On Cue is one of that rare breed of utilities that instantly attach themselves to my life and don't let go like Suitcase, DiskTap, and a few others. This application launching menu system makes living with MultiFinder and a large screen much easier. On Cue lets you boot up or switch to another application without returning to the desktop.
I love utilities, I always think of them as extensions of the operating system; they do things that seem like part of the operating system but aren't. Some utilities come and go in my System, intriguing me temporarily but not standing the test of time. On Cue just naturally fits in, and my appreciation of it shows no sign of diminishing.
On Cue is basically an application launcher, but its design makes it especially useful in MultiFinder sessions. On Cue's Preferences dialog box lets you choose various methods of calling the program into action. My favorite is the assignable keystroke-mouse combination (I use Oplion-Shift-Click) that makes the On Cue menu appear at the mouse cursor. On a large screen display, this feature alone is worth the price of the program.
Other options open the menu at the upper-left corner (next to the Apple Menu) or from an icon in the upper-right corner (next lo the MultiFinder icon). You can have any combination of these options active at the same time.
Configuring the program's applications is easy. Just select Configure, then use the HFS lists to select applications to add to the On Cue menu it operates pretty much like Font/DA Mover.
You can even launch documents by adding them to a sublist associated with each application, or use the Other... setting to select a document at launch time.
In MultiFinder, the On Cue menu places active applications (including DA Handler) at the top of its list of applications. You no longer have to scroll through your DAs on the Apple menu to reach this list. An even easier solution lo switching between active applications is a user-definable Command-key combination (reminiscent of Switcher, but better).
On Cue operates intuitively and almost flawlessly under MultiFinder. It also operates extremely fast because it is kept in RAM. There is one problem associated with this approach, however. If any System error or bomb occurs, it can wipe out the On Cue program, configuration and all. At this point, it is best to have a backup of the configured program, though future versions should handle the situation better.
Without MultiFinder active. On Cue allows you to relaunch the current active application. According to On Cue's programmer, Fred Reed, this is not an accident but allows users to select another document and reload the program. With applications that can open only a single document, it can be quicker to use On Cue to relaunch than to go through the menus.
The ability to relaunch might be disconcerting to those who encounter it by accident, and it can lead to surprises, because not all programs behave well. For instance, attempting to relaunch HyperCard causes the computer to shut down.
On Cue is very stable and seems to work with just about everything, but, as if to prove the adage that only God is perfect, there are a few small caveats. On Cue doesn't work reliably with MacWrite 5.0 (which doesn't like launch programs), and it has some limitations when used with FullWrite Professional and Stepping Out II.
Outside of MultiFinder, On Cue avoids returning to the Finder between applications and thus is a very useful timesaver. But this program really shines with MultiFinder and with large screens. For people making full use of the Mac, On Cue is more than worth the price. I know if I lost On Cue now, my system would feel awkward, crippled, and lost.
DeMaria, Rusel. (September 1988). On Cue. MacUser. (pg. 70).
Fred D. Reed
Applications
out of 10 (0 vote)
26 / 
2020-09-15 / 
cc2beb31c399dc1d45dd9b61fce51cc3d06e1bd5 / 
/ 
on_cue_v13.sit
Emulating this? It could probably run under: 
Mini vMac
