Introduction

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Jump Start page content correct formatting under construction	Okay, okay. If you don't want to read this manual right now, I guess you don't have to. The software's so friendly it practically wags its tail, anyway. And besides, that's what our products are all about--they let you take the kind of giant steps that leave the little steps behind. So, if you're in a real hurry (and you don't mind missing some of the more esoteric fun that follows) go ahead and jump right in. Start with the Quick tour on this page. Whatever you do, be sure to run the RAM Charger Installer on the installation disk because RAM Charger cannot work if you don't. Then, if you want more, read the Installationsection in this manual. Later, when you get a chance, be sure to read the Operation section. If you have any problems, check the Troubleshooting section. Any addendum or clarifications to this manual will be found in the RAM Charger Read Me First document. DonŐt worry, Balloon Help™ is available to give you a concise description of each element of the RAM Charger interface&emdash;so if you need it, just click the Balloon Help button right there in each window, and keep on jumping.
Quick tour	Even if you can only take a couple of minutes now, as you first get to know RAM Charger, you'll want to browse the RAM Charger Read Me First document, shown in the Installer and copied to your hard disk during installation. The Quick Start Guide there will help you insure a successful installation. You may also want to read the rest of this section to take a quick tour of some of RAM Charger's capabilities and begin to see what it does for you. Also included with RAM Charger 8 is More About This Mac, an enhanced display of memory information similar to the Finder's About This Computer window. (This is a simplified version of More About This Mac Pro,another Jump Development Group product, that has additional viewing options and application control features.) We think you'll find that the two products complement each other well. This section is only an overview of RAM Charger's major features. Proceed with following sections for full details.
Objective	RAM Charger optimizes the use of your Macintosh memory and makes access to unused memory more flexible. Since memory is a basic resource, required by both system software and applications, its availability can have a big impact on all operations. The more efficient your memory usage, the more you will be able to do with your Macintosh. When you startup your computer, all unused memory is collected in a "free pool" we refer to as Total Unused Memory.As you use your software for various operations, memory may be borrowed from and returned to the free pool. It is RAM Charger's purpose to make this happen in a more efficient and flexible manor. While RAM Charger works automatically in the background to improve memory usage, it also gives you feedback and control of memory use, if you wish to better understand your Macintosh memory and actively identify related problems and find resolutions. The better your understanding of these issues, the better your ability to make the most of RAM Charger's benefits.
RAM Charger Pull-down Menu	The first thing to notice after installing RAM Charger is a new menu located on the far right side of your menu bar. This is the RAM Charger Pull-down Menu which offers access to all of RAM Charger's features. Initially, this menu will be set to display your system's Total Unused Memory in Kilobytes, however, y ou may display any of the menu's values in the menu bar by selecting one or more of them from the menu. To remove a value from your menu bar, select it again. If no values are selected, the menu will simply appear as the RAM Charger go-light in the menu bar.
RAM Charger General Settings	Open RAM Charger General Settingsfrom the Pull- down menu (or from Control Panels in the Finder's menu) and click on the Menutab panel to access specific preferences for the RAM Charger Pull-down Menu.You may display the values in Megabytes (to take less menu bar space), make the RAM Charger Pull-down Menu accessible from the Finder's menu, or remove it all together from the menu bar. There are other general aspects of RAM Charger's operation which may be adjusted from RAM Charger General Settings. These apply to the overall operation, rather than to the RAM Charging of a specific application.
More About This Mac window	Also accessible from the Finder's menu is the More About This Macwindow. This provides an enhanced display of memory use similar to the Finder's About This Computer window. Use this window to gain an overview of your computer's memory usage. If you see an application that appears to have reserved large amounts of memory that it is not using, you might want to take some time to "fine tune" the application by making adjustments to its RAM Charger Application Settings (see Fine Tuning Applications).
RAM Charger Application Settings	The RAM Charger Application Settings window is used to adjust the parameters for RAM Charging individual applications. From here, you can turn RAM Charging on or off for an application, adjust its starting memory size, read Notesthat may exist for the application (or type your own), or seek the help of the RAM Charger Settings Wizardwho can help you establish a more efficient starting memory size.
Enhanced Get Info window	For instant access to the active application's memory settings, just select <application-name> Memory Info from the RAM Charger Pull-down Menu to open the RAM Charger-enhancedGet Infowindow. From the Get Infowindow, you may turn RAM Charging on or off for that particular application and select the starting memory size. Clicking the Morebutton takes you directly to the application's listing in the RAM Charger Application Settingswindow where more options and information are available.
Heads-Up Information window	An alternative to using the RAM Charger Pull-down menu and More About This Mac window is to open the RAM Charger Heads-up control panel on the desktop, where you can keep an eye on essential memory information continually updated there. Also, you can access the RAM Charger Application Settings directly from the Heads-up window by clicking on the RAM Charger go-light button.
	As you can see, all of these RAM Charger features are interrelated. They are tools that are now at your disposal to be used not only when memory problems arise, but whenever you have concerns about how your computer is using memory.