
VOODOO Menu Help 


                                            version: 2.0.2
                                            created: 06/30/1997 {11:13:46 pm}
                                        last update: 02/27/2004 {08:17:51 PM}

 
This help file describes the "Voodoo Menu".  This package integrates Alpha
with the VOODOO (Versions Of Outdated Documents Organized Orthogonally)
version management package:

    <http://www.unisoftwareplus.com/products/voodooserver/>


	  	Table Of Contents


"# Projects"
"# Settings"
"#   User name"
"#   Variants"
"#   Actions"
"#   File comparison"
"#   Customizing actions"
"#   Keyboard Shortcuts"
"# Acknowledgments"
"# To do"
"# Recent Changes"
"# License And Disclaimer"

<<floatNamedMarks>>

	
	  	Projects

Turn this package on selecting the "Config > Global Setup > Menus" menu item
and clicking on the checkbox next to "Voodoo Menu"

Preferences: Menus
		  
Select the "VOODOO > Connect > Choose" menu item to assign a VOODOO project.
Once selected, a settings dialog will be provided for the project before
connecting to it.  The project name, for Alpha's purposes, is a near
approximation of its actual name, with curly brackets removed and a number
appended in the event of name conflicts.  The name can be changed by selecting
the menu command "VOODOO > Connect > Rename".  Each new project is added to
the "VOODOO > Connect" submenu for easy reconnection.

Currently, selection of a new project automatically disconnects the old one.
This is done, in part, because that's what the BBEdit extension does.  If you
would like more than one project to remain connected for some reason, let me
know.  The active project is also disconnected when you quit Alpha.  Let me
know if this is a problem.
		  
NOTE: Because of limitations in Alpha's AppleEvent interface, VOODOO will not
be brought forward if there is anything wrong with your user name or password.
You'll get an alert (e.g., blinking icon in the menu bar) and you can manually
shift to VOODOO, but it won't happen automatically.

There currently is no mechanism for creating VOODOO projects through
AppleEvents, so you will need to create your project in VOODOO, but you can
then use Alpha to define what files should be in the project (such as adding
all open windows or all files of an Alpha fileset).  There is not currently a
straight-forward way to determine what files are already in a project, such
that an Alpha fileset could be created from an existing VOODOO project.  I
know of a cumbersome way to do it, so if it's important to you, let me know
and I'll see what I can do.


	  	Settings

	  	 	User name

VOODOO uses the Macintosh's owner name as its default user name for a project.
Unfortunately, this name is not always available to Alpha.  AlphaVOODOO tries
the following, in order, to set the user name for the project:

¥ Under Mac OS 8.x, get the owner name from the File Sharing control
  panel.
  <<try {error::alertnote [tclAE::build::OS8userName]} -reporting taciturn>>

¥ Under Mac OS 7.x, or if the previous failed, get the owner of the
  system's preferences file (almost certain to be the Mac's owner).
  <<try {error::alertnote [tclAE::build::OS7userName]} -reporting taciturn>>

¥ As a last resort, such as if File Sharing is disabled, get the user name
  from Internet Config.
  <<try {error::alertnote [icGetPref RealName]} -reporting taciturn>>

	  	 	Variants
		
You may restrict the VOODOO variants which are visible by either typing the
variant names in explicitly or by clicking the "VariantsÉ" button in the
"VOODOO > SettingsÉ" dialog.  As long as the project is logged on, a list of
available variants will be provided, allowing you to select or Shift-Select
the variant(s) you are interested in.  If the project is not logged on, the
most recently available list will be provided, along with a warning that it is
not current.

You may, if you get your jollies that way, type in the variant names. 
Enclose each variant name in squirrely brackets, e.g.,

	{Variant 1} {Variant 2} {Variant 3}

	  	 	Actions

Once Alpha is connected to a VOODOO project, files in Alpha may be

¥ stored to
¥ fetched from (read or read-only)
¥ status checked against
¥ added to 

that project.  Any of these actions may be performed on

¥ the topmost window
¥ all open windows
¥ the current fileset 
  (ftp filesets are not supported (any thoughts on what
   this would even mean?))

