topbanner_forum
  *

avatar image

Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
Did you miss your activation email?

Login with username, password and session length
  • Friday April 19, 2024, 7:20 pm
  • Proudly celebrating 15+ years online.
  • Donate now to become a lifetime supporting member of the site and get a non-expiring license key for all of our programs.
  • donate

Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Topics - phitsc [ switch to compact view ]

Pages: prev1 2 [3] 4next
51
http://lifehacker.com/#!5790704/wear-looser-clothing-to-avoid-losing-energy-during-the-day

I first read: "Wear Loser Clothing to Avoid Losing Energy During the Day"  :D

52
Mini-Reviews by Members / Android apps micro reviews
« on: March 23, 2011, 04:05 PM »
Introduction

Last December I switched from a Windows Mobile to an Android phone. This opened up the exciting and vast world of apps and widgets to me. In the past three months I've looked at many apps and widgets, tried some, read about others, tried to find the best ones fitting my needs.

Here I present a selection of apps which I find most useful describing them with a few words only. All the apps presented here are either free or quite cheap.

If you're using an app other than the ones I present here that cover the same or similar functionality or if you'd like to have more information on any of these apps please let me know.

I've also posted some Android widget micro reviews.

Google Reader
by Google
Free

When Bloglines announced the termination of their service I moved all my RSS subscriptions to Google Reader. When a short while later they announced that the service will be pursued my transition was already done. Shortly after I got my Android phone, Google released the Google Reader app. Besides the communication apps it is probably the one app I used most on my phone.GoogleReader1.pngGoogleReader2.png

K-9
by K-9 Dog Walkers
Free

K-9 is a powerful Email client with so many features I won't even go start listing them here. While Android's built-in Gmail app would probably do just fine for me the main reason I'm using K-9 is because of its combined Inbox feature.K-9_1.pngK-9_2.png

Quick Settings
by Sergej Shafarenka
Free

Quick Settings allows you to quickly turn on or off settings such as WiFi, Bluetooth or GPS. It also gives quick access to phone volume and vibration settings. It is fully localised and visibility and order of the settings on the Quick Settings window are configurable. As a nice bonus it shows you memory usage and battery percentage.QuickSettings1.pngQuickSettings2.png


Setting Profiles
by probeez
$4

The Setting Profiles app lets you define profiles that are activated depending on rules you define. These rules are defined using a combination of conditions such as date/time, Battery state, Calendar, current location etc. I'm currently using the app for two purposes:
  • Enable WiFi when I'm at home, disable it when I'm not.
  • Turn phone silent when I'm at work and in a meeting.

It might not be as powerful as Locale or Tasker but then it's cheaper and simpler and perfectly fits my needs.
SettingProfiles1.pngSettingProfiles2.png


SwiftKey
by TouchType Ltd. US
2$

SwiftKey is a virtual keyboard with intelligent word suggestion / auto completion. Unlike other such keyboards it not only analyses the characters typed for the current word, but also the previously typed word(s) (don't know exactly to be honest). Fact is, it works astoundingly well. Sometimes, I don't even need to type a single letter and SwiftKey already suggest the word I have in mind.

The one problem I currently have with SwiftKey is that its main layout does not offer keys to move the cursor left and right. This is a big problem on phones like mine that don't have a trackball. They've promised to resolve this in a future update.
SwiftKey.pngSwiftKey2.png


Tricorder
by Moonblink
Free

Tricorder gives you access to your devices sensors. It displays acceleration, magnetic flux, sound, compass, WiFi and cell signal. It also shows solar activity which it downloads from somewhere (NASA?). I couldn't say that I use this app very often, but then it's just cool. And it makes that distinct Tricorder sound :)Tricorder1.pngTricorder2.pngTricorder3.png

53
Mini-Reviews by Members / Android widget micro reviews
« on: March 22, 2011, 11:20 AM »
Introduction

Last December I switched from a Windows Mobile to an Android phone. This opened up the exciting and vast world of apps and widgets to me. In the past three months I've looked at many apps and widgets, tried some, read about others, tried to find the best ones fitting my needs.

Here I present a selection of widgets which I find most useful describing them with a few words only. All of the widgets presented here are either free or very cheap.

If you're using widgets other than the ones I present here that cover the same or similar functionality or if you'd like to have more information on any of these widgets please let me know.

I've also posted some Android app micro reviews.

Data counter widget
by Roy Solberg
Free / 3$

This is a simple widget that lets you keep track of your network data usage. The widget shows distinct numbers for Wifi, 3G and Tethering. Tapping the widget will open a full-screen view showing the detailed statistics: in, out and total per month, week, day or since installation. The widget offers a useful set of configuration options like if it should display daily, weekly or monthly data usage, update rate, colour options, a custom start date for counting and more. Especially the custom start date I find very useful as it allows quite precise tracking of data usage to make sure I keep within my monthly quota (my data usage always runs from the 7th of a month).

The free widget doesn't contain any ads. There's a pro version that offers some more colour options but mainly serves the purpose of supporting the developer.
DataCounter1.pngDataCounter2.png


Snowstorm weather widget
by Kaj Bjurman
Free

Of all the weather widgets I've tried or read about I liked this one most. It comes in different widget sizes. There are plenty of forecast icon skins to choose from. Its weather data comes from the Swedish Weather Service and seems to be quite accurate at least for Europe. Tapping the widget opens a full screen pop-up window with detailed forecast data for the next 5 days. It has plenty of configuration options like update rate, units and formats to use, colour options and more.

