Topics

1

General Software Discussion / Alomware Toolbox looks interesting with alot of tools

« on: April 11, 2023, 11:16 AM »

Anyone heard of or use AlomWare Toolbox? I am wondering what out there might have a similar feature set or if anyone has tried it and had positive or negative experiences with it?

I originally was looking into it because it will OCR screenshots using window’s native OCR, but then I noticed it has a lot of other neat features all bundled into a nice interface and a portable app. 

The website https://www.alomware.com/features.html does a better job describing the program features, but in short it consists of a:

Macro recorder and AHK like automation.
Clipboard history manager with text manipulations as well as a screenshot manager with OCR.  (I do like link Clipboard Help& Spell more)
File Explorer “power” user options with scripting, file search  and folder watching and file backup
PC Desktop State management
Calendar and Scheduler with scripting
Plain text notes with the option to encrypt
various other window tweaks

Folder watching seems like it offers versioning.    I am a longtime fan of portableapps, and I think you can bundle many applications to get a similar feature set, but I like how this is packaged and I think it looks intuitive enough that non-power users could use it and enjoy the benefits.

It is in beta.

2

Found Deals and Discounts / FileCenterDMS 50% Off

« on: April 14, 2022, 09:47 AM »

I know a number of people who use this software professionally in their firms. I am considering buying it.  Figured I would share it here.  Maybe others have experience with it.

https://www.bitsdujo...ware/filecenter-dms/

3

General Software Discussion / XML Viewer editor with exporting?

« on: June 08, 2021, 01:48 PM »

I am trying to replace a viewer that is now longer working.  I need a user friendly program that can open many xml files organized in hundreds of folders that were generated daily.  After opening them, I would like to be able to view, edit, and export the data as well, if possible. 

The viewer that is no longer working used to display all of the xml information in a table consisting of 9 columns, though from looking at the files in notepad, the viewer ignored alot of the data.

Once it loaded the data, it would be displayed in a a table and could be sorted by column, edited, searched and exported.  It would be great if it would be possible to do that with another application, but just being able to view the data and edit it would be a great help.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

Any suggestions or ideas?

4

Automatic Screenshotter / Automatic ScreenShotter Thoughts

« on: March 09, 2021, 02:10 PM »

What a great application.  Tried this out for a number of hours and it worked really well.  I was toggling between Email, a Word processing document and the browser. My use case was keeping a somewhat searchable visual log of what I had done/was doing.

The only issue I ran into was when deleting the images from the internal screenshot browser. I needed to back out of the folder containing the images I had deleted and then navigate back in for the image thumbnails to disappear.

I figured I would leave a few quick comments and thoughts.  I put some thoughts in this thread already regarding more file/window context in the filename. Add window title to custom naming

I think that for my use case, having program specific profiles for capture would be useful.  When I am in the word processing program, I do not need as frequent captures.  In fact captures based on pixel difference seemed enough.  When in my email client I could see it being helpful to capture only emails that had been opened in a new window or that I was replying/forwarding or composing.  If it is possible to utilize the windows title like mentioned in the other thread,  then I wonder if it would be possible  to only screen capture windows with "re:" or "fwd:" or some other keyword in the window name, as that would limit the number of captures when working in the email client. I imagine that having application specific capture profiles could be difficult to implement. What might be easier is having different profiles and being able to switch between them with a hot key.

I really liked the capture when shifting the focus window, but with the task I was doing,  it resulted in many unneeded captures. I wonder if it would be possible to set to not capture with a focus change, IF  a focus change capture was made within a certain amount of time, or IF a focus change was made between two specific applications within a certain time?

Having captures during certain events might also be helpful.  Like when saving a file.  It would be important to capture after the input, so perhaps using the pixel compare to wait until a certain number of characters were input before doing the capture?

When browsing web pages, there just was not a way I see to make screen captures work better.  Having a separate profile might help.  Maybe turning off captures when if scrolling? I have a scroll button on my mouse

I also wish there was a way of choosing the frame of a specific window, to cut out the stuff I really dd not need for my uses. So for instance,  the menu bar and tool bar on the word processor and in the email compose client.  I do not think there is a way to auto select the inner most frame.   I did see the user could define a specific area to be captured. Which is a way to make this work.


If someone were using this to audit their time, I could see it being helpful to add a "project" tag and be able to apply that tag to the captures being collected. 

Again. Really cool application.

