Messages

101

Living Room / Re: Kudos/Respect for Mouser

« on: May 19, 2013, 08:56 AM »

I feel lucky that so many interesting characters have decided to call this place their home.

-mouser (May 18, 2013, 11:22 AM)

It's not every site that has its own Character Map. 

102

General Software Discussion / Re: Advice needed on AHK script

« on: May 18, 2013, 09:54 AM »

No, it was purely cosmetic so that you do not actually see the icon moving.

That was meant to be the cursor, not the icon. I was wondering if the cursor could be hidden when it was moving?

CleanTray: Appears to be working without problems.

Terminator: Went back to your script above (Reply 29) and it shut everything down except Peerblock. I just changed that to /b and left the rest as it was, it worked. As it was working I never tried any of the other combinations of switches.

Each of the above was tried at least a dozen times.

I tried adding a PPTP VPN to both of the above and got some interesting results.
I tried it with CleanTray and PPTPchek shut down every time. I then tried it with Terminator and it hung, went back to CleanTray and it was hanging with that as well.
From then on it was hanging more often than not with both programs.
I know we have a separate thread for PPTPchek but I thought it worth mentioning here as it relates to testing the other two programs.

103

Living Room / Re: Kudos/Respect for Mouser

« on: May 18, 2013, 04:31 AM »

Not only does he richly deserve all the credit he gets but he also deserves our support (?).

Perhaps we should set up a Truss Fund for him?

104

Found Deals and Discounts / Multi-Edit Lite 2008 - Free MAY 19th

« on: May 18, 2013, 04:20 AM »

Not sure if this is any use to anyone but I thought I'd mention it:

http://giveaway.glarysoft.com/multi-editlite200811.04.00-232/

105

General Software Discussion / Re: Advice needed on AHK script

« on: May 18, 2013, 03:56 AM »

There must be some strange timing issues on your computer, (which don't seem to appear on any of mine), for /m not to work with D4 and NAI occasionally.

-4wd (May 17, 2013, 11:58 AM)

I actually tried setting them all to /m before I tried /k but only the /k worked properly.

Are you saying that the mouse stays over the tray icon position after it's already killed the program?

No, it was purely cosmetic so that you do not actually see the icon moving.

or the system being abnormally slow to respond

I did wonder if this was an issue on the NC10 because even running Refresh Tray it takes a time to clear everything.

Um, can't you just not have that line in your batch file?

Sorry, I was thinking that was set in the program not the batch file. (Ignore.)

Can't wait to see that   When I've cleaned up the code a bit.

Thanks, don't hold your breath.

I have no idea, Terminator was compiled as a CLI program, wasn't designed to be run from the Windows interface.

(Sound of penny dropping.) Thanks.

I'll get back to you on the updates.

106

General Software Discussion / Re: Advice needed on AHK script

« on: May 17, 2013, 10:29 AM »

Try terminator.exe /k instead.

-4wd (May 17, 2013, 06:36 AM)

12 attempts, worked every time.

Question 1) Is it possible to hide the cursor from showing over the icons?
Question 2) Is it possible to create Terminator2 that leaves out NAI (not needed on XP)?
Question 3) When you've answered question 1 any chance of a copy of the code so that I can see if I can translate it into AHK?
Question 4) I can edit the 2 AHK programs I put together with Resource Hacker, that doesn't work with Terminator (with the exception of the icons), would that be true of all AutoIt programs?

107

General Software Discussion / Re: 'Home' and 'End' and 'FN'.

« on: May 17, 2013, 09:55 AM »

It's the intro of my tutorial that will interest you, then ("it's a macro tool, AND a text expander!") and the fact that indeed, AHK is very lightweight, it will NOT slow down your netbook. I have edited my tutorial for some more hours, and it's become even longer than before, but everything any starter needs for AHK is there now (I hope), and in succinct form (here, you are free to laugh out loud). Tell me if anything isn't 100 p.c. evident, I'll revise anew. And get rid of 180 of your 240 applications and tools to make room for some breathing! (As for AHK, it could perfectly live with all this presumed crap there I suppose ("crap" = not speaking of the some 25 p.c. good and very good things that are among them I'm sure).

