11/30/98
 According to the latest Polling Place, 35% of you are browsing without accepting cookies. Bummer. Why? Advertisers track a web site's banner effectiveness by setting cookies. If you click on one of my banners and have cookies off, the advertiser can't tell that you came from ResExcellence.
Repeat after me: Cookies are a good thing. Want more info? Go to CookieCentral.
The Appearance Themes: HiTech, Gizmo, and Drawing Board, were never released by Apple, yet everyone seems to be running them and posting screen shots. Even some of the big mainstream Mac sites are posting links for them (don't even ask me!). How do all of these people seem to know where to go to get whatever they want? (don't even ask me!)
This week's Polling Place asks, "Have you ever downloaded warez?". If you have to ask what warez is, just check no!
If you've been interested in converting your favorite Mac icons to the Window's .ICO format for use on the ol' PC at work, Matt Caldwell has released the freeware Icon->.ICO.
A couple of days ago, I mentioned that Funkeys enables you to launch programs with your function keys. Gordon Moynes wrote to recommend another easy to use option: QuickPop. The author has several other useful Mac utilities on his page.
Aww, Nathan, you noticed!
Nathan Los dropped a note of congratulations on serving our 200,000th visitor.
Nathan and many others have asked if ResExcellence had any relationship with the long gone "Desktop Madness" section of MacSpectre. The answer is yes. For several months before the closing of MacSpectre, I updated Desktop Madness.
I enjoyed it so much, I decided to hang my own shingle over the door, and ResExcellence was born.
Mariel Longinger, the former webmaster of MacSpectre, now maintains the Macintosh Desktop Picture Collection. You can also download his SGI Soundset for MacOS 8.5. Many consider it the most usable soundset ever released.
Need a chuckle? Krishna Sadasivam is the creator of "The PC Weenies", a comic strip on the net. Not only are the cartoons funny, but I like his motto, "Two comic strips a week, or the next one is free!"
After using the Previous Edit to remove Apple's themes and desktop patterns, ResExcellence contributor, Robert Lloyd, dropped a note to remind me that you can save several megs of hard disk space by deleting the unwanted Apple supplied Desktop Pictures. You'll find them in the System Folder-->Appearance-->Desktop Pictures.
Limit a printer to a single copy of a document. Eric Shepard sent in this great way to limit students (or co-workers!) from printing more than a single copy of a document. (Continued...)
"All of the fears have been for naught. The same will be true here."
-Steve Case on AOL's purchase of Netscape in a recent interview.
11/25/98
Egg on my Face: James Huffman pointed out that my posted totals for last week's ResExcellence poll tallied up to 105%. Opps, and I can't even blame it on a Pentium Floating Point error. If you're into "significant digits", the exact totals are here.
Ho-Ho-Ho! Our friends at the former Cyberian Outpost, now Outpost.com, are offering free shipping on all orders until Monday.
Dear Santa, I've been good. May I please have a Powerbook G3?
All spruced up just in time for the holidays, MacPlaza has unveiled a new look! The layout lets you get to your favorite sections quickly. The new Plaza Central page shows you exactly what's been updated with new items. With all the work that goes into the MacPlaza, it's no wonder it's always in the top 20 Mac sites! (Sitelink).
Many of the new graphic elements were designed by Ilona Melis, of ilicon icons.
When Michael Annino noticed he had a problem with greyed-out bookmarks in Netscape, he turned to The Forum for a solution. It turns out Netscape has a limit on the number of bookmarks you can have. Deleting some of the older ones solved the problem.
Need another Star Wars fix? Epoch has more icons and a desktop picture that can help hold you over until the movie 's release!
Many readers are not interested in installing Quickeys or KeyQuencer simply to assign programs to function keys. Here's a little utility that's been out for a while, but I recently stumbled upon it: Funkeys - a small control panel that lets you easily open applications with your function leys
Binary Software has a KeyQuencer Extensions page that features user contributions. Lindsey Drubb has written some great new extensions - my favorite is "Scheduler". Finally, I can scheduale macros without an addition cron-like program.
Time for some User Contributions:
In honor of the Thanksgiving Day holiday here in the U.S., ResExcellence will be taking Friday off in order to recover from our personal turkey stuffing!
11/23/98
Wow! The majority of ResExcellence readers run their monitors at 32 bit. I was expecting a bell curve of 25%-8 bit, 50%-16 bit, 25%-32 bit.
Instead the tally was 5%-8 bit, 48%-16 bit, 52%-32 bit. Apple knew what they were doing when they implemented 32 bit icons!
Maybe it's because I'm hungry, but this week's Polling Place is about cookies!