I have three minor complaints about the widget:
  • Being able to localise the forecast terms would be cool
  • While it's possible to call up the forecast for any specified location, it is somewhat obscure (open full screen forecast, open Credits Menu, switch to Search Tab)
  • While there is an option called 'Snap to larger places', it seems like I'd need one that snaps to even larger places ;)
Snowstorm1.pngSnowstorm2.png


Multicon widget
by H9kDroid
Free

Multicon allows you to put several smaller app links in the place of one big one. I'm using it to have direct access to 8 of my most frequently used apps on the same space that 2 app links would cover. Although the icons are now only a fourth of their usual size, they still look very good and the links are still quite easy to hit.Multicon1.pngMulticon2.png


Apps organizer
by Fabio Collini
Free

While Android has the concept of folders that can be placed on the screen it seems like it's not possible to choose a nice icon for them. Apps organizer solves this problem nicely. Within Apps organizer, you first define labels and assign them an icon. You then assign one or more of these labels to your apps. Finally, when you put an Apps organizer widget on your screen, you define the label it represents. What you'll get is a nice icon which, once pressed, will open a perfectly sized pop-up window with the apps that have the respective label.AppsOrganizer1.pngAppsOrganizer2.png


Android Agenda Widget
by Everybody all the time
Free / 2$

This is a highly configurable calendar widget that comes in many different sizes. Among the many aspects that can be configured are colours, transparency, text of labels, visibility and behaviour of buttons, date and time settings, etc.. It is also fully localised. Android Agenda widget is actually very powerful and would easily warrant its own mini-review.

The whitish area you see on the right of the widget are two soft-buttons. While I think they too are configurable on my phone the upper one opens a full-screen pop-up calendar list with the upcoming appointments of the next two weeks. The lower one opens a pop-up window with some useful commands, the most important one for me being the one right at the bottom which opens the Calendar app.

The free widget doesn't contain any ads. There's a plus version that offers no additional features (but I think is usually released a bit earlier than the free one) but serves the purpose of supporting the developer.
AgendaWidget1.pngAgendaWidget2.png


HTC Photoframe
by HTC
Free but HTC phones only

Of all the photo frame widgets I've tried I liked the HTC one best. It can't do slide-shows and you also can't slide the photos manually which is a pity. But the resize quality is very good and tapping the widget will open the photo viewer app.

(the two widgets on the left of the screen shot are two individual photo frame widgets)
Photoframe.png


HTC Contacts widget
by HTC
Free but HTC phones only

None of the contacts widgets I've tried I liked better then the HTC one. It shows all the contacts marked as favourite. If it contains more contacts than fit the screen you can slide up and down. While tapping the contact pictures dials the contact's main number, tapping its name opens the contact giving you the possibility to call any other number, or send a text message or email. It has a big button at the bottom to open the address book. The only thing I don't like about it is the fact that it only uses low-res contact pictures (don't worry, they are a bit more high-res than one could assume from looking at my screen shot ;) )

(the contacts widget is the one on the right of the screen shot)
Contacts.png

54
N.A.N.Y. 2011 / Major feature instead of new up for NANY?
« on: January 24, 2011, 02:01 AM »
I'm wondering if it wouldn't be a good idea to extend NANY to allow major feature updates of an existing application instead of it having to be a new one. The reason being that a major feature could require just as much time as a new app but could potentially be more useful to users than if I just come up with something tiny. I'd have no problem to let someone like mouser or Perry judge if a suggested feature qualifies for NANY or not.

Maybe we'd have to find a new definition for NANY though ;)

55
Site/Forum Features / Forum Themes
« on: January 18, 2011, 01:55 AM »
On the SMF feature list it says SMF supports (per user) themes. Would that be hard to implement on donationcoder? I wouldn't mind some change once in a while ;)

56
Living Room / Resize cmd.exe window
« on: January 12, 2011, 02:16 PM »
Anyone knows why cmd.exe can't automatically adjust its window buffer size when I want to make its window bigger? Is there a technical reason for this?

57
FARR Plugins and Aliases / FARR plugin installer with Inno Setup
« on: December 22, 2010, 02:53 PM »
I've made installers for most of my plugins a while ago to make them better accessible to users that don't feel comfortable unzipping and copying files into a directory of an already installed application. Amongst the FARR users, that might not be too many. Nevertheless, I just felt that the process of installing my FARR plugins was too cumbersome and error prone.

I'm using Inno Setup, a free tool to create windows installers. Inno Setup is quite easy to learn and use. Apart from the files that should be installed, it needs an ini-like configuration file that describes parameters relevant for the installer being created.


As an example, this is what FarrWebMetaSearch.iss, the Inno Setup file for FarrWebMetaSearch, looks like:

[Setup]
AppName=FarrWebMetaSearch
AppVersion=1.6.1
DefaultDirName={reg:HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Find and Run Robot_is1,InstallLocation|{pf}\FindAndRunRobot}\Plugins\FarrWebMetaSearch
OutputBaseFilename=FarrWebMetaSearchSetup
Uninstallable=no
Compression=lzma2
SolidCompression=yes
DirExistsWarning=no

[Files]
Source: "..\Deploy\CloseApp2.dll"; DestDir: "{tmp}"; Flags: onlyifdoesntexist
Source: "..\Deploy\FarrWebMetaSearch.dll"; DestDir: "{app}";
Source: "..\Deploy\FarrWebMetaSearch.ico"; DestDir: "{app}"
Source: "..\Deploy\FarrWebMetaSearch.dcupdate"; DestDir: "{app}"
Source: "..\Deploy\icons\*.ico"; DestDir: "{app}\icons"
Source: "..\Deploy\searches\*.conf"; DestDir: "{app}\searches"
Source: "..\Deploy\searches\*.ico"; DestDir: "{app}\searches"
Source: "..\Deploy\searches\*.html"; DestDir: "{app}\searches"
Source: "..\Deploy\FarrWebMetaSearch.html"; DestDir: "{app}"; Flags: isreadme

[Code]
// importing DLL functions from closeapp2.dll
procedure SendMsgUnloadPlugins_OnInstall(farrApplicationName: String);
external 'SendMsgUnloadPlugins@files:CloseApp2.dll cdecl setuponly';

procedure SendMsgLoadPlugins_OnInstall(farrApplicationName: String);
external 'SendMsgLoadPlugins@files:CloseApp2.dll cdecl setuponly';

