Messages

101

Find And Run Robot / Re: Openstreetmap alias(es)?

« on: October 11, 2020, 03:32 AM »

Try this

Alias name: OpenStreetMap direction
Alias regex: ^dir (.*) (.*)$
Alias result:

[Select]

To: $$1 From: $$2 | https://www.openstreetmap.org/directions?to=$$1&from=$$2

Things missing: A way to default the from location to ones current location. Selecting mode of transport (default is car). Such details should be findable on their wiki or help pages
https://help.openstr...-a-parameter-via-url

edit: sorry that gives an error, need to encode the & character. Will update later when more time. My mistake, it does work.

In general if you want to make or tweak these kind of website URL search aliases the keywords to google for is <site name> and URL query or URL search syntax or similar terms. The other thing to try is to type in a search on the website and see if the browser URL changes. Often the pattern to use is visible then. For example if we go to https://www.wikipedia.org/ and search for "ball" the URL changes to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball , which means the FARR alias would be something like
alias name: wikipedia
alias regex: ^wiki (.*)$
alias result:

[Select]

Wiki $$1 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/$$1

102

Find And Run Robot / Re: Openstreetmap alias(es)?

« on: October 11, 2020, 02:34 AM »

Do you mean the "maps" alias in FARR's Core-Search.alias? In that case this should do it:

Alias name: OpenStreetMap
Alias regex: ^osm (.*)$
Alias result:

[Select]

Open Street Map - $$1 | https://www.openstreetmap.org/search?query=$$1

If you also want an icon we can add that like so
Alias result:

[Select]

Open Street Map - $$1 | https://www.openstreetmap.org/search?query=$$1 /icon=C:\some folder\openstreetmap.ico

The attached zipped openstreetmap.ico was made from this SVG
https://wiki.openstr...-images-osm_logo.svg
put through this convertor
https://favicon.io/favicon-converter/

If you never use the google maps alias you can disable (uncheck) it in the alias settings and then instead use assign the "maps" alias prefix phrase for OpenStreetMap with this regex line
Alias regex: ^maps (.*)$

103

Find And Run Robot / Re: minor alias problem with "/icon=wmp.ico" (relative icon path)

« on: October 10, 2020, 05:38 PM »

News: The issue happens on PC number 2 too after updating FARR on it to the latest latest beta , so perhaps this is a general issue with version 2.250? (Updated first post with this same info.)

104

Find And Run Robot / minor alias problem with "/icon=wmp.ico" (relative icon path)

« on: October 10, 2020, 11:47 AM »

On one Win10 PC FARR aliases with this kind of result line

[Select]

relative path | C:\a.txt /icon=wmp.ico

does not show the icon.

This happens even though the wmp.ico file exists in the same folder as the .alias file, namely

[Select]

C:\Users\<username>\Documents\DonationCoder\FindAndRunRobot\AliasGroups\MyCustom

Instead FARR shows this other icon

[Select]

C:\Program Files (x86)\FindAndRunRobot\Icons\console.ico

Screenshot:


The exact same alias and icon works ok in FARR on another Win10 PC so this is something specific, though I haven't pinned down the cause yet.
edit: Happens on PC number 2 too after updating FARR on it to the latest latest beta , so perhaps this is a general issue with version 2.250?

Note that the wmp.ico is just an example. This issue happens with any icon, but the wmp.ico comes bundled with Win10 so might be useful if mouser or others want to reproduce/troubleshoot this on their PCs.

What does work:
1. Results lines with absolute paths to an icon files, like

[Select]

absolute path | C:\a.txt /icon=C:\test\wmp.ico

or even

[Select]

absolute path | C:\a.txt /icon=C:\Users\<username>\Documents\DonationCoder\FindAndRunRobot\AliasGroups\MyCustom\wmp.ico

2. If I copy the icon to this location

[Select]

C:\Program Files (x86)\FindAndRunRobot\Icons\wmp.ico

and restart FARR then aliases with relative paths to the icon now shows the correct icon! That is this

[Select]

relative path + icon in C:\Program Files (x86)\FindAndRunRobot\Icons | C:\a.txt /icon=wmp.ico

shows this


So FARR on this PC appears to looks for relative path alias icons not next to the .alias file but in C:\Program Files (x86)\FindAndRunRobot\Icons

This is a minor issue - I can just use the absolute path icons as a workaround. But it seems undocumented and I found no setting to change it so worth making a post about.

edit: Relevant FARR help file page that documents the alias icon command
https://www.donation...elp/alias_tricks.htm

/icon=localfilename_from_aliasdir.ico (icon file must be in same dir as the source xml file defining the alias)

105

Coding Snacks / Re: *Batch* JPEG to HEIF converter app

« on: October 10, 2020, 04:35 AM »

Yeah, depends on the use case I suppose. Anyway, as long as we convert losslessly it is always possible to switch format again in the future. 

