Messages

26

General Software Discussion / Re: Adobe Acrobat - is there an alternative?

« on: May 02, 2017, 03:10 AM »

One example of strange behaviour with Adobe Acrobat Pro (on Win7, 64-bit): I just tried to save a single 192kb .jpg image as PDF with Acrobat, and 15 minutes later it is still work-in-progress, saying it is creating it. It also threw up a strange Dopus error that I have never seen before (I was saving it from a Dopus image viewer), saying Dopus might be unstable afterwards (though it carried on as fine). When I tried to print the image with the free CutePDF Writer, it created it in like one second with no problems.

So how is it that the expensive product of the company that created the PDF format can't handle a tiny task like that?

27

General Software Discussion / Re: What is now the best dialog box enhancer/extender?

« on: April 22, 2017, 10:38 AM »

DF developer [user]DesertEagle[/user] occasionally frequents the forums.

-lanux128 (February 21, 2011, 07:37 AM)

Hey @DesertEagle,

you may want to tell Alternatives.to that Direct Folders has risen again (as it's designated as "discontinued" on there):

Direct Folders Alternatives and Similar Software - AlternativeTo.net

28

General Software Discussion / Re: What is now the best dialog box enhancer/extender?

« on: April 22, 2017, 10:34 AM »

Direct Folders is back! V. 3.8 has just been released. Also 50% off today.

Direct Folders 3.8 + 50% discount – Code Sector Blog

Added: “Command prompt here” command
Added: “Show hidden files” option
Added: “Show file name extension” option
Added: Total Commander 9.0 support.

The fine print:
– After you purchase Direct Folders Pro it may be used indefinitely.
– Upgrades to future versions of the software will be free for the lifetime of the product.
– Direct Folders Pro is licensed per user, so if more people are going to use Direct Folders Pro you will need to purchase additional copies.
– Each license allows installation on all owned computers, and Direct Folders Pro may be used at exactly the same time on each of them.
– Transfer of a license to another owned computer is allowed.
– License activation isn’t required.

29

General Software Discussion / Re: Text program with good search for tablet? (Windows, Android, iPad)

« on: April 15, 2017, 08:51 AM »

There are now convertible Chromebooks that also run Android, such as the Asus Chromebook Flip, Asus C302CA, and the Samsung Chromebook Plus.

They are fully functional computers (with built-in keyboard), if you can live within Chrome OS and Android.

For your list you could use web apps such as WorkFlowy.

You might need a mobile broadband dongle, when you're away from wifi.

30

General Software Discussion / Re: Adobe Acrobat DC

« on: April 12, 2017, 04:15 PM »

Have you tried to open it with other PDF viewers or editors?

Adobe Acrobat DC Alternatives and Similar Software - AlternativeTo.net

31

General Software Discussion / Re: Adobe Acrobat - is there an alternative?

« on: April 11, 2017, 09:31 AM »

Reader can be fast, but it can also be slow.  Depends on the PDF.  I find that PDF XChange opens at the same speed no matter the PDF, which is why I always switch my default to it.

-wraith808 (April 11, 2017, 06:54 AM)

I was commenting more on launching the app. If I am opening a PDF file without the app running yet, then Acrobat Pro launches more quickly than PDF-XChange. Once they are both running, this difference disappears when opening additional files.

32

Living Room / Re: best portable device to read pdf and research web

« on: April 10, 2017, 06:23 PM »

Any Chromebook + Kami (for PDF reading and annotation).

Chromebooks are highly portable (especially the convertable ones with small form factors, such as the Asus Chromebook Flip), have long-lasting batteries (8-12 hrs), are possibly the fastest machines for browsing, and you can save your PDFs in Google Drive.

33

General Software Discussion / Re: Adobe Acrobat - is there an alternative?

« on: April 10, 2017, 06:14 PM »

Did you buy a pro version of PDF XChange Editor? I have a free version, and as far as I can tell, it can't do things like combine several pdf pages into one pdf file.  Can yours do that?  A friend keeps suggesting that I simply break down and buy Adobe Acrobat Pro. He claims it will do everything. I'm not a big Adobe fan, so I'd prefer to use alternatives, as long as I can do what I want. But for combining files, I wound up sending all the separate pdfs to him and he combined them with Adobe. 

