Posted: 27-Mar-2001
|
4 1/2 out of 5 Mice |
Author: Hiro Yamamoto | Type: FREEWARE |
|
|
Reviewer: Stan Hadley | Class: UTILITY |
| Download |
ApplWindows is a handy free utility that makes jumping from program to program and window to window very easy. It was written back in 1993 by Hiro Yamamoto who later wrote SuperBoomerang. ApplWindows is a freeware utility that makes the application menu (up in the right hand corner) much more usable. It:
- lets you switch between applications with a modifier+left and right arrow
- lets you switch between open windows of an application with a modifier+up and down arrow
- makes the application menu hierarchical so you can jump between open windows of an application
- makes different areas of your screen hotspots to pop up the application menu. (I set the outside of my screen as the hot spot so get the application menu by just moving the mouse pointer to the edge and clicking)
- lets you set popup command keys for the application menu to popup anywhere with a mouse-click (I use ctl+shift+click)
I find the program
invaluable for copying and pasting between workbooks of Excel, or between Excel and
Word. Itís also very handy simply for going between programs, such as switching to
Eudora when new mail arrives. After using ApplWindows a long time, I find going all
the way up to the top-right corner for the Application menu such a waste of time
and motion.
The program was written back for System 7, but still works through Mac OS 9.1. There
are a couple of glitches though if you use the Application tear-off menu. When you
first tear it off, there are black border artifacts left on the screen after the
labels have shrunk down to icon size. These disappear if you cover them up with a
window and then uncover the space. Secondly, the icons in the tear-off menu donít
always show by their shading which program is active.
Pros
- Enhances accessibility of Application Menu
- Makes switching between open windows and applications very easy
- Free
Cons
- Small glitches with Application tear-off menu
- Use of hotkeys removes them from use by other programs
Ratings
Functionality ñ 5 Mice
User Interface ñ 4.5 Mice
Overall ñ 4.5 Mice