-evamaria (May 17, 2013, 08:41 AM)

I have looked at your tutorial and for several months I have been making frequent visits to the AHK forum.

AHK, or come to that any programming language is something my mind cannot grasp, I simply do not think in that way.
I have put together two programs with AHK the first combining two existing scripts I found which is HERE (just updated with a better icon), the second was a modification of another existing script I found and is HERE.
As it happens they both do what they are intended to do but writing a script from scratch, at least at the sort of level required for the things I am trying to do is quite simply beyond my abilities.

As far as this thread goes I have learned a number of things that should allow me to sort it out:
The first is that the remapping of keys can easily be undone.
The second is the location of the registry key where remapping information is stored.
The third is that there is at least one existing program that appears to take account of the FN key on portables that does not need to be installed or even kept on the computer once the changes are made.
As this is registry based if there is a problem I can get back where I started with ERUNT which I run everyday on whichever computer(s) I use.

4wd,

KeyTweak is one of the programs I have downloaded, the other is SharpKeys.

When the FN key is not used HOME and END are respectively PgUp and PgDn two of the very few keys that I never use, my idea is to simply swap the second two for the first two if that is possible.

tomos,

remapkey.exe works on Windows 7 x64 without issues.

108

General Software Discussion / Re: Advice needed on AHK script

« on: May 17, 2013, 06:07 AM »

I tried the latest version of Terminator using the script you posted above and putting the EXE in the same folder.
Once again I'm afraid the results were inconsistent, the very first time it shut down everything, after that it left anything from 1 to 3 programs running.
I made the alterations before I did anything else so the first time it was run was the first time it was connected to the internet after being turned on today.

NAI closed nearly every time, D4 closed the majority of times, either one or both of the other two were always left running.

The only remaining possibility I can think of is a clash with something else I have running.

I have taken the first part of your script and modified my batch file so it no longer creates a flag file.

109

General Software Discussion / Re: 'Home' and 'End' and 'FN'.

« on: May 17, 2013, 04:35 AM »

(Isnt "installing" AHK easy to do anyway - simply unzip and run?)

-tomos (May 16, 2013, 11:36 AM)

I am trying to avoid adding any extra software to my Netbook and curbing a previously held bad habit at the same time.
My old PC before it died had several hundred programs installed, I have not checked the Netbook recently but even after some pruning not so long ago it must be 150+.
I have just checked my new PC and between the 2 Program Files folders there are 223 programs and that doesn't include software installed on two other partitions.

My name is Pilgrim and I am a software addict but with patience and understanding from my friends and with God's help I will get through this one day at a time.

Now where was I?  Oh yes -

From that beyondlogic (haha!) link: "The IBM keyboard you most probably have sitting in front of you, sends scan codes to your computer. The scan codes tell your Keyboard Bios, what keys you have pressed or released." Call me a pain in the a** but that's rubbish: Either it sends the scan code to the computer, or it sends them to the kb bios (which is in the kb), or more probably, the key sends 0/1 to the kb bios, which then sends scancodes... WHERE? Hence my question above how all this is really going - and then, even those old round-pin keyboards send other things than usb keyboards, and on and on... So the question remains, how is it processed? (A flowchart would be welcome!) ;-) And why there isn't any individual kb layout made available within the Win system, without all those transposition needs? As said, call me... beyondlogic, this made my day, though!

Oh, I forgot something: All those scan codes on the beyondlogic site are rubbish, for any use with AHK - you must get them by the AHK means explained in the tutorial (just try and compare); the same observation applies to any scan code tables for more modern keyboards - so that's another question: Why 3 tools give 3 different scan codes for the same key on the same kb? (I tried, and I'm positive about it.)

-evamaria (May 16, 2013, 05:02 PM)

I have no idea of the veracity of the information on that site it was the circuit diagram that interested me and from there I looked up the Data Sheet for that IC although I realise there many different ones used for the same job.
It is the output from such a chip that I would like to pin down in terms of both code and destination.

