MoofMenu 1.7 — A menubar add-on that allows serious thinning of your docks clutter
Reviewed by Harry {doc} Babad © 2007
Lobotomo Software http://www.lobotomo.com/products/MoofMenu/ Support: mailto:supp.ort@lobotomo.com/. User Forum: http://www.lobotomo.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=MoofMenu Released: 12 March 2006 Shareware: $ 5.00 USD Requirements: Mac OS X 10.2 or later; Universal Binary; xx MB Hard Drive Space, Download Size 1.8 MB. |
For thinning out your dock |
Strengths: menu bar add-on that provides fast access to applications, folders and documents. Weaknesses: There wasn’t enough information provided by the developers to allow me to maximize my benefits of this product. In particular, how I cold access the full contents (hierarchy) of folders that contained multiply nested information. A prompt clarification from the developer resolved this problem. Previous Reviews: links to previous macCompanion reviews on the same product. Copyright Notice: Product and company names and logos in this review may be registered trademarks of their respective companies. The software was tested on a 1 GHz dual processor PowerPC G4 Macintosh with 2 GB DDR SDRAM running under OS X 10.4.10 Disclaimer: When briefly reviewing share-freeware I will often use the developer’s product, functions and features descriptions. All other comments are strictly my own and based on testing. Why need I rewrite the developer’s narratives, if they are clearly written? |
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Introduction
For individuals with relatively simple computing lives, a
combination of a few core applications and apples Dock can keep their work
organized. Others, with a myriad of interests and an ever-changing project list
need some assistance; tools to facility access the items that form a complex
mixture or applications and documents that accumulate on their hard disks. I
have over the years; see the after thoughts at the end of this review, picked
some favorites.
My Access and Launch Tool Choices — I have long been addicted to Unsanity’s Fruit Menu haxie now 3.6.4, now since 2005, coupled with X Menu 1.8. These are my present “keepers”. I combine the use of these two tools, with a minimal dock set that include some ongoing project folders, to remain sane or at least stay in apparent control, of where what is for instant “replay” or “retuning.”
These tools allow me easy access to whatever projects or hobby pursuits I’m working on. Better yet they allow quick access to the often, but less routinely, used application that are part of my computing routine. After all I don’t create custom Icons more than twice a week, totally trash applications with a full deinstall, or design business cards or CD/DVD labels every day. But my applications and utilities lists are sooo long!
But since the grass is always greener, when I read about MoofMenu, I knew I had to put it though its paces. The developer’s short software description reminded me of Fruit Menu, but I did not let that dissuade me for playing this new tool. After all a bit of fruit(menu) might taste better with a bit of moof!
Publisher’s Summary
Do you have a cluttered dock because you have a lot of applications and documents you use every day? Would you also like some tidiness and have your dock items organized by topic? MoofMenu cleans up your dock - by moving all items into a small system menu.
You probably have the same experience as we do... you keep on putting items into your dock because you don't want to click your way through folders and subfolders every time you want to open an application or document. Then you suddenly you realize that finding the item in the dock. All those micro sized icons gets as difficult as finding them on your hard drive.
MoofMenu adds a small icon to your system menu bar, right
next to your Airport and Sound controls. Clicking on the icon opens a menu, in
fact your menu - because you were the one that put the items in and organized
them into hierarchic order. Just like your Apple menu items in Mac OS 9.
Getting Started
Just copy the MoofMenu application from the disk image to your Applications folder (great) or any other location on your hard drive (dumb).
Installation Note: If you are upgrading from an earlier version you need to quit MoofMenu before you overwrite it. You can quit MoofMenu by opening the Configure window and then pressing Alt-Cmd-Q. |
In order keep MoofMenu accessible, running continuously in the background, open your System Preferences > System > Accounts > You > select Login Items and drag the MoofMenu icon from your Application Folder into the list of startup items. If it’s not always available you won’t use it. Once you started it (or better, it has been started as a login item), a small menu will appear in the menu bar, just to the left of the standard Mac OS X menu bar items like volume and the clock.
Working with MoofMenu
I used the KISS principal to configure MoofMenu, by dragging the most used items from by FruitMenu and XMenu folders into the application to see how it would play. While doing so, I also thinned the accumulated unused items from FruitMenu and XMenu, a quick bit of house keeping. There is a Babad’s version of the second law of computer thermodynamics (maximization of chaos) that states you always add more files to your computer than you remove. But you knew that since you keep buying bigger hard drives.
Software Features
They’re just what you’d expect. You can access Your Files via the Menubar From Within any Document or application. Other features include:
MoofMenu is Easy to Add Items To — You can indeed add applications and documents by simply dragging them into the MoofMenu configure window that, when open, always floats on top of everything else. The good news, for most of you, is that there are a few items already in the folders called Applications, Utilities, Internet, Entertainment and Documents. The serve both as access tool and a quick guide too what goes where.
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The bad thing, but only from my personal organization needs, is that the folders were preconfigured in a manner useless to me. But that didn’t take long to fix.
Order the Items Your Way —You can change the order of items or place them into a different folder by simply dragging them wherever you like them to be. Non-alphabetical lists are a nice feature, one that’s harder to achieve with Fruit Menu.
No Item Number Limitations — There is no limit on the number of folders or subfolders you can create, letting you keep your applications and documents in your very own organization.
It’s Fast, Unlike a few File Management Utilities We’ve Previously Tested — According to the developers MoofMenu is fast. The software has been optimized for performance, yet another reason for its clean and simple design.