106

Find And Run Robot / Request: option to not show search results until N number of characters typed

« on: October 09, 2020, 05:02 AM »

Request: option to not show search results until the string in the search box is N or more characters long, except if the string matches an alias regex pattern.

The idea here is that typing only one or two characters is often not enough to get a good match when using FARR for general file search. Which means that FARR results will resize and flicker briefly with irrelevant results until we have typed enough characters to get something useful. That's most often visual clutter.

The regex alias exception is needed since it can be useful to have a few short regex aliases that are easy to memorize. For example "ff" for Firefox.

The option could be added on the Program Options > Settings > Search Behaviour view.

107

Coding Snacks / Re: *Batch* JPEG to HEIF converter app

« on: October 09, 2020, 04:50 AM »

Worth mentioning some alternatives to HEIF here too

AVIF https://jakearchibal...020/avif-has-landed/
FLIF https://flif.info/
JPEG XL https://news.ycombin...com/item?id=24075424

It is hard to predict which of these recent image formats will get widespread adoption and work basically everywhere for a very long time - that is become the main replacement for JPEG. For that reason I will wait a year or so before losslessly converting my archives of old JPG photos to one of these formats.

108

Find And Run Robot / Re: A similar function to Listary's Quick Switch function?

« on: October 04, 2020, 04:52 AM »

it would be awesome if you see if you can get it to work with some of the popular explorer replacements.  Especially xyplorer and/or Direcory Opus. 

-kunkel321 (October 02, 2020, 09:13 PM)

Listary does it which means it is possible. The trouble is more that I myself only use this with the Window 10 File Explorer, so I'm motivated to have that working. In contrast I don't use any secondary File Manager so I'm not so motivated to install, research and implement this for a bunch of them (especially over time, since they might change how they do things). For each such File Manager (FM) I'd need three things to implement the same features
(1) a method to detect all FM open windows/tabs
(2) a method to get the folder path from a specific FM window/tab
(3) a method to get the first selected file's path from a specific FM window/tab
If someone else tracks down how to do 1 2 3 for their favorite file manager then I'd be much more likely to make SaveAsPathHelper work with it.

109

Find And Run Robot / Re: A similar function to Listary's Quick Switch function?

« on: October 01, 2020, 06:05 AM »

The small AutoHotkey script SaveAsPathHelper.ahk I threw together to mimic this functionality still works ok on my PC. Link to source again
https://gist.github....7ab6762833d5442fef5d

I might spruce it up as a NANY release.

Listary won't run without admin privaledges.

-kunkel321 (September 27, 2020, 09:26 AM)

I suspect any tool with this kind of feature would have to run as admin if the goal is to have it work with save / open windows from most applications, including those running as admin.

110

Find And Run Robot / Re: regex default value if nothing entered

« on: September 19, 2020, 11:23 AM »

I don't think the FARR alias syntax has any feature for that kind of conditionality.

Not sure if there is a way to do it in the windows cmd part (left side of the | pipe).

My own solution in these kinds of cases is to write a small AutoHotkey script and have FARR run it with the parameters and do the conditional steps in the script. If you go for this option then consider doing only

[Select]

slicevideo (.*)

and separate out parameters from that one long string once in the script.

edit: Something like this

FARR alias
alias name: slicevideo
alias regex: slicevideo (.*)
alias result: C:\folder\FARR_slicevideo_helper.exe "$$1"

AutoHotkey script
Saved as FARR_slicevideo_helper.ahk and then compiled to FARR_slicevideo_helper.exe

Code: Autohotkey [Select]

1. #NoEnv
2. SetWorkingDir %A_ScriptDir%
3. #SingleInstance force
4.  
5. ; FARR alias slicevideo helper script
6. ; 2020-09-19
7.  
8. ; FARR alias syntax:
9. ; slicevideo "(.*)"
10. ; where the regex sub pattern contains one of these string formats:
11. ; - "<filepath>" <start-time-in-seconds> <duration-time-in-seconds> <out-file-name-no-ext>
12. ; - "<filepath>" <start-time-in-seconds> <duration-time-in-seconds>
13. ; - "<filepath>" <start-time-in-seconds>
14. ; rule: only <filepath> can include spaces
15.  
16. ; process command line input
17. ; split at quote marks to array
18. ; -> array item 1 = blank
19. ; -> array item 2 = input file path
20. ; -> array item 3 = all remaining params, space separated
21. ArrayA := StrSplit(A_Args[1], """")
22. ; split above array item 3 at spaces to new array
23. ArrayB := StrSplit(ArrayA[3], " ")
24.  
25. File      := ArrayA[2]
26. StartTime := ArrayB[2]
27. Duration  := ArrayB[3]
28. OutFile   := ArrayB[4]
29.  
30. ; input file must exist and starttime must be set
31. if !FileExist(File) or !StartTime
32.   ExitApp
33.  
34. ; fallback output filename
35. if !OutFile
36.   OutFile := "untitled"
37.  
38. ; fallback duration in seconds
39. if !Duration
40.   Duration := 60
41.  
42. ; run cmd window that stays open and starts ffmpeg cut
43. Run %comspec% /k " ffmpeg.exe -i "%File%" -ss %StartTime% -c copy -t %Duration% -vf "\ffmpeg output\%OutFile%.mp4" "

