xxiaoye@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (04/23/89)
I am a registered user of PowerStation. For some reason, I have not
been using PowerStation for quite a long time. Recently, I digged out
my copy of PowerStation, and played around with it more. I started to
re-realize its usefulness! It's interface is really elegant. Steve
Brecher did a great job!
However, I have the following suggestions/bug reports:
1) Under Multifinder 6.1dx, the beta release Multifinder with the "Set
Aside" feature, the install DA feature in PowerStation no longer works
because in the new Multifinder, the application menu and DA menu are
swtiched (application menu is on top of DA menu). Is there a fix for
this? Or is it already fixed in a newer version (I have version 2.3) ?
^^^
Does a newer version exist, if yes, why am I not notified.
2) The "Dedicate this set of documents to the application menu" feature is
REALLY nice. However, I would also like to have a pop-up menu of all the
documents installed to an application (or just for the documents that
are check-marked among all the installed docs). Rightnow, the pop-up
menu just opens a window displaying all the installed documents then it
would require me to open one of the installed documents, so this
becomes a two step process... ( maybe this feature is there but I can't
find it ???? ).
3) The only way (that I know of) to install a document is to install the
application and then use the "Dedicate this set of doc....to appl..."
feature. Then what is the "Install any document" feature for ??? When
I first saw this feature, I thought that after I install, say a WORD
document, and if I click on it, WORD would be automatically called upon
to open that document. However, Powerstaion just would treat whatever
is installed this way as an application, and then it would beep at me
since a WORD doc is not an application by itself. I still can't figure
out what the real use of this feature is, since afterall, if I can't
open a document as an application anyway, what's the use of my
installing it ??? I think that the interface here should be made a
little more intuitive such that when I install a document with
"option-install", Powerstation should open it's proper application
along with this installed document.
4) Is is possible in a future release of PowerStation that I can set
the pattern of a button, or just maybe put the applicatoin's icon there,
instead of just a name ??? One nice thing about Macintosh interface is
that its ICONS. It would be really nice if PowerStation incorporates
it.
Overall I am REALLY satisfied with PowerStation and Software Supply's
customer support (so far, except for Suitcase II, all of its upgrades have
been FREE) -- 5th Generation hasn't come up with an upgrade to
PowerStation yet.
Special Disclaimer: Read and decode my last paragraph. I just really,
really, really like all of its software, really...
________________________________________________________________________
Xiaoxia Ye INTERNET/BITNET/UUCP: xxiaoye@eleazar.dartmouth.edu
Dartmouth College For more info: finger xxiaoye@eleazar.dartmouth.edubrecher@well.UUCP (Steve Brecher) (04/26/89)
In article <13183@dartvax.Dartmouth.EDU>, xxiaoye@eleazar.dartmouth.edu writes: > 1) Under Multifinder 6.1dx, the beta release Multifinder with the "Set Aside" > feature, the install DA feature in PowerStation no longer works because in > the new Multifinder, the application menu and DA menu are swtiched > (application menu is on top of DA menu). Is there a fix for this? Or is it > already fixed in a newer version (I have version 2.3) ? This will be fixed in the next release, which will probably be version number 2.6. (The current release is 2.5; see below.) Meanwhile, you'll have to install DAs with MultiFinder off or under a released version of MultiFinder. 2.6 has not been announced and no date has been set for its release; however, I will say informally that it should be relatively near term. When 2.6 is released, I will post an Updater application to the net. > 2) The "Dedicate this set of documents to the application menu" feature is > REALLY nice. However, I would also like to have a pop-up menu of all the > documents installed to an application (or just for the documents that are > check-marked among all the installed docs). Rightnow, the pop-up menu just > opens a window displaying all the installed documents then it would require > me to open one of the installed documents, so this becomes a two step > process... ( maybe this feature is there but I can't find it ???? ). Noted. However, remember that you can have possibly hundreds of documents installed, which would make a pop-up menu unwieldy. Also, the present scheme allows you to select/open a document entirely via the keyboard should you so desire. > 3) The only way (that I know of) to install a document is to install the > application and then use the "Dedicate this set of doc....to appl..." > feature. Then what is the "Install any document" feature for ??? When I > first saw this feature, I thought that after I install, say a WORD document, > and if I click on it, WORD would be automatically called upon to open that > document. However, Powerstaion just would treat whatever is installed this > way as an application, and then it would beep at me since a WORD doc is not > an application by itself. I still can't figure out what the real use of this > feature is, since afterall, if I can't open a document as an application > anyway, what's the use of my installing it ??? I think that the interface > here should be made a little more intuitive such that when I install a > document with "option-install", Powerstation should open it's proper > application along with this installed document. (As you indicated in the previous question, another way to install documents besides into a dedicated document(s) box is installing them into an application box's documents window.) The feature is described in the on-screen shortcuts help and in the manual as "Install any file", not "Install any document," and it is used in conjunction with the "Install Application" menu command. You are not the only user to mistakenly assume that the feature could be used to install documents, which indicates that the documentation could be clearer. The feature would be rarely used; it is for installing certain files which do not have application file type codes, and hence would not normally appear in the application file selection dialog, but which really are runnable programs. An example is MultiFinder. To install MultiFinder in a PowerStation application box -- for it to appear in the file selection dialog so you can select it for installation -- you must press Option as you choose the Install Application item from the pop-up menu. For PowerStation to know what the proper application for a document is -- without your having already installed the application -- would require either a possibly lengthy disk search or use of Finder's Desktop file. Apple has always said that the Desktop file is private to Finder and that its specification and even existence is subject to change, so I decided not to depend on it. > Is is possible in a future release of PowerStation that I can set the pattern > of a button, or just maybe put the applicatoin's icon there, instead of just > a name ??? One nice thing about Macintosh interface is that its ICONS. It > would be really nice if PowerStation incorporates it. Noted. > Overall I am REALLY satisfied with PowerStation and Software Supply's > customer support (so far, except for Suitcase II, all of its upgrades have > been FREE) -- 5th Generation hasn't come up with an upgrade to PowerStation > yet. Fifth Generation has been handling customer support since it started marketing the product more than a year ago. Informally, I provide technical support on networks such as this one. Last June(?), Fifth Generation sent unsolicited free upgrades to PowerStation 2.5 to registered users of earlier versions. The fact that you did not receive it indicates that you are not effectively registered or that the update was not delivered, due to a mishap or screw-up somewhere along the line. As I indicated in mail to you, you should contact Fifth Generation to re-register if necessary, and obtain an update. In article <13185@dartvax.Dartmouth.EDU> xxiaoye@eleazar.dartmouth.edu writes further: > It would great if I am given an option to quit the finder and restart > PowerStation. Since Powerstation basically replaces finder, why do I still > need finder and waste that much RAM! > > It's necessary to restart powerstation since I don't want to segment a 160k > of my ram after Finder quits. Is it possible ? With PowerStation's Set Startup feature, you can make PowerStation the startup application (with or without MultiFinder) and not have Finder running at all. However, for those cases in which Finder is running and you wish to terminate it, there is an FKEY called QuitFinder on the PowerStation 2.5 disk that terminates Finder if and only if MultiFinder is running, Finder is the front layer, and PowerStation is running from the System Folder. The FKEY is not a supported product. It causes Finder to unceremoniously quit; any desktop changes made in the current Finder session will not be saved. (I am the author of PowerStation.) -- brecher@well.UUCP (Steve Brecher)