Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!cs.utexas.edu!hellgate.utah.edu!cs.utah.edu!t-jacobs
From: t-jacobs@cs.utah.edu (Tony Jacobs)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Running DAs not in System File?
Message-ID: <1989Nov19.215830.11394@hellgate.utah.edu>
Date: 20 Nov 89 04:58:30 GMT
References: <129@tenset.UUCP> <1989Nov10.232904.3863@NCoast.ORG> <24173@cup.portal.com>
Organization: University of Utah ME Dept
Lines: 40

I wrote a DA about 2 or 3 years ago called "Run'R" (for Run Resource) which
runs DA's, Fkeys, and opens font files and then opens the "Key Caps" DA for
you to display the font (It will show up in the font menu). I intended to
make it a shareware product and improve upon it. It has managed to survive
all the system changes from System 3.x or so without needing fixes. In fact
the DA Handler helps it out in a way. My DA opens up DA/Fkey files but doesn't
monitor them so it can close the file when necessary. When the DA Handler quits
it closes all those files. This also happened before the DA Handler when you
would launch or quit an application.  

When Suitcase & MasterJuggler came along I didn't think there would be much of
a demand for Run'R so I didn't pursue it any further. Though I still use it
myself and have for the last 2 to 3 years. It is a lot handier to run a DA with
Run'R rather than open up the file with the Juggler or Suitcase. This is of
course true only for those DA's, Fkey's which you use very rarely or don't
want installed permanently.

There are a few things which don't want to run and it will only run the first
thing it sees in a multiple DA/Fkey file.

If enough people are interested I will clean up the Info Dialogs a little and
post it.

I also created an application with the same creator type as the Font-DA Mover
which would allow you to double click a DA file to run it. You need to have
Font-DA Mover in a different location so it isn't run instead. There is one
problem with it in which it won't run a second file when double clicked and
running under the MultiFinder. I never finished looking for a solution to the
problem.

It is rumoured that System 7 will do away with DA's. If the DA Handler were
made to work like my DA launcher then the DA's would really be treated like
applications and the rumor says you can have applications listed in the Apple
menu. My theory is that the Apple menu will turn in to a utility menu and
perform things like On Que does.

Anyway, Email me if your interested.


Tony Jacobs * Center for Engineering Design * U of U * t-jacobs@ced.utah.edu