'm average (that's OK, I'm use to it), and exactly 9 of you think the page is as slow as Word 6.0. Ouch, that really hurts!
Today my new ISDN connection comes into the home. Now I can read my email even faster. :) In honor of this momentous event, the Polling Place asks, "At what speed do you connect to the internet?". There are so many possible options that I ask you pick the closest one.
Wesley Joe has come through for ResEx'ers with a new version of his Startup Progress screen (last week's was customized for his StarMax clone).
KeyQuencer Tip:
This Macro toggles Eudora's option to check for main every few minutes.
Menu "Settings..."
Type "C"
Button "Check for mail every"
Button "OK"
Move sounds out of the System and into the Font folder.
There was a recent discussion on the Macintosh Information List (mac-l) about moving alert sounds out of the System suitcase and into the Fonts folder. Why would you want to have your alert sounds in the Font folder? Because you can turn on/off different sound suitcases with an extensions manager, creating sounds sets. (Continued...)
7/10/98
Wesley Joe sent in a beautiful progress bar startup that you can download from the User Contributions page. The only problem is that it's for a StarMax computer. Please Wesley, send us a generic version!
Info-mac has recently posted some nice sets of desktop patterns. Aeon Desktop Patterns are a little wild, and the Mystic Textures III are a little more organic. Both sets have a wide range of styles to please everyone.
With a Cut and Paste, most Mac users know how to place a custom icon onto a hard disk or folder. With a little help from ResExcellence, you can change any of the icons on your computer. But what about the Wintel world? If you use a PC at work, or spend time in Virtual PC, you may have become frustrated at how hard (almost imposible) it is to change the icons of Windows 95. Try using The Icon Customizer. The interface is similar to 8Tuner, and it makes it easy to change groups of related icons, or do them one at a time.
7/8/98
I apologize for the problems viewing ResExcellence over the past two days. It appears that TCP/IP over a cellular link from the middle of nowhere is not the most reliable way to update a web site. The picture from the bluff is now correctly displayed below.
If you're not sure how to get to the "Middle Of Nowhere", open the Map control panel, type it in, then hit Find.
The Macintosh Desktop Picture Collection has some beautiful, high quality images ready for download, with more available in the coming days. While the Planet Earth is my favorite, the series covers a wide range of topics.
KeyQuencer Tips:
Previously, ResExcellence showed an edit that added a command key to the Application menu's "Hide Others" menu choice. Unfortunately, the edit doesn't work with every application, but if you're running KeyQuencer, you can do it by assigning this macro to a key combination:
Menu "Hide Others"
Bruce Giles maintains The Generic Icon Pages. It's a great site troubleshooting icon problems, and learning what a bundle bit is.
7/6/98
 Today's update is coming to you, via cellular interface, from Lone Birch Bluff, Gov. Dodge State Park, Wisconsin.
Pictured on the left is my Powerbook 3400 with an interface to an Ameritech cellular phone.
 John Baltutis noted that typing Option-` (backwards apostrophe), and then the letter i by itself, gives you the letter you need for the Icon Tools Creator code.
Almost half of you are running Macs that are 100% Microsoft Freeô. That's quite a bit higher than I expected. I feel so guilty, I'm going to remove Office 98 from my Powerbook. Which reminds me of a story...
The other day, a client comes into my studio and needs to edit her Word 97 document. She happens to have it on a PC Floppy, so I plop my Powerbook down in front of her and she comments how she hates Macs (she's a paying client, so I gotta ignore the her).
She sticks the floppy in, double-clicks her document, Word 98 launches and she proceeds to effortlessly edit and print her document without comment. After she resaved to the floppy and ejected it, I picked the Powerbook back up, and again she mentions how she wished she had her PC. I was flabbergasted that she was so blind as to what had just taken place. I doubt she could have sat in front of another PC and had the process run so smoothly.
I make an effort to keep ResExcellence running lean and mean. All the graphics use minimum color pallets, and whenever possible I use the built in browser colors for highlighting tables. It feels like it loads fast on my computer, but what about yours? This week, the Polling Place asks, "How would you rate the speed of ResExcellence's main page?"
