folta@tove.cs.umd.edu (Wayne Folta) (05/17/91)
This is a summary of the new stuff that I have most noticed in System 7.0.
It is meant for those who are still wondering what Sys 7.0 might do for them
*now* and what it does for non-networked owners.
Aliases -- You create an alias by selecting a file, then File->Make Alias.
The alias' icon looks just like the original, though its name is "xxx alias"
(where the original file was "xxx"), and the name is in italics. You can, of
course, change the name, but it will stay italicized. In every way that I
have tried, an alias is treated like the original file: double-click on
it and the application launches or the folder opens, etc.
* You can use aliases to have one file appear in multiple places. This
could be used to share a file among several users, but I have found that
the most common use for aliases is using them in the special system
folders, described below.
* You can alias just about anything, including your hard-disk, the trashcan,
even diskettes!
* Aliases work even if you move the original file elsewhere on the drive.
(Double-clicking an alias for an ejected diskette requests that you
reinsert the diskette.)
* In the alias' Get Info box is a button "Find Original", which opens
the folder containing the original and selects the original.
Startup Folder -- This is a subfolder in the System Folder. You place things
here that you want to be launched at startup. (A replacement for Set Startup.)
As mentioned above, you usually place aliases here, not original files.
* You can place an alias to a folder here and the folder is opened at
startup.
* You can place sounds here and they are played at startup.
* You can place DAs, applications, documents, ...
Apple Menu Folder -- Another subfolder of the System Folder. Placing things
(or aliases, remember) here puts them into the Apple menu.
* Anything goes: DAs, applications, documents, *folders*, sounds.
* Since CDEVs are now double-clickable (see below), you can place CDEVs
here for direct access (bypassing any Control Panel).
Control Panel Folder -- Another subfolder of the System Folder. Place CDEVs
(or INIT/CDEVs) here.
* The Control Panel item in the Apple Menu is simply an alias to this folder.
* CDEVs are now double-clickable, there is no scrolling Control Panel.
Preferences Folder -- Eventually, all program preferences will go here.
System File -- You can now double-click on the System File to open it, like
a folder. Inside, you will find fonts and sounds. You can drag fonts and
sounds in and out, just like a folder. You can display fonts or play sounds by
double-clicking them. (See below.) At least on my machine (I use Suitcase to
keep most fonts out of the System), the System is 1.1Mb, the Finder is 300Kb.
System Folder -- You can pretty-much drop things on the System Folder and
they end up in the appropriate subfolder (CDEVs in the Control Panel, etc.)
magically.
Double-clicking -- Many things can now be manipulated by opening them (double-
clicking on them).
* The System File, to move fonts and sounds in and out.
* Font suitcases to open them like folders.
* Fonts in a suitcase, to view them. Bitmap fonts display their size,
scalable (TrueType) fonts display in three different sizes.
* Sounds play when double-clicked.
* CDEVs are activated by double-clicking.
* DAs can be double-clicked.
* Many system files display a description box when double-clicked (otherwise
they don't do anything special).
Desktop -- The desktop is now explicitly manipulable.
* There is a Desktop level in the standard Open dialog. It contains all
files on the desktop, as well as all disks (mounted) on the desktop.
This eliminates the "Disk" button.
* You can click on the desktop to select it, just like a folder. You can
then do things like Select All or Clean Up.
Balloon Help -- To the left of the application icon (at the right of the menu
bar) is a balloon. There are really two different uses for this.
* One item is a Finder Shortcuts menu. This gives you 5 pages of nifty
shortcuts in the Finder, such as option-dragging items to the trash
(see below).
* Turning on balloons causes a comic-strip converstaion balloon to jump out
of items that you place the cursor over. I haven't noticed that this
slows down the movement of the cursor at all.
* Balloon help is *not* static! For example, the description of the Trashcan
adds "The trash is bulging because there is something in it", when that
applies. The hard-disk's help says "The icon is dimmed because the disk
is open" when appropriate. It also tells you which disk is your startup
disk.
Finder Shortcuts -- There are a boatload of nifty shortcuts.
* Arrow keys select files. Up and down for List views, Up, down, left, right
for Icon views.
* CMD-down descends into a folder or launches an application.
* CMD-up moves up a folder.
* CMD-click on a folder's title shows a pop-up of the hierarchy above.
* CMD-dragging a window moves it without bringing it to the front.
* Typing in a folder selects the file whose name starts with the characters
you type.
* TAB moves you through the items in a folder alphabetically (yes, even in
an Icon view).
* CMD-dragging an icon reverses the sense of the snap-to-grid option, below.
Finder Customization
* The font and size of file names can be selected.
* Color of the window frames selectable.
* List view of folders very customizable:
* Size of icon (small shows only app or folder; medium shows the same
icon as the "Small Icon" view; large shows the full-sized icon).
