How to Use FakeBar
In this document, you can see how to use FakeBar, how to customize it and some tips of it. This document is for version 1.1.0 or later. However this document consists of several sections that relate to the important words, I supporsed to write that you read it from the top to the bottom.After you read this document, you can understand Fakebar's words and use it well, I hope. If you still have questions, don't hegitate, ask me.
Layer
Launching
Targets
Preferences
Keyboard & Shortcuts
Replicants
Layer
FakeBar manages the registered items as layer's items, i.e. the layer is a container to list those items. You can name and switch the layer to suite your purpose.
For example, you can create a layer named "music", and register CDPlayer, PlaySound etc. to it. Then, you can use this layer when you want to do something related music. And, creating a layer named "internet" with BeMail and NetPositive etc, you can use it when you connect to internet.
When you think "I've listened music, but from now, I want to connect to the Internet", it's good to switch the layers from "music" to "internet".This is the layer which I'm using as "network" layer.
Every layer will be saved in ~/config/settings/FakeBar/layers as a text/plain file. So you can register the layer file as an item of another layer. Try it.
Launching
The most important feature of FakeBar is that there're several ways to open items. You can, of course, click on an item and open it, but you can right-click on it and popup the menu related it (these mouse operation can be customized. In the default, left-click represents popup menu). This menu works like Tracker's popup menu, so you can see faimiliar menu items like "Open Parent" or "Open With".
You can also launch item (or its preferred app) with dropping icons or text on it.
Furthermore, this popup menu has more important function. It can, the opposite of "Open With" menu, open any file you want with a specified application. See the next "Targets" section.
Targets
This kind of thing happens all the time: I want to open index.html with StyledEdit but double-clicking index.html causes NetPositive open. FakeBar does a good job in this case.
Targets is a special layer (and it will be saved in ~/config/settings/FakeBar/targets). For example, register home directory to Targets layer, then, right-click on StyledEdit and popup the menu related StyledEdit, and you can see home directory in it. This menu shows the entries of a directory in its submenu recursively (like Deskbar's Be menu), so you can find index.html soon. Select it and you can open index.html with StyledEdit. yeah!
I think it's useful to register your often-use-directory (something like boot, home).
Tips:
If you register a directory to a normal layer, you can see the same thing described former. i.e. all directory entries in it will appears and you can open one of them with directory's preferred app (Tracker). Because Tracker has a powerful launcher side to it, in result, you can use it as alternative Be menu.
Preferences
In this section, I describes how to customize FakeBar.
Click on Application Menu (where smiling-mark is drawn) and select "Preferences". Preferences window will appears. You can set all its customizations here. Because of its heavy contents, I descibes only its important portion.Window
You can customize FakeBar's interfaces, archievements and appearance here. The kind of the most hard-to-understand things are "Operation to ..." and "Primary Mouse Down", "Secondary Mouse Down", I think. "Operation to Launch" stands for the mouse operation to launch the item directly. "Operation to Expand" stands for that to show popup menu related to the item. "Primary Mouse Down" stands for the left button down on the mouse and "Secondary Mouse Down" does right. I'm sorry to trouble you.WorkspacesIn "Layer" section, I described that you could switch the layers to suite your purpose. You can set the default layer for each workspace here.LayersYou had better come here for the first time to use FakeBar, because you cannot use FakeBar without the layer(s) nor its item(s). You can create, rename, remove and customize the layer here. The item list in center is drag&drop acceptable.TargetsRegister items to "Targets" layer. If you don't know what is "Targets", register home directory to it and use anyway.MiscMisc. "Shelf" stands for the container for the replicants.After customization, click on the "Set" button in the left-bottom. If you don't press this button, FakeBar considers to be canceled.
Keyboard & Shortcuts
When FakeBar is active, you can select items directly with arrow keys. Since all GUIs on FakeBar are special menu bars, you can operate it same as ordinary ones: arrow keys, triggers. Tab key will take turns focusing layer and Application Menu. Slight long-time press of Tab key and release it will focus Application Menu. esc key will deselect menus or FakeBar itself.
Shortcuts except what in Application Menu are:
Alt + arrow keys = switches the layers
Alt + n (1~9) = switches workspaces (if you prefer)
Replicants
FakeBar1.1.2 or later is replicants-acceptable. If you want to use, set in Misc on the preferences window. When the shelf (container of the replicants) is available, you can see a menu item "Show Shelf"/"Hide Shelf" in Application Menu. And, right-click on the shelf will popup a menu related to the shelf and replicants.
This document is written by Tetsuo Yamada.
All rights and responsibility belong to me.
If you have the reports, the wishes or the objections, mail me to ivy@ma.kcom.ne.jp .