While browsers provide several options regarding the acceptance cookies, I think it all comes down to a simple question, "Do you accept cookies?"
Thanks to the creative talents of ResEx'ers, we have another great set of User Contributions:
Deleting Apple's Themes and patterns from the Appearance Control Panel. In MacOS 8.5, I like the way Apple consolidated the setting in the Appearance Control Panel, but they sure made it difficult to delete their preconfigured themes and Desktop Patterns. (Continued...)
11/20/98
Cletus Waldman , from MacPlaza, followed the previously posted instructions to update the Mercutio MDEF, and is now having troubles with sites that use Java (USA Today Desktop). Is anyone else experiencing problems?
Bill Dawson sent in the funniest submission to date: MacAss MOSS. I'd love to sneak it on co-worker's machines and see how long it took them to notice! Other submissions today:
Pssst. Wanna see what the next generation of 32 bit icon tool looks like? The preview is here.
11/18/98
Welcome Evangelista's
If this is your first time to the site, be sure to view the User Contributions for icon sets, and dozens of replacement resources.
The Previous Edits page lists over 100 ResEdit modifications for many popular applications, and the MacOS.
The Forum is our newest addition - a newsgroup for ResExcellence readers to chat about ResEdit edits, and other user interface issues.
And finally, for all the odds and ends, there are over six months of archived news updates:
Have you want to try your hand at creating a MOSS, but are unsure of the resourves involved? Be sure to download the MOSS Template file from today's User Contributions:
The number and quality of all the submissions has been outstanding. For those of you who contribute, I need to request that you send the files as ResEdit resources and please include a ReadMe. Thanks!
Jeremiah Morris, the creator of the templates used to modify the System Fonts, is releasing a utility to do the work for you! Beta testers can sign up at the web site.
The eMailman has tons of information on AppleScripting Eudora. In fact, this site has tons of info on every email program on every platform! Here's the Mac section.
How to Modify the new 32 bit System Icons. In MacOS 8.5, Apple added a new file to the OS called System Resources. Inside are stored all the new 32 bit icons. Here's how to modify them using clip2icns. (Continued...)
11/16/98
Two out of three ResExcellence readers like the font size the way it is, so I'm not changing a thing. The thirty percent of you who want it smaller, I still hope you'll stick around and enjoy the site!
Many of you have asked about the location and modification of the new 32 bit icons, so it leads me to ask this week's Polling Place question: "At which bit depth is your main monitor set?"
Before you start emailing me, I have deliberately left out bit depths less than 8. If you're running in 16 colors - let me know if still have a black and white TV, rotary phone, and put leaded gas in your car!
 Today's update has an other worldly feel to it! This set of User Contributions from Travis Ahrens features an image from the new Star Wars Movie.
SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, has a new project called SETI@home. Starting this spring, they plan to use the distributed computing power of the internet to search for patterns in the mega-gigs of data they've archived from radio telescopes. They plan to release clients for Macintosh, Windows, and Unix. Sign up at the web page and maybe you'll be the one to detect the first ET.
And my favorite, STAR TREK IX: Insurrection, will be released December 11th. Get some Desktop Pictures, download the trailer, read all about it. Head over to the K-Scheme archive and download a good looking Star Trek Scheme.
Another solution to adding text clippings to any application is Make Clipping by Fredrik Jonsson. It's an AppleScript that copies the clipoard to a clipping file.
Keeping true to their pledge of weekly updates, Epoch Icons has added new icons, desktops, and a K-Scheme.
"Their method of storing information
is crude and consumes much time."
-Talosian Zoo Keeper, from "The Cage", Original Star Trek Series Pilot
11/13/98
The Forum is alive and well! To make getting there easier, select the new button on the left.
They don't call it Rockstar Software for nothin'. After noticing our PPPMenu edit, Richard Reynolds, Head Geek & Executive Nerd at Rockstar, dropped a line to tell us why some of the resources have such odd names:
The "Oh wow man!!" resource name is from the song playing on the CD at the time ("Hot for the Teacher" by Van Halen) All of our stuff has buried references to heavy metal songs and bands all over the place.
A quick search produced these additional ones:
Mookie Loves You.
I think the clock is slow...?
Dave Johnson asks, "Is there any way to reorder the manner in which Sherlock lists it's plug-ins? Changing the name of the plug-in in the 'Internet Search Sites' folder in the "System" folder doesn't have any effect to the name as it appears in Sherlock"
Yes there is. (Continued...)
Dueling Macro Editors!