//
procedure CurStepChanged(CurStep: TSetupStep);
begin
    case CurStep of
        ssInstall: SendMsgUnloadPlugins_OnInstall('FindAndRunRobot.exe');
        ssPostInstall: SendMsgLoadPlugins_OnInstall('FindAndRunRobot.exe');
    end;
end;


I've highlighted two interesting parts:
  • DefaultDirName: this defines the value for the {app} variable which is used in the [Files] section. I try to get the FARR installation path by querying the respective entry in the FARR uninstaller registry entry. If it's missing I'm assuming 'Program Files\FindAndRunRobot'. The user still has the possibility to choose a different installation location or directory name during the installation process.
  • CloseApp2.dll: This is a DLL provided by mouser that allows unloading and reloading the plugins so that they can be replaced while FARR is running. It can be downloaded from this thread.

The [Code] section at the end is where the unloading / reloading of the plugins happens.


I'm using a batch file to automate the creation of both the .zip package as well as the Setup.exe installer and use my UpdateVersion tool to update the version information in both the DCUpdater files as well as the Inno Setup .iss file.

@ECHO off
SET SevenZipPath="C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe"
SET InnoSetupPath="C:\Program Files\Inno Setup 5\ISCC.exe"

%PHI_PROJECTS%\UpdateVersion\Deploy\UpdateVersion.exe \
        -s %PHI_PROJECTS%\FarrWebMetaSearch\Deploy\FarrWebMetaSearch.dll \
        -t %PHI_PROJECTS%\FarrWebMetaSearch\Deploy\FarrWebMetaSearch.dcupdate \
        -t %PHI_PROJECTS%\FarrWebMetaSearch\Package\versioninfo.xml \
        -t %PHI_PROJECTS%\FarrWebMetaSearch\Package\FarrWebMetaSearch.iss
%SevenZipPath% a Output\FarrWebMetaSearch.zip %PHI_PROJECTS%\FarrWebMetaSearch\Deploy\*.* -r -xr!.svn -tzip -mx7
%InnoSetupPath% FarrWebMetaSearch.iss



I've tested the installer on Windows XP and Windows 7 32.

58
Living Room / My Blackberry Is Not Working!
« on: December 22, 2010, 02:07 PM »
A friend sent me this one today. Hope some of you haven't seen it yet ;)

http://www.youtube.c.../watch?v=kAG39jKi0lI

59
Adventures of Baby Cody / Switzerland
« on: December 03, 2010, 02:57 AM »
As little Cody already is in Europe, please send him my way as well, so he can learn how to ski. I'd also like to treat him to some Raclette and loooots of chocolate.

And I'm sure my kids wouldn't mind sharing their beds with the little cutie :D

60
Living Room / Jeans pocket - the square-ish one on the right
« on: November 26, 2010, 03:18 AM »
Most of my jeans have this square-ish pocket, inside the round-ish one which you use to put your keys, money, hands. They all seem to have it inside the right outer pocket. I don't think I've ever used that little pocket. What's it for?

61
N.A.N.Y. 2011 / NANY 2011 Release: UpdateVersion
« on: November 17, 2010, 12:10 PM »
NANY 2011 Entry Information

Application Name UpdateVersion
Version 0.3.0
Short Description Command line tool to update some program update files by the version of the respective program.
Supported OSes Windows
Web Page this page currently
Download Link http://updateversion...om/UpdateVersion.zip
System Requirements
  • PC
Version History
  • 0.3.0 - Added -v switch for verbose output
  • 0.2.0 - Added support for InnoSetup .iss files
  • 0.1.0 - Initial release
Author phitsc

Preface
I'm afraid I'm too lacy this year to do much spare time coding. Nevertheless, I've made a tool last year which might or might not proof useful for one or the other fellow coder and which I'd like to offer for this year's NANY. Some remarks: First, it's a tool made for programmers, i.e. SW end users probably won't have much use for it. Second, it's a tool that solves a problem which probably most programmers have already solved for themselves, one way or the other. And finally, I could well imagine that some other (and better) tool already exists to solve this same problem.

So here I present UpdateVersion!


Description
UpdateVersion is a command line tool that can update some target files containing version information with the actual version information extracted from some source file. It is implemented with some flexibility and extensibility in mind.

Currently supported sources are:
  • EXEs containing a version information resource
  • FARR plugins
  • text files (via regular expressions)

Currently supported targets are:
  • PAD files
  • .dcupdate files
  • versioninfo.xml files
  • InnoSetup .iss files

The way I use the tool is in combination with a batch file:

@ECHO off
SET SevenZipPath="C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe"
SET InnoSetupPath="C:\Program Files\Inno Setup 5\ISCC.exe"

%PHI_PROJECTS%\UpdateVersion\Deploy\UpdateVersion.exe
          -s %PHI_PROJECTS%\FarrMilk\Deploy\FarrMilk.dll
          -t %PHI_PROJECTS%\FarrMilk\Deploy\FarrMilk.dcupdate
          -t %PHI_PROJECTS%\FarrMilk\Package\versioninfo.xml
          -t %PHI_PROJECTS%\FarrMilk\Package\FarrMilk.iss
%SevenZipPath% a Output\FarrMilk.zip %PHI_PROJECTS%\FarrMilk\Deploy\*.* -r -xr!.svn -tzip
%InnoSetupPath% FarrMilk.iss


Executing that batch file will first update the two files required by DCUpdater using version information extracted directly from the plugin. It will then zip everything up ready to be uploaded to the web site.

While updating these two files is not very difficult, the advantage of the tool comes when you either do it very often (saves time), or when you do it very rarely (and have forgotten what you actually have to change).

Features
Description says it all really.

Planned Features
I'm open for suggestions.

Screenshots
Will come but will be very boring!

