Customization

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	Many of RAM Charger's features are designed to allow you to customize its functions and interface. These features are presented here in three parts: The Enhanced Get Infowindow -- An application's RAM Charger settings and starting memory sizes may now be accessed from the Get Info window. RAM Charger Application Settings -- The Application Settingswindow may be used to adjust the parameters for RAM Charging individual applications. RAM Charger General Settings -- Several general aspects of RAM Charger's operation may be adjusted according to your personal preferences, within the RAM Charger General Settings window.
Enhanced Get Info Window	Quick access to an application's basic RAM Charger settings is now available right in the Finder's Get Info window (see Figure 6). Open a Get Info window for an application in the usual manner: just select the application in the Finder and choose Get Info from the File menu. (You may also open it from RAM Charger Application Settings selecting an application and choosing Get Info In Finder from the Application menu.) From the enhanced Get Info window, you may turn RAM Charging on or off and adjust starting memory sizes. Clicking the More button takes you directly to the application's listing in the RAM Charger Application Settings window where more options and information are available. Should you prefer to see a standard Get Info window, just press the shift key while opening it. Or, you may disable this enhancement by un-checking the box marked Access RAM Charger Settings in Finder's Get Info (Without Shift key) in the Application panel of RAM Charger General Settings. When disabled, you can then request the enhanced Get Info , on occasion, by pressing the shift key while opening it.
RAM ChargerSettings for individual applications	The RAM Charger Application Settings window is used to adjust the parameters for RAM Charging individual applications. It is implemented as a separate application, called RAM Charger Settings, in order to keep the RAM Charger interface as simple and efficient as possible. The RAM Charger Settings file is installed in the Preferences folder inside your System Folder. However, you don't need to remember this location because you normally open it by simply selecting the RAM Charger Application Settings entry from the RAM Charger Pull- Down menu. It can also be accessed by clicking the Application Settings button in the RAM Charger General Settings Window, by clicking the RAM Charger go-light button in the RAM Charger Heads-Up control panel, or by selecting it from the Window menu in the More About This Mac application. As usual, Balloon Help is provided to give you a concise description of each element of the interface. Click the Balloon Help button to enable this ready source of information when something isn't completely clear.
Figure 7.The RAM ChargerApplication SettingsWindow (without more choices).
Application selection and Operation	An application is selected using the Diskpop-up menu and scrolling list of applications, on the left side of the window. All applications on the disk currently selected in the pop-up menu are listed for you to choose from.8 In addition to using the standard scroll bar to scan them, you may also select an application in the list by typing part of its name (after clicking in the list), or use the arrow keys to scroll. An application may also be found, using a standard directory dialog box, by choosing Select Other Application...from the Filemenu.9 (This may also be used to select, and configure for RAM Charging, unusual types of applications that are not normally considered for RAM Charging -- such as control panels that are implemented as applications.) Each application is marked to the left of its name to tell if it is set to be RAM Charged. A check mark ([!]) means it is RAM Charged. A question mark (?) means it is untested and yet-to-be-determined. A space (no mark) means it is not to be RAM Charged. A dash (-) will be shown briefly while RAM Charger is first building the list and the correct state has not yet been looked up. In the event that RAM Charger should encounter a damaged or inaccessible file, its name is marked with an upside down question mark (¿) beside it. It is possible, though unlikely, that you will find a disk which RAM Charger cannot search effectively. (This might occur with a disk being shared from a file server using a foreign or out-of-date file format.) In such a case, the disk name will be dimmed and unavailable in the Diskpop-up menu. There may also be cases when every program on a disk cannot be listed (for example, when memory is limited or when application files have been compressed in a way that takes too long to detect them during the search). In any case, for any program that is not listed right in the settings window, use the Select Other Applicationoption from the Filemenu to find and select it. Internally, RAM Charger does not identify application programs by their file names. A file name is too fragile. (You may easily change it to whatever you prefer to use.) Instead, RAM Charger identifies programs by their time and date of creation, their version number and something known as the "Creator" ID or application signature. An example of what this means to you is that RAM Charger can recognize version 5.1 of Word no matter where you put it or what you change its file name to. If you have two copies of one program, RAM Charger recognizes them as the same and maintains only one copy of settings. If, for some very unusual reason, you want to keep RAM Charger from recognizing a copy of a program for what it really is you can change its version number or other identifying element with a resource editing program, such as ResEdit[TM]. RAM Charging will be automatically turned off for any application that has the word installeror print monitor in its name, since there is no need to optimize memory usage for one-time applications, or print monitors that have special dynamic memory capabilities provided by the system. In addition to accessing an application's RAM Charger settings, there are three additional functions which may be performed directly on the application selected in the list: To open the Finder's Get Infowindow for the selected application, select Get Info In Finderfrom the Applicationmenu. To show the location of the selected application on the desktop or in its enclosing folder, selectLocate In Finderfrom the Applicationmenu. To launch the selected application (or just bring it to the front if it is already open), select Open or Bring To Frontfrom the Applicationmenu. (A short cut for this is to click on the application's icon near the top of the settings window.
Basic RAM Charger settings	The area on the right side of the settings window contains the active settings for the selected application. There are four primary items of note here: The master switch for an application is the RAM Chargedcheck box: it controls whether the application is RAM Charged, whenever it is opened. The Starting memory size is the amount of memory used by the RAM Charged application whenever it is first opened. This may be set to use whatever is defined for the application's Minimumor Preferred size, using the associated radio buttons. Or, you can select Custom sizeand then type any desired size in the field provided. The Minimum sizeis the smallest an application is allowed to open into, according to its author. Change it as needed for UnCharged use. An application's Preferred sizeis the amount of memory reserved for its exclusive use when it is opened. Without RAM Charger, this memory is reserved in a single continuous block and the application is then limited to working within this amount, even when other memory is unused. The Preferred size may be adjusted as needed for UnCharged use. Comments about RAM Charging the selected application can be found by clicking the Notes button. Any notable observations made while testing an application with RAM Charger will be shown here. You may also change these to describe your own observations and adjustments. Should you decide to disable RAM Charging for an application, you will be asked if you want to add notes explaining why you did so. These notes may prove to be helpful should you decide to re-enable RAM Charging later. The notes may be longer than what fits in the text box. Use the scroll bar or arrow keys to move up or down through the text.
RAM Charger Settings Wizard	If you wish to adjust the RAM Charger settings for an application, RAM Charger has a Settings Wizard that helps you get started in the right direction. It observes the memory use of an application while you use it. After you quit, the Wizard reports what it found to help you make effective adjustments. To use the Settings Wizard, open the RAM Charger Application Settingswindow and select the application you wish to monitor. Then click on the Wizard button. The Wizard will ask if you want it to launch the application. All the while you use the application, the Wizard will observe its memory use. When you quit the application, return to the RAM Charger Application Settingswindow, and click the Wizard button again, the Wizard will report on the application and suggest adjustments you might wish to make.

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9. You will usually find it is simplest to make your selections from the list of applications provided for each disk. However, choosing Select Other Applicationto find programs using a Directory Dialog Box can be helpful if you forget the name of a program but know the folder it's in, or prefer to find it via an alias.