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bradoesch · Jun 12, 2002, 09:00 AM

Hello,

One day I had manually opened two system files (one was my iMac's 9.2.2 and the other was from System 7.5) Then when I brought up a contextual menu, it looked quite different. I closed the system files, opened them again, and the contextual menu did the same thing again. Has this happened to anyone else? <img src="http://shift_45.tripod.com/system_files_open.jpg" alt=" - " />

[ 06-16-2002, 03:03 PM: Message edited by: bradoesch ]

Cipher13 · Jun 12, 2002, 09:30 AM

Contextual menus are dynamic based upon the file you click upon.

bradoesch · Jun 15, 2002, 04:02 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Cipher13:
Contextual menus are dynamic based upon the file you click upon.<hr /></blockquote>Yes, I know that.

But. . .
Look at the contextual menu. Does it look any different?

D'Espice · Jun 15, 2002, 06:57 PM

What do you mean by different? How 'bout a screenshot?

[ 06-15-2002, 06:58 PM: Message edited by: D'Espice ]

bradoesch · Jun 19, 2002, 08:43 AM

Grr, both Tripod and Geocities don't want to show the picture. This one should work though:

<img src="http://homepage.mac.com/bradoesch/.Pictures/system_files_open.jpg" alt=" - " />

Camelot · Jun 21, 2002, 09:57 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by bradoesch:
Hello,

One day I had manually opened two system files (one was my iMac's 9.2.2 and the other was from System 7.5) Then when I brought up a contextual menu, it looked quite different. I closed the system files, opened them again, and the contextual menu did the same thing again. Has this happened to anyone else? <hr /></blockquote>[Disclaimer: it's been a while since I've had to deal with something like this, but I think I remember the basics

I'm guessing it's something to do with resources in memory.

Contextual menus are stored as resources and are typically referenced by ID number, so the system knows, for example, to use contextual menu ID -12345 when you click in the finder (Note: I don't know that's the ACTUAL resource ID used, I'm just being illustrative here).

When looking for resources, the programmer can choose to either look in a specific file or all open files. If searching all open files, the system starts looking for the resource in the most recently opened file. If not found, it moves on to the previously-opened file, and so on until either the resource is found (in which case the search stops) or it gets to the last file (in which case a 'Resource not Found' error (-43?) is returned).

Typically the System file is the first file opened at boot time, and consequently the last file checked using the above method.

In your specific case the system finding the contextual menu resource stored in the old System 7.5 "System" file since it was opened more recently than your active System file. There is no way for the system to know that the contextual menu resource ID -12345 is not the resource you wanted. As far as it is concerned, it matches the search parameters, so it is correct.

when you close the old System file, the file is removed from the open file list and subsequent searches do not find the resource until it gets to the active System file.

Does that make sense?

bradoesch · Jun 22, 2002, 01:17 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Camelot:
 <blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by bradoesch:
Hello,

One day I had manually opened two system files (one was my iMac's 9.2.2 and the other was from System 7.5) Then when I brought up a contextual menu, it looked quite different. I closed the system files, opened them again, and the contextual menu did the same thing again. Has this happened to anyone else? <hr /></blockquote>[Disclaimer: it's been a while since I've had to deal with something like this, but I think I remember the basics

I'm guessing it's something to do with resources in memory.

Contextual menus are stored as resources and are typically referenced by ID number, so the system knows, for example, to use contextual menu ID -12345 when you click in the finder (Note: I don't know that's the ACTUAL resource ID used, I'm just being illustrative here).

When looking for resources, the programmer can choose to either look in a specific file or all open files. If searching all open files, the system starts looking for the resource in the most recently opened file. If not found, it moves on to the previously-opened file, and so on until either the resource is found (in which case the search stops) or it gets to the last file (in which case a 'Resource not Found' error (-43?) is returned).

Typically the System file is the first file opened at boot time, and consequently the last file checked using the above method.

In your specific case the system finding the contextual menu resource stored in the old System 7.5 "System" file since it was opened more recently than your active System file. There is no way for the system to know that the contextual menu resource ID -12345 is not the resource you wanted. As far as it is concerned, it matches the search parameters, so it is correct.

when you close the old System file, the file is removed from the open file list and subsequent searches do not find the resource until it gets to the active System file.

Does that make sense?<hr /></blockquote>It makes perfect sense. Thanks.

You're right about closing the 7.5 System file. When it's closed, the contextual menus return to their 'OS 9' appearance.

Brad