Recent Posts

10526

Living Room / Re: Versioning of files

« Last post by tomos on October 08, 2007, 02:48 AM »

Tomos, you might want to look at BackUp4All - it has version tracking and a jillion other things.
http://www.backup4all.com/

I have it but the few times I've used it I end up mystified by too many choices and things to do.
I bought it on BitsduJour discounted.

I've gone back to tossing things on another drive partition or to a back up drive.

-laughinglizard (October 07, 2007, 05:43 PM)

I've actually got it installed, think I probably bought it same time as you!
I used it a good bit, then I got SFFS...

I had a look at website.
They do say

Version Tracking
Backup4all for U3 is a portable backup software that offers a unique mode to track file versions. You can selectively restore any previous state of the file directly from the main window.

on the comparision page http://www.backup4al...m/feature-matrix.php
the pro version has everything the portable one has.

unfortunately they dont elaborate on the above quote (anywhere i can find at any rate)
I suspect they are talking about their way of restoring or something
To be honest when i used it I did have occasion to restore something - but I simply went & unzipped it
Because I havent used it yet on this computer I cant check stuff already backed up

I've wanted to give it a go again cause they talked about plugins to backup programme settings:
in spite of that, searching for plugins at their site brings up nix.
maybe it's just in the pipeline... 

10527

Best Dialog Extender / Re: Enhanced File Dialog

« Last post by tomos on October 08, 2007, 02:23 AM »

If you want an enlarged dialog box and favorite folders then you can do both using Powerpro. This is mine:

-edbro (October 07, 2007, 01:56 PM)

edbro,

I knew you can have favourite folders because I have a version of them, but how do you use PowerPro to enlarge dialog boxes?

TIA...

-rjbull (October 07, 2007, 05:17 PM)

Configure > GUI control / Enlarge file open/save dialogs

I'm actually using Filebox Extender to do the same thing...

But is there a way of changing whats on the list on the left of open/save box ?????
or
to paraphrase
what/how favourite folders? 

10528

Best Dialog Extender / Re: Enhanced File Dialog

« Last post by tomos on October 07, 2007, 12:18 PM »

I wonder is there anything else does the same job -
I'd love some thing like that (a la Darwins screenshot post #2)
I'd pay for it even

10529

Living Room / Re: Versioning of files

« Last post by tomos on October 06, 2007, 12:37 PM »

thanks tinjaw 

  I actually looked up the help file - but
using the index, where it doesnt give you that info - i live & learn..

10530

Living Room / Re: Versioning of files

« Last post by tomos on October 06, 2007, 08:02 AM »

tomos,

FileHamster is what you are looking for. Some suggestions for you:

• If you want to take notes while working on the file, instead of waiting until you make a save. Use the Notes Window Plugin.
• Note that you can tweak the settings to change how your files are saved. For example you can keep the last X number of saves. But note that at each version you can override that by choosing to lock that version so that it won't be autodeleted.

-tinjaw (October 05, 2007, 07:32 PM)

yeah,
installed it & tried out with a couple of files

it's looking very good  ( to all )
tinjaw: notes plugin does make it a lot easier to use

I havent figured out how to use the zip plugin yet - says it's running but cant find any options related to it..
I might invest in their Report Window Plugin I mentioned above (post #21) just to see, & support too
(@ only 10$ I can feel good about supporting - I even get something extra for it!)

I guess this would then replace my incremental backup .

10531

Living Room / Re: How to stop worrying

« Last post by tomos on October 06, 2007, 06:43 AM »

The only way I am going to stop worrying (or worry less) is if other people do it for me...or should I say, do their own fair share of worrying that they are supposed to be doing, so I don't have to do it for them.

-app103 (October 05, 2007, 10:39 PM)

i have the experience that if i worry (too much) for/about other people
that they sort of sit back & think along the lines -

oh that's okay, I don't have to worry about it /look after it [+ the subconcious bit: cause tom will ]

unfortunately it can be a bit of a circular situation that can be hard to break out of
[...says he right in the middle of one such... ]

10532

Living Room / Re: DC Unofficial Meeting #5 Took Place - Veign and Mouser meet

« Last post by tomos on October 05, 2007, 04:45 PM »

I'd say you're the "orange dude"
My rationale was that the man in the blue t-shirt looks more irish

-jgpaiva (October 05, 2007, 03:25 PM)

looking very irish there Mike 

10533

Living Room / Re: Versioning of files

« Last post by tomos on October 05, 2007, 04:39 PM »

I use FileHamster and I just want to point out that you can set a delay so that it will not save new versions if they occur within n amount of hours:mins:seconds of each other. This way if you save a file 15 times a minute, but they're not really important changes, you can set it to 00:01:00 and it will only save if it's been a full minute since the last revision.

Sorry if this was mentioned before. I started skimming through the last few posts.

-Deozaan (October 05, 2007, 02:34 PM)

I seem to be seeing things when they're not there & vice-versa this evening
or
i lost a post somewhere! - or both
ahh...
 here it is

I had had a look at their site but only now notice they have a forum & a wiki

my fear of too many versions is unnecessary:

..can occasionally tell FileHamster to remove unprotected files. Please note that files get set as protected by default when you add a comment.

-tomos (October 05, 2007, 05:15 AM)

which basically means I can save as often as I like, just put comments on the important ones & easily delete the rest


they have a plugin Report Window Plugin they charge for (only 9.95$, I swear )

Have you ever wanted to see a report of everything that changed in FileHamster over the last few days? Would you like to perform a mass restoration on all files to a particular time or date, or protect the latest versions of many files all at once? With the Report Plugin, you will be able to easily isolate changes in any folder, multiple folders, or your entire library. To help maximize your search, the ReportPlugin features extensive time-span controls that allow you to select any node in the Watch Tree and instantly see a live report for a specific day or date range.

but sure I'll see how i get on with the programme first

10534

Living Room / Re: Versioning of files

« Last post by tomos on October 05, 2007, 04:23 PM »

When working on media files, and if you have the money to burn, perhaps take a look at http://www.softimage...products/alienbrain/ . Don't have any experience with it myself, but it sounds cool enough. And id software uses it

-f0dder (October 05, 2007, 05:08 AM)

mind you looking at it that "starter pack" is only 12$
will look closer

-tomos (October 05, 2007, 05:18 AM)

You sure that's only $12? Looks like $12,000 to me.

-Deozaan (October 05, 2007, 02:40 PM)

 

10535

Living Room / Re: Versioning of files

« Last post by tomos on October 05, 2007, 12:22 PM »

thanks for all the details nudone 

filehamster is only used when i'm working on something, the current project. i use it just in case i need to revert back to an older version of a file - filehamster has automatically saved the different versions for me. so it's the automation thing that is the most useful to me. when designing web graphics i'll do many