Messages

1

General Software Discussion / Re: tiny standalone relational database

« on: January 11, 2026, 02:40 PM »

Perhaps GS-Base?

Here's a DC GS-Base Mini-Review by wraith808.

2

Living Room / Re: Seeking Recommendations for Lightweight Batch Image Resizing Tools

« on: October 05, 2025, 05:38 PM »

Nowadays I mostly use FastStone Image Viewer, as it's easy to use and can rename with templates as well as resize, in one pass.  I don't think it does recursion, but the same company's FastStone Photo Resizer appears to, though not tried by me.  Both are free for home users.

Resizing doesn't really get easier than Peter Bone's Resize, an old program that works well, but you might find it too simple for your needs.

3

General Software Discussion / How to check drivers?

« on: August 25, 2025, 05:24 PM »

I have an odd problem with an Acer laptop and an Anker USB-C hub.  The hub's USB-A and at least one of its USB-C ports work, but its SD card reader doesn't.  When I put a card in, Windows can't see it at all.  Strangely, USB Safely Remove does see the card, but thinks it's empty.

A web search showed various postings on the Acer forum about problems with USB-C ports, albeit not this particular one.  One recommendation was to update BIOS.  Mine isn't the very latest, but updating BIOS would be serious if it went wrong, and there's no guarantee it would work anyway.

Another suggestion was that maybe the drivers needed updating.  This is something I've never done before.  As far as I can see, the Microsoft driver I have is dated 2006... so maybe there's a newer one.

What are the best and easiest ways of checking drivers, please?

Umf... Glow gives a nice list, but doesn't include dates, or which ones are out of date.

4

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: AlomWare Toolbox, mini-review

« on: August 04, 2025, 05:11 PM »

There are better clipboard managers, more powerful automation tools, window and environment managers, reminder and notes tools, and so on.

-oblivion (August 04, 2025, 10:39 AM)

While it's a good all-rounder, dedicated applications have the edge if you use them a lot, but even then, it sometimes has useful extras.  E.g., I'll stick with my default clipboard manager in general, but Toolbox can OCR a screenshot, which my default can't (as far as I know).  AutoText works well in Toolbox, but something like FastKeys has more convenience features.

But the convenience of having all this stuff in a single environment; I'm not sure I've ever seen anything quite like it.

-oblivion (August 04, 2025, 10:39 AM)

The closest I can think of is PowerPro.  I doubt any single program remotely approaches the power of PowerPro, but the price for that is its formidable complexity.  It's also getting long in the tooth, and although the author is maintaining it, there are things he can't do because of changes in the compiler.  (oops, there's a win for Toolbox; I mistyped "because" and got an automatic correction  )

AlomWare Toolbox is easier, up to date, and truly portable.  Like you I've looked most at the Automation (macros) tab, though not got all that far.  It would help if the author would flesh out the Help file   I too paid for a license pretty soon after trying it.  Small things like keyboard lock indicators are nicely done, a transient popup to say something changed is more helpful to me than having to peer at the system tray, even if Tray Status (by Binary Fortress) covers more ground.  My current keyboard doesn't have a Scroll Lock, but I can fake it with Toolbox. And so on.

And the author is indeed friendly, helpful and responsive.

5

Non-Windows Software / Re: Calendula (android) - a dead project that I use daily

« on: August 01, 2025, 04:20 PM »

I've searched for and tried similar apps (just foss, since I don't trust random apps on the play store with my medical info) and they all suck, really.

-wreckedcarzz (June 23, 2025, 09:16 PM)

You don't list which apps you  tried.  I've just seen a heads-up in a UK magazine for MyTherapy Pill Reminder.  Sanity check - I have not tried it - and the Data safety does say

This app may share these data types with third parties
Personal info and App info and performance

This app may collect these data types
Personal info, Health and fitness and 3 others

Data is encrypted in transit

You can request that data be deleted

Maybe that's the price you have to pay for "free" 

6

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« on: June 27, 2025, 04:27 PM »

Such is modern life...



New Scientist, 28 June 2025, 266(3549), p. 48.

7

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / Re: AcFolders - new file-open dialog box extender

« on: February 17, 2025, 11:04 AM »

Is it possible to get this working on 64 bit wim10?

-ibay770 (February 16, 2025, 06:09 PM)

Why are you resurrecting such ancient threads?  They probably haven't been updated because there don't seem to have been any developments in dialog box extenders for 10 or 15 years or even more.

