Monday's Mac Gadget by John F. Braun Whack Your Files and Resources October 25th, 1999 File Whacker 2.0b1 (Time Limited Beta) Black Magik Software After upgrading to Mac OS 9, we were sorry to find that the Snitch utility would no longer function. Until an update is available, we decided to see if there were any comparable packages. After some searching, we came across File Whacker. Although still a beta, we decided to take a look. Unlike Snitch, File Whacker is an application. For example, to view the attributes of a particular file, you can drag it on top of the program's icon, or use the Open option from the file menu. Dragging multiple file will open a separate window for each file, suitable for editing. If you hold down the option key, you can enable the "Auto-Whack" mode, which can change the attributes of several files based on criteria you define. For example, you can change the filetype and creator of all files ending in .sit to 'SIT5' and 'SIT!'. The unregistered version is limited to 5 Auto-Whack settings. The big fun comes in when you click on the little triangle in the upper right-hand corner of the file info window. You are greeted with a resource viewer, which will let you view the contents of the resources in the selected file. Depending on the resource type, you may be able to view or play it. You can also export the resource for use by other programs. Although we had no problems with this beta, you should be careful until the final release. For those who want to explore the inner workings of their files, File Whacker does the trick. Useful Link File Whacker Home Page View and Modify File Attributes, or Check Out Your Resources Monday's Mac Gadget is here to help you with those cool things that we all just have to have on our Macs. Shareware, Freeware, Postcardware, Emailware, and even commercial apps, Monday's Mac Gadget is here to help you find and use the best of these programs. John is a software engineer who works in the corporate R&D group of a Fortune 500 company, focusing on all aspects of communications technology. He has several degrees that claim he knows what he's doing when it comes to computers. After watching co-workers reinstall Windows, search for device drivers, and experience other horrors during the day, he's glad that he comes home to a Mac (compatible) computer. Have any comments, suggestions, or favorite Gadgets? Drop John a line at You can also Post Your Comments below. Current Monday's Mac Gadget Want to Supercharge Your Dock? Check Out Todos! - August 21st Worried About Your Mac Getting Jacked? Get JackSMS - June 12th Want iChat with Tabs? Try Chax! - April 3rd Visit Monday's Mac Gadget Archives for more great Mac Gadgets!