111

Post New Requests Here / Re: [IDEA] Book Tracking 1.1

« on: September 13, 2020, 11:47 AM »

Well the Airtable example base I linked does include a categories for series and more.

Quick GIF of that base here
https://i.imgur.com/uOTaqJc.mp4
and here's how the default form for adding new items manually looks
https://i.imgur.com/KwsA2Un.mp4

Though again if you want to avoid manual entry of new items (through a form) a script to scrape worldcat or amazon or ... is also needed.
Airtable free tier also has a limit on the number of items per base which might become an issue.

112

Post New Requests Here / Re: [IDEA] Book Tracking 1.1

« on: September 13, 2020, 03:21 AM »

Brainstorm: a minimal but maybe convenient enough book tracker could be pieced together from (1) a sheets app like Google Sheets (example) or Airtable (example) and (2) a script that takes ISBN etc as input and looks up data on worldcat or similar and outputs CSV data to the clipboard for manual pasting on a new line in the sheet app. Maybe Zotero and its browser add-ons can be used to fill the (2) role.

113

Living Room / Re: Hardware and software for quality youtube podcasting (for boardgaming)?

« on: September 10, 2020, 06:50 AM »

I have no feedback on the specifics (easily sync audio streams, ...) but some software thoughts:
- I've seen live streamers use OBS https://obsproject.com/ (FOSS)
- For non-live video/audio editing check out DaVinci Resolve https://www.blackmag...ucts/davinciresolve/ (Freeware)

114

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Windows 10 Professional for $40 PCWorld??

« on: September 07, 2020, 04:45 PM »

Yes, it is on the PC World magazine website, in turn owned by IDG, which are well established.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC_World
https://en.wikipedia...rnational_Data_Group

I found this archived version of a now removed page by PC World editor in chief
https://web.archive....s-80-off-retail.html

PCWorld’s partner, Cleverbridge, is able to secure great discounts by going directly to software vendors and publishers, buying licenses in bulk, and then working with safe, secure brands (like PCWorld) to sell the software directly to consumers. Please note this deal is for an unlimited lifetime license for a single PC.

This reddit post has some speculation about it being a "grey market key", which AFAICT means Microsoft could deactivate it in the future. One person in that thread says they purchased a license and it shows as retail.
https://old.reddit.c...through_here_should/

Since PC World has had the same campaign previously, so might do it again later, and since I don't really need a Win 10 license right now I'll pass, but if anyone gets one let us know how it goes.

115

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Windows 10 Professional for $40 PCWorld??

« on: September 07, 2020, 03:05 AM »

Did anyone here act on the offer last time? How did that pan out? Asking since I see that the PC World site has the price again now for a limited time. Sounds a bit too inexpensive to be true for a retail Win 10 Pro license, no?
https://software.pcw...dows_10_professional

116

FARR Plugins and Aliases / Re: Using an Alias on a plugin

« on: September 01, 2020, 03:23 PM »

I don't know how to fix the plugin itself. But you could try an external AutoHotkey script as a workaround. This might do the trick, if I understand the plugin screenshot correctly.

Code: Autohotkey [Select]

1. #NoEnv
2. #SingleInstance force
3. ; use ' as hotkey to send string "tab " if pressed when FARR is active and searchbox is empty
4. #IfWinActive, ahk_exe FindAndRunRobot.exe
5. '::
6.   ControlGetText, FarrText, TEdit1, ahk_exe FindAndRunRobot.exe
7.   if !FarrText
8.     Send tab%A_Space%
9. Return
10. #IfWinActive

117

General Software Discussion / Re: Ventoy - The Last Bootable USB Software You'll Need?

« on: August 23, 2020, 05:50 AM »

Neat software! They have a list of tested ISOs here https://www.ventoy.net/en/isolist.html . The website also details how ISO creators can ensure compatibility. Though I'd hope support for something like what Ventoy does becomes standardized and not tied to this specific tool.

