[Judge_Fire]

Here's another small idea, something that's been done before, again, but this time the challenge is keeping it small and compact. Avoiding that creeping featuritis feeling and focusing on one thing.


Proposed app:

A small thingy that just let's you recolor icons and add a text to the icon, very quickly. Just when you're creating a folder, for example. Without feeling like you're going into an app and working there.


Background:

1: The Dock doesn't display item names by default. When you have several standard folders side by side, it might take some browsing to find the one you want.

2: There are no labels. Even if you didn't care for the sorting in OS 9, labels was still a quick way to change the color of icons.

3: Can Combine Icons is a great piece of software which I like, but it's a bit 'too pro' and has a slowish workflow.


The fastest workflow would be:

- User drops item into the app's (Dock) icon
- App pops up a preview window with a few sizes, the color selection wheel, a field for text input and the font panel.
- Upon completing the dialog, the app updates the target icon and quits

Compared to CCI, where:

- User drops item into the app's icon
- User fiddles and fumbles with a number of many tempting options, which require a bit of learning
- User copies icon from CCI
- User selects target item
- User opens Get Info and pastes new icon in
- User closes Get Info
- User closes CCI

Both do the same thing, but the speed and ease of use would set this small thingy apart.

Anyone find this useful?

J

[Nebagakid]

would it be free?

[Chuckit]

Well, here's my stab at a quick label-maker. It's not exactly what you were talking about, but I think it's still pretty compact and more complete this way. Feel free to tell me what you think:
http://members.aol.com/arimmerh/QuickTag.tgz

[Nebagakid]

THAT IS GREAT, very very coo!

Maybe add a toolbar or a row of buttons for opening up the font panel and the justification. Also, maybe dragging the modified icon out and creating a .icn?

but, that really cool program, me likee

[Judge_Fire]

Yeah!

Man, exactly what I needed, thanks.

Maybe a button for popping up the Font panel for those unaware of the options found in the menus?

Again, thanks.

J

judge_fire@mac.com

[Chuckit]

Originally posted by Judge_Fire:
Yeah!

Man, exactly what I needed, thanks.

Maybe a button for popping up the Font panel for those unaware of the options found in the menus?

Again, thanks.

Hey, no problem.

Actually, I added that a while ago when Nebagakid asked. I'd been considering adding a couple more features, but in case anybody wants it, here's the updated version:
http://members.aol.com/arimmerh/QuickTag060.tgz

Out of curiosity, what do you think of putting more text controls into the window itself? My gut reaction is that it's too busy, and the window wasn't meant to be a mini-word processor. But you're the users, so I figure what you think probably counts for something.

[Judge_Fire]

Well, creeping featuritis got a hold on me, after all, but please bare with me:

Having gotten 10.2 awhile ago, I found that:

+ Get Info allows adding text as 'Comments' to a file.
+ List view allows a sort by those Comments, just like Labels!

- It doesn't add a color, so you can only see the difference in list view.
- The interface for input is clunky.


In a moment of grandious delusion it occurred to me that colliding that feature with QuickTag would create something... something... nice?

My suggestion is a user customized list of words, like 'Hot' and 'Cold' or more likely, 'Finished', 'In progress' that you could select from a pop- up menu in QuickTag and thus insert into the files 'Comments'.

Keywords could also have an assigned color by default, to speed things up.

A bit like labels, but in some regards, a lot better.

Too much of a hassle?

J

judge_fire@mac.com

[Nebagakid]

like, set the colour, and then
(using applscript)

copy colorName to the comment of target_file