Usage
Installation
No installation required, just copy the .EXE and .XML to some directory.

Using the Application
See Closing remarks.

Uninstallation
Delete the directory where the .EXE and .XML file are.

Known Issues
None that I know of.

Closing remarks
I understand that this tool is of very limited value to most of the donationcoder community. Nevertheless, I'll make the following pledge:

If a single person states here that he might maybe have use for the tool, I'll actually add some documentation to it :) And of course I'm also open for feature requests if anyone should have some similar requirements.

62
Developer's Corner / Diff before commit
« on: November 04, 2010, 07:45 AM »
I was discussing this question with a colleague recently and we were of quite opposite opinions. I'm a proponent of diffing before commit, I consider it to be kind of my personal mini code review. He basically considers it to be a waste of time, saying that he knows what he changed and that he's just committing very often (which I try to do as well, by the way, but never mind).

I'd like to know how you people feel about this question.

63
Developer's Corner / Model driven development
« on: July 28, 2010, 02:30 PM »
Anyone of you guys had any experiences (good or bad) with model driven development (using tools like IBM's Rhapsody)? I'm interested in aspects like efficiency, mastering tool complexity (learning curve), round-tripping, developer acceptance, management acceptance, comparison with CAD, etc. whatever comes to mind.

I'm also interested in opinions of people with no MDD experience.

64
Developer's Corner / Simple Public License (SimPL)
« on: July 21, 2010, 09:45 AM »
I found the Simple Public License (SimPL) today. Anyone ever heard of it or used it?

http://www.opensourc...enses/simpl-2.0.html

Any other news on the license front?

65
Find And Run Robot / Just uninstalled FARR!
« on: May 27, 2010, 05:31 AM »
yep, you read that right. It's gone. Wiped it off of my HD. All my plugins too! No more Win+Alt+Space (yes, that's what I had assigned it to). I actually went as far as 'secure deleting' the donationcoder directory!


But don't worry, I'll install it again when I start working on my new job next week ;)

66
FARR Plugins and Aliases / FARR plugin: FarrWebMetaSearch 1.6.0
« on: January 08, 2010, 05:20 PM »
Description
FarrWebMetaSearch is a generic web retrieval FARR plugin that show results in list mode. It is therefore targeted at web sites delivering list-like results. Results are selected using regular expressions. FarrWebMetaSearch searches live as you type!

FarrWebMetaSearch.png

Screencast
http://donationcoder...h/webmetasearch.html
YouTube: http://www.youtube.c.../watch?v=pxKcvQ-uHjQ

Download & Install
Download the FarrWebMetaSearch installer from here then double-click FarrWebMetaSearchSetup.exe to start the installation. I've tested the installer on both Windows XP and Windows 7 32-bit. If you'd rather install the plugin manually, you can download it from here, then unzip it into the FARR plugins directory (usually C:\Program Files\FindAndRunRobot\Plugins) and restart FARR.

Basic usage
Type

wms [search] [+subsearch] [search term]

to use a pre-configured search.

Typing +, - or / after the search name will display available subsearches. [+subsearch] is optional. It currently has to follow right after the search name.

If [search] is configured as a web search, [search term] will be searched live as you type. If [search] is configured as a feed, [search term] will filter the found results. In this case [search term] is optional.

Tip: Type wms ? and hit enter to open the help file.

Searches
The following searches are currently available:
  • Amazon
  • Amazon.de
  • CDDB
  • C++ Reference
  • Engadget (feed)
  • Google
  • IMDB
  • Jamendo
  • Kindleforum (feed)
  • MSDN
  • OneLook
  • Play.com
  • Tages Anzeiger Front (feed)
  • Twitter

Version history
1.6.0 - 9. July 2010
  • can now search local files (see help file)
  • New / updated searches:
    • google (by Alien282)
    • fixed MSDN search

1.5.1 - 11. February 2010
  • implemented status bar icons
  • implemented two stage regex
  • replacing many more character entity references. now supports all the French characters as well.
  • New / updated searches:
    • amazon and amazonde (much improved!)
    • imdb (improved)

1.5.0 - 5. February 2010
  • implemented sortOrder parameter
  • implemented isHidden parameter
  • implemented context submenus
  • now supports more than 9 context menu items
  • now clears context menus for subsearches
  • subsearches / abbreviations are now case-insensitive
  • now prints the number of listed searches in the status bar
  • updated help file
  • New / updated searches:
    • onelook (by Perry Mowbray)
    • timeanddate (by Perry Mowbray)
    • autohotkey (ewemoa)
    • cheatsheet
    • amazon (fixed typo)

1.4.2 - 29. January 2010
  • Now filters for subsearch abbreviations too
  • Added some logging capability. Type 'wms !' to enable / disable logging.
  • Added %PLUGINALIAS% variable
  • Updated help file
  • New / updated searches:
    • onelook (by Perry Mowbray) - with more subsearches, abbreviations and help file!

1.4.1 - 26. January 2010
  • subsearch filtering now matches at the start (no longer anywhere in the string)
  • show abbreviation of subsearches (if they have one). e.g. wms amazon +books (b)
  • Shift + Enter launches search result in FARR's internal HTML view
  • replace more special characters in FARR output (  and °)
  • fixed problem with subsearches having isFeed=true

1.4.0 - 24. January 2010
  • Shift + Enter shows info about search (using FARR's internal HTML view)
  • Subsearches can now have abbreviations ( [Subsearch|Abb] )
  • Searches can now define context menu items (see play search for an example)
  • Fixed 'feeds not showing subsearches on entering +'
  • new / updated searches:
    • onelook (by Perry Mowbray) - added four new subsearches
    • jamendo (by Perry Mowbray)
    • cppreference - replaced with a different one providing better information
    • play - added 'buy item' and 'show basket' context menu items

