[G4] I Miss OS9's Apple Menu

Doug McNutt douglist at macnauchtan.com
Wed Jul 30 08:33:09 PDT 2003


At 09:55 -0400 7/30/03, Dale Hoffman wrote:
>In OS9's Apple Menue, I could access any file or application via convenient cascading drop-downs simply by placing aliases within organizational folders.
>
>What do I have in OSX that comes close?

Back in the days of old there was no ability for a user to put items into the Apple menu. I arranged a special folder into which I placed aliases to things I use, applications, folders, files. Actually I had a method that didn't use aliases because they didn't exist. I probably placed dummy files associated by creator code with the applications. The finder - er multifinder - window associated with that folder remained open on a monitor.

In OS neXt I do the same thing. An old 640 x 480 monitor is dedicated to the purpose. The dock resides out of sight above the top of that monitor and never comes into view. The icons may bounce but I don't see them and I don't get so pissed off at Steve.

Some of the items in my folder are very simple AppleScripts. 'Tell application "Finder" to activate' for instance. That helps to replace the other missing menu: the process menu on the right end.

For dropping files onto application icons the spring loaded folder preference helps but just mousing down on a folder doesn't work that way. But I never had hierarchical menus in multifinder either.

What I really want is that Apple menu on my Linux Pentium.
-- 

Applescript syntax is like English spelling:
Roughly, but not thoroughly, thought through.



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