110

General Software Discussion / Re: Splinter

« on: May 17, 2013, 03:31 AM »

My friend, the problem you struggle with is one that I know a great deal about although not from first hand experience.
Like many of your fellow sufferers while you struggle in one direction you are obviously extremely gifted in others.
The fact that you can openly acknowledge the condition as well as by your own words make progress in dealing with it says a great deal.
From people I have met who have the condition they often face a bigger challenge with how those around them deal with it than how they deal with it themselves.

I wish you well and if ever you want someone to talk to about things drop me a line.

Pilgrim.

111

General Software Discussion / Re: 'Home' and 'End' and 'FN'.

« on: May 16, 2013, 10:13 AM »

Here, I believe: https://www.donation...ndex.php?topic=34948

-skwire (May 16, 2013, 09:29 AM)

Thank you.

tomos,

I had found some similar combinations myself but they only worked on a full size keyboard.

I had just found some links myself:
http://www.autohotkey.com/docs/commands/Send.htm
http://www.autoitscript.com/autoit3/docs/appendix/SendKeys.htm Not my cup of tea.

Strangely enough it was this link that gave me a better understanding of what actually happens:
http://retired.beyondlogic.org/keyboard/keybrd.htm

If I use AHK I would need to compile it as it's not installed on the Netbook.
While the keyboard and the OS is different I am going on the assumption that the end command should be the same on my PC, if not there's always plan B.

IainB,

Thanks, I'll have a look at TapTap.

Note: The Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools are not supported on 64-bit platforms.

I came across this when I was doing something else and I found some of the files it contained did work on x64 but most did not.

All I need now is the time to go through everything.

112

General Software Discussion / Re: 'Home' and 'End' and 'FN'.

« on: May 16, 2013, 09:25 AM »

See my AHK tutorial.

-evamaria (May 16, 2013, 09:18 AM)

Where?

113

General Software Discussion / Re: Splinter

« on: May 16, 2013, 09:19 AM »

I had not seen this thread till now and I have read it from beginning to end completely absorbed.

Splinter is a program that I would never use but I can think of many people that probably would, as an exercise in creativity if nothing else.

From the original concept to the present outcome I find the enthusiasm with which it has been/is being developed remarkable.

Now I need to try and catch up with all the things I should have been doing while I was reading this.

114

General Software Discussion / Re: 'Home' and 'End' and 'FN'.

« on: May 16, 2013, 07:30 AM »

Not sure what your keyboard layout is, but some of those devices have a (BIOS) setting that allows the default (Fn key)state to be set between the usual function keys and the special device keys state. Because some people never use the F1-12 keys...and some depend on them.

Just a thought.

-Stoic Joker (May 16, 2013, 06:36 AM)

It's a Samsung NC10, the BIOS is extremely limited compared to others I've seen, I've got a copy of the manual on it, I'll look it up.

"my concern is not losing the funtion of the FN key for everything else it is connected to"

It seems I wasn't enough specific by saying, forget the Fn key. What I meant was with everything you do with Home, End, whatever, you will NOT SHIFT these functions elsewhere, you will just REPLICATE them elsewhere: If you're crazy enough to do so, you could have 2 dozen of different Home and End keys on your kb, and even have 40 of them will not make you lose these from your Fn combinations.

"they obviously send a command to the OS, presumably to a DLL or an EXE file"

I don't know the depths of Windows programming I'm afraid, but this is not obvious to me, or it's a misunderstanding. Key pressings send scancodes to somewhere, and they can be intercepted by all these third-party things that persistently monitor the system for that, but its either remapping (you don't want) OR having additional things running and monitoring (that's what you call "Not to mention screwing up the entire keyboard", and in fact, these tools persistently monitor ALL of your keys, even if you just change 2 or 3 assignments - they are not selective here), there isn't a third way. Hence the beauty of the additional keypad solution in your case.

-evamaria (May 16, 2013, 06:49 AM)

Thank you for the clarification. I will definitely have a look at AHK, if I can work out what I need to do I can compile it on my PC and copy it across.

115

Post New Requests Here / Re: Turn a batch file into an AHK script.

« on: May 16, 2013, 06:54 AM »

It's still hanging now and then but I cannot figure out any consistent factor.