Previous releases:
Spoiler
1.3.0 - 15. January 2010
  • search term (%SEARCHTERM%) and search URL (%SEARCHURL%) are now available as variables in the resultPattern, farrPath, farrCaption and farrGroup parameters
  • search term (%SEARCHTERM%) is now available as a variable in the searchUrl parameter. If searchUrl does not contain the %SEARCHTERM% variable, the search term is appended at the end (as it was until now)
  • properly handle and report server errors
  • show down-arrow icon on status bar to switch to FARR's extended view (which doesn't handle html tags properly though)
  • new / updated searches:
    • onelook (by Perry Mowbray) - added name subsearch

1.2.0 - 14. January 2010
  • Fixed bug with search parameters defined as empty string
  • Updated help file Search config files
  • new / updated searches:
    • onelook (by Perry Mowbray)
    • kindleforum (feed)
    • play.com

1.1.0 - 9. January 2010
  • Type wms ? + Enter to show help file
  • Added about list items
  • Updated help file (still needs better treatment of .config files)

1.0.0 - 8. January 2010
  • Changed search behaviour for news feeds
  • Improved amazon.com search. Now gives more relevant results when searching for 'neural control' (and other titles with more than one author ;))
  • replace more special characters in FARR output, e.g. © and ®
  • resultPattern can now contain the %SEARCHTERM% variable, which will be replaced by the entered search terms
  • added new searches:
    • onelook (thanks Perry Mowbray!)
    • engadget (feed)
    • twitter
  • changed to TiddlyWiki help file format (although it's far from complete)

0.9.1 - 31. December 2009
  • use FARR's launching functionality to open URLs

0.9.0 - 29. December 2009
  • First release



Credits
Thanks!
  • to Carroll (hamradio on donationcoder.com forums) for designing the icons
  • to Perry Mowbray for his extremely cool and powerful onelook search (and for beta testing ;))
  • to everyone who gave me feedback on the NANY 2010 event

<a href="https://www.donation...ex.php?topic=20951.0">
<img src="https://www.donation...0/nanyrib_2010_t.png">
</a><br />
<a href="https://www.donationcoder.com/nany2010/">NANY 2010</a>

67
N.A.N.Y. 2010 / NANY 2010 Final Release: FarrWebMetaSearch
« on: December 11, 2009, 09:51 AM »
NANY 2010 Entry Information

Application Name FarrWebMetaSearch
Version 0.9.1
Short Description A FARR plugin used to query results from a web page and display them in list form.
Supported OSes MS Windows
Web Page http://farrwms.objecttechnology.com
Download Link download
System Requirements
Version History
  • 0.9.1 - preliminary - use FARR's launching functionality to open URLs
  • 0.9.0 - preliminary - first release
Author phitsc
Credits Thanks to hamradio for designing the plugin icon!
Screencast http://donationcoder...h/webmetasearch.html
YouTube: http://www.youtube.c.../watch?v=pxKcvQ-uHjQ


Description
FarrWebMetaSearch is another generic web retrieval FARR plugin. Unlike ewemoas Webgrab this plugin will show results in list mode. It is therefore targeted at web sites delivering list-like results.

Configuration and usage of the plugin will be as follows:
  • searches are configured via a text configuration file, one for each 'search'. the file will specify search url and a regular expression to capture the result.
  • search terms will be specified through the FARR input box

See implementation notes further down for further clarification.

Features
It just does what it says in the description.

Planned Features
  • Fix icon copyright problem
  • Fix launching problem
  • Add proper help file
  • Add a way for users to contribute / get searches
  • Add logging/notification in case a configuration files is invalid
  • Improve usage for news feeds
  • Make original search string available as a variable
  • Add many more searches :D
  • Either make plugin asynchronious or implement some way to delay searching
  • Add a description for each search to xml files and FARR searches list
  • Implement filtering of searches
  • Implement auto-completion of searches with Enter key (well, maybe)
  • Add a way to specify search options (for web sites that support it)
  • Make parsing of searches files more robust

Screencast


Screenshots

FarrWebMetaSearch Web Site
MSDNFarrWMS_msdn.pngFarrWMS_msdn_web.png
CDDBFarrWMS_cddb.pngFarrWMS_cddb_web.png

and a teaser screencast.

Implementation Notes

FarrWebMetaSearch reads all configuration files in its searches subdirectory when it's being loaded. When the plugin alias (currently wms) is entered, it will list all configured searches. To use a search one would then enter, e.g.:

wms msdn PathAppend

to find MSDN entries for the PathAppend API function.

Search files currently look like this (this is the cddb.conf file):

description=Microsoft Developer Network
searchUrl=http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Search/en-GB?query=
resultPattern=<a onmousedown=\".*\" href=\".*\">(.*)</a>\r\n<br/>\r\n<div class=\"ResultDescription\">(.*)</div>\r\n<div class=\"ResultUrl\">(.*)</div>
farrCaption=$1
farrGroup=$2
farrPath=$3

The regex sub-expressions can (should, actually) be used to form the results.

68
FARR Plugins and Aliases / FARR plugin: FARR Windows Search 0.3.0
« on: April 23, 2009, 04:52 PM »
Description
This plugin allows querying the Windows Search index using FARR. The full power of Windows Search's advanced query syntax is supported. And thanks to hamradio Outlook user will get nice icons when searching for their Outlook emails, contacts, calendar items, tasks and notes!

Screenshot - 4_24_2009 , 2_32_46 AM.png

System requirements
Windows XP SP2 or Windows Vista and Window Search 3 or newer.

Download & Install
Download the FarrWindowsSearch installer attached to this post then double-click FarrWindowsSearchSetup.exe to start the installation. I've tested the installer on both Windows XP and Windows 7 32-bit. If you'd rather install the plugin manually, you can download the zip file attached to this post, then unzip it into the FARR plugins directory (usually C:\Program Files\FindAndRunRobot\Plugins) and restart FARR.

Usage
Type

    ws [search term]
   
to query the Windows Search index.

