There are two parts to Client Folder Maker: preset setup, and preset invocation. To use CFM, you set your presets up once then invoke them as many times as you need them.

Preset Setup

To set up your presets, start at the Client Folder Maker preference pane (shown above) by opening System Preferences. You can add or delete presets using the left-hand buttons. Once a preset is selected, you can alter its hierarchy by using the right-hand buttons. Right click on hierarchy items to change file content, permissions, colors, and the like. Once you are satisfied with your presets, you're done! You can now close System Preferences.

Invocation

In CFM 3.5, there are two primary methods of invocation: global hot-key, and menu bar item. 10.5 Leopard users also have the option to invoke presets from Finder's contextual menu. When using the Shortcut or Menu Bar methods, if Finder is active the destination folder will be automatically set. If Finder isn't active, CFM will prompt you for the destination folder.

Global Shortcut

To use this convenient invocation option, you must first set your shortcut in the Info tab of the Client Folder Maker preference pane, as shown above. Once you've set your shortcut, you can simply press the shortcut then select the desired preset.

Menu Bar

The menu bar preset selector works much like the Global Shortcut option, except it is accessed entirely with the mouse. It sits at the top right of your screen, as highlighted above.

Contextual Menu (10.5 “Leopard” only)

To use this invocation method, open a folder in Finder, right click anywhere in the folder, then mouse to More > Client Folder Maker.

Folder Creation and Tag Variables

After using one of the three above invocation options, one of two things will happen. If your preset hierarchy has no tag variables, the hierarchy will simply be created. If you included tag variables in your hierarchy, a window like the above screenshot will appear to allow you to fill in variables.

To use variables, when creating your preset, surround words in braces to create a variable, like this: {Variable Name}. If you put 'auto' at the beginning of your variable ('{Auto Variable Name}'), the contents of it will be remembered between invocations, and if it's a number, it will be incremented before each invocation. Variables can be named anything you wish, and an unlimited number of variables can be used in each preset.