You might try PowerPro.  It too is a very old program but despite its age, the author is still maintaining it, to a limited extent.  Dialog box extension is only part of what it can do.  Configuring it is not for the faint-hearted.  The link is for the mailing list, as that's now the only place you can get up-to-date files and support.  You have to be logged in as a user to access files, but getting an account is free.

Alternatively, you might try Listary.  It's not a dialog box extender as such and is a different way of working. Its main features are search files, launch apps, quick switch, web search.  "Quick switch" means that Alt-Tabbing between (supported) file managers and the dialog box of, say, and editor, will point the dialog box to the directory the file manager is looking at.

8

General Software Discussion / Re: Problem auto-typing into Notepad??

« on: February 04, 2025, 04:27 PM »

I did a quick web search on "windows 11 notepad problems," and found lots of hits, though I couldn't see a mention of this problem in the first couple of pages.

I contacted the authors of both AlomWare Toolbox and Macro Express.  They both confirmed my finding, and separately came up with the same fix, paste through the clipboard rather than type keystrokes.  That does work for me.

 I don't use Notepad much either, but it's important because it ships with all versions of Windows and is consequently sometimes used as an testbed/example by software authors (that's how I tripped over the bug).  This episode confirms my opinion that anything third-party is better than the Microsoft equivalent... yes, I know I should really be using Linux 

It's possible to revert to older versions of Notepad, that work normally, see e.g. How to Restore Old Legacy Notepad in Windows 11.  But why would you want to, when there are plenty of vastly better tools out there, including many free ones.  Besides, your preference might just get steamrollered on the next compulsory Windows update.

9

General Software Discussion / Problem auto-typing into Notepad??

« on: January 31, 2025, 07:22 AM »

I'm running Windows 11 Pro 23H2 (and trying to avoid bug-riddled 24H2).  It has Windows Notepad 11.2410.21.0.  I was trying out a macro in AlomWare Toolbox that was supposed to type text into Notepad but no other program.  The text kept hanging.  I could make it type a bit more by pressing some other key, but it rarely if ever wanted to type the entire text, and if it did, it was so slow you'd have given up on it.  After some to and fro with Toolbox's author, I thought to try the same idea with Macro Express and with AutoHotKey.  I got the same sort of result.

Please, can anyone confirm this as a problem with their own system?  I.e., has Microsoft done something bad to Notepad, of all things?

10

N.A.N.Y. 2025 / Re: NANY 2025

« on: December 18, 2024, 02:55 PM »

Just in case it helps, here's an account profile setting:

11

Living Room / ZNB Fantasy & Science Fiction Kickstarter open for backing

« on: August 30, 2024, 04:58 PM »

The Zombies Need Brains (ZNB) small press is in its 12th year of assembling and publishing anthologies of fantasy and science fiction, and needs a sizeable amount of momey to get this year's offering off the ground.  Details of the current project:

About This Project

This project will fund THREE science fiction and fantasy anthologies, titled WERE-2, SKULL X BONES, and AMPYRIUM: MERCHANT WAR. Each anthology will contain approximately 14 all-original (no reprint) short stories from established SF&F authors in the field and new voices found through an open call. The books will be edited by S.C. Butler & Joshua Palmatier (WERE-2), David B. Coe & Joshua Palmatier (SKULL X BONES), and Joshua Palmatier (AMPYRIUM: MERCHANT WAR).

WERE-2:
It’s the night of the full moon, but there are more than mere werewolves skulking the streets. In WERE-2, we return to the back alleys in the dead of night to discover what other were-creatures might see you as prey. A were-raven? Were-squirrel? Were-octopus? You won’t know until you hear that rustle of feathers next to your ear or smell the brine of the sea in that gust from the window. Writers are asked to give us their most creative were-creature, with only one rule: No werewolves allowed!

Edited by S.C. Butler & Joshua Palmatier, WERE-2 will contain approximately fourteen stories with an average length of 6,000 words each. Anchor authors include:

Randee Dawn,
Auston Habershaw,
Gini Koch,
Gail Z. Martin & Larry N. Martin,
Harry Turtledove,
Tim Waggoner, and
Jean Marie Ward.


SKULL X BONES:
Avast, ye scurvy dogs! It’s time to plunder! Pirates have enchanted and haunted readers for generations, from Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island to the ill-fated Firefly. Whether it’s Blackbeard, Mal, or Han Solo, we love our swashbucklers, our One-Eyed Willies, and our scruffy-looking nerfherders. In SKULL X BONES, we want writers to give us their best science fiction or fantasy pirates, whether they be on the sailing ships of the deep wide ocean or the spaceships of the black void!

