Topics

301

General Software Discussion / Anyone know how to set LastPass to auto login all sites at once?

« on: September 04, 2011, 05:50 PM »

Anyone know how to set LastPass to auto login all sites at once?

I dread the thought of editing each one individually just to tick the box.

Edit: seems like there isn't.  Have to remember to click AutoLogin as I traverse 'em.

302

General Software Discussion / New Folder 2 2.4.2.0

« on: September 02, 2011, 11:47 PM »

New Folder 1.0 Just a simple Hotkey to create a New Folder on Vista or Windows Seven.

Please note Requirements at the top of my hotkeys page:
http://www.favessoft.com/hotkeys.html

Default hotkey is F7 Function Key.

To create a new folder, Desktop or an Explorer Folder Window should be the "active window."  On Windows Seven, it just sends the Control-Shift-n hotkey built into Windows Seven.  On Vista it either provides an InputBox to get the new folder name, of if Desktop is active it just uses macros to use the built in New=>Folder in the context menu.

You may change the hotkey using the .ini file.  See AutoIt3 help file for hotkey syntax.
The readme has a link to the AutoIt3 download page if you want to use a complex hotkey instead of changing the function key number.

303

Living Room / Good Free Windows Grammar Checker?

« on: August 25, 2011, 10:30 PM »

I'm always mixing my tenses.  Looks like I need a grammar checker.  Anyone know anything for Windows7 that's fast, light and effective?

304

General Software Discussion / Comment Explorer 2.5.0.4

« on: August 25, 2011, 04:24 PM »

http://milesaheadsoftware.org

Comment Explorer allows you to add and view Comments for files in Explorer.
It's written as a Hotkey Tray App to avoid Shell Extension Hell.  Should work
on Windows XP and later both 32 and 64 bit.

It requires Scripting.Dictionary be available on the machine.
Up and Down Arrow Keys in Explorer Window will show the
Comment for the file in a ToolTip if it exists. If not, it will
show the file path of the selected file/folder.

To add a Comment, press Shift-F11.


See Readme.txt for usage particulars.
Source is included.  To compile use
AutoHotkey v1.1.22.02 or later.

305

Found Deals and Discounts / EaseUS Todo Backup Free has USB 3.0 support

« on: August 20, 2011, 09:57 PM »

http://www.todo-back...ness/free-backup.htm

I just tried the Linux boot CD made with EaseUS Todo Free edition. To my pleasant surprise it recognized the drives in my SIIG USB 3.0 docks running off SIIG USB 3.0 PCIexpress card.

Even the new Macrium Reflect 5 Pro does not recognize my SIIG card.

I made one backup image after trying the boot CD.  Doesn't have the options that Macrium has, but is much simpler.  Backup My System doesn't ask any questions other than the folder to put the image. It backs up the partition you booted from.  It does look like it may have some features Macrium doesn't like Clone to dissimilar hardware.

The main thing for me right now is avoiding messing around with putting backup images on USB 2.0 drives or using a USB 2.0 dock.  I haven't tried the restore but Macrium restore from USB 2.0 on my systems copied off the source at about 22 MB/s. I'm sure USB 3.0 read will be much faster.

Also if anyone is interested, SIW2 poster on another forum has a utility program that makes a boot CD with a menu to make it easier to use restore type programs.  You can take a look at this thread if you are curious:

http://www.sevenforu...ram.html#post1533753

306

General Software Discussion / FreeBASIC 0.24 Released

« on: August 08, 2011, 11:02 PM »

http://www.freebasic...4ae0e818d0c380823264

If you'd like to try small stand-alone Win32 executables written in Basic then FreeBASIC may be a pleasant surprise.

If you prefer RAD form designer you can get Firefly free dialog designer. See this thread:
https://www.donation...ex.php?topic=27279.0

It doesn't require run-times.  The exe files are stand-alone executable 32 bit apps.  Can produce console or Gui apps.  The standard install comes with a bunch of include files(.bi files) for calling Win32 API functions in system DLLs, as well as other libraries.  If you like the Basic language it's just generally a fun software tool.