	  	 	File comparison
		  
Unlike the other version management actions, file comparison is only available
for the topmost window.  In order to compare a file in Alpha with an archived
file, you need VOODOO version 1.8.1 or greater; AlphaVOODOO knows this and
will throw an error if it detects an earlier version.

Note: If you have more than one copy of Alpha, this action is unpredictable.
VOODOO always launches the copy of Alpha defined in the Desktop Database,
rather than talking to the copy that's currently running.  There's nothing to
be done about this from Alpha's end; it needs to be changed by UNISOFT.

	  	 	Customizing actions

Press the Option modifier in the VOODOO menu to use VOODOO's dialog to make
adjustments to Fetch, Store, and Add requests before completing them.

	  	 	Keyboard Shortcuts

To the curious: The "Command-Shift-Control" modifier prefix combination for
the "Window" operations, Command-Shift-Control, was selected as having no
(known) conflicts with other modes, thereby allowing all VOODOO commands to
have the same keyboard shortcuts with "logical" letters.

	  	
	----------------------------------------------------------------------


	  	Acknowledgments
		

My thanks to Christoph Reichenberger for writing VOODOO in the first place,
and for providing extensive help on this package in the second.

I'm indebted to Pete Keleher for having provided an editor worth connecting to
and to Vince Darley for making it much easier to write packages.

I've borrowed liberally and shamelessly from Vince Darley's "Vince's
Additions".  Thanks Vince!


	  	To do
		

¥ Implement VOODOO logs in browser mode.

¥ VOODOO should respect the currently running Alpha for compares, rather
  than always launching the one in the Desktop Database.


	  	Recent Changes


	  	 	2.0.1       January 19, 2001


¥ Fixes for Alpha 8


	  	 	2.0         January 3, 2001


¥ Compatibility with (and requirement of) AlphaTcl 7.4.
¥ Verified compatibility with VOODOO Personal.


	  	 	1.0.1       December 17, 1999


¥ Compatibility with Tcl 8.x, from VMD.
¥ URL revisions.
¥ Installation fixes.


	  	 	1.0.0       October 20, 1998


¥ Release!
¥ Documentation revisions.
¥ Installation fixes.


	  	 	1.0.0b7     May 6, 1998


¥ Code reorganization.
¥ Vince's updated menu tools used.
¥ Updated aebuild/aeparse/aecoerce suite used for more automated 
  handling of AppleEvents.
¥ cmd argument removed from proc: voodoo::eligibleFiles.  upvar used 
  now.
¥ proc: voodoo::try more flexible and makes use of updated try command.
¥ voodoo::*userName moved to "aebuild.tcl"
¥ Overly clever upvar mechanism for changing projects eliminated.  
  Master projects are now ordinally numbered, 
  voodoo::projects::[0-9]+, and are swapped in and out of 
  voodooProjects.
¥ Incremental numbers on projects changed from "<nn>" to "[nn]" 
  for better menu compatibility.
¥ Minimum version of VOODOO for compares is 1.8.1.  Earlier betas 
  worked too, but they have expired now.


	  	 	1.0.0b6     March 1, 1998


¥ AlphaVOODOO is a better citizen now, providing an uninstall 
  script and cleaning up messes left by earlier installers.
¥ Error catching and handling mechanism now much more general.
¥ In the event that none of the selected files are eligible for 
  VOODOO, e.g., shells, Diff reports, etc, an alert is now 
  posted. Before, nothing happened at all.
¥ Instead of setting the default project owner's name to 
  InternetConfig's user name, which virtually never gave the 
  correct result, AlphaVOODOO now obtains the Mac's owner 
  name under MacOS 8.x and makes a pretty good guess under MacOS 
  7.x (by using the owner of the Preference folder; almost 
  certain to be the Mac's owner).
¥ Old "appleEvents.tcl" calls replaced with new "aebuild.tcl" calls.
¥ Various minor bug fixes.
¥ VOODOO's new Çevent CompCompÈ is _not_ supported, due to lack 
  of capability in Alpha's AppleEvent interface. 
  'compareExternalFiles' renamed to 'proc: voodoo::compareFiles'.
¥ Better integration with "diffMode.tcl" (requiring changes to 
  both Diff mode and AlphaVOODOO). 
¥ NOTE: Due to a crashing bug in Alpha, if an error is 
  returned from a call to VOODOO while Alpha is in the 
  background (switched either manually or from using the 
  "With Dialog" menu option), an alert dialog will not be 
  displayed.  As much of the message as possible will be 
  displayed in the status bar, instead.
		 

	  	 	1.0.0b5     December 22, 1997


¥ Further modernizations for Vince Darley's Alpha 7.  NOTE: 
  As of this version, AlphaVOODOO is incompatible with Alpha 
  6.5.x. Please contact me, supplying a note from your 
  mother, if you are unable/unwilling to migrate to Alpha 7.
¥ Support for the new Çevent compcompÈ compare AE from 
  VOODOO. As of VOODOO 1.8.1b6, the old "DoScript" interface 
  is still used, unless Alpha's creator is changed from 
  'ALFA'.  Either way, the new "diffMode.tcl" is exploited.   
¥ Interim patch file "coreFixes+.tcl" that fixes the broken 
  Alpha proc specToPathName.  If you have the December 20, 
  1997 release of Alpha 7 or later (how 'bout some real 
  version numbers, Vince?), this file is not needed, as both 
  it and "aevt.tcl" are in the System code.
¥ The code in "diff+.tcl" and "appleEvents+.tcl" has been 
  incorporated in Alpha's core code.  These files may be (and 
  should be) safely removed from Alpha's PREFS folder.


	  	 	1.0.0b4     September 5, 1997


¥ Installer now compliant with Vince Darley's new Tcl structure.  
  Still works on old systems, too.
¥ Project naming and selection now more flexible.
¥ All files in fileset now stored and fetched with VOODOO, rather 
  than just TEXT files.
¥ Nice display of "Add" and "Locking Status" operations.  When 
  VOODOO's AppleEvent model supports it, "Store" and "Fetch" will 
  generate reports too.


	  	 	1.0.0b3     August 10, 1997


¥ Multiple VOODOO projects now supported, with easy menu 
  selection.
¥ Redesigned settings dialog.
¥ Menu redesign; renamed some items and properly disable items 
  when appropriate.
¥ Changed key bindings to (the somewhat more cumbersome) 
  <command><shift><control>.  The new bindings don't conflict 
  with any other modes, so far as I know.
¥ Improved display of locking-status and add results
¥ More robust AppleEvent parsing and handling.
¥ More comprehensive and robust error catching.
¥ "Log On" and "Log Off" renamed to "Connect" and 
  "Disconnect" at Christoph's suggestion.


	  	 	1.0.0b2     July 15, 1997


¥ Many error conditions eliminated or handled more gracefully.
¥ No longer logs on automatically to select filters.
¥ "Project SettingsÉ" dialog sizes itself to the main screen.
¥ Filters applied prior to each pertinant action, rather than
  only when changed (the old way meant that the variant filters
  assiged in Alpha might be ignored).
¥ Much code commenting.
¥ Improved log-in status check.
¥ Most dialogs eliminated. User requested dialogs are now handled
  entirely by VOODOO.
¥ VOODOO's reply from 'compare' events is now handled properly.
¥ Only currently open windows are refreshed after a fileset fetch.
  Remaining files in fileset are fetched, but not opened.
¥ Big VOODOO menu icon eliminated.


	  	 	1.0.0b1     July 1, 1997


    Original
	

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	  	License And Disclaimer


This package is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under
the terms of the GNU General Public License.
 
Author: Jonathan Guyer
E-mail: <jguyer@his.com>
   www: <http://www.his.com/~jguyer/>
 
 Copyright (c) 1998-2000  Jonathan Guyer
 