See Windows Search advanced query syntax for a detailed description of how to narrow and refine your search.

Typing /a at the end of a query will switch to FARR's extended results list mode.

Credits
Thanks to Carroll (hamradio on donationcoder.com forums) for designing the icons!

Version history
0.3.0 - 18. November 2011
  • Added option to use natural language search and made it the default
  • Further attempt to improve stability
  • Removed link to AQS web page as Microsoft removed it
0.2.0 - 18. February 2011
  • Attempt to improve stability
0.1.0 - 23. April 2009
  • First release

69
Sorry mouser to come with this again:

Would it be very hard/risky for you to add the possibility for plugins to query the 'Max. entries to display' user settings?

I think it would enable certain features for plugins using the list view.

70
FARR Plugins and Aliases / Plugin related feature requests
« on: October 21, 2008, 05:54 AM »
During the development of FarrMilk a few things came to my mind which would have given me further possibilities to enhance FarrMilk's user experience. I'd like to put these up for public discussion. None of these are essential for FarrMilk and they could well be totally unnecessary for a lot of other plugins. The reason I post these here (I've sent them to mouser a few weeks ago) is so that other plugin writers can offer their opinion of how useful these features would be to them.

1. It would be good for plugins if they could query (and possibly set) certain FARR options. A couple of examples:
 - With the option 'Hide when focus is lost' set FarrMilk currently can't complete the authorisation process. It would be good if the plugin could temporarily disable that option and put it back once authorisation is complete, or at least tell the user to do so.
 - I'm currently assuming that the user has 'Max. entries to display in normal results' set to 9 (and specify so in the help file). But if the plugin could query this value, it could present certain results in a more dynamic manner, i.e. only using the first (Max - 1) results and make the last one a 'More' entry.
 - Another requirement is that the user is showing the Location column. Well, the plugin works without this but it wouldn't be obvious to the user what he misses. So I think it would be good if the plugin could at least tell the user that he could enable the Location column to enhance his user experience.

2. To further enhance the power of the list view it would be cool if it was possible for plugins to do certain formatting of the output, stuff like bold, italics, etc. and using colours. For FarrMilk I would currently use that to better highlight overdue tasks (currently I print a * behind overdue tasks) and to display the matching part on substring matching of a list name (or whatever), e.g. if the user typed blah '/list=mi' I would print 'List: Farrmilk' to show that it matches the FarrMilk list.

3. Plugins like FarrMilk have no use for the Score value. It would be cool if the Score line in the results could be used like the Location column to display additional information. In FarrMilk I would probably move the URL there or show titles of notes.

4. If plugins could be triggered on keyboard input other than the current Enter / F-key that would offer additional possibilities. In the context of FarrMilk I'm thinking about making it possible to complete tasks by selecting it and the pressing 'c', or deleting it by selecting it and then pressing 'DEL', stuff like that.

71
FARR Plugins and Aliases / FARR plugin: FARR Remember The Milk 1.1.3
« on: September 24, 2008, 09:37 AM »
Description
The FARR Remember The Milk Plugin (FarrMilk) allows you to access your Remember the Milk (RTM) tasks and lists using Find and Run Robot (FARR). A lot of what you can do via the RTM web interface you can do with FarrMilk.

Check out these two video demos (of preliminary versions) to get an idea of what FarrMilk is: Demo 1, Demo 2

Screenshot - 9_24_2008 , 2_48_00 PM.png

What you can and can't do with FarrMilk
Can:
  • View your tasks
  • Filter your tasks by task name, by list, by tag, by priority and by due date
  • Sort your tasks by task name, by priority, by due date, by date added, by date completed and by URL
  • Add new tasks
  • Delete tasks
  • Complete / Uncomplete tasks
  • Move tasks from one list to another
  • Postpone tasks
  • Change a task's properties, including its name, priority, due date, recurrence, time estimate, tags, location and URL
  • Add, edit and delete task notes
  • View your lists
  • Add new lists
  • Delete lists
  • Archive / Unarchive lists
  • View your tags
  • View tasks of your smart lists (with limitations! read About Smart Lists further down)

Can't:
  • Share tasks (missing in the RTM API)
  • Send tasks (missing in the RTM API)
  • Manage contacts and groups (although the RTM API would allow this, I feel it doesn't make much sense without task sharing or sending functionality).
  • Manage locations
  • Create smart lists
  • Modify more than one task at the same time
  • FarrMilk currently doesn't support languages other than English
  • probably more...

Download & Install
Download the FarrMilk installer from here then double-click FarrMilkSetup.exe to start the installation. I've tested the installer on both Windows XP and Windows 7 32-bit. If you'd rather install the plugin manually, you can download it from here, then unzip it into the FARR plugins directory (usually C:\Program Files\FindAndRunRobot\Plugins) and restart FARR.

Getting started
Before you can use FarrMilk you'll have to authorise the plugin to manipulate your RTM account. To do this, open FARR and type rtm, a web browser will open asking you to log into your RTM account. After logging in, press the [OK, I'll allow it] button. Then switch back to the FARR window (which should still be open in the background. If it isn't you probably have set FARR to hide when focus is lost in the Window Mode / Focus settings. Change that to Ignore until authorisation is complete) and hit enter. After a short delay in which your tasks and lists are downloaded you should see the FarrMilk main menu and are ready to go!

Next, type rtm <Enter> to show a list of your tasks or rtm help to learn about the details of using FarrMilk.

All feedback is welcome. Not only about the plugin, but also about the help file.

