Consistent app launching from 9 to X

Sep 13, '04 09:58:00AM

Contributed by: Anonymous

This one is for users, like me, who need access to OS 9 applications (WordPerfect and games) now and then. It's actally kind of lame, but I haven't seen it anywhere else -- maybe it will help someone.

Apple did a fantastic job with Classic, but there's kind of a culture shock associated with going back and forth between Classic and OS X. One of my biggest problems was the inconsistency between applications available from OS 9 and OS X. I've come up with the following configuration that seems to cover all the bases.

The main consideration is whether or not you have Classic configured to use preferences from the global Classic environment or from your Home account (this is in the Advanced tab of the Classic preferences panel). If you are running preferences from home, make sure you have the folder ~/Library -> Classic -> Launcher Items. If you don't, you may have to do a little finagling -- this might include launching Launcher (from Control Panels) and/or copying /System Folder -> Launcher Items to your user Classic directory. If I remember correctly, this was taken care of for me.

So, if you are using the global Classic environment, make an alias of /System Folder -> Launcher Items in /System Folder -> Apple Menu Items. If you are using preferences from your home directory, make an alias of ~/Library -> Classic -> Launcher Items in the folder ~/Library -> Classic -> Apple Menu Items. In either case, once you are done, rename the alias "Apps" (or whatever you prefer).

Now drag the alias to the dock (you'll have to park it on the right somewhere by the Trash). You might also want to copy the alias to your home directory. Notice the cool retro icon you get with this. Now, all you've got to do is start dragging aliases of all your favorite applications, folders, or whatever into any of these locations.

If you are a fan of the Classic Launcher, you might remember that any folders you create in "Launcher Items" have to have a name that begins with a bullet (Option-8). In my case, I've got folders such as •Games, •Graphics, •Utilities, etc. By doing this, you not only have a Launcher application that works correctly, you also have all of your folders in the Apple menu and dock all grouped.

So, what did we accomplish? You now have a dock item called "Apps" or whatever you called it. Control-click on that, and you have access to any apps that you created shortcuts for, including those put in folders which now appear at the top of the listing instead of alphabetically (because of the beginning bullet).

If you checked "Show Classic Status in menu bar" in the Classic pref pane, you've also got the exact same listing of apps from the Classic Menu Icon (looks like a 9) -> Apple Menu Item -> Apps. Weirdly, the bulleted folders appear at the bottom, but at least they are all together. In the Classic environment, the now-red Apple Menu has an item called "Apps" that has the exact same listing. If you are using Launcher, you still have the exact same listing of apps with the bulleted folder names listed as buttons at the top of the Launcher window.

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Mac OS X Hints
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