Follow Finder Alias 1.2

Introduction

Follow Finder Alias implements a last-ditch attempt at resolving aliases. If youÕre using RevRdist, Cap, early versions of EtherShare, or are involved in managing a Lab of public Macintoshes then you may find it useful. If you arenÕt, you wonÕt - the Alias Manager normally does an excellent job of tracking aliases, and Follow Finder Alias wonÕt have any noticeable effect. Follow Finder Alias fixes the following problems:

¥ RevRdist sometimes fails to update aliases correctly. When an alias is present on a master image, RevRdist copies it to a client Mac and attempts to patch it to point to the correct file (with respect to the client volume). Unfortunately, this sometimes fails. In addition, creating suitable Òmaster imageÓ aliases for RevRdist has always been somewhat awkward - restart without extensions, create, restart again, include an Ò* alias :O-Z-Ó line in your control file, go round all your client Macs and remove bad aliases... Follow Finder Alias corrects these problems - client aliases will always work, and nothing special needs to be done when creating aliases for master images (apart from turning file sharing off when creating them).

¥ Certain AppleShare implementations (i.e., Cap at up to patch level 194, and pre-2.2.0 versions of EtherShare) do not support things called Òfile IDsÓ or Òdirectory IDsÓ. These are numbers assigned to files/directories which persist between sessions, and can be used to uniquely identify a given file system object. Unfortunately, the Alias Manager is pretty much broken without them. Follow Finder Alias corrects this problem - if the Alias Manager fails to locate an item due to missing file/directory IDs, the alias is identified by its path name. Unfortunately, if an object is moved/renamed, the alias is broken (being able to track file system objects across moves/renames is one of the main advantages of file/directory IDs) and will have to be recreated. For reasonably static volumes (e.g., read only volumes containing applications, a fairly common use for Cap), this is not a problem.

¥ Certain applications (e.g., Netscape) use aliases to remember important directories (e.g., the Cache folder, the Downloads directory, etc). On a lab Mac, where preference files are normally created from a master copy periodically, these aliases may fail to be resolved (since the alias record thatÕs valid for one Mac isnÕt valid for other Macs). Follow Finder Alias corrects this problem, so that aliases start to work on all machines - not just the one used to create the master image.



Shareware Fee and License Agreement

The Shareware arrangements have changed for version 1.2, largely to the fact that Kee NetheryÕs (kee@kagi.com) Kagi Shareware now acts as a clearing house for transactions. The big advantages of using Kagi Shareware are that you can pay for shareware using your credit card (MasterCard, VISA, etc) or with an official invoice, and that I can use a permanent email address (as well as letting Kagi deal with any currency conversions). If youÕre a Shareware author interested in Kagi SharewareÕs setup, finger shareware@kagi.com for the details.

The Shareware fee for Follow Finder Alias is now $10 a copy, with a site license fee of $40. A world-wide license of $70 is also available. Every Macintosh that has Follow Finder Alias installed counts as one ÒuseÓ of Follow Finder Alias, irrespective of the frequency with which the machine is actually used by a user (the Extension is considered ÒinstalledÓ when rebooting the machine would cause Follow Finder Alias to load). 

The use of Follow Finder Alias in no way allows you to seek redress in any form for any damage caused either directly, or indirectly, by Follow Finder Alias. Follow Finder Alias was developed externally from UCL, and is Copyright © 1994, Dair Grant, Purple Shark Software.

For payment outside the UK, please use the enclosed Register program to submit your payment. Users within the UK have the option of either using the Register program (e.g., to pay by credit card or to print an invoice for their department) or of mailing a cheque to me directly. My current postal address is:

ÊÊÊÊDair Grant,
ÊÊÊÊ11 Garrioch Quadrant,
ÊÊÊÊNorth Kelvinside,
ÊÊÊÊGlasgow,
ÊÊÊÊScotland
ÊÊÊÊG20 8RT, UK

But please send email first to confirm this. If you use NetCash (email the word Ònetbank-faqÓ to netbank-info@agents.com, or point your web viewer at http://www.netbank.com/~netcash for more information about the NetCash system), payment can be made directly to me by email. If youÕve any comments, bug reports, or suggestions - feel free to email me. You should hear back from me within 48 hours (unless IÕm on holiday/sick).


-dair
dair@kagi.com
http://www-server.bcc.ac.uk/~ccaadfg
(Purple Shark Software, http://www-server.bcc.ac.uk/~ccaadfg/purpleshark)
28/3/95



Version History

1.2
- Fixed nasty stack-munging bug that was causing Now Menus to crash when trying to select an alias to a network volume (Bah, and it was all my fault...).
- No longer works on 68000 processors.

1.1
- Conflict with BBEdit's PopUpFuncs facility fixed.
- Fixed problem with 6100s and 7.5.
- If it canÕt install, reports why using the Notification Manager.
- Now works on Systems where the Finder isnÕt called ÒFinderÓ.

1.0a4
- If an alias could be resolved to a file on a currently mounted volume then it is (e.g., if the ÔrealÕ target of the alias is on another volume, but a currently mounted volume is sufficiently similar). If the alias could not be resolved, the ÔrealÕ target volume is mounted as usual.
- Follow Finder Alias still sometimes breaks 6100s running System 7.5. DonÕt know why yet.

1.0a3
- Checks for presence of System 7.x and the AliasDispatch trap before installing. Just beeps if it canÕt install.

1.0a2
- Introduced patch to AliasDispatch through a patch to InitAllPacks, to avoid problem caused by PowerTalk patching out the old FollowFinderAlias selector and not calling through (and since ÔPÕ comes after ÔFÕ...).
- Conflict with BBEditÕs PopUpFuncs facility: currently unresolved.

1.0a1
- First release.