FEP (frequently encountered problems)
ProblemSolution
When using both FarrMilk and the GooglePlus plugin GooglePlus' options window pops up every time you enter GPIf you are running GooglePlus v1.1 or lower replace GooglePlus' fscript.js file with this one
FarrMilk crashes when you try to select an itemIf you are running any FScript-based plugins make sure they are all using FScript.dll 1.16 or newer (get it from here)

Version history
1.1.3 - 7. November 2011
  • Fixed a crash related to tasks created by email
  • Added info concerning the configuration of proxy servers requiring user / password

1.1.2 - 10. November 2010
  • Tags and Notes now support UTF8 characters
  • Power user command for archiving a list is now 'vl'

1.1.1 - 6. January 2010
  • Renamed 'Parse task name for due date' option to 'Use Smart Add', because that is what it's now doing
  • Updated libcurl

1.1.0 - 12. May 2009
  • Added option 'Highlight exact tag match'
  • Added option 'Highlight search term'
  • Added tool tips to some of the options
  • Implemented sorting by list (/s:l or /sort:list)

Spoiler
1.0.0 - 4. April 2009
  • Added more useful error message in case FarrMilk can't connect to the RTM server
  • Added proxy support (can be set in the Options window)
  • Reversed order of how task properties are specified for sorting in Options window (It's more logical now, but you need to manually update your sorting order!)
  • Priority, tags and list can now be specified in a dialog when adding a task (see 'Adding a task' in help file)

0.4.5 - 8. January 2009
- Added RTM API call throttling to keep requests to 1 request per second

0.4.4 - 14. December 2008
- Fixed bug "can't authenticate after a fresh install of FarrMilk"

0.4.3 - 13. December 2008
- FarrMilk now uses the api endpoint instead of the www endpoint (as was recently suggested by Remember The Milk)

0.4.2 - 10. December 2008
- Fixed bug "can't get the list of tasks from a list with a space in it"
- Store FarrMilk.ini in user's application data directory instead of FarrMilk plugin directory

0.4.0
- The selected task's add date and modified or completed date are now displayed in the status bar
- The selected note's add date and modified date are now displayed in the status bar
- It's now possible to add a new note when a task's existing notes are displayed
- Tasks can now be sorted by date modified (/sm, use /sm- to see most recently modified)
- Renamed sort names /sort:add to /sort:added and /sort:complete to /sort:completed
- When viewing a task's properties, notes or command list pressing Alt+Left (or Ctrl+Backspace) should now always take you back to the last task search if that was done with the tasks or t command

0.3.0 - 13. October 2008
- Added 'Change note of task' to task command list

0.2.0 - 4. October 2008
- Made tasks command more powerful and more intuitive. Instead of showing properties on Enter a command list is now shown. Hitting Shift+Enter will show properties by default but can be configured to complete or postpone the selected task.
- Added change properties command
- Added tasks, lists and tags commands to command auto completion list
- Auto completion list is now sorted according to most likely frequency of use (e.g. add task before add list)
- Completed tasks can now be shown by adding the /completed or /c switch. The switch only applies to the tasks and delete task commands and is always in effect on the uncomplete task command.
- Filtering down to one single task will no longer show the respective task's properties. Instead it will just show as a single task item in the result list. Likewise for the edit note and delete note commands.
- It's now possible to omit display of the list name if the list is Inbox (which is the RTM default list)
- Changed del (power user command to delete a task) to d
- Updated Getting started, Commands and Displaying tasks in the help file

0.1.0 - 29. September 2008
- Changed plugin name to FarrMilk
- trying yet another libcurl DLL (with hopefully better luck this time)

0.0.3 - 28. September 2008
- Fixed wrong processing of notes
- Added Basic concept of operation and Some examples to Getting started help topic
- Added Editing notes help topic

0.0.2
- Added rename list command to help file (the command was already implemented in 0.0.1)
- Changed archive list power user command to cl (from rl, which is used for rename list)
- Added /showall to help file
- changed libcurl DLL to a version without SSL support making the plugin package size smaller

0.0.1 - 24. September 2008
- First release.


72
I'm working on a Remember the Milk plugin for FARR. Remember The Milk is a popular web based task list service. I'm looking for someone to write a help file for that plugin. The help file should be something that can be displayed in a Web Browser (HTML, TiddlyWiki etc.), so it can be displayed right in the new FARR web browser view as well as in an external browser.

I can't offer any money, but I will share donations (if I should get any) with whoever writes the help file and with the guy making the icons, i.e. Hamradio ;). I also hope to create the most amazing FARR plugin the FARR community has seen until today (well, you have to set yourself some goals), and you can be a part of it!

You don't necessarily have to be a professional technical writer. I'm just looking for someone who enjoys technical writing. Being a Remember The Milk user would certainly help, but is not a requirement, it's only a task list application after all.

To get an impression of what the plugin will be like, have a look at this demo video: http://farrrmilk.obj...y.com/FarrRmilk2.avi
(it's about a 6 MB download). Please note that the icons are not the ones designed by Hamradio! I made the ones on the video and yes, they are ugly.

I'll be away the next three weeks and won't be able to read the forum, but I will be able to read and write email (I hope). If you're interested, please send me a private message with your email address so I can send you more details. Note that asking for details is no commitment to take over the job yet ;)

Cheers
Philipp

73
DcUpdater / Feature request: add 'real' description
« on: July 10, 2008, 04:10 AM »
DcUpdater's Description column currently displays more like a name than a description. Especially for the packages available for installation a short description, probably displayed in the yellowish window currently used for the advanced controls on selection of a package, would be very useful. Currently one has to visit a package's website to find out what it does (depending on how descriptive its name is).

Well, I guess it's quite an obvious request and might have been asked for before. Sorry if it has and I didn't see it.

74
Description
The FARR MostRecentlyUsed plugin shows the contents of the 'My Recent Documents' folder or a list of most recently used files of applications storing their most recently used files in the registry.