Edited by David B. Coe & Joshua Palmatier, SKULL X BONES will contain approximately fourteen stories with an average length of 6,000 words each. Anchor authors include:

R.S. Belcher,
Alex Bledsoe,
Jennifer Brozek,
C.C. Finlay,
Violette Malan,
Misty Massey, and
Alan Smale.


AMPYRIUM: MERCHANT WAR:
The city of Ampyrium is bustling with trade…in the midst of a Merchant War! In AMPYRIUM: MERCHANT WAR, we return to the city that’s the hub for eight portals to other worlds, where the streets are shadowed on the brightest of days, the wares exchange hands both above and beneath the table, and all of it happens under the Eyes of the enigmatic Magnum. In AMPYRIUM: MERCHANT WAR, we invite writers to come play in this shared-world city of magic and mayhem, saintliness and sin, established by the seven authors in last year’s AMPYRIUM. What nefarious plans will you perpetrate…or foil?

Edited by Joshua Palmatier, AMPYRIUM: MERCHANT WAR will contain approximately fourteen stories with an average length of 6,000 words each. Anchor authors include:

Patricia Bray,
S.C. Butler,
David B. Coe,
Esther M. Friesner,
Juliet E. McKenna,
Jason Palmatier, and
Joshua Palmatier.
Backers of this project will essentially be generating the base funds needed to produce these three anthologies [...]

I've read some of ZNB's earlier anthologies (Derelict, Guilds & Glaives, The Modern Deity's Guide to Surviving Humanity, My Battery is Low and It Is Getting Dark, and Portals), also Ampyrium from last year, and am in the process of reading Familiars, also from last year, and enjoyed them.  They contain a wide variety of stories.

N.B.; Malwarebytes (MBAM) says that ZNB's web site is compromised, but that could be just another <sigh> false positive.  Try the About This Project link instead, as it goes direct to the Kickstarter page.

12

Post New Requests Here / Re: Auto click button on webpage after countdown timer expires

« on: June 09, 2024, 04:54 PM »

I think PTFB Pro (made in Scotland, the home of golf...) can do what you want.  I used it for other things in the past, haven't tried your particular requirement, but see their (permalink) blog post Wait until button is enabled: PTFB Pro v5.4.3.0

It's payware, if that's an issue.  Occasionally it turns up on PTFB Pro on Bits du Jour.

13

Post New Requests Here / Re: comparing two big different lists of strings/filenames

« on: May 26, 2024, 04:33 PM »

Approximate string searching, but not matching:

AGREP is a powerful tool for fast searching a file or many files for a string or regular expression, with approximate matching capabilities and user-definable records.

14

General Software Discussion / Re: batch scripting

« on: May 20, 2024, 05:26 PM »

i was doing a lot of grepping and it was causing a toll on my hands typing all the extra characters.
[...]
now i'm wondering if i can make it so i just run it once, and i can just type the grep search words over and over again ?
[...]
without having to type g each time.
[...]
its been so long i cant remember what this stuff is even called in batch to search how to script it.

-compn (May 19, 2024, 09:34 PM)

There are still a few batch file resources on the web, e.g.

• Rob van der Woude's Scripting Pages
• The Windows Command Line, Batch Files, and Scripting

Don't overlook that even the Windows CMD prompt has line recall and editing.  When you've issued a command, and it's been executed, press Up Arrow to recall it, edit the line if necessary and press Enter to issue the modified command.  Take Command (payware) and its plain text console mode version TCC/LE (freeware) are far better. You get many more features than Microsoft ever dreamt of.  JP Soft seem to have replaced TCC/LE with TCC-RT : Free TCC Runtime for Batch Files, which I haven't tried.  Also, you should probably look at PowerShell, which also I haven't tried.

15

Post New Requests Here / Re: comparing two big different lists of strings/filenames

« on: May 15, 2024, 05:23 PM »

i have a list of filenames, and my friend has a list of filenames. we are trying to organize and sort and compare our lists of filenames. but the two lists are too different for most string comparing tools.

-compn (May 15, 2024, 12:26 AM)

I see Vic is on the task, but I think what you're asking for is usually called fuzzy string matching.  Try a Web search, there seems plenty of Python work on it, and take a look at Comparing Strings Is Easy With FuzzyWuzzy.

16

Living Room / Re: Do good mice still exist? Looking for recommendations.