Discomforts:
A Major Configuration Limit — The inability to add new groups (folders) that contain accessible nested folders containing files troubled me. Feedback from the developer potentially solved that problem, but despite a bit of work, I’ve still not mastered the “nested folder” learning curve. Here’s what I learned:
I quote and in part paraphrase Christoph.
“There are two possible ways to have hierarchies in MoofMenu.
One is by using groups, which can be nested. These are mainly a tool for building a custom hierarchy with items like URLs or files, that can have a different hierarchy on disk. [This is the alternative I tested that did not quite meet my needs — Doc.]
The second possibility is the ability to add folders and whose contents is shown as is on disk. If the recursive option is switched off, only the top level items are included in the menu - if recursive is enabled, the whole folder hierarchy is visible in the menu and submenus (please see the attached screenshot). Changes to the on-off of the recursive mode are detected automatically the menus are updated accordingly.”
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Everything worked, as one would expect for the developer’s description. But there was one major PROBLEM. Unlike either FruitMenu or XMenu, MoofMenu could only initially create a one level deep Hierarchy of folders. [Look at the lack of filled in triangles.]
If, as I do, your needs including quick access to series
of nested folders containing with documents or a mix of documents and
subfolder, the solution works, it’s just a bit harder, less intuitive, to
implement. An illustration of the developer’s fully recursive fix, of the
solution, when properly mastered, is shown below. I’ll keep trying — I’ve
run out of time – but am encouraged – This one is definitely a
keeper.
ReadMe File Limitations — The readme file did not provide a list of and location of items installed by the program. A feedback email from MoofMenu’s Christoph indicted that all information is stored in your user library, not the systems level library. /Users/harry/Library/Preferences/com.lobotomo.MoofMenu.plist
Conclusion
This is a good product that could reach greatness if it were able to handle hieratical folders. It does what it claims and at $5.00, the price it right. Even if you save, at minimum wage a few minutes here and there, it adds up soon both from a cost perspective an from the point of view of reducing both eye strain (micro-images in your dock) and the clickety-clickety-clack of mousing for documents you need to work with. If a straightforward easy to use took to quickly access your documents and application meets your needs, at $5.00 MoofMenu is a bargain.
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Review After Thoughts
If I weren’t a shareware tester for macC, my hard drive would be even more disorganized than it is at present.
That’s all the more true since I use alias’ of folders as my launch platform for hot button items, all over my desktop. During any given month, I chase software/shareware and do my macC thing, collect and write about recipes and recipe hunting. I write about acoustic music and raise funds for a music festival. And if that were not enough, I consult (when lucky) or otherwise keep-up in the field of nuclear energy with a nemphasis on nuclear waste management, and do volunteer things for a number of local professional society chapters, and last if not least support an international conference on the waste management and environment.
And that’s in my spare time after having done my “honey do” chores.
So between consulting clients (paid) and macC articles (volunteer) and volunteer work (free concert tickets and an occasional artist’s CD) project folder come, grow and get archived. And of course there is my core 220 or more applications, Apple’s and those I’ve added including keepers from my reviews. There’s, at any given time a floating dozen software tools that live on my hard drive that float in and out of my computing life.
So, aside from a very organized, but imperfect file system and good find files tools, how do I survive? [macC has done several articles about hard disk organization as has have the major pint magazines. My comfort level is to use my desktop, on a 22 in monitor, as the launch pad for hot projects (via their alias’) but a combination of file access/management tools keeps the rest of what I need at my finger top, or least mouse click.
A Search for the Holy Grail of File Managers and Launch tools — I need a product or three that offer direct fast access to any application, folder, document or file; it should be fully customizable and be structured by hierarchy. Sound familiar?
Yes such functionality is promised by a variety of application launchers, file managers and dock function enhancement tools. These range from the Apple dock and dock enhancement tools, to menubar based “organizing” applications.
I really believe that some day its like a dream of winning the lottery, a perfect product will be created just to meet my needs… someday!
Meanwhile the hunt goes on. I’ve reviewed a number of so called file management programs in macC, as have some of my colleagues.
My efforts included (current version number provided) LaunchBar 4.2 (macC August 2004); DockExtender 3.1.3, dock Doubler X 1.1, Fidget Menu 1.5.9 and DockSwap 2.2.1 (all in macC June 2005); X Menu 1.8 (macC December 2005); and perhaps I can even count PathFinder (June 2007 macC). I’ll also, in the near future, be reviewing other such products such as Butler and A Better Finder Launcher.
I have long been addicted to Unsanity’s Fruit Menu ($10) haxie now 3.6.4, now since 2005, coupled with DEVONtechnologies free XMenu 1.8. These remain my present file access management and launch services “keepers.” I combine the use of these two tools; with a minimal dock set that include some ongoing stereotypical project folders. Using these tools allows me to remain sane (nuts say my friends) or at least under-stressed when I bounce from project-to-project roping in helper applications. In that way I remain in apparent control, of where what is stashed for instant replay or retuning.
Truly these tools allow me easy,
at most a mouse click, access to whatever projects or hobby pursuits I’m
working on. Better yet they allow me quick access to the often, but less
routinely, used application that are part of my computing routine.
After all I don’t create custom Icons more than twice a week, totally trash applications with a full deinstall, or design business cards or CD/DVD labels every day. But my applications and utilities lists are sooooo long!
FOLKS – my choices as keepers is not a sign of disrespect of the other applications I reviewed or read about and did not adopt, they just weren’t me.
