Comments on: Happy 15th birthday, DragThing

By: Scott C.

Scott C. — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 04:52:23 +0000

I happened to have stumbled across this article via Google today. I just wanted to mention that I’ve been using Default Folder X with Adobe CS4 suite for quite some time now and I haven’t had the issue you described with Adobe Illustrator and other Adobe CS4 apps, and I use those apps for hours every single day. So maybe it has trouble with some versions and not all? Who knows…

I actually run all sorts of utilities and add-ons and I’ve had pretty good luck with all of them. Well, nearly all of them except DFX and maybe Growl are just regular apps, so it’s not that big of a deal… In fact I use DragThing to manage background apps so I can turn on/off stuff like Snaptz Pro X with just a click-select. DragThing rocks!

By: Jackson Hill

Jackson Hill — Wed, 12 May 2010 17:31:20 +0000

I always use Adobe illustrator at work because i work in an animation studio. this is really a serious tool for the graphic artist.:,,

By: Jeffrey Zeldman

Jeffrey Zeldman — Mon, 03 May 2010 20:17:08 +0000

Jon, I am afraid that even after removing the DFX preference file per the instructions, Adobe Illustrator quits the minute I open a document if Default Folder is open. If I open even the simplest Illustrator documents 514 times with Default Folder open, Adobe Illustrator will quit 514 times on open. Simple as that.

But if I quit Default Folder and open an Illustrator doc, Illustrator does not quit.

May have something to do with an errant unrelated file left over from an earlier system migration blah blah. Whatever it is, if I’m using Adobe software, I unfortunately need to turn off Default Folder. :(

By: Jeffrey Zeldman

Jeffrey Zeldman — Mon, 03 May 2010 10:40:08 +0000

Oh, my gosh, Jon, thank you so much!

By: Jon Gotow

Jon Gotow — Mon, 03 May 2010 06:50:50 +0000

Jeffrey: If you’re having trouble with Default Folder X and Adobe apps, it’s almost certainly a problem with corrupted data in your DFX preference file. Following the steps at http://www.stclairsoft.com/DefaultFolderX/faq.html#troubleshooting should fix that.

– Jon

By: John Rainsford

John Rainsford — Mon, 03 May 2010 00:47:46 +0000

Ok, posting the link to this screenshot is going to make me appear quite pathetic, but in the spirit of celebration (15 years of DragThing) here are the files from my Kaleidoscope folder, circa 1998. Flickr Link. Check out the Scheme Colors for DragThing 2.6!

By: John Rainsford

John Rainsford — Mon, 03 May 2010 00:27:10 +0000

In retrospect, System 7 was actually quite quirky with it’s UI, but after using it for about 10 minutes, you realised how dull it actually was! Thank God for the Iconfactory :) Every frustrating issue [with system software] that I’ve ever had (even today) always came back to a dodgy font. In System 7, Suitcase was the only option when it came to font management and it was all the madness and misery of ten lunatic asylums rolled into one application, the only thing consistent with it was it’s ability to crash. I love System 7 :D

By: Jeffrey Zeldman

Jeffrey Zeldman — Sun, 02 May 2010 19:29:42 +0000

I keep them to a minimum as well: Dragthing, Dropbox, Growl, and Typeit4me are about it.

I love Default Folder X but leave it off these days because its presence seems to cause Adobe apps to quit on launch.

Likewise, I leave FontExplorer X Pro off except when absolutely necessary, because even though it is a great app, my systems seem less stable when it is turned on. (This may be because of funky font, but, if so, I’ve been unable to track down which font is to blame.)

By: Lauri

Lauri — Sun, 02 May 2010 19:13:49 +0000

I used DragThing back in the days before the dock was built into OSX but now I really don’t see the need for it. Personally, I try to keep third-party OS addons, like DragThing and Suitcase, at a minimum and *maybe* that’s why I don’t have the issues with system upgrades that you always seem to have. Very nice of you to support Mr. Thomson, though!

By: Jeffrey Zeldman

Jeffrey Zeldman — Sun, 02 May 2010 16:26:52 +0000

Related: Learning From Kaleidoscope

Back in the heady days of Macintosh System 7.5, Greg Landweber released Aaron, which changed the system’s windows and buttons to match the “Platinum” appearance of the upcoming MacOS 8 (codenamed “Copland” after the composer Aaron Copland). Hacked versions of Aaron quickly appeared with the MacOS 8 images replaced by images of the hacker’s creation. Landweber realized he had a cash cow and released Kaleidoscope, which could switch “schemes” on the fly. ...Kaleidoscope and Apple were at odds from the beginning, with Apple suing to have (former Apple employee and Kaleidoscope partner) Arlo Rose’s Mekong scheme removed from Kaleidoscope 2.0, then demanding that the third-party imitations of Gizmo and Hi-Tech never be allowed in the Kaleidoscope-maintained Scheme Archive.

By: Jeffrey Zeldman

Jeffrey Zeldman — Sun, 02 May 2010 16:24:35 +0000

Copland. Wow. Remember Kaleidoscope, written by Arlo Rose and Greg Landweber? Oh, how I loved it and System 7 back then.

By: Buy iEDGE

Buy iEDGE — Sun, 02 May 2010 16:04:34 +0000

Happy Birthday DragThing! Proud user and still going – may it long continue!!

By: John Rainsford

John Rainsford — Sun, 02 May 2010 14:16:08 +0000

I loved System 7 but lusted for the Copland update (which never came), so I used DragThing, the Aaron System Extension, Espi Sans and Copland icons to mimic the look and feel.
Can’t believe DragThing is still going, I’m off to download it, it looks better than ever!