It does not appear to be related to how long the connection has been established nor does it seem to be related to how the connection is disabled - just disconnecting the VPN or shutting down the entire internet connection and associated programs.

Sometimes it will work many times without hanging then it will hang several times in a row.

It is still better than having no indication at all.

116

General Software Discussion / Re: 'Home' and 'End' and 'FN'.

« on: May 16, 2013, 06:19 AM »

I'm not clear pilgrim - are you also against the AHK idea (if that could work) ?
replacing home (Fn+Home) with an easier combination, e.g. Ctrl+Home

-tomos (May 16, 2013, 04:34 AM)

It is one of the things I need to look into further and Ctrl+Home/End would in many ways be ideal as the right Ctrl key is next to the Home key, my concern is not losing the funtion of the FN key for everything else it is connected to.
(Not to mention screwing up the entire keyboard.)
Based on my brief previous experiences with AHK it might take me a while but I shall certainly have a look at it.

117

Living Room / Re: One year on with Windows 7

« on: May 16, 2013, 06:02 AM »

Given that Win7 is arguably an improved Vista, then I am curious to know why you seem so negative about Win8.
I have a licence for Win8, but have held off installing it as I don't like what I am reading about peoples' experiences with it. I might install it after Win8.1 is released.

-IainB (May 15, 2013, 03:30 PM)

There are several reasons.
There are a lot of things in 7 that I would never use so I have disabled them, in 8 there would appear to be even more.
It can be used on touch screen devices, fine, speaking as one of the many who could never use one that merely means more of the OS that I would never use.
A similar thing could be said about things that have been left out, MS would appear to pay little if any attention to what users (a considerable number of them) have been saying about first 7 and now 8.
One thing that surprised me about 7 was the number of IT professionals who were critical about certain aspects of it, 8 as well now. It is not just your average users who think they are making mistakes.
From everything that I have read about 8 it would take even longer to make it 'usable' for me than it has 7.
I do not think the idea of using a single OS for multiple device types works out, they brought out the 7 starter version for portables and effectively crippled it. Then you had the RT and the desktop versions of 8.

I bought my first computer in 2005, prior to that I had rarely used one. Perhaps part of it is that until last year nearly all my computing experience had been with XP which for all its faults was known and understood by a great many people who had been using it for years. Most of us would have been quite happy if things had stayed as they were with a few improvements to what we had.

It's true that I view many things in the same way, I have a friend who bought his car around the same time I bought mine, (he's an ex mechanic as well) we have often talked about buying new ones but there's nothing out there that either of us like.

Perhaps my only hope would be to get a film part if they ever do a remake of Jurassic Park, before I become extinct.

118

General Software Discussion / Re: Advice needed on AHK script

« on: May 16, 2013, 04:51 AM »

OK, at this point you should de-fiddle your system because those things don't appear unless the mouse has been over the target icon for at least 400ms by default, so this implies you've dropped the delay to almost, (if not), 0.

-4wd (May 15, 2013, 09:51 PM)

I just tried manually moving the cursor over the USB SR icon and a 400ms delay seems about right.
Looking at the basic script I started from the only figure that I can see that could relate to a delay is the 200?
   

WM_MOUSEMOVE := 0x200

   ControlGetPos, xTray,, wTray,, ToolbarWindow321, ahk_class Shell_TrayWnd
   endX := xTray + wTray
   x := 5
   y := 12

   Loop
   {
      if (x > endX)
         break
      point := (y << 16) + x
      PostMessage, %WM_MOUSEMOVE%, 0, %point%, ToolbarWindow321, ahk_class Shell_TrayWnd
      x += 18
   }

I am attaching the tray cleaning program .....

Doesn't do a thing here, exits immediately.

