Manual Maker [icon]

Manual Maker is a simple application that converts a collection of SimpleText files into a low-overhead standalone document called a Manual Reader. Besides displaying styled text and embedded pictures, a Manual Reader provides chapter and section menus and a Find command. Manual Maker is free.

System 7 through Mac OS 9 is required for use of these programs. The online manuals do not run natively in Mac OS X, which is why I moved Manual Maker to an "obsolete" page.

Manual_Maker_final.sit, 34K.

There is also a Japanese version of the Manual Maker package, localized by Haruka Ishi and updated by Masatsugu Nagata. Not only is the documentation and interface in Japanese, it also takes into account differences between the way SimpleText Japanese stores pictures and the way SimpleText (U.S.) stores pictures.

Manual_Maker_2.4J.sit, 94K.

Carpetbag [icon]

Carpetbag is a shareware ($5) control panel that makes fonts, sounds, FKEYs, and keyboard layouts available to your programs without altering the System file. Specify certain folders, and Carpetbag opens all resource files therein at startup. It works under System 6, but is smarter remembering folders under System 7 or 8.

I do not recommend that Carpetbag be used with Mac OS 9.0.

Frankly, since Apple introduced the Fonts folder in System 7.1, Carpetbag is not as helpful as it once was. But if you often install or remove fonts or FKEYs, and don't like having to quit everything before the Finder will let you do it, you may still find this helpful.

Includes Laser Path 1.5, a utility for storing PostScript fonts outside the System Folder.

By the way, Carpetbag itself patches no traps and does not affect the speed of your computer. Laser Path is another story.

Carpetbag-1.4.3.sit, 72K