-cyberdiva (April 10, 2017, 08:56 AM)

Yes, I have the Pro version (where you can indeed combine PDFs and do a lot more). Actually I started with the free version of XChange Viewer and used it for years, until I realised that I loved it so much I should really buy the Pro version. And then along the line there was a promotion and I upgraded to XChange Editor Pro.

Well, I haven't done a line-by-line comparison, but my sense is that XChange Editor Pro can do more than Adobe Acrobat Pro, or at least in a more intuitive way and better. I'm still testing Adobe Pro, but I have already run into a few situations where I got frustrated and switched back to XChange.

Also, I find the XChange developers quite responsive. I sent them several ideas when Editor was being developed and they were very good at engaging with me, and some of them got implemented.

One thing I like about XChange is how highly customisable it is. I often need to convert PDFs into images, and you can automate a lot of the repetitive tasks, such as saving the folder location, generating custom file names according to templates (such as adding date and time etc.) and so on.

34

General Software Discussion / Re: Adobe Acrobat - is there an alternative?

« on: April 09, 2017, 04:38 PM »

https://www.tracker-...t/pdf-xchange-editor

-wraith808 (April 09, 2017, 08:51 AM)

+1.

I've used PDF XChange Editor for many years, but recently I got to also install Acrobat Pro, so I made it my default app, to try it out. I found I much prefer PDF XChange Editor.

The only advantage I could find of Acrobat is that it seems to open files faster (or at least the app launches faster when you open the first file). But otherwise XChange is so much more user-friendly and customisable.

35

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« on: March 25, 2017, 09:54 AM »

Windows 10 is recording everything you type - here's how to stop Microsoft tracking you | Daily Star

It's emerged that Microsoft's latest computer friendly operating system has been recording everything you've typed since it first launched without you knowing.

That means everything from your boring work documents to your private emails, via that occasional smutty instant message to your partner, has been tracked.

More than that, if you've made voice searches, all of your vocal commands and message dictations have been recorded too.

Although you can opt out of the feature in Settings, worryingly with every major Windows 10 update released, it's claimed that Microsoft has reset the feature to on as default.

36

General Software Discussion / Re: I Think I did

« on: March 18, 2017, 08:49 AM »

I'm not sure if I'm following what you're after. Maybe Flying Logic?

P.S. It looks like InfoQube can also do task dependencies and Gantt charts.

37

General Software Discussion / Re: I Think I did

« on: March 17, 2017, 08:47 PM »

Natara Bonsai (desktop version), if you can convince the owner to sell you a license.

38

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows moving around after monitors wake up

« on: February 10, 2017, 07:00 PM »

Another thread with people crying for solution:
https://social.techn...forum=w7itprogeneral

-mouser (February 09, 2017, 08:13 PM)

Hmm, having looked at that thread, maybe I should install the drivers for the newer HP monitors at my work where I experience this problem. As I said, I don't have this problem with the older LG monitors at home (for which I do have drivers installed).

So in my case it's definitely not about whether it's DisplayPort or VGA because I use the same connectors in both places. The only difference is the brand and age of the monitors and the fact that I haven't installed the drivers for the monitors at work. Otherwise it's the same laptop with the same Win 7, 64-bit, same hardware, same everything.

39

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows moving around after monitors wake up

« on: February 04, 2017, 03:31 PM »

This problem seems to have something to do with specific types of monitors (and not with the type of connection in my experience). At home I plug in two older LG monitors and even if I manually shut off the monitors, the extended desktops stay in place. But at work I have newer HP monitors and if I turn those off, my Win7 laptop disconnects the extended desktops and moves the windows back to the laptop monitor. I normally turn my monitors on and off just to help me focus on one monitor (and one task) when I need to, but I can't do that with the HP monitors as it's just too messy with stuff moving out of place. BTW, in both locations, I use the same connector types: one VGA and one DisplayPort.

40

Living Room / Re: Do you use a Portrait mode monitor?

« on: February 01, 2017, 05:01 PM »

I'm very grateful for this thread to have given me the impetus to try a portrait monitor, as I've been using one, in fact two (side-by-side), every day, ever since then. I also have a third monitor in landscape mode, as normally I find that I need both orientations during a working day.

Thankfully one can buy rotating monitors these days, so it's a trivial matter to rotate them as the need changes, sometimes several times a day. But it's mainly portrait-portrait-landscape for me (from left to right), with the central portrait monitor facing me.