If you are trying to replace the Netscape Splash screen, but keep getting the old one, try looking for the PICT 128 resource in the Essentials Folder -->Netscape Resources. Some versions appear to store it there. (Thanks Chad Gard)
ResExcellence is proud to be the first web site to announce the unofficial release of Kaleidoscope 2.
(What? We're not the first? Oh. Never mind.)
KeyQuencer Tips.
To keep little pieces of paper from piling up on my desk, I use a lot of Stickies' windows. Here's a macro to launch Stickies, or switch to it if it's already open, and create a new note window.
(Note: Stickies creator code is LPST.)
Open 'LPST'
SwitchApp 'LPST'
Menu "New Note"
Don't forget, ResExcellence readers can save ten bucks and get KeyQuencer for $39.99
Change the PC-Card Icons that appear on the Desktop. As a Powerbook owner, there are several different types of PCMCIAs card that I plug in and out of my computer. The dull grey icons are boring, so here's how to change them. (Continued...)
7/3/98
Today starts my two week vacation from my regular job as a mild mannered audio engineer. While I intend to maintain regular updates to ResExcellence, I'll be taking the show on the road. Monday, the staff and I will be camping at beautiful Governor Dodge State Park in Wisconsin. I'll write the update on my Powerbook 3400, perched upon "Lone Birch Bluff", then upload it through a cellular link to the ISP. I hope I can get a cell!
KeyQuencer Tips.
How would you like to have a command key combination "WindowShade" a window? I have this little macro assigned to Control-W:
Click collapsebox
And to turn a Finder Window into a Tabbed folder at the bottom of the screen, I use this macro assigned to Option-W:
Menu 4 "as Pop-up Window" quiet
Click closebox
 Icon Tools is accepting submissions for creative Icon Stamps and Icon Borders. This slick Contextual Menu lets you easily modify an existing Finder icon by rotating, filtering, adding borders, or little stamps. Not only will they post your creations in their upcoming archive, they will include free registration for Icon Tools if you submit more than 20 icons! Contact Alberto Ricci or stop by the web site if you have additional questions.
How to create Icon Stamps and Borders for Icon Tools. The procedure is exactly the same for both plugins. The only difference is in which folder the icon resides... (Continued...)
7/1/98
For the entire month of July, Binary Software is offering KeyQuencer to ResExcellence readers for the reduced price of $39.99. KeyQuencer lets you assign actions to keystrokes, save scripts as stand alone applications, and dozens of other actions, often with a simple one line script. For example: I'm often asked for a command key to zoom a window. KeyQuencer does this with the line: Click zoombox. Assign the macro to an unused key combination, and you're all set.
PowerMacOn, the site that created the OutLook Exrpess icons on the Users Contributions Page, has created a new set of Windows Icons.
 The other day, I showed how to replace an icon with a picture. Here are three PICT resources that are ready to drop into your System and serve as replacements for the icons above them. I've also gone through and preformed the replacement edit on the Finder dialog boxes. Looks good!
Michael Stravato was asking:
I would like to know how to change the wording in dialog boxes to better English. I use the text to speech option to read the alerts, so when I am away from the computer, I know what it's up to. Unfortunately, some of them are getting annoying because of weird wording.
You'll have to try and find which program is generating the dialog: the Finder, System, or the Application. Once you have a guess, open a copy in ResEdit and look in the DITL resources for the offending text. The technique is similar to the one recently demonstrated in a Speed Doubler edit. If you come across a dialog box with an odd charactors like ^O, edit carefully around them.
ResExcellence has the exclusive scoop on what James Thomson
(DragThing) and Turlough O'Connor (FinderPop) talked about over lunch on Monday. The Topic? What an odd chap that lad over at ResExcellence is. :)
Change the default name of Clippings. I use some of Blue Sky Heart Graphic's desktop consoles, the ones with the raised icon dock on the right, so I like to keep the names of my desktop items short enough to comfortably fit in the icon dock. Text Clippings and Picture Clippings are two names that hang over a little bit too much. Here's how to change them. (Continued...)
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