* Whether to display: size, date, label, *version*, comments, kind.
* Staggered icon grid or not.
* Snap icons to icon grid or not (CMD-drag reverses this sense).
* Colors now have names associated with them, and they are called labels.
You can sort Views by label, the Find can search based on label, and
I imagine good backup programs can backup based on label.
* You can cut and paste file/folder icons. I have used this to put, for
example, White Knight's icon on my White Knight folder. You can paste
any PICT and the Finder scales it, but small things work best. (Note
that TeachText lets you copy rectangular regions from PICTs, and
CMD-Shift-3 dumps color PICTs for TeachText...)
You can even paste icons onto diskettes! And the Undo works for
reversing your paste decision if it looks bad.
Other Finder
* The Application icon in the upper right corner now drops down a menu to
select running applications. You can also hide all application's windows
except the current, or only the current.
* The Application menu *is* active during a file copy. Drag a document to
a diskette to begin a long copy, then switch to an application and
let the copy continue in the background.
* CMD-Shift-3 dumps the entire desktop (even over multiple monitors) in
full-color. The resulting document can be opened by TeachText, which can
copy rectangular regions to the Clipboard.
* Copies to a diskette are now verified. (I think this is new.)
* You can format diskettes with bad sectors. They are now mapped out.
(Previously, any defect on the diskette and you couldn't format it.)
* The trashcan doesn't empty until you say so. No more emptying whenever
you launch a program or shutdown. The trashcan also stays where you put
it no the desktop.
* If you drag an icon to the edge of a folder and sit over the edge, it
will auto-scroll for you (if it can scroll in that direction).
* Find is now very fast. It locates the desired file and opens its parent
folder, selecting the file. Find Again closes the folder and continues
the search. You can search on any or all of: name, size, kind, label,
date created, date modified, version, comments, and lock.
Virtual Memory
* You get as much "RAM" as you are willing to allocate disk space. For
example, say you have 4Mb or RAM, but you want to pretend that you
have 8Mb. Just select the Memory CDEV and allocate 8Mb of disk space.
Your machine now behaves as if it had 8Mb of RAM (though there is
a slowing-down when accessing the disk, of course).
In summary, the whole thing is much more elegant... There is a consistency
to things. Like being able to cut and paste document icons, and Undo works
there as well; or like being able to double-click to open suitcases and
the System. Documents, folders, aliases, sounds, fonts, and diskettes all work
alike now. Just double-click. They work in the Apple Menu or the Startup
Folders just as consistently. VERY ELEGANT, APPLE.
Most all of my programs work with System 7.0, and these include some old
PD programs and even some of the SideKick programs. (NotePad+ does not
work, but I just put TeachText in the Apple menu instead. CalendarBook
seems to work just fine.) This is some pretty-old stuff we're talking here,
and it works even with VM turned on.
Also, the new 3-D look of windows, etc., is pretty spiffy, too.
Of course, there are AppleEvents, File Sharing, Publish/Subscribe, but I don't
have any programs that support these yet and I am not on a network.
--
Wayne Folta (folta@cs.umd.edu 128.8.128.8)amanda@visix.com (Amanda Walker) (05/19/91)
In article <34576@mimsy.umd.edu> folta@tove.cs.umd.edu (Wayne Folta) writes:
* Aliases work even if you move the original file elsewhere on the drive.
(Double-clicking an alias for an ejected diskette requests that you
reinsert the diskette.)
Not only that, aliases to network volumes will automount the volume,
even from a different machine. Deeply cool.
You can even paste icons onto diskettes!
Yup. Even better than Facade.
In summary, the whole thing is much more elegant... There is a
consistency to things.
Yes. In fact, some people have said that System 7 is, and I quote,
"even more Mac-like than before," which is a very odd comment if you
think about it :).
--
Amanda Walker amanda@visix.com
Visix Software Inc. ...!uunet!visix!amanda
--
"Do not speak lightly; your words are your own.
Do not say, This is of little importance, or that no one can hold my tongue
for me; words are not to be cast away.
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--Xi Qingjasons@pendragon.TEK.COM (E. Jason Scheck) (05/20/91)
In article <1991May19.061514.27830@visix.com>, amanda@visix.com (Amanda Walker) writes: |> In article <34576@mimsy.umd.edu> folta@tove.cs.umd.edu (Wayne Folta) writes: |> You can even paste icons onto diskettes! |> |> Yup. Even better than Facade. |> As an aside, I've looked through the system file, and seen nice four- and eight-bit gray versions of a floppy disk. Does anybody know why the system (mine at least) only shows the single-bit version when a floppy is mounted? I can paste the gray icon onto a floppy disk, but then it looks funny in black and white mode. ------------------------------------ Jason Scheck jasons@master.CNA.TEK.COM ------------------------------------