118

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten

« on: August 15, 2020, 02:49 AM »

Unless, of course, those programs all support the same standards. And then it's questionable what value using different programs would have.

-JavaJones (August 14, 2020, 06:14 PM)

We could then use one specialized tool (Obsidian) most of the time, with all kinds of bells and whistles (graphs, complex search/filtering designed for the specific file format, ...) but now and then use some other tool (VS Code, AutoHotkey, ...) to access some files and do other operations or formatting on them.

There is a repeated distinction made here between "database" and "file based" ... But as far as I can see a reasonable version of similar functionality can be created using offline, text-based systems with augmentation.

-JavaJones (August 14, 2020, 06:14 PM)

True

119

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten

« on: August 14, 2020, 02:58 AM »

You are together building the case for Obsidian for my particular use style and needs 

One other strong consideration for me is that local plaintext files are very much easier to do stuff with from small AutoHotkey scripts for superspecific processing tasks, quick tweaks and more.

I hope that the Block Reference feature request discussed in their forum comes through. Specifically these thoughts are much in line with my brainstormed wishes for transclusion earlier here on DC. Such atomicity seems like a must have feature to me. But a challenge for Obsidian devs: how to implement that while staying with (1) plaintext files and (2) openness in the sense of plaintext files still being editable in other tools without a big clutter of long UID strings everywhere?

If (1) was the only requirement then the three level approach seems pretty straightforward: raw view, transclude view (resolve transcluded content, resolve UID strings as small icons, dots, color styling or some such) and preview view (fully resolved). Those who use transclude features would then spend most of their time writing in the mid-tier transclude view in Obsidian, but sometimes jump to raw view to fix issues. Obsidian and plug-ins would operate on the raw view data in the background.

But I can't think of a way to get convenient, reliable transclude atomicity in a set of every changing plaintext files without a paying a price re (2). Seems like something has to give. Bet: transclusion will prove so useful that Markdown syntax will be extended for it. Hopefully in a standardized way. NetCommonMark (Net as in networked notes) on the horizon? Once standardized other note apps would have similar transclude views so there would be less of an lock-in effect to the Obsidian editor.

120

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten

« on: August 13, 2020, 02:18 PM »

The boom in interest in both Roam and Obsidian, and various third-party stuff, is both good and bad. Good in that great things will probably come out of it. But bad in that things are still so much up in the air that we don't know how much these tools will change 6 months from now. So I still find it hard commit to either ATM, since which one (or other) I will prefer in the not so distant future probably depends on features not yet there or not yet refined. I'm kind of stuck in test drive mode

121

Developer's Corner / Re: Tabletop Simulator -- Anyone played with it?

« on: August 03, 2020, 03:07 AM »

Haven't tried but there is also http://playingcards.io/. I've seen some file for use with it on BoardGameGeek.

122

General Software Discussion / Re: desktop backup and restore

« on: July 26, 2020, 06:54 AM »

Only a building block for making a script, but worth mentioning: The AutoHotkey function DeskIcons works for me in Win10 and some in its forum thread report that it works for them in Win7 too https://www.autohotk...c.php?f=6&t=3529

Edit: sorry, I read too quickly. The above function only saves/restores the position for already existing icons on the desktop. It does not restore icons/shortcuts that have been deleted.

123

General Software Discussion / Re: How to automate Windows with a fast & easy (minimal programming) solution?

« on: July 25, 2020, 11:57 AM »

AutoHotkey can do this. You can either program a script yourself, which is relatively easy to learn, or make user of some existing helper script to record a set of mouse movements and clicks that can later be rerun. Or do a combination of both. For example Mouse And Keyboard Macro Recorder from AutoHotkey forums.

124

General Software Discussion / Re: Are there any good free web site hosting option these days?

« on: July 20, 2020, 03:34 PM »

If a static page is enough then perhaps https://surge.sh/

125

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten

« on: July 09, 2020, 03:12 AM »

If you work plainly with text, which is fine for capturing your thoughts- this looks pretty amazing.  However I find myself thinking how do I get other things in it?

-sphere (July 08, 2020, 07:28 PM)

Underlying question: what different ways can something be "in" the system? What way is most useful for what content?

Most of what you listed can already be "in" a plaintext note in the minimal sense of adding a reference/link to it.

But I assume you want more than that. For example, the full plaintext content of a PDF file added as a note on par with the other markdown notes? So that that content becomes searchable and linkable at some more fine grained resolution (chapters/paragraphs/sentences/words). Or a way to embed an audio file, shown as a playback control with pause play and a slider at a specific position in the notes? Or some other way?

We can think of internal and external links. Internal links are resolved inside the software. For example a link in a MD file that links to a section in another MD file. External links point to everything else, items in the local filesystem, or LAN or Internet.