I recently started using a registered copy of PhraseExpress Pro.  I knew it was capable of being portable, which could be useful to me, but it didn't seem to work like Intellicomplete or Comfort Keys do, at the word level.  That is you can define your own words and short forms, but it doesn't seem to have a ready-made dictionary built in.  So I put a message in their forum:

Please excuse my ignorance, new user query...  I'm already using my own multi-word phrases plus some words I've defined.  But to make PhraseExpress behave like Intellicomplete/Comfort Keyboard etc. which come pre-loaded to give you pop-up lists of words at the cursor, do I need to import a dictionary into PhraseExpress, or something like that?

I'd have thought that was pretty innocent.  After all, we've all looked at other softwares, and nothing is developed in complete isolation.  I got an e-mail from Bartels Media of which the operative part reads:

Thank you for taking the time to write us about PhraseExpress.

Please note that the PhraseExpress forum is not about other programs.

For a start, we recommend to study http://manual.phraseexpress.com first to
learn more about how to use PhraseExpress.

How tetchy can you get?  PhraseExpress seems a good product, but they want us to believe and act as if nothing else exists?  Don't they have any confidence their product is good enough to beat the opposition?  You can't even mention any other program as an example, to explain what you mean?  When I entered my post, their forum changed "Intellicomplete" to "another software!"  They since deleted the post.

I've read Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, and I used to work for a big company with a Stalinist culture, so I've had my fill of paranoid megalomania.  I deleted my registration key and uninstalled PhraseExpress.  So, until the Instant Text people come up with a version that runs on Vista with UAC = yoU Aren't Computing On, I suppose I'll have to use AutoHotkey, just like everybody else.  I'd still be interested in alternative portable apps, though.

Some editors use JavaScript as their macro language.  The few books I've glanced at in a bookshop all talk about JS in the context of Web pages.  Please can anyone recommend a book on JS as a macro language for editors?

TIA...

I want to print some digital photos "n-up," but the sizes pre-set in Windows don't fit what I need.  Please can anyone recommend something that offers a greater range of options, and is, preferably, free?  The first one I found was ACD Systems' FotoSlate 4 Photo Print Studio, which isn't free, but at least it's cheap.

TIA...

Another episode in my ongoing saga of "migrating to Vista" woes.

I have an old but little used Canon BJ-10ex portable ink jet printer.  It only has a parallel port input.  My new Vista laptop doesn't have "legacy ports."  Is there any way to make the printer work with the new computer?  Some way of converting USB to parallel, as it were?

Thanks...

Please, how can I "laplink" between my old Win98SE laptop and my new Vista Home Premium one, as the latter doesn't have "legacy ports?"  Can I use a USB cable, or do I need something else?

TIA...

Please can anyone recommend a macro program with a "learn by example" feature, that can be run no-install from a USB stick?

The obvious answer is AutoHotKey (AHK), but I've had hit-or-miss results with its AutoScriptWriter, and to get anywhere with AHK, you really need to start editing scripts.  What I'm thinking of is the sort of job where you need to repeat an action 20 or 30 times or more, but may never have to do that job again.  In those circumstances, the effort put into script writing might be greater than doing the job manually (if more interesting to do).  A macro recorder would make it quicker and more painless.

I contacted Insight Software Solutions, authors of Macro Express, and they say they're working on a portable version, but can't give a release date (sounds like pressure of too many other things).

WinMacro by Senthil Kumar is a simple freeware macro recorder/player, but may be a bit too simple.  No editing of any kind, for instance.

TIA...

I am a registered user of Foxit PDF Editor, which at $99 isn't cheap.  Yesterday I re-registered in their forums (the first time I tried, I could never log in after: the registration information got somehow lost at their end, and was never recovered, despite e-mails).  Yesterday I posted twice, first a pretty modest suggestion that they add a hotkey to toggle the Properties panel on/off, for convenience.  The second time was to add to a short thread Convert PDF files to Word file, suggesting Zamzar (with a caveat), also Nuance and Able2Extract.  Today I tried logging in again, to find this:

vBulletin Message

You have been banned for the following reason:
No reason was specified.

Date the ban will be lifted: Never

They had deleted both my posts.  Nice people, eh?  Looks like they can't stand any suggestion that software other than their own can exist, even though they don't seem to offer a PDF-to-Word converter themselves.

Naturally, I shall be looking for another PDF editor to replace Foxit.