Screenshot - 7_9_2008 , 9_29_41 PM.png

Download
You can get it from here: http://farrplugins.o...MostRecentlyUsed.zip

Usage
Use the following aliases to give you a list of your most recently used files:
- mru  : Shows a simple menu with the below aliases
- mrum : Shows files in your 'My Recent Documents' (XP) or 'Recent Items' (Vista, but see known issues) folder
- mrup : Shows files of configured programs, storing their MRU files in the registry
- mrua : Show a combined list of files out of mrum and mrup
- mruu : Show files from selected groups only (selectable in the options dialog)
- mrul : Show a list of installed and supported applications for further selection


Use the following modifier keywords to change the search:
+byname   : Force sorting by name
+bydate   : Force sorting by date last accessed
+bymod    : Force sorting by date last modified
+bycreate : Force sorting by date created
+.[ext]   : Filter results by file extension [ext]. More than one can be used, e.g. +.h +.cpp


To show a list of most recently used files for selected applications, use the following modifiers:
+acrobat : Adobe Acrobat Reader (only 9 currently)
+akelpad  : Akelpad
+audacity : Audacity
+dwcs3   : Dreamweaver CS3
+foxit   : Foxit Reader
+icofx   : IcoFX (only 1.6 currently)
+km      : KMPlayer
+msvc8   : MS Visual Studio 2005
+msvc9   : MS Visual Studio 2008
+npp     : Notepad++
+office3 : Microsoft Office 2003
+office7 : Microsoft Office 2007
+oo2     : OpenOffice 2.0
+paint   : Paint
+photoe  : Photoshop Elements (only 5.0 currently)
+snag    : SnagIt
+sql     : SQL Server
+ted     : TED Notepad
+winrar  : WinRAR
+winuae  : WinUAE
+wmp     : Windows Media Player
+wordpad : Wordpad


(built-in group for My Recent Documents)
+recent : My Recent Documents

See readme.txt for options and details.

Version history
1.0.0
- Added / Changed the following applications:
  - Added Visio 2007 to Office 2007 (+office7)

0.5.1
- Modifier entries in FarrMostRecentlyUsed.user now override identical ones in FarrMostRecentlyUsed.config.
- Added / Changed the following applications:
  - Added Akelpad (+akelpad) *
  - Added Audacity (+audacity) *
  - Added icon path for TED Notepad *
  - Added icon path for WinRAR *
  - Added icon path for WinUAE *

0.5.0
- Added support for mru items specified in .ini files
- Added new alias mrul which gives a list of supported and installed applications
- User defined result list option now only shows installed applications
- Added / Changed the following applications:
  - Added Dreamweaver CS3 (+dwcs3) *
  - Added IcoFX 1.6 (+icofx)
  - Changed +oo to +oo2 (in expectance of OpenOffice 3)

0.4.0
- Added icons to the simple menu (thanks hamradio!)
- Added support for the following applications:
  - Adobe Acrobat Reader 9 (+acrobat)
  - Notepad++ (+npp)
  - OpenOffice 2 (+oo)

0.3.0
- Added simple menu (type mru)
- Added special aliases:
  - mrum (My Recent Documents)
  - mrup (Recent Application documents)
  - mrua (All recent documents)
  - mruu (User selected groups of applications / My Recent Documents)
- Much improved filtering and sorting
- Show icons for UNC files
- Added FarrMostRecentlyUsed.user config file. Like FarrMostRecentlyUsed.config, but will never be overwritten.

0.2.0
- Added check for file existence for local files. UNC paths are currently never checked for existence.
- Added MRU specifications for:
  - Microsoft Office 2003 (+office3) *
  - Photoshop Elements (+photoe) *
  - KMPlayer (+km) *
  - SnagIt (+snag) *
  - SQL Server (+sql) *
  - Paint (+paint)
  - TED Notepad (+ted) *
  - WinRAR (+winrar) *
  - WinUAE (+winuae) *
  - Wordpad (+wordpad) *
- Renamed modifier for Microsoft Office 2007 to '+office7'

* Note that I did not test these myself, please report if they don't work.

0.1.0
- initial release

75
Description
The FARR MultiMonitor plugin extends FARR to work better with multiple monitors. FARR's main window currently always shows up on the monitor you moved it to. With the FARR MultiMonitor plugin enabled, FARR's main window will show up on the monitor that contains the currently active window (usually the window of the application you're working in, and also where you're currently looking at) or on the monitor where the mouse currently is.

Additionally, the FARR MultiMonitor plugin can center FARR's main window on the screen.

Download & Install
Download the FarrMultiMonitor installer linked at the bottom of this post, then double-click FarrMultiMonitorSetup.exe to start the installation. I've tested the installer on both Windows XP and Windows 7 32-bit. If you'd rather install the plugin manually, you can also download it from the bottom of this post, then unzip it into the FARR plugins directory (usually C:\Program Files\FindAndRunRobot\Plugins) and restart FARR.

Options
Note that the plugin offers a couple of options which can be set in the FARR advanced plugin options dialog. There's a brief description of these options in the readme file. Also note that the center option is off by default.

Hotkeys
Win + Left : move FARR window to monitor on the left
Win + Right : move FARR window to monitor on the right
Win + Home : center FARR window
Win + Ctrl + 1 .. 0 : resize FARR window to 10% .. 100% of current screen's width

Version history
1.1.0 - 10. May 2009
- added option to resize FARR to a certain percentage of the screen's height when it's activated (make sure to disable FARR auto-shrink option)
- added hotkeys Win + Ctrl + Shift + 1 .. 0 to resize FARR to a certain percentage of the screen's height

1.0.0 - 28. April 2009
- added option to resize FARR to a certain percentage of the screen's width when it's activated
- added hotkeys Win + Ctrl + 1 .. 0 to resize FARR to a certain percentage of the screen's width

0.3.0 - 13. October 2008
- fixes 'displaying FARR on monitor with active window doesn't work anymore'

0.2.0
- added support for moving to next/last monitor and centering with hotkeys

0.1.0
- added option to display FARR on monitor where mouse is, instead of on monitor with active window
- added option to center FARR window only when it appears
- fixed DLL unload problem
- added .dcupdate file

0.0.0.1
- initial release

Pages: prev1 2 [3] 4next