Probably the biggest shortcoming on the Windows platform is the dearth of COM support.  There's pretty much nothing built in.  There's a user-written ActiveX tool but it's not simple to use. If you must have something only available in COM then the trick is to code a DLL wrapper in a COM-friendly programming language, as calling functions in DLLs is pretty easy.

Also has versions for other platforms such as Linux.

307

Found Deals and Discounts / USB Safely Remove on GOTD

« on: August 08, 2011, 03:32 PM »

http://www.giveawayo...m/usb-safely-remove/

In case anyone would like to give it a go.

308

General Software Discussion / MakeDiscDir 1.0.0.0

« on: July 26, 2011, 01:43 PM »

MakeDiscDir 1.0.0.0 Command line utility to create empty folders for CD box sets.

You may download from this page:

http://www.favessoft.com/downloads.html

Should run on XP and later flavors of Windows.

Usage: MakeDiscDir N (N > 0 and N < 100)

Basically it just saves some typing.

Example: MakeDiscDir 20 will produce empty
  folders in the current directory named
  D01 D02 .. D20 up to D99 padded with 0
  if needed to sort correctly in Explorer.

See the Readme for details

309

General Software Discussion / Firefly3 Form Designer for FreeBASIC (freeware)

« on: July 10, 2011, 05:19 PM »

I found a form designer for FreeBASIC that's similar to delphi/VB.  It's free and can be downloaded from this page:

http://www.freebasiccompiler.com/

The latest FreeBASIC release for Win32 can be downloaded here:

http://www.freebasic...t/index.php/download

This is nice.  Place controls on a form etc..  The only thing that threw me at first was figuring out how to get stuff out of the control(such as text from the text control.) If you press F8 you get a dialog of user written functions to make it easier.

Like Delphi or VB you can compile and run from the IDE and not deal with a Window Procedure.  The screen shot below is an app I did to try it out. It weighs in as a 50 KB stand-alone exe.

310

General Software Discussion / Macrium Reflect has released V 5

« on: July 07, 2011, 03:57 PM »

http://www.macrium.com/personal.aspx

According to the support forum, V 5 for Free Edition is still several months down the road.

311

General Software Discussion / Finally started really using Template.ahk

« on: June 24, 2011, 12:01 AM »

Duh!!  After copying and pasting Tray Menu stuff, about box code, yadda yadda that I put in 90% of my AHK scripts, I finally made them generic and put them in Template.ahk.

So now when I right click in Explorer to make a new ahk script, then edit, it has all that custom tray menu, name the .ini file boiler plate already in.

312

General Software Discussion / Adjust Work Area 1.0.0.1

« on: June 16, 2011, 05:28 PM »

Adjust Work Area 1.0.0.0

http://www.favessoft.com/downloads.html

Command line utility to set the desktop work area to specific values.

Usage:  awa  Left Top Right Bottom (e.g. awa 0 0 1024 740)

Usage: awa
by itself displays the current work area and parameter info.

Note: I replaced Set Work Area with a FreeBASIC command line awa.exe that's only 81 KB.

313

General Software Discussion / Trim Work Area 1.1.0.0

« on: June 14, 2011, 07:13 PM »

http://www.favessoft.com/downloads.html

  Trim Work Area is a simple utility that allows you
  to trim from the Left, Top,Right and Bottom of
  the desktop work area by a number of pixels
  using ini file settings.  This only effects the area
  used when a window is maximized.  It doesn't
  keep applications from moving into the margin
  area.

  You may find it useful especially if you use toolbars
  that auto hide, or if you have your taskbar set to
  auto hide.

  Requirements:  Windows XP or later.
  Tested on a single monitor setup only.

314

General Software Discussion / Taskbar Gap 1.5.1.0

« on: June 11, 2011, 07:42 PM »

Taskbar Gap 1.0.0.0 Tray hotkey to toggle desktop work area.  PercentGap .ini file option to set the size of the Taskbar Gap.  Taskbar Gap stores the current work area on start up. On close it resets it to the saved value.