« on: May 06, 2024, 03:49 PM »

trackball mice

-mouse53 (May 05, 2024, 04:26 PM)

If you like trackballs, take a look at Trackball Mouse .org reviews (if you haven't already).  One caveat; amongst others, he likes the Kensington Expert Mouse.  It's a big device.  You need quite big hands to be really comfortable with it.

17

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

« on: February 10, 2024, 03:45 PM »

He really, really needs to write the Automation chapter of Help 

-rjbull (December 03, 2023, 03:34 PM)

I just saw on Reddit that the app has been updated again, and then noticed there's been a start on the Automation chapter.

-BarryG (February 10, 2024, 06:22 AM)

He said that v.2 was a very big update, and that the Automation chapter was/will be tantamount to a tutorial on programming.

He's very responsive to comments, which is a nice change in this world of big arrogant corporations.

18

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten

« on: February 09, 2024, 04:55 PM »

Whilst rootling around for better web clipping, I came across Upnote.

-Dormouse (July 25, 2022, 04:20 AM)

The thread has moved on, with no further comment on Upnote?

19

Living Room / M-Discs; any experience of these?

« on: February 06, 2024, 03:10 PM »

I only recently heard about M-Discs, M-DISC^w, which are claimed to be much more durable than standard CDs/DVDs.

Does anyone have any experience of these, please?

20

General Software Discussion / Re: Notepad Based Calculators

« on: January 02, 2024, 04:28 PM »

You might also like to look at EDI - TEXTEDITOR.  Warning - I haven't tried it.  From the Features List:

Edi FREE
With Edi FREE you can mail merge into multiple PDF files and send them as an email.

Edi FREE is a professional spreadsheet and a word processor program.

You may use Edi FREE without registration and without any obligations at no cost, as long as you wish, even for commercial purposes.
In case, more functionality is needed - you can upgrade to Edi PRO.

Bit du Jour are offering a discount on the Pro version.  It needs .NET, if that bothers you.  I think their main point is that the word processor and spreadsheet functions are much better integrated than Microsoft Office.

21

General Software Discussion / Re: Notepad Based Calculators

« on: December 30, 2023, 03:31 PM »

Did you forget you started a similar thread here before - notepad calculator?

Did CalcTape not suit you?

22

General Software Discussion / Re: Undelete utilities - differences?

« on: December 08, 2023, 04:46 PM »

A few people, here and elsewhere, recommended GetDataBack so I went for it and it did the job, relatively quickly too.

I see it's still the same price ($79), last updated a year ago (my version from 2021 was 5.55, now at 5.61). Dont know if they do a trial.

-tomos (December 06, 2023, 04:48 AM)

Thanks!  They do offer a trial.  $79 is substantial, but they offer a lifetime license.

Best of luck, whatever route you take...

-tomos (December 06, 2023, 04:48 AM)

The query was prompted by talking to someone who couldn't get her photos off an SD card.  She'd been constantly re-using the card that came with the camera, and hadn't copied any of the files off it for quite a while.  When she did try, neither she nor her husband could retrieve anything, it looked like everything had been deleted.  At that point I thought of undelete utilities, as a hedge against problems. In their case the problem was worse, and probably insurmountable, as both their computers eventually said the card was corrupted.  I'd guess that even forensic IT might struggle to get anything useful from a corrupted card.  There's a moral in there somewhere...

23

General Software Discussion / Undelete utilities - differences?

« on: December 05, 2023, 04:45 PM »

A number of utilities claim to be able to undelete deleted files.  Some claim to retrieve data from formatted or even damaged media.

Apart from things like cost, speed and convenience, is there much difference between the various programs?  Are they all using much the same methods, with much the same results?

24

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

« on: December 03, 2023, 03:34 PM »

I see it's had another update two days ago: https://www.alomware.../toolbox-changes.txt

The dedication is definitely up there!

-BarryG (December 02, 2023, 06:51 PM)

He really, really needs to write the Automation chapter of Help 

25

General Software Discussion / Re: screen capture by key-stroke (not mouse) shows fingers in WinSnap

« on: November 18, 2023, 04:27 PM »

Some screenshot programs can use delayed capture

-rjbull (November 16, 2023, 04:27 PM)

Like Screenshot Capture...

-Ath (November 17, 2023, 02:12 AM)

Also PicPick (free for personal use), ShareX (free) and HyperSnap (shareware).  ShareX can be run from the command line (don't know about the others), which might be another way of making a delayed screenshot.

I think my brain just doesn't work the way Mouser's Screenshot Captor does.  Maybe it's the amount of customisation.  Some programs include everything but the kitchen sink. Mouser gives you a choice of kitchen sinks to suit all decors...