Note the OCR plugin:

IrfanView Version 4.25 ( - CURRENT VERSION - ) (Release date: 2009-06-16)

• New capture option: Region capture (Thanks to grebulon)
        (as option in Capture dialog or hotkey: CTRL + PrintKey)
• OCR Feature/PlugIn added (Options menu, Hotkey: F9, full image or selection)
        PlugIn download: http://rerecognition.../kadmos44/KADMOS.htm
• New command line switches for /capture
        4 = use region capture, 5 = start in capture mode using dialog settings
• New and re-arranged Properties dialogs
• New Color Management options in Properties->Viewing (new LCMS PlugIn needed)
• Burning PlugIn: can burn using Nero or Windows interface (WinXP or later)
• Support for JLS format (JPEG-LS, PlugIn by KATO Kanryu)
• Support for WBZ/WBC/WB1 formats (Webshots formats, PlugIn by V. Paramoshin)
• New display option: Use Resample for zooming (Menu: View->Display options)
• New fullscreen option: Use Resample for zooming (Properties->Fullscreen)
• Option to save changes on exit in now also used for image/file change
• New option in Batch-Scan dialog: Remember last scan counter
• Previous "Search files" dialog results showed again on next search
• Batch rename dialog: Last 15 rename patterns are saved
• New Thumbnails sort options: Sort by image DPI
• New placeholder: $p (image DPI)
• New buttons/options in File-Replace dialog for multiple files
• Resample bug with very special images fixed (TIF bug reported by Secunia, thanks!)
• The option "View->Lock zoom" works now with all display options
• Show PNG and TGA/DDS alpha color options merged (Properties->Viewing)
• New command line option: /reloadonloop
        Reload input source used in /slideshow when list is finished
• Command line, /convert: exit codes added: 0 = OK, 1 = load error, 2 = save error
• Support for TIFs with 12 bits per channel
• New option in Postscript PlugIn: Enable Antialiasing for better quality
• New button in EXIF dialog: Show in GeoHack-Wiki (for GPS coordinates)
• New help menu: Check homepage for updates
• Browsing hotkey: CTRL + SHIFT + number (0-9), decrease file index by number
• Several PlugIns are changed/updated, please install the newest versions
        http://www.irfanview.com/plugins.htm

Bits du Jour offer:

Acronis True Image Home 2009

Deal Price: $29.99
You Save: 41%
List Price: $49.99

Deal Available: Friday 19 JUN ’09

Bayden Systems just updated their popular freeware "launcher plus," SlickRun: SlickRun Updates

SlickRun 4.0.2.1 (496Kb)

v4.0.2.1 (2 Jun 2009)
+ Added Unicode support for Jot, history, autocomplete, $W$, etc
+ Enhanced UI with visual styles
+ Added Windows Vista/Windows 7 manifest
+ Filename autocompletion prefers .exe files
+ First Run sets smarter defaults (bigger fonts, memory usage, etc)
+ Initial setup backs up installing user's configuration
+ Port to Delphi 2009

New Nir Sofer utility - WhatInStartup - displays the list of all applications that are loaded automatically when Windows starts up

WhatInStartup

Description
This utility displays the list of all applications that are loaded automatically when Windows starts up. For each application, the following information is displayed: Startup Type (Registry/Startup Folder), Command-Line String, Product Name, File Version, Company Name, Location in the Registry or file system, and more.
It allows you to easily disable or delete unwanted programs that runs in your Windows startup. You can use it on your currently running instance of Windows, as well as you can use it on external instance of Windows in another drive.
WhatInStartup also supports a special "Permanent Disabling" feature - If a program that you previously disabled added itself again to the startup list of Windows, WhatInStartup will automatically detect the change and disable it again.

System Requirements
This utility works on any version of Windows starting from Windows 2000 and up to Windows 7.

[...]

Permanent Disabling is a special feature of WhatInStartup that allows you to Permanently enforce the disabling of programs in Windows startup.

[...]

Using WhatInStartup On External Drive [...]

JoeJoe, author of freewares such as the excellent ArsClip, Rename Master, OkayKeeBees etc., has made available beta versions of new program MouseWrangler:

JoeJoe's freeware utilities

 MouseWrangler, a new program

I've created a new program called MouseWrangler - for mouse gestures. While holding the right mouse button, mouse motions are detected and a series of motions will trigger an action. Currently, a keystroke or a series of keystrokes will be simulated for each gesture.

See the Public Betas page for more information and to download. This program is still in the Beta stage, but it's currently stable and functioning well.

Is there a program, preferably free, that "diffs" RTF files, please?  Both ExamDiff Pro and Total Commander's built-in diff utility show the formatting instructions as well as text.  I'd like something that ignores the formatting stuff and just shows the differences in the text proper.   Component Software's CSDiff does it in a way, but I don't like the way it displays results, and it seems to put them in a Word doc which has to be read by Word.

Thanks...