Sorry but I only have a single monitor setup. I can't support multiple monitors.

Hitting Alt-F7 hotkey or double clicking the Tray Icon toggles the work area setting.
The Tray Icon changes to indicate the current setting(gap or no gap.)

It is free for you to use at your own risk.
You can download from my hotkeys page:
http://www.favessoft.com/hotkeys.html

See About Taskbar Gap command in Tray Menu for particulars.
Also a Readme file is enclosed.

When the Taskbar Gap is in effect you should be able to maximize windows normally and have them respect the gap next to the Taskbar.

315

General Software Discussion / Chrome "about:blank" hack for Windows

« on: June 10, 2011, 08:24 PM »

If you use "about:blank" in settings to get a chrome based browser to start with a blank page you may notice it comes up with "about:blank" in the Address Bar and the caret at the beginning of the line.  It forces you to delete about:blank before you can type in a url or search string.

This little AutoIt3 hack sits in the tray and watches for a window title starting with "about:blank" and window text that's also "about:blank"(the text in the Address Bar.)

If it gets a match it sends keys to remove about:blank allowing you to type stuff in right away.  The hack is an AutoIt3 script meaning it runs on Windows XP or later. You can get the AutoIt tools to run and/or compile the script here:
http://www.autoitscr...te/autoit/downloads/

This is just a hack until the Chromium guys get around to fixing it.

[Select]

;  Chrome Blanker for Windows XP or later
;
;  For those who start a Chrome based browser
;  using about:blank to get a blank page.
;
;  This watches for "about:blank" in both the
;  window title and text(the address bar).
;
;  Removes about:blank from address bar.
;  This allows you to type in a url or
;  search string right away.
;
;  Author:  MilesAhead
;
$title = "about:blank"
$text = "about:blank"

_EmptyWorkingSet()

While 1
If WinGetTitle($title, $text) Then
If WinActivate($title, $text) Then
Send("{F6}")
Send("{Del}")
_EmptyWorkingSet()
ContinueLoop
EndIf
EndIf
Sleep(250)
WEnd

Func _EmptyWorkingSet()
Local $ai_Return = DllCall("psapi.dll", 'int', 'EmptyWorkingSet', 'long', -1)
Return $ai_Return[0]
EndFunc   ;==>_EmptyWorkingSet

316

General Software Discussion / Shift Kicker 1.1.1.7

« on: June 07, 2011, 12:58 AM »

You may download this utility from my Hotkey Page

  ShiftKicker is a Tray Hotkey

  Install:  None.  Unzip to an empty folder.

  Uninstall:  Delete folder made above.

  Usage:  Hotkey sits in the task tray.  Hold down shift key
  while clicking the mouse on a Window's Maximize Button
  to "maximize" with a TaskBar Gap.

  Creates ShiftKicker.ini file in same folder as ShiftKicker.exe.
  The size of the gap next to the TaskBar can be set using
  the PercentGap ini file option.  This is the percentage of
  screen width or height depending on the location of
  the TaskBar.

  Note that this is a "hack" as it just resizes the maximized
  window.  Clicking again normally restores the window
  to its original position and size.

  For this to work with Explorer windows the Folder View
  option "show full path in address bar" should be enabled.
  TaskBar AutoHide option should be disabled.

317

General Software Discussion / MaxaMiser 1.3

« on: June 01, 2011, 10:05 PM »

MaxaMiser 1.0

Since I've been playing around with window sizing and placement leaving a gap for the TaskBar, I thought it time to write something very simple to semi-maximize a window. I use RocketDock and it's too annoying when it gets covered.

MaxaMiser sits in the Tray.  Alt Up Arrow adjusts the active window.  If the window is truly maximized, nothing happens. This is to avoid confusing the state of the window tracked by the OS.  Otherwise, the size and position is saved in an associative array(Scripting.Dictionary to the rescue again.) Then it's sized to the screen dimensions except for a gap by the TaskBar.  Use the .ini file option to set the gap size.

