> ## The patch changes a number of functional and cosmetic aspects of
> the Finder
>
>
### Here's a complete rundown:
Increased Memory Allocation
If you're a Macintosh power user, you probably run a ton of
extensions. Some of these extensions prefer a little more room in an
application's memory partition than is normally provided. Usually it's
just a kilobyte here and a kilobyte there, but this extra memory does
add up. In the past I have found that I could increase the Finder's
stability by giving it a little extra breathing room. It doesn't seem
quite so necessary with recent Finders, but this is definitely a case
of "can't hurt, might help," so I increased the Finder's default
memory partition by about 100K. As an added benefit, this may also
allow you to open more windows before the Finder complains that you're
out of memory, although I never hit that limit anymore.
No Alias Suffix
Virtually the first thing I do after creating an alias using the
Finder's Make Alias command is delete the word "alias" from the end of
it. Actually, I don't use Make Alias that often anymore, because the
Finder lets you drag an icon while holding down Command and Option to
make an alias directly in a target folder, and that alias has the same
name as the original file. But for those rare occasions when I do make
an alias in the same folder as the original, this patch adds just a
space to the end of the name.
New Folder Name
The special character ? has long been used as a shortcut for the word
"folder" on the Macintosh. Many of the folders I create end up with
that character (which is produced by pressing Option-F) at the end of
the name. So I changed the name the Finder gives to new folders to a
space, followed by ?. That way, you can just hit the Left Arrow key
and type the new name, without having to add the ?. Of course, if you
don't like the ?, you can still just type the new name immediately
after creating the folder to replace the default name entirely.
No Clipping Suffix
When you drag a scrap of text or a picture to the Finder, it appends
the word ?clipping? to the clipping?s name. Well, duh?it?s obviously a
clipping, as it has a clipping icon. Eliminating the suffix allows the
Finder to use more of the filename characters as a ?preview? of the
clipping text.
New Copy Suffix
Normally, when you make a copy of an icon using the Duplicate command,
the new item is given the name of the original item with the word
"copy" appended. Further copies of the same item add sequential
numbers. With this patch, the word "copy" is replaced with the �
glyph.
Font Sample Text
Normally, the sample text you see when you open a font reads, ?Cozy
lummox gives smart squid who asks for job pen.? This is a trivial
thing to change, but I?ve always liked ?Jackdaws love my big sphinx of
quartz? better as a pangram. It?s shorter and punchier. Also, it
reminds me of Beagle Bros (anyone remember them?).
About This Macintosh Restored
When Apple started licensing clones of the Macintosh, they changed the
"About This Macintosh" menu item to "About This Computer" to reflect
the fact that a computer running the Mac OS need not be a Macintosh
anymore. Now that cloning has ended, and because I use a real
Macintosh, I changed it back. (At the risk of stating the blindingly
obvious, rest assured that the Finder still works fine on Macintosh
clones even if it says ?About This Macintosh.?)
?Enhanced? About This Macintosh Window Mac OS 9 includes not only the
?enhanced? user interface of QuickTime 4, but also brings this
?enhanced? appearance to Sherlock. Inspired by this bold example, I
decided to ?enhance? the About This Macintosh window in a similar
fashion. Although it offers no improved functionality, it?s much
prettier?just like QuickTime 4 and Sherlock 2. I?ve even heard rumors
from testers that if you turn the dial in the window, you can increase
your Mac?s speed!
Add Quit Finder Command
You won't need to do this very often, but when you need it, you need
it bad. You'll find this new command on the Special menu. (I put it
there instead of on the File menu, where Quit commands usually go,
because quitting the Finder is indeed something special you won't want
to do very often. I also didn't give it the usual Command-Q keyboard
shortcut so you don't do it accidentally. Sorry, you gotta use the
mouse for this one.) Without the Finder running, your Apple menu will
become mostly empty, and getting the Finder running again may be a bit
of a trick?the easiest way is to quit everything else, or use
FinderPop, which you can download at <
http://www.finderpop.com>.
Add Keyboard Shortcuts
As a Mac power user, it seems to me that there are never enough
keyboard shortcuts in the applications I use. Adding more was the very
first Finder patching I ever did. Some of the letters are not
particularly mnemonic, I'm afraid, since I was stuck with the ones the
Finder didn't already use. And in the View menu, I found myself forced
to use numbers since I was running out of letters. Hopefully you will
find them adequately easy to remember nonetheless. By the way, if you
use StuffIt's Magic Menu, you'll be glad to know that my patch leaves
the Command-S and Command-U shortcuts free for stuffing and unstuffing
files.
## The Keyboard Shortcuts
___________________________
The keyboard shortcuts added by this patch are as follows:
? Menu
? \ (Backlash): About This Macintosh
File Menu
? J: Print Desktop or Print Window (sorry, it's not very mnemonic is
it?)
Edit Menu
? ; (semicolon): Preferences
View Menu
* ? 1: as Icons
* ? 2: as Buttons
* ? 3: as List
* ? 4: as Window
* ? 5: as Pop-Up Window
* ? K: Clean Up
* ? 0 (Zero): View Options
Special Menu
* ? T: Empty Trash
* ? G: Restart (remember it as short for "Go again")
* ? B: Shut Down (remember it as short for "Bye")
* ? = (Equals): Sleep
Compatibility
Architecture: PPC
