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Someone MUST make a new PowerMarks program.
superboyac:
Just released Linkman 7.60 (Freeware and Shareware versions available).
-Outertech Support (November 10, 2008, 01:09 AM)
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Another PowerMarks user here; been using it for years...
I am just trying Linkman (pro 7.7.1.15) and though it is really pretty great I'd like to offer a couple of suggestions to the developer regarding the query search:
1) Linkman's defaulting to a substring search is very inefficient. When I type in at (say for "attorney" or "atlas" or "athlon", etc.) I don't also want "battery", "rattle", "collimator", "estate", "matthey", and every other keyword that has at somewhere in the string. That just means I will have to type in additional keywords to narrow the search, or else backspace and re-enter my search term as a literal string with quote marks. On the rare occasion that I do want to perform a substring search I would be very happy to add wildcard asterisks to the query: *at*; but this should not be the default search pattern.
Here is a practical example: A search query of at b narrows my 2,000+ bookmarks to just four using PowerMarks. Linkman yields nearly 300 bookmarks for the same query, requiring additional typing or literal string quoting. at bo narrows to 2 for Powermarks, but there still remain 54 for Linkman... too many to glance through. Linkman consistently requires a lot more typing to narrow a search, due to the default substring interpretation of queries.
2) I also don't care for autocompletion when I'm typing in a search query. More often than not I end up having to delete the autocompleted part. I think people who are good typists generally find autocompletion to be annoying. For those who do like it perhaps it could be made an option.
I hope these suggestions are useful. I'll keep an eye on Linkman but in the meantime, still using PowerMarks...
-drewk (March 10, 2009, 10:25 AM)
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Drew, I agree with #2. I'd like an option to turn off autocompletion.
I disagree with #1, but to satisfy both sides, again, maybe an option to toggle one or the other.
Steven Avery:
Hi Folks,
About a week or two ago I wrote with the same request, since I agree that the default search should be about words, not strings. (I was looking up an author named Oosterzee and the boosters and the roosters were crowing. And there are many simpler examples. In addition I was having a problem with the way to do a word search itself, using a prefix character. although I have not retested that.) The toogle-choice suggestion would be the most elegant solution possibility.
No discussion with Linkman yet, but some other concerns were addressed (especially a problem in the Powermarks data which needed extra tweaking on the import to Linkman. Powermarks internally expanded the @ sign .. which is used in the Google books links. Linkman had to contract the Powermarks internal expansion, probably in the Powermarks programming language the @ character had a special meaning and thus needed an awkward string to be represented).
We all agree on auto-completion being more nuisance than help. (Although again a toggle or configuration possibility comes to mind.) I noticed also that sometimes the query words do not simply stay in the query field, although it is in the "completed searches" history group, ready to be put back and modified. I would prefer always seeing the last, current search in the field, I'm not sure what causes that sometimes to blank out. (That one I had not yet mentioned to Thomas.)
Overall, though, I have found the Powermarks-->Linkman move to be very satisfactory. And quite helpful for anyone who views Firefox as the browser of choice.. And I'm looking forward to printing enhancements and some additional usages.
Shalom,
Steven
Outertech Support:
Linkman Pro 7.80 is out:
<ul><li>Added more Buttons to Firefox integration</li>
<li>Improved Printing: QueryPrint, Userdef fields, configurable margins</li>
<li>Query option to search for whole words only (default off)</li>
<li>Query option to autocomplete search terms (default off)</li>
<li>Added date support to Powermarks import</li>
<li>Query results can be exported using Templates (Pro version only)</li>
<li>Added <PARENT.KEYWORDS> and <PARENT.COMMENT> Tags to Export Templates (Pro version only)</li>
<li>Increased the size of keywords edit area in URL properties window</li>
<li>Ascending/Descending option in Autosort</li>
<li>When adding URLs you get the option to edit a URL if it already exists</li>
<li>Query Results font is now configurable (Tools | Settings | Interface)</li>
<li>Added more URL Launch options to context menus</li>
<li>If Linkman is hidden "Add and Edit to Linkman" will restore focus back to browser</li>
<li>New option to add browser links to the top of the database (Tools | Settings | Receive URLs)</li>
<li>Tools | Settings | Interface | Show Treeview lines turns also Query Results lines on/off</li></ul>Shareware Version:
Web: http://linkman.outertech.com
Download: http://www.outertech.com/files/linkman.exe
Tutorial video: http://linkmanvideo.outertech.com
Freeware version will follow within this month (Linkman Free 7.71 will be replaced by Linkman Lite 7.80).
