Editing System 7 (section)

==Version history==
Soon after the initial release of System 7, the 7.0.1 minor update was released in October 1991, which updated the Portable and Brightness control panels, added the Caps Lock extension - which showed an up-pointing arrow on screen if the Caps Lock key was depressed on PowerBooks - and added the Cache Switch control panel in addition to RAM disk and sound management optimizations for [[Motorola 68040|68040]] systems. Three small patches called "System 7 Tune-Up" also followed, which initially added the extension "System 7 Tuner" that improved memory management by quitting unused items, like applications and [[AppleTalk]], and added "minimum" and "preferred" memory allotments to an application's "Get Info" box in its 1.0 version.<ref>{{Cite web |title=System 7 Tune-Up - TidBITS |date=January 13, 1992 |url=https://tidbits.com/1992/01/13/system-7-tune-up/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220515235643/https://tidbits.com/1992/01/13/system-7-tune-up/ |archive-date=May 15, 2022 |access-date=May 15, 2022}}</ref> This would be followed by version 1.1, which included [[LaserWriter]] driver version 7.1.1 and added a hidden extension called "Tuna Helper", intended to fix the "disappearing files" bug in which the system would lose files.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tune-Up 1.1, Just Get It - TidBITS |date=April 6, 1992 |url=https://tidbits.com/1992/04/06/tune-up-1-1-just-get-it/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220515235641/https://tidbits.com/1992/04/06/tune-up-1-1-just-get-it/ |archive-date=May 15, 2022 |access-date=May 15, 2022}}</ref> The final release, 1.1.1, included everything 1.1 included but also added the [[StyleWriter]] 7.2.2 printer drivers, [[Chooser (Mac OS)|Chooser]] 7.1 and a minor update to Tuna Helper.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tune-Up Notes - TidBITS |date=April 20, 1992 |url=https://tidbits.com/1992/04/20/tune-up-notes/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220515235641/https://tidbits.com/1992/04/20/tune-up-notes/ |archive-date=May 15, 2022 |access-date=May 15, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=System 7.1 update guide |url=https://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/1000/MA1470/en_US/0302799Sys71UpdateGuide.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018072032/https://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/1000/MA1470/en_US/0302799Sys71UpdateGuide.pdf |archive-date=October 18, 2017}}</ref>

===System 7.1===
In August 1992, the 7.1 update was released.  This is the first version of the system software that Apple charged money for.  Of this change, [[David Pogue]] wrote:<ref name="system-software-museum">{{Cite book |last=Pogue |first=David |author-link=David Pogue |url=http://www.toddp.com/classic/Software%20Install/Apple%20Support%20Documents/Macintosh%20Secrets/Mac%20Secrets%204th%20ed./ch06.pdf |title=MacWorld Macintosh Secrets 4th edition - Chapter 6: The System Software Museum |date=January 1997 |access-date=October 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017214028/http://www.toddp.com/classic/Software%20Install/Apple%20Support%20Documents/Macintosh%20Secrets/Mac%20Secrets%204th%20ed./ch06.pdf |archive-date=October 17, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|225}}

{{blockquote|text=System 7.1 was remarkable for another reason, too: It was the first system software update Apple didn't give away. You had to buy it, much to the fury of user groups and online services that had gotten used to making each new system release available to everybody. Backing down in the face of the protests, Apple eventually offered the System 7.1 upgrade kit to user-group and online service members for less than $30. But the writing was on the wall: Apple was jealous of Microsoft, a system-software superstore to the world. Many wondered if the upgrade was even worth it. System 7.1 incorporated a huge number of changes, but the vast majority were deep-seated, core-level rewrites that added no usefulness to standard American Mac users.|author=David Pogue|title=''MacWorld'' ''Macintosh Secrets'', 4th edition}}

New to 7.1 is the Fonts folder.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Howard Bear |first=Jacci |date=November 19, 2018 |title=Here's How to Find Font Files on Macs or in Windows |url=https://www.lifewire.com/locate-font-files-1074150 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425201608/https://www.lifewire.com/locate-font-files-1074150 |archive-date=April 25, 2019 |access-date=April 25, 2019 |website=Lifewire |language=en |quote=The default location for all System fonts in System 7.1 and later is the Fonts folder inside the System folder.}}</ref> This replaced the often time-consuming method of dragging fonts to and from the System file, introduced in System 7.0; it also replaced the [[Font/DA Mover]] application from System 6, which could also be used with 7.0. System 7.1 also included a lot of internal changes to support the internationalization of dates, times, and numbers.  It was also the first version to support "Enablers", which removed the requirement to release a new version of the system software every time new hardware was released.

A set of specialized versions of 7.1, ranging from 7.1P1 to 7.1P6 (excluding 7.1P4) were created and included with various [[Macintosh Performa|Performa]] models that were already available or were released after 7.1.  These specialized versions included [[At Ease]], Launcher, and some other changes that were integrated into later versions of the system software.