After posting Dave Oliver's AppleScript for backing up important hard disk files, Michael Annino submitted a version for KeyQuencer:
File delete "Back-Up HD:ScrapIt Folder.sit"
WaitEngine
Archive stuff "Macintosh HD:System Folder:ScrapIt Folder" into "Back-Up"
File delete "Back-Up HD:Personal Accounts.sit"
WaitEngine
Archive stuff "Macintosh HD:System Folder:Personal Accounts" into "Back-Up"
(repeat the pattern for all the files you wish to backup)
WaitWindow "Stuff" partial closed
Message "Your Files are Backed Up" wait 10
UnmountDisk driver "Iomega" quiet partial
Michael's script archives each folder into its own stuffit archive on an Iomega drive (Backup HD).
There's another great batch of User Contributions going up!
If you like distressed handwritten fonts, take a look at Fontosaurus Text. Some great looking freebies are available for download, and be sure to look at the coming attractions.
Stuffit Expander 5.0 and the Nag screen
This edit will show you how to replace the annoying little nag screen with the graphic of your choice, but be careful, if you don't follow the instructions, the nag screen will disappear forever! (Continued...)
"Skip the pizzas and get the computer"
-Jeff Goldblum in Apple's latest iMac ad
11/11/98
Today marks the unveiling of a new feature on ResExcellence: The ResExcellence User Forum. (Woo-Hoo!)
Why a user forum? As ResExcellence has grown, the email volume has become insurmountable. It's not just the amount of email - I always want to reply with a quality response, but often I don't have access to the applications for which users are requesting help. Hopefully, in the Forum, a user can find someone who not only has the application, but is interested in the edit, and together they can solve the problem.
I've always been amazed at the knowledge-base of this site's readership. To have an enviroment where ResEdit users can exchange ideas and help solve each others problems will mean all of us can get the most out of our application software and operating system.
Don't worry, the forum does not supplant your ability to still use the submissions page to send me ideas and comments. Do both if you wish, and of course, I'll be reading the forum too!
Like User Contributions, the Forum has the ability to become a unique resource for Mac users.
Want the new Netscape Communicator 4.5 to use another email client? Run this AppleScript, changing the creator code to match your favorite email program.
tell application "Netscape Communicator"
register protocol "CSOm" for protocol "mailto"
-- CSOm is the creator code for Eudora
-- Enter your email client 's code in its place
end tell
The script may ask you to find your copy of Communicator, then it will launch it, and finally register the new email client. The next time you click on a mailto: link, your favorite email program will handle it!
Mark Sarowitz reminded me of a great utility I couldn't live without - clip3gif. This small application simply takes the contents of the clipboard and saves them as a clipping file. When invoked with a simple macro, it can add "drag and drop" to any program.
This is my sample Keyquencer Macro:
Menu "Copy"
SwitchApp "Finder" remember
Open 'C3C ' -- Clip3Clip creator code (C3C-space)
SwitchApp restore
I have this assigned to Control-C. When I'm in an application that doesn't support text clippings (Netscape for example), I highlight the text, type Control-C, and a clipping appears on the desktop!
Why did Apple add Alias Badges to icons? Craig Hockenberry, an artisan from The Iconfactory, says it's because some languages don't have an italic font style - Japanese for example.
Rumor has it that The Iconfactory is creating a new tool which will allow you to replace the alias arrow with any custom icon you want. Keep your eyes on their web site for the lastest info.
As a backup technique, Dave Oliver submitted an amazing AppleScript that creates a Stuffit archive of his critical files, then uploads it to his ftp site - and he did it all using the record function of the Script Editor. It's worth a look!
Change the colors in GoMac 1.6
Andrew Oliver is a hero for pointing out that the colors for GoMac 1.6 are stored in a CLUT resource. (Continued...)
Does anyone else see the contradiction in hating Alias Badges, but using GoMac! :)
11/9/98
The Year 2000! Most of you expect some inconvenience (47%). Some of you emailed to stated you won't have any problems because you have a Mac. But does your bank use Macs? How about your company's payroll department? All the other computers in our lives are Wintels and mainframes that are susceptible to the problem.
One of my credit cards has an expiration date of December 2000. It was once declined because the merchant's software showed it as already expired!
My best advice - hang onto all your financial statements as the date approaches. You may need them to back up a claim.
After half a year without a comment on the topic, I've suddenly received several emails requesting a smaller font size on ResExcellence. What an excellent Polling Place suggestion!
Deric Horn, an Apple programmer current assigned to OS X, has given ResExcellence permission to post his control panel: MachID Wannabe. Thanks Deric!
User Contibutions has been updated with some beautiful new resources:
I'll have more resources to post later this week.