Now that does surprise me because I have it working on both 7 and XP.
The complete script reads as follows:

rem Check if our flag file exists and act accordingly
if exist internet_is_on.txt goto running

rem Turning Internet items ON
echo hah>internet_is_on.txt

start /D "C:\Program Files (x86)\D4" D4.exe
start /D "C:\Program Files (x86)\Sandboxie" SbieCtrl.exe
start /D "C:\Program Files (x86)\PeerBlock" peerblock.exe
start /D "C:\Program Files (x86)\network-activity-indicator" NetworkIndicator.exe

netsh interface set interface "Router Connection" ENABLED

goto alldone

:running
rem Internet is ON, turn it all OFF now
del internet_is_on.txt

taskkill /F /IM peerblock.exe
taskkill /F /IM SbieCtrl.exe
taskkill /F /IM D4.exe

netsh interface set interface "Router Connection" DISABLED

netsh interface set interface "OpenVPN Adapter" DISABLED

rasdial /disconnect

Taskkill /F /IM NetworkIndicator.exe

start /d "C:\Program Files (x86)\Refresh Tray" RefreshTray.exe

:alldone

I'll give the new version of Terminator a run and let you know.
Just out of curiosity where do you put the exe, in the same folder as the batch file, System32?

I'm sure one of the other programmers here could come up with something a lot nicer 

Nice is good, efficient is better.

119

General Software Discussion / Re: 'Home' and 'End' and 'FN'.

« on: May 16, 2013, 04:25 AM »

Thanks for the replies, I have had a quick look at some of the software mentioned and found some interesting reading which I will go back to.

As I said in my original post I do not really want to remap any keys as those that I use the least tend to be connected to the FN key so I would lose 2 functions not 1.
I just had a look and there are 35 keys that are connected to the FN key, that's not far off half the keyboard (84 keys).

Leaving aside keyboards with FN keys when I press either the Home or End keys on a full size keyboard they obviously send a command to the OS, presumably to a DLL or an EXE file, my original idea was to find those commands and trigger them from a shortcut, either directly or through a batch file, the problem is finding those commands.

Edvard,

I had never seen one of those before, I looked them up and found a selection on Amazon, all reasonably priced, I would prefer not to add any hardware but it is worth keeping in mind.
Mouse movements are not really an option as switching between keyboard and mouse is something I try to avoid doing more than necessary.

120

General Software Discussion / 'Home' and 'End' and 'FN'.

« on: May 15, 2013, 10:28 AM »

When I am typing I frequently need to go back and edit things as I have a habit of hitting 2 keys at once, on my Netbook I can manage up to 4!

Two of the keys I use a lot when editing are 'Home' and 'End'.
On a full size keyboard that is not a problem but on my Netbook they are linked to the 'FN' key which is at the opposite end of the keyboard, making it at best extremely difficult for me to use them.

I am wondering if there is a way to find the commands that those two keys use so that I can set up shortcuts using different keys, as even if it is possible I would prefer not to remap any keys.
I have tried running a search but the only thing I turned up which was even slightly relevant was that the 'FN' key works differently to any of the others and cannot itself be modified.

Can anybody suggest a solution by this or any other means?

121

Living Room / Re: One year on with Windows 7

« on: May 15, 2013, 03:44 AM »

No apology needed, I can actually understand people's interest in performance figures it's just not my cup of tea.

That sounds like a very bright young lady you have there.

Your interest in cars sounds to have been about as varied as mine although for several years when I started out my interest had two wheels rather than four.
I have finished up with a 1248cc turbo diesel which I bought new 9 years ago this coming Sunday.
It will exceed the national speed limit (70mph) with two gears to spare and from new has averaged 67mpg, I am no longer able to work on it myself but I'm not complaining.

One thing I have to ask you about your last post is how do you get the 'click to reveal/hide' feature?

122

Living Room / Re: What does your avatar say about you?

« on: May 15, 2013, 03:18 AM »

TaoPhoenix

You know you embedded several cute jokes in there Pilgrim!

Cute? CUTE!
I think that's the first time that word has ever been used in my direction for any reason.

app103

I think mine explains itself.

One of the things that has long fascinated me is animated GIF's, I keep intending to have a go myself.

Josh

That I enjoy annoying people!

Surely not?

Tuxman

I like puns.

The first time I saw that I was reminded of something that used to appear as graffiti when I was a kid:
"Jesus saves, he's with the Woolwich".

xtabber

I came along a few years later and stole his avatar.

Good job it wasn't Apple or MS, they would have sued for copyright enfringement by now.

123

Living Room / What does your avatar say about you?