The first major upgrade was System 7.1.1, also known as "System 7 Pro". This release was a bundle of 7.1 with AppleScript tools, [[QuickTime]] and [[Apple Open Collaboration Environment]] (AOCE). While System 7 had some trouble running on slightly older machines due to its memory footprint, System 7 Pro barely fit into any Macintosh computers of the time. It was most commonly used for its minor bug fixes rather than its new functionality.

Apple co-founded the [[AIM alliance]] (Apple, IBM, and Motorola) in 1992, shortly after the release of System 7 in 1991, and started developing [[PowerPC]]-based machines that later became the [[Power Macintosh]] family. Support for these machines resulted in System 7.1.2.

System 7.1.2 was never offered for retail sale; it shipped with the first batches of the PowerPC Macs and a 68k version shipped with a small number of Quadra 600 series systems. Later shipments shipped with System 7.5 instead.

System 7.1.2P was the same as 7.1.2 and shipped with the [[Macintosh Quadra 630|Performa 630, LC 630, and Quadra 630]] models that were released between July and November 1994.

===System 7.5===
On September 12, 1994, '''System 7.5''' was released with bug fixes from previous updates and several new features:

*An updated startup screen with a progress bar
*A new interactive help system called [[Apple Guide]]
*A clock in the menu bar (from the third-party freeware control panel SuperClock!)
*An Apple menu item called [[Stickies (software)|Stickies]] (formerly a third-party application called "PasteIt Notes"), which provided virtual [[Post-It Note]]s
*[[WindowShade]], another former third-party shareware control panel, provided the ability to condense a window down to its title bar. It was introduced as a "minimize" feature to compete with Windows 95 as Mac OS had no taskbar or dock.
*[[MacTCP]] was bundled, enabling any Macintosh to connect to the [[Internet]] out of the box for the first time.
*The [[Control Strip]] (a fast way to change the system volume, control the playback of audio CDs, manage file sharing and printers, and change the monitor resolution and [[color depth]]) was enabled on desktop Macintosh models for the first time. It had previously only been included with the PowerBook series.
*A new Desktop Patterns control panel allowed for tiled patterns up to 128x128 pixels with 8-bit color; previous versions were limited to 8x8 pixel tiles with a maximum of eight possible colors. Similar functionality was found on earlier system versions exclusive to [[Macintosh Performa|Performa]] models and was housed in the General Controls panel.
*The Extensions Manager (enabling the user to turn extensions and control panels on and off; also based on a formerly third-party control panel)
*[[Apple Open Collaboration Environment|PowerTalk]], a system-level email handling service and the originator of the [[Keychain (software)|Keychain]] system. 
*The Launcher, a [[Control panel (Mac OS)|control panel]] containing shortcut buttons for frequently used programs (in a manner akin to the [[macOS]] [[Dock (macOS)|Dock]])
*A hierarchical Apple menu (folders within the Apple Menu Items folder would expand into submenus showing their contents. Again, based on a third party control panel; HAM by Microseeds publishing<ref>{{Cite web |title=Classic Mac Wares: MenuChoice 2.1 |url=http://lowendmac.com/wares/menuchoice.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070808135500/http://lowendmac.com/wares/menuchoice.html |archive-date=August 8, 2007 |access-date=December 14, 2007}}</ref>)
*System-wide drag & drop for text and other data (selections can be simply dragged with the mouse and dropped to their new destination, bypassing the clipboard)
*A scriptable Finder
*[[QuickDraw GX]], a 2-D graphics rendering and geometry engine
*For the PowerPC only, an advanced, 3d [[NuCalc|Graphing Calculator]], secretly developed at Apple by a former third party contractor<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Graphing Calculator Story |url=http://www.pacifict.com/Story/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080118235558/http://www.pacifict.com/Story/ |archive-date=January 18, 2008 |access-date=December 14, 2007}}</ref>
*Support for [[OpenDoc]]

System 7.5 is codenamed "Capone", a reference to [[Al Capone]] and "Chicago", which is the codename for Microsoft's [[Windows 95]] and is also the name of the default system font in Mac OS until version 8.<ref name="Apple Confidential">{{cite book |last=Linzmayer |first=Owen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mXnw5tM8QRwC |title=Apple Confidential 2.0: The Definitive History of the World's Most Colorful Company |publisher=No Starch Press |date=2004 |isbn=1-59327-010-0}}</ref>{{rp|56}}

System 7.5.1 is primarily a bug fix of 7.5 but also introduced a new "Mac OS" startup screen in preparation for [[Macintosh clone|Mac clones]].

System 7.5.2, released only for the first [[Peripheral Component Interconnect|PCI]]-based Power Macs, introduced Apple's new networking architecture, [[Open Transport]].

System 7.5.3 is a major bug-fix update that also included [[Open Transport]] for other PowerPC-based machines and some 68k-based machines. 7.5.3 improved the 68k emulator, and added translucent dragging to the Drag Manager. It included the first version of [[Control Strip]] to be compatible with all Macs. This was the first version of Mac OS to support [[Symmetric multiprocessing|SMP]] (9500/MP).