5

General Software Discussion / Driver Backup Utility

« on: March 02, 2021, 08:04 PM »

Does anyone use or have a recommendations for a utility that can track and back-up the drivers on a Windows10 PC? Last month, my laptop's built in web camera stopped working.  I had difficulty locating the drivers for the camera from the manufacturer website because of the laptop's age and because it was running an "unsupported " OS.  The pc had XP on it when purchased. I then upgraded to Windows 7, and then I upgraded it to Windows 10.  Windows 10 upgrade utility took care of migrating the drivers during the upgrade.  I am not sure if it is using a manufacturer driver or a generic windows 10 driver.

This got me thinking about backing up drivers, after years of being able to find them when I need them.

Interestingly, enough the web cam started working again, and I would like to grab the drivers while it is working and visible in device manager.
Anyone have any experience with this?

5 tools to backup drivers RaymondCC

6

General Software Discussion / Windows Explorer "File manager" Alternative

« on: February 03, 2021, 10:20 PM »

I am looking for a file manager that has as many of these features listed below as possible.  I cannot believe I have been suffering with windows explorer since upgrading to windows 10.   I have listed what I am looking for in order of importance. 

Hoping someone can help me narrow things down as there are so many file managers/ comparison tools.

1) Retains/preserves date created when copying files from one folder to another (important)
2) Allows you to compare files and find duplicates using criteria beyond the file name and file size
3) Can search contents of files (open office, MS Word, text files) when searching
4) Can index and include external hard drives and directories not currently connected to the system.
5) integrated viewer that allowed you to compare the content of files (like scooter software’s  beyond compare)
6) Ability to synchronize files across network
7) Provides the ability to add tags (automatically would be great)
8) Provides a way to make a note on a file ( specifically on audio/video) files
9) has portable version

While I like free and open source, I am not married to "free" 

Looking at Directory Opus, Total Commander, XYplorer, xplorer2, Altap Salamander, Free Commander, Beyond Compare

7

Screenshot Captor / Rotate text box

« on: October 09, 2020, 12:12 PM »

After you create a text box  on a screenshot, is it possible to rotate that text box?

8

General Software Discussion / Repair MP4 video

« on: July 20, 2020, 12:27 PM »

I was recording a video to MP4 using OBS and the system shut down unexpectedly.  I have a 40omb file that will not play.  I tried to use VLC to convert it, but it will not work. Does anyone know of any tricks?
https://www.makeuseo.../fix-corrupt-videos/
 Have not tried Video Repair from Grau GmbH for Windows yet.  Seems like there might be better options.

Any recommendations?

9

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

« on: July 01, 2020, 09:44 AM »

So I came across this deal which was suppose to expire yesterday. It is still going... maybe because of time zones or maybe it will be extended.
Here is the initial link I saw.
https://www.computer...etail-right-now.html
It takes you here
https://software.pcworld.com/


I believe PCworld used to be a pretty big magazine if I am not mistaken so I am guessing this is legit. That is what I am going on.
Looking at other deals in the forum there is this post that links to a deal from download crew.  It seems like it is an identical deal and the site looks pretty similar. 

10

General Software Discussion / mouse mover jiggler recommendations

« on: June 25, 2020, 01:12 PM »

I am in need of a standalone/portable app that I can run on a system that will keep system from going to sleep and applications from timing out.

I am curious if anyone has any experience with an application they would recommend
A list of contenders

11

Living Room / Assisted/Automated video conferencing, photo sharing etc brainstorming

« on: April 22, 2020, 12:07 AM »

I am trying to brainstorm options that might help an number of elderly/  severely “technology challenged people" (here after referred to as TCP ) to view photos/video messages, video chat and maybe even receive messages in as easily way as possible.  The need has been brought to the forefront given covid19.  One family friend’s neighbor has agreed to let them use their wifi if I can provide them with a system. The issue is they cannot grasp how to use the laptop. In fact they are really intimidated by it. 

They are not alone.  I have about a dozen TCPs in my immediate family/friends circle who missed the technology boat.  They do not own a pc, tablet or a smartphone and have really never used a computer.   They all have used the television (sometimes a vcr or dvd player), though more than few have had difficulty switching between video sources on their television. 

The idea is to set up a system; a laptop or a tablet (with camera) that that somehow helps automate the sharing/connecting that many of us who did not miss the technology boat do with ease.  Actually it would be preferable if the system did not need to be navigated at all.

The way I imagine the system operating would be:
After turning on, the system boots into a "friends and family" slide show. 
Ability to remotely feed images into a slide show using cloud service (see inspiration below).
Video calling device automatically interrupts slide show with an accept video call except call / decline call button.
Ending call goes back to slide show.
Ability to send a message (text) to system.  Closing message(s) resumes family/ friends slide show.
Ability to remote into the system to reset or “help” user use the system.

Of course there are many other functions. This helps the TCP recieve, but not necessarily initiate.  The TCP can call a friend and relative on their landline and ask them to video call them.  This would mean the TCPs would only need to know how to
a) Turn on and off device
b) accept/ decline and maybe clear video calls/messages.
 