 

P.S. @mouser - I don't have a problem with angling the head. I drop the edge of the portait monitors right down to desk level, slightly tilted, so my eye level with my head held straight is towards the top quartile. But the landscape one needs to be on a stand, so I can just rotate my head, instead of having to look down. So as long as your desk is the correct height ergonomically, the portait monitor should be fine.

41

General Software Discussion / Re: Requires Solution for Windows 7

« on: January 09, 2017, 03:48 PM »

This worked for me (sorry if it's same as Miles', no time to compare)

Toshiba external hard drive not visible Windows 7 - Microsoft Community

42

General Software Discussion / Re: Chrome Extensions: Your favorite or most useful

« on: November 09, 2016, 02:27 PM »

I like uBlock Origin. I find it a lot faster than AdBlock Plus, and extremely effective in blocking advertising.

It's true that at times it can be oversensitive, such as with complex webpages when they try to load combo boxes into an existing page, or with certain shopping cart pages, but I just learnt to untick it for those particular pages only.

To specifically control ads and annoying behaviour on YouTube I recommend "Magic Actions for YouTube." It gives you a lot of options to select or deselect individual YouTube features.

43

N.A.N.Y. 2017 / Re: NANY 2017: Calculor - A Live, Handy, Dandy, Inline Calculator

« on: November 08, 2016, 04:09 AM »

Is there a keyboard shortcut to call it up (like FARR)?

44

General Software Discussion / Re: Chrome Extensions: Your favorite or most useful

« on: November 05, 2016, 07:21 PM »

Here are my favourites (using them on Windows and in several Chromebooks):

- Chrome extensions:
  -  Awesome Screenshot: Screen capture...
  - Calendar and Countdown
  - Clip to WorkFlowy
  - Clipboard History
  - Cloudy Calculator
  - Cool Clock
  - Create Link
  - Data Saver
  - Docs PDF/PowerPoint Viewer (by Google)
  - Extensions Update Notifier
  - Extensity
  - Google Docs Offline
  - Google Hangouts
  - Google Keep Chrome Extension
  - Google Translate
  - Kami - PDF and Document Markup
  - Magic Actions for YouTube™
  - Office Editing for Docs, Sheets & Slides
  - painter for workflowy.com
  - Reddit Enhancement Suite
  - Send from Gmail (by Google)
  - Speed Dial 2
  - Stylish
  - Tab Activate
  - Tab Scissors
  - uBlock Origin

- Chrome apps:
  - Caret
  - Chrome Remote Desktop
  - Cog - System Info Viewer
  - File System for Dropbox
  - Google Docs
  - Google Drive
  - Google Sheets
  - Kami - PDF and Document Markup
  - MindMup 2.0 For Google Drive
  - Split and Merge by Kami
  - TeamViewer
  - VMware Horizon Client
  - WorkFlowy

P.S. And an easy way to extract a list of your favourite Chrome extensions and apps is to install the Extensity extension, which allows you to copy the whole list of your extensions and apps.

45

General Software Discussion / Re: Firefox Extensions: Your favorite or most useful

« on: November 05, 2016, 07:03 PM »

@Curt - there is one:

Chrome Extensions: Your favorite or most useful - DonationCoder.com

46

Living Room / Re: computer not recognizing scanner

« on: November 03, 2016, 04:32 AM »

This helped me in the past:

https://weblogs.asp....to-open-twain-source

47

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: PIM-related Mini-Reviews ("also-ran").

« on: November 01, 2016, 07:11 PM »

Sure, you can turn down the screen brightness...  But then you might miss the fact that Pimlical can sync all the custom colours of Google Calendar events! How many other calendar apps can do that?

48

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: PIM-related Mini-Reviews ("also-ran").

« on: November 01, 2016, 06:26 PM »

I know you meant system but Pimlical and attractive in the same sentence? 

-rgdot (November 01, 2016, 05:35 PM)

You've got to open your eyes and heart to its inner beauty 

“Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.”
― Kahlil Gibran

49

General Software Discussion / Re: (urgent) Need AMD/ATI Catalyst Software: CCC 15.7 WHQL - Windows 7 BSOD

« on: November 01, 2016, 04:36 PM »

brotherS, I feel your pain. Let us know how you get on.

50

General Software Discussion / Re: mystery icon

« on: October 14, 2016, 01:13 PM »

You could have used Glarysoft's very own Security Process Explorer to find it...