System 7.5.3 Revision 2 included performance enhancements; better reliability for PowerBooks using the third-party RAM Doubler program; improved reliability for PowerBook 500, 2300, and 5300 series computers with the PowerPC Upgrade Card; improved reliability when using the Startup Disk control panel; and improved reliability when copying files to 1&nbsp; GB hard disks.

System 7.5.3 Revision 2.1 was shipped with the [[Macintosh Performa|Performa]] 6400/180 and 6400/200; this particular release is specific to these machines as there was stability problems with System 7.5.3 Release 2 on the new hardware, especially with the video card and transferring files over LocalTalk.<ref name="system-software-museum" />{{rp|page=235}}

System 7.5.4 was pulled due to a mistake at Apple, in which some components were not included in the installer.

System 7.5.5 included significant performance improvements for virtual memory and memory management on PowerPC-based Macs, including the elimination of one type 11 error.{{clarify|date=January 2023}} Also included are several reliability improvements, such as fixes for Macs using floppy disks equipped with a DOS compatibility card, improved hard disk access for PowerPC PowerBooks and Performa 5400 through 9500 computers, fixes for Macs that included an Apple TV Tuner or Macintosh TV Remote Control, improvements to LocalTalk and networking (especially for the Performa 5400 and 6400), fixes to system startup for the faster 180&nbsp; MHz Macs (which included PowerPC 604 or 604e processors), improved reliability when using sound-intensive applications on Quadra or Centris computers that contained the PowerPC upgrade card, and improved stability when using multiple background applications and shared printers on a network. System 7.5.5 is also the last System 7 release that can run on 68000-based Macs such as the Macintosh Plus and Macs with ROMs that lack support for 32-bit addressing such as [[Macintosh IIcx]]. 7.6 and later required a 68030 processor and 32-bit-addressing-capable ROM and will automatically turn on 32-bit addressing on boot.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hoffman |first=Ilene |date=December 14, 2000 |title=Mac Corner: Your Mac OS, part 2 |url=http://www.techrepublic.com/article/mac-corner-your-mac-os-part-2/5030860 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110308203756/http://www.techrepublic.com/article/mac-corner-your-mac-os-part-2/5030860 |archive-date=March 8, 2011}}</ref>

===Mac OS 7.6===
Mac OS 7.6 (codenamed "Harmony") is the final major update, released in 1997. With 7.6, the operating system was officially called "Mac OS" instead of "System". New features include a revamped Extensions Manager, more native PowerPC code for Power Macs, more bundled Internet tools and utilities, and a more stable Finder with increased memory allocation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mac OS 7.6, Will it be worth it? |url=http://www.themacintoshguy.com/mactips/archive/tip13.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101222120836/http://themacintoshguy.com/MacTips/archive/tip13.shtml |archive-date=December 22, 2010 |access-date=July 27, 2011}}</ref> In this version, the [[Apple Open Collaboration Environment|PowerTalk]] feature added in 7.5 was removed due to poor application support, and support for a large number of older Macintosh models was dropped, including those with a Motorola 68000 or 68020.

'''Mac OS 7.6.1''' ported the 68k exception handling routines to PowerPC, turning type 11 errors into less harmful errors (type 1, 2, or 3, usually) as crashing applications would more often terminate safely instead of crashing the operating system.<ref>technote 1096</ref>

Through this period, Apple had been attempting to release a completely new "modern" operating system, named [[Copland (operating system)|Copland]]. When the Copland project was abandoned in 1996, Apple announced plans to release an OS update every six months until [[Rhapsody (operating system)|Rhapsody]] (which would by 2001 evolve into what was released as [[macOS|Mac OS X]]) shipped.<ref>{{Cite web |title=YouTube - Macworld Boston 1997 | website=[[YouTube]] |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEHNrqPkefI |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161124213936/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEHNrqPkefI |archive-date=November 24, 2016 |access-date=November 28, 2016}}</ref> Two more releases were shipped, now officially branded as Mac OS: Mac OS 7.6 and the minor bug fix 7.6.1. Future versions were released as [[Mac OS 8|Mac OS 8–8.6]] and [[Mac OS 9|Mac OS 9–9.2]].

Released during a troubled time in Apple's history, 7.6 is known for several bugs, such as the inability to customize what components are installed to the system<ref>{{Cite web |title=System 7.5 and Mac OS 7.6: The Beginning and End of an Era - LowEndMac |url=https://lowendmac.com/2014/system-7-5-and-mac-os-7-6-the-beginning-and-end-of-an-era/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408084846/https://lowendmac.com/2014/system-7-5-and-mac-os-7-6-the-beginning-and-end-of-an-era/ |archive-date=April 8, 2022 |access-date=May 15, 2022}}</ref> and its tendency to crash on some systems when they are shut down while a RAM disk is in use.<ref>{{Cite web |title=RAM Disk Fix utility posted - CNET |url=https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/ram-disk-fix-utility-posted/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220515235641/https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/ram-disk-fix-utility-posted/ |archive-date=May 15, 2022 |access-date=May 15, 2022}}</ref>