I feel this could be a good way to repurposed some older laptops / tablets I have in my possession.  Maybe installing Linux mint (operating system)  + jami (video conferencing) + nextcloud desktop app (to sync a photo video folders with a cloud share for family/friends)+ screen saver program (that pulls from nextcloud desktop app sync folder which pulls from family/friends cloud share) anydesk (for remote assistance) + some sort of launcher.

Linux mint has the benefit that even non Linux friendly friends/relatives could navigate the system should they need to in order to help out while at TCP's home or when remoting in. 

Much of the inspiration from this comes from a project I embarked on years ago.  I provided a family elder with an android tablet with an app called PhotoCloud Slideshow.  It is an app that allows one to turn an older andriod tablet into a digital photo frame.   It can connect with a number of cloud services, a personal server and most importantly in my case owncloud/ nextcloud.  You can select a folder, I was able to create nextcloud share that family members could upload to.  Uploads were automatically brought into the slideshow stream.  Its issue was that turning on the tablet and the app were not streamlined for someone who did not know how to navigate it.
https://play.google....d=sk.baka.photoframe
http://www.android-photo-frame.eu/

Ideas?

12

General Software Discussion / Targeted Web clipping or scraping and formatting

« on: February 12, 2020, 05:33 PM »

What is the best way to automate the collection of specific data, ie contact information, when visiting a webpage?  Years ago I used to methodically copy or enter the  person/company’s  name, address, web url telephone number and email and notes into a contact manager or address book. More recently, I have simply saved a copy of their contact page.  I can link to the saved page, tag it, and or search for it.  This works,- but it is a little chaotic.   

It occurred to me that maybe it would be possible for  Clipboard Help + Spell to identify different types of text strings and sort them neatly into their categories based on the attributes of the text.  A ".com", ".org" etc would indicate that text strig is part of a web url.  An "@" sign would indicate an email address or an Instagram etc.

It would be great to be able to pull
Name,
Address,
Telephone
Mobile
Email
Facebook Page
Instagram (more and more businesses are on instagram)
Etc…
A description
page url

It seems like an easier way to identify what text is what would be using the page coding. 
I have looked into some Customer Relationship Managers CRMs to see if they offer a way to pull contact information into their systems and I have not found anything yet.  I have also looked into web scraping tools, but most seem to target an entire site.  I would like to indicate a page and pull the information I want.

Any ideas?

13

General Software Discussion / Anyone Using Zoot?

« on: October 07, 2019, 04:23 PM »

I am curious if anyone using Zoot or has used it and can offer insight?  It seems like it has a unique interface that could help reduce the time spent entering information into one's system.  This is provided the data being collected comes primarily from email, web pages,  other "clippings", rss feeds, twitter and pocket.  A weakness might be imputing data  from other sources.   

It seems as though Zoot has had numerous chapters over the years that have attracted different users.  A major change was when it made the change to rich text.  It seems that people's opinion on it as a tool is based somewhat on when they used it. 

Am I correct in feeling it is unique?  Are there other similar information managers?

For those who have used it, when did you use it and what limitations did you encountered? What were the reasons you passed on adopting it as part of your toolset? 

For those who still use it as a part of your tool set, what kind of information do you through at it? I am specifically interested in pieces of information that it was not intended to store.   

I like utilizing a information manager that uses the filesystem to store information, feeling it is more future proof. It also allows the use of other tools to examine and use your data.  Zoot relies on interconnected databases. Seems like that could look your data up.

I realize that user documentation is a place where the developer has let the ball drop.  I am curious how that impacted your ability to fully grasp information manager's utility.

Thank you

14

General Software Discussion / PearNote for Mac (like Onenote)

« on: September 25, 2019, 01:45 PM »

I am curious if anyone has any experience with PearNote. It looks similar to MS One Note and has peaked my interest. 
It seems particularly useful for a training/webinar scenario.  It syncs your notes with the audio as well like Onenote can.
It allows you to incorporate slides into a note file, which is more cumbersome in Onenote.  I have done it in One Note by taking a screen shots and pasting them into the notebook.  This can make the Onenote file larger than it needs to be.

Pearnotes also allows you to export to html.

I really like the ability of syncing my written notes with the content I am watching. I also like syncing audio/video with my notes. This means I can quickly navigate to the audio/video if I want to review what I was making a note of.

There is an pretty interesting demo video here
https://www.usefulfr...t.com/pearnote/demo/

I did a pretty extensive search some time ago when looking for One Note alternatives and never stumbled upon this.  It makes me wonder what alternatives might actually be out there.