« on: May 13, 2013, 11:44 AM »

I am sure that many of you, like me, have looked at some of the avatars on various forums and wondered about their origins.
Sometimes if the person has a particular interest or likes a particular celebrity or even animal their choice of avatar is fairly obvious, but that is not always the case so I thought I would tell you about mine and if others feel inclined they could follow suit.

Despite what certain people have suggested my avatar is not a self-portrait but reflects back to the time I spent in cloistered surroundings.
It's a time I remember well, albeit with mixed feelings.

We were a relatively small order, in fact I was only one of two who were over five foot six, we mainly passed our time in prayer and meditation and study, as well of course of doing the many chores required to keep the place going, growing and preparing our own food for instance.

I was a prolific reader in those days and I very soon exhausted our own library, fortunately the Abbot gave me a special dispensation to go into the local town every couple of weeks to use the public library.
He considered me to be quite studious but it wasn't strictly true. In one of our unused storerooms I had found a big old copy of a commentary on the bible, you know the sort of thing, leather cover and a clasp to prevent it coming open. I cleaned it up and carried it everywhere but what he didn't know was that I had hollowed it out and used to use it for storing books by authors like Agatha Christie, G.K. Chesterton, and D.H. Lawrence, none of whom were on the order's list of required reading.

My visits to the public library carried on for some time but they sadly came to an end when I took out this young librarian. Unfortunately we were seen by Big Brother, he was the Abbot's 'enforcer', six foot six and nearly as wide.
Nobody ever talked about their lives before entering the order but there was a rumour going round that he used to be a bouncer for Mothercare and got put off for frightening the customers. It might well have been true, just by looking at some of the younger novices he could cause them to have a 'natural disaster'.
The Abbot went mad, I tried to tell him that it was only a temporary lapse, after all she had to be returned in a fortnight, if she had been 'overdue' that would have caused even more trouble. But he wasn't having any of it.

There were a number of forms of punishment, one of the worst was working in the laundry, they had these big vats with fires underneath and you had to stir the contents with long sticks to get them clean, the contents that is not the sticks.
It might not have been too bad if you were overweight as you lost several pounds a day. It was really hard work, I tell you for people who preached righteousness they had some really filthy habits between them.
He decided in my case that wasn't suitable, I was already quite thin, so he put me in the kitchen where I had to shave the hairs off of last years gooseberries, he must have thought I was some sort of fool, but I wasn't going to be trifled with.

We lived a fairly reclusive life most of the time, on rare occasions we used to have exchange visits with the local convent a few miles up the road, co-ed they called it but there was too much ed and not enough co for my liking.
The Mother Superior was a right tartar, Attila the Nun we used to call her.

It wasn't too bad a life although it could be hard at times especially in the winter, going out to break the ice on the cattle trough to have a bath got to be a bit much after a time.

In the end I decided to leave, I think I'd reached my cell-by date. I think the Abbot was sorry to see me go as he accompanied me to the door and I still have the impression of his sandle on the seat of the trousers I was wearing where he helped me on my way.


This is another extract from Pilgrim: A Brief Hystery.

124

Post New Requests Here / Re: Turn a batch file into an AHK script.

« on: May 13, 2013, 07:53 AM »

I have just been switching connections frequently for some time while testing CleanTray, the PPTPcheck icon only hung once and that might not have been due to the program itself.
So it looks like your idea about a clash was most likely right.

125

General Software Discussion / Re: Advice needed on AHK script

« on: May 13, 2013, 07:46 AM »

After fairly extensive testing I have found that the pop-ups I mentioned are no longer appearing with CleanTray, and with 4 programs running, Network Activity Indicator being the fourth, these are the results:

no switch: leaves 1 or more icons
/once: only removed 1 icon
/debug /once: worked perfectly
/m: worked perfectly

However, if I am running a PPTP VPN (i.e. using PPTPchek) the last 2 switches both leave 1 icon behind, not necessarily the same one each time.
Running the OpenVPN Adapter seemed to make no difference but then it doesn't have its own icon.
As far as I could tell none of the above rearranged any icons.

Although I know it's not you usual program of choice I am wondering if it is possible to prevent the pop-ups appearing when using the AHK script?