Remove the Alias Arrow in MacOS 8.5
What was Apple thinking! I've been swamped by emails asking for the removal of this blatant Windows 95 icon. Doesn't Apple think the italic font is enough of an indicator (can be removed with this edit), or even the addition of the word "alias" (can be removed with this edit)!
Now thanks to Guillaume Gete and Fabrice Truillot, you can finally remove the alias arrow. (Can be removed with this edit...)
"Yes, we want you to kill the baby."
-Microsoft official to Avie Tevanian regarding Quicktime 3.0
11/6/98
The OS 8.5 Theme Archive has over 50 different SoundSets for your listening pleasure.
The ResExcellence Sherlock Plug-in and the entire search engine has been overhauled. You can download the plug-in now, or wait a few days and it will auto update.
Claude Errera, and several others, emailed to inform me that the Apple Installer SDK is 27 megs in size - NOT the 2.7 that I had stated. Oops!
I've emailed the author of MachID Wannabe, and if I receive permission, I'll post only the control panel.
Many readers have enquired about MercutioMDEF options.
Repeating my previous suggestion, Kevan asks:
- Download the latest MercutioMDEF.
- Open the MercutioMDEF.rsrc and a copy of Netscape 4.5 in ResEdit.
- Select all three items in the MercutioMDEF.rsrc
- Paste them into Netscape
- Select Yes to replace the same ID numbers.
Surely you must open each seperate MercutioMDEF resource and copy the
contents to the resources in Netscape rather than completly replace
what's there. Each of the resources in Netscape have other items that
should remain...yes?
Nope, and don't call me Shirley! When you select all the Mercutio resources, and then past them into Netscape, only the appropriate ID numbers are replaced - not all the resource ID's.
If you would rather have an AppleScript do the patching for you, Cletus Waldman from MacPlaza recommends Mercutio MDEF Updater 1.0.2.
Modify Communicator's Contextual Menus (4.5)
When you click and hold on a link, image or blank space in a Navigator window, the popup contextual menu defaults to one of three options: Open this link, Copy this image, or Back. How would you like to change them to your own choices?
(Continued...)
"He became difficult to work with and now he's impossible to work without."
-Victor Keegan on Steve Jobs in Return of the Mac
11/9/98
The Year 2000! Most of you expect some inconvenience (47%). Some of you emailed to stated you won't have any problems because you have a Mac. But does your bank use Macs? How about your company's payroll department? All the other computers in our lives are Wintels and mainframes that are susceptible to the problem.
One of my credit cards has an expiration date of December 2000. It was once declined because the merchant's software showed it as already expired!
My best advice - hang onto all your financial statements as the date approaches. You may need them to back up a claim.
After half a year without a comment on the topic, I've suddenly received several emails requesting a smaller font size on ResExcellence. What an excellent Polling Place suggestion!
Deric Horn, an Apple programmer current assigned to OS X, has given ResExcellence permission to post his control panel: MachID Wannabe. Thanks Deric!
User Contibutions has been updated with some beautiful new resources:
I'll have more resources to post later this week.
Remove the Alias Arrow in MacOS 8.5
What was Apple thinking! I've been swamped by emails asking for the removal of this blatant Windows 95 icon. Doesn't Apple think the italic font is enough of an indicator (can be removed with this edit), or even the addition of the word "alias" (can be removed with this edit)!
Now thanks to Guillaume Gete and Fabrice Truillot, you can finally remove the alias arrow. (Can be removed with this edit...)
"Yes, we want you to kill the baby."
-Microsoft official to Avie Tevanian regarding Quicktime 3.0
11/6/98
The OS 8.5 Theme Archive has over 50 different SoundSets for your listening pleasure.
The ResExcellence Sherlock Plug-in and the entire search engine has been overhauled. You can download the plug-in now, or wait a few days and it will auto update.
Claude Errera, and several others, emailed to inform me that the Apple Installer SDK is 27 megs in size - NOT the 2.7 that I had stated. Oops!
I've emailed the author of MachID Wannabe, and if I receive permission, I'll post only the control panel.
Many readers have enquired about MercutioMDEF options.
Repeating my previous suggestion, Kevan asks:
- Download the latest MercutioMDEF.
- Open the MercutioMDEF.rsrc and a copy of Netscape 4.5 in ResEdit.
- Select all three items in the MercutioMDEF.rsrc
- Paste them into Netscape
- Select Yes to replace the same ID numbers.
Surely you must open each seperate MercutioMDEF resource and copy the
contents to the resources in Netscape rather than completly replace
what's there. Each of the resources in Netscape have other items that
should remain...yes?