Steven Avery:
Hi Folks,
My thanks to Outertech for an incredible responsiveness and active user support. (Another reason for those unsure with Powermarks to make the plunge, help the developers and move ahead. You can always keep Powermarks up for finding and loading existing bookmarks for awhile, until you are fully Linkman comfortable.) My recent XP software experience has been enhanced by Outertech and BillP of WinPatrol, two companies that have really set and raised the bar on small company support (yes, there are probably many dozen others that are worthy of mention, including DC programs and coders., I mention those two because they work on programs in the sweet spot of my daily usage).
For now I want to point out - clarify - one very significant enhancement.
"When adding URLs you get the option to replace a URL if it already exists"
This means that you can "EDIT" an already existing URL (when you try to add it .. and often you do not even know if it exists in your link database or not before the add / re-add attempt). If you have the checkbox for :
Tools --> Settings --> Receive URLs --> Prevent adding existing URLs
as checked. ie. (No dup-key)
When the web page is already in front of you it will be faster to simply go to "Add" and then "Replace (Edit)" than to put in keywords to "Query" and then "Edit" .
A heavy user will use this option many times a day, the word "Replace" in that situation really means to us "Edit" or "Update". I mentioned it to Linkman recently and the improvement made the next update !
(Not the only one, especially they also bumped up the printer enhancements, a feature that helps bridge the gap between Bookmarks, Notes and PIM. On Powermarks I was using the "Print Key" method, followed by the "scissor/pocket-razor cutup followup". Not the most elegant :-). And without much for sorting options.)
I'm not sure how that adding stuff now works if you don't have the check-mark, it is likely unchanged from the former, since the idea is that you are asking for multiple urls for the same bookmark. Personally I would recommend keeping it checked (no dups) although I can imagine some usage where a person goes the other way.
Notice above also the Query Options on search for whole words and autocomplete. Apparently that was largely in response to the recent discussion on this thread within the last week or two, or correspondence some others here had with Linkman privately. (Oh, yeah, I had mentioned en passant one of the two, the 'word or string' search question.) Likely all quite recent. This is what is neat when you have some competent and responsive programmers who modify the program for the users rather than versa vica.
And they fixed up the Powermarks date stuff (Powermarks uses unusual date formatting that needed translation) so I have to consider whether to back up my current file and try the reimport and how that would work after dups are eliminated. This goes along with fixing up a Powermarks "@" quirk in the PM data file, another reason for the reimport, that effected my Google books urls. I don't think they mentioned it in the enhancements list since it is a bit on the techie side and mostly unnoticed, but Thomas had mentioned to me that they had made the change.
Also they now have the option to remove the lines between lines on the query mode. I asked for that to help when you try to go into a scrunch mode (more lines per page) .. something that is native to Powermarks :-) . "Show Treeview lines turns also Query Results lines on/off". Actually whether Linkman should default to lines off or on is a good question.
I've been a bit busy so I have only worked with the "Replace" --> Update mode of the enhancements I mentioned here so far. There is other stuff ... I am discussing mostly the stuff where I am quite familiar.
Shalom,
Steven Avery
m9833:
I have now tried "Power Favorites" and LinkMan. Both are nice tools but somehow don't manage to give me the comfortable feeling I had with powermarks. At least regarding LinkMan, which I still have on my PC, three things that frustrate me most are
1. No Automatic Suggestions while entering Tags. Here PowerMarks always used to suggest previously entered Tags, as one typed.
2. Folder Structure, instead of simple tag based structure. I guess, in LinkMan, one can choose to hide the folder pane. I personally, would like to see a folder panel, showing a tag based virtual folder structure, like in the not taking freeware WikidPad (http://wikidpad.python-hosting.com/).
3. Duplicates & Marking the same site again: Both "Power Favorites", as well as LinkMan offer Duplicate Deletion. But PowerMarks simply did not have any duplicates. When one bookmarked a site which already existed in the database, PowerMarks very nicely opened the edit box for the preexisting bookmark, allowing one to make modifications if one wants to. This is much more flexible than a notice telling you that you already have that site bookmarked, and whether you would still like to mark it again (This, I guess is because of the hardcoded folder based approach).
I am sure that both LinkMan and Power Favorites will improve on their already impressive list of features, and hope that they incorporate features such as those mentioned above to approach the power and simplicity of powermarks. That will gain them many a customers like me, who are still crying over the demise of their favorite PowerMarks. :-)
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