So yeah - someone wrote to ask for a feature and I realized that there’s no documentation for the “secret settings” in Default Folder X.  Open System Preferences, click on Default Folder X, then hold down the option key and click on the Settings button.

Here’s the quick run-down:

1. OpenFinderWindowsInColumnView:  Does what it says.  When DFX opens a folder for you in the Finder, the window will be in column view.
2. OpenInFrontFinderWindow:  When DFX opens a folder in the Finder, it uses the frontmost Finder window instead of creating a new window.
3. ReboundWhenChoosingFolders: Some apps use Open dialogs that allow you to select files or folders.  By default, DFX doesn’t do its “rebound” feature in these dialogs because it can cause the current folder to change if you’re using column view.  This switch makes it rebound anyway.
4. MenusUseSmallFonts: For people with good eyes.
5. HidePreviews: The OS X-supplied previews in column view in some apps (Photoshop) are really slow for large files.  This turns them off.
6. HotkeysForRecentFolders: Option-up-arrow and option-down-arrow open windows in the Finder to show your  recently used folders.
7. QuitWithoutConfirmation: Quitting DFX won’t bring up the “Are you sure?” alert.
8. ShowHiddenFinderWindows: Makes Finder-click work even when the Finder is hidden.
9. DisableContextualMenu: Turns off DFX’s contextual menus in Open and Save dialogs.
10. ExportAndPrintToDocumentFolder: There’s a setting in DFX called “Make save dialogs automatically default to the current document’s folder.”  Normally it (intentionally) doesn’t work when you print to PDF files or export a file - this setting makes it work in Print to PDF and Export dialogs too.

So, there’s a few more little bits for Default Folder X.  Enjoy!

A new public beta version of HistoryHound is available.  Again, it’s much faster than version 1.9.2, and this build includes a number of fixes for the Firefox 3 history indexer, along with better handling of some web sites that used to cause problems before.  Please drop me comments at HistoryHound@stclairsoft.com if you’ve found a bug or want to make a comment or suggestion.

Thanks!

Ben and I spent some time with Chuck Joiner of MacVoices talking about NetSketch, Ben’s new iPhone app, as well as discussing some of the challenges and excitement coming on the iPhone both for customers and developers.  As always, it’s great to talk to Chuck - he really does fun and informative shows!  Go here for the interview.

Yes, my son is now officially kicking his dad’s butt on the iPhone side of the business.  Ben had NetSketch ready at the launch of the app store, and even as an impartial observer (as much as I can be, anyway), it’s an impressive piece of software.

NetSketch brings collaborative drawing to the iPhone and iPod Touch.  You can draw on the iPhone’s screen in full color and share your work with others over WiFi - pretty cool!  If you collaborate with your friends, everyone’s changes are shown in the drawing in real-time.  And NetSketch is vector-based and offers infinite pan and zoom - so it’s easy to add detail to your work and you never run out of room.

Here are some drawings made with NetSketch:

I have to say it’s darn nice for $5.99, and the networking capabilities really set it apart. I can see this taking over in classrooms and meeting rooms this fall

Take a look at http://www.netsketchapp.com/

Sorry for the silence - things have been very busy behind the scenes here and there’s a lot to catch up on!

Version 4.0.7 of Default Folder X was posted yesterday, cleaning up some problems that cropped up with Word 2008 after Microsoft’s 12.1.1 update earlier this month.  There are also corrections for a few features that weren’t working as they should, and some re-engineering under the hood to allow for expansion in the future.

The update is free for everyone that’s got a valid license for Default Folder X version 4 (including those who received a free upgrade because they purchased version 3 on or after June 1, 2007).  Just download the installer and run it - it’ll update your copy to the latest version.

You can read more about this release and download copies from:

http://www.stclairsoft.com/DefaultFolderX/release.html