Nope, and don't call me Shirley! When you select all the Mercutio resources, and then past them into Netscape, only the appropriate ID numbers are replaced - not all the resource ID's.
If you would rather have an AppleScript do the patching for you, Cletus Waldman from MacPlaza recommends Mercutio MDEF Updater 1.0.2.
Modify Communicator's Contextual Menus (4.5)
When you click and hold on a link, image or blank space in a Navigator window, the popup contextual menu defaults to one of three options: Open this link, Copy this image, or Back. How would you like to change them to your own choices?
(Continued...)
"He became difficult to work with and now he's impossible to work without."
-Victor Keegan on Steve Jobs in Return of the Mac
11/4/98
MacPlaza has posted 12 recent Kaleidoscope schemes. Head over there and vote for your favorite of the month.
 Eudora Thing has been updated to version 1.5. It does a better job of recognizing quoted text, and now supports Eudora 4.1 (still in beta).
Referring to Mercutio menu patching, Joshua Penn wrote in to tell about the shareware Mercutio Patcher 2.5.1. I downloaded it, but since it won't let you do anything until you send in your money, I wasn't able to tell if it works!
I'd recommend going to the Mercutio MDEF page, download the raw resources, and manually paste them into problem applications as we did with Netscape. We're all proficient in ResEdit, right?
Anthony Saxton, president of the Las Vegas Macintosh Group (VMUG), says this method works with Claris Emailer, but not the FirstClass Intranet Client, so it may be hit or miss. As long as you're working on a copy of the application, you can always go back.
Joshua also sent information on the Apple Installer SDK (2.7meg). Why? Because it contains a control panel called MachID Wannabe. Like Wish I Were, the MachID Wannabe control panel lets you change the gestalt ID in your Mac.
A great source for the ID's is Gestalt App 2.7.9.
If you want to try some replacement icons in Netscape, stop by Gilles Durupt's web site.
Thanks to ResExcellence Readers, seven new items have been added to the User Contributions:
Software Review: T-Minus Ten. This slick control panel lets you schedule the launching of Applescripts, documents, or programs at specific times - plus many other features. (continued..)
11/2/98
Only 30% of ResExcellence readers are not using HFS+. Most of you are using it on at least some of your drives. After my recent crash, I chose to reformat my internal drive to HFS+. With over 10,000 files on the drive, I picked up several hundred meg of new space!
Around the water cooler at work, people are discussing the Year 2000 problem. Opinions vary from "a non-event" to "I'm pulling my money out the bank and staying at home". While Mac users can expect few problems on their computers, what about all the other (Wintel) computers that handle the data in our lives? This week, the Polling Place asks, "Do you expect to experience any Y2K problems?".
I'm fascinated by the tech media's handling of the DOJ vs. Microsoft trial. MacSurfer always has a good collection of links. As I read the different reports, I'm finding that the amount of favorable Microsoft spin is directly related to the advertising dollars they spend in the publication.
If you missed the link on MacNN, be sure to read Avie Tevanian's written testimony. As it relates to Mac users, this should be an interesting week in the trial.
 Jumping shamelessly onto the latest bandwagon, ResExcellence now has its own Sherlock Plugin for you to download.
Sherlock is a perfect example of the power of the internet. Within days of MacOS 8.5's release, Mac sites were littered with information on how to create the plugins, and archived collections for you to browse.
Gord Lacey has maintained the largest Sherlock Archives. Today he and Tim Jacobs premiere their new site: Apple-Donuts. In addition to the plugins, the site will also contain Sound Sets, AppleScripts, and helpful tips.
An updated version of the 32 bit icon creation tool, clip2icns, is available. Besides fixing a bug, the new version makes saving and extracting icons easier.
Thanks to everyone who sent links for "Wish I Were". The file has been added to the Software Archive. Having seen the program again reminded me of its limitation: it hasn't been updated in a while, so you can't emulate the most recent Mac models.
After using the new Communicator 4.5 for the past week, I have once again made it my browser of choice. One problem though was the menus - they didn't accept the Platinum appearance. This is a symptom of an outdated Mercutio Menu Definition.
Here's how to fix it:
- Download the latest MercutioMDEF.
- Open the MercutioMDEF.rsrc and a copy of Netscape 4.5 in ResEdit.
- Select all three items in the MercutioMDEF.rsrc
- Paste them into Netscape
- Select Yes to replace the same ID numbers.
The next time you launch Communicator 4.5, your menus will look great.
"The only known interoperability issues affecting
QuickTime were caused by Apple, not Microsoft."
-Microsoft's response to Avie Tevanian's testimony.
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