A test is done to see if the window is already MaxaMised with previous position info stored.  If so, it's repositioned and sized using the stored info.

For apps it uses the basename of the app.  Notepad for notepad.exe etc. as the key in the array.  For Explorer windows it prepends "Explorer_" so for C:\ window you'd get "Explorer_C:\" as the key.  For this reason MaxaMising multiple views of the same folder will overwrite position info.  Last one saved wins.

If you find it's not working at all with Explorer windows try setting "show full path in title bar" Explorer view setting to enabled.

See Readme.txt for details.


http://www.favessoft.com/hotkeys.html

318

General Software Discussion / KeyDrive 2.6.1.0

« on: May 26, 2011, 04:31 PM »

http://www.favessoft.com/hotkeys.html

KeyDrive is a Tray Hotkey for opening an Explorer window to the root of a drive letter. See the About command in Tray Menu for description of the hotkeys.

New in v. 1.8.0.0.  Except when showing 2 drives side by side, the cursor is placed in the edit box after the drive window is opened in Explorer.  This makes it convenient to navigate the drive using sequential search.

Note that prompts and error messages are displayed using ToolTips.  After you use it a few times you'll know what the message is going to say. It serves as an unobtrusive indicator that the hotkey fired or the drive doesn't exist(for example a network or USB drive that's no longer mapped to a letter.)

Inspired by app's letter hotkeys for each disk drive utility.

319

General Software Discussion / Fold 2.2.1.0

« on: May 24, 2011, 12:21 AM »

Fold 1.0.0.0  Fold.exe is a command line Windows utility for XP and later.  Although it really shines on Windows Seven.  It reads a plain text file of folder names, then opens and places them on the desktop.

You may download from this page:
http://www.favessoft.com/downloads.html

I found even though I wrote several hotkey tools for opening recent folders, that there were combinations of folders I used many times and I still had not come up with an easy way to open them as a set.  File managers with quad windows may be a solution but I haven't found a free one that seemed stable and predictable.

The basic idea of Fold is you feed it a file of folder names.  If the number of folders is 4 or less the vertical space used is limited to 95% of the vertical desktop work area.  This should leave enough room for stuff like RocketDock and other gizmos kept just above the TaskBar.

At the moment it's hard wired with TaskBar at the bottom.
If there are more than 4 folders, all windows are minimized first, to avoid app windows being resized, then the folders are opened and placed using the OS horizontal tiling API.

See the Readme for details.
Before gasping in horror at the thought of typing at the command line, see the Suggestion in the Readme.  If you are on Windows7 it's very easy to associate .fld extension with Fold.exe and pin folder sets to the Fold icon on SuperBar.  Once you make a few sets of folders you can just right click, then click and Bingo!!  A set of folders you use together comes up.

If you don't want to register a file type association then I suggest putting a shortcut to Fold.exe in your SendTo folder.

Another nice feature of using this on Windows7, when you're done right click the Explorer shortcut on SuperBar and click Close All Windows.

Anyway, here's a screen shot of 4 folders opened just by clicking an .fld file.

320

General Software Discussion / Windows7 Navigation Pane Customizer

« on: May 21, 2011, 08:28 PM »

I was looking for a way to change the order of shortcuts in the Explorer Navigation Pane. Turns out it really can't be done. (You can drag Favorites around, but not the other shortcuts.) I wanted Computer at the top. But I achieved nearly the effect I wanted using:
http://www.door2wind...rer-navigation-pane/

I only left Libraries and Computer enabled. I collapsed Libraries and expanded Computer. Now to change to another drive I don't have to vertical scroll.

Plus it does not require a reboot. When you click Apply you can see Explorer gets restarted as the desktop flickers for a second. Nice little freebie!!

321

General Software Discussion / Chromium 15.0.847.0 Build 95771

« on: May 07, 2011, 02:01 AM »

I'm just trying Chromium nightly snapshop from the win32 zip file:
http://build.chromiu...omium/snapshots/Win/

edit: they changed the ftp link so I edited the url above.

So far I don't see any obvious bugs. But it feels a tad snappier than the 12.x snapshot I have been running.  So far so good.  The nice thing about the zip just save your Chromium folder from settings and your old Chromium zips.  You can go back very easily if you encounter a bug.

Main thing is when you overwrite the Chromium program folder, wherever you put it, don't erase the Dictionaries or extensions folders.  Then just copy all the stuff in from the new zip. I only have 3 tabs open and TaskManager shows a dozen copies of chrome.exe running!! That may account for it!!  But it sure feels fast!!




edit: so far AutoCopy extensions don't seem to work.  There's always a "gotcha'"

322

General Software Discussion / ReRun 2.4.4.2

« on: April 23, 2011, 11:45 PM »

ReRun 1.0  ReRun is yet another simple Tray Hotkey. It's designed to be run at Windows Startup. It watches the active window. If it finds an exe, it gets the path and icon.  When you hit the Hotkey(default is F9 function key) it pops up a Gui with 10 Buttons.  The List of apps is MRU starting at the left hand side.

The idea is if you close a program, then want to open it again, press the Hotkey and it should be near the start of the list.

I recommend starting with Windows since program items are not saved between runs. If you run ReRun and pop it up right away, chances are the list may be empty.  For programs you run constantly other launch methods are preferable.  This is just an OOPS hotkey to ReRun something closed inadvertently.

I have ReOpen but I wanted something that displayed the icons instead of just text.
Which reminds me, active Buttons show the program name in a Tooltip if you hover the mouse.

Free for you to use at your own risk.

For now I'll attach the latest version here.  If no big bugs are found I'll upload to the web page.

Edit: may be downloaded now from:
http://milesaheadsoftware.tk/

323

Living Room / Don't Yank My Chain

« on: April 21, 2011, 04:22 PM »

Here's a good link if you think a poster is just yanking your chain:

Don't Yank My Chain

324

Found Deals and Discounts / $7 off w/ promo code 7OFFVERDVD, ends 4/17 Verbatim DVD+r 16x 100 spindle

« on: April 17, 2011, 09:02 PM »

Sorry posting so late but I just noticed this at newegg.  With the promo discount it brings the per disc price down to $0.18 for 16x DVD5.

http://www.newegg.co...17-507-003-_-Product

I've been using these purple cake box spindles whether on sale at OfficeMax or NewEgg for quite awhile without issues.  Whenever I see them for a quarter a disc or less I get a spindle.  Not the inket printable kind, but I use a Sharpie marker anyway.

325

General Software Discussion / OneKey 2.0.5.0

« on: April 14, 2011, 09:04 PM »

This is yet another tray hotkey.  The idea this time is a hotkey dedicated to launching a single shortcut, or data file, or exectuable/batch file.  If you have one thing that you open constantly but you don't want to mouse for it or use a spot on the Super Bar or whatnot, you can use this to have it launch with a function key press.

Default hotkey is F11.  Hotkey can be changed via Tray Menu or by command line param.  Pressing the hotkey before the launch file has been initialized, or using the Set Shortcut or File to Launch command in the Tray Menu, brings up an input box.  Simply type in or paste the path to the file/shortcut.

I tried a file open dialog first, but it was a pita navigating to start menu or program files etc. I thought the simple Input Box was better since you can just use Explorer Copy As Path command or just type the path in manually.  The nice thing is it doesn't care about quotes. You can Copy As Path then Paste and just leave the double quotes on if you like.

On program quit, it writes OneKey.ini in the same folder as the exe to save hotkey and path info.

Data files open with the appropriate program via Windows file type association.

You may download from my page:

http://www.favessoft.com/hotkeys.html

As usual, it's free for you to use at your own risk.  Donations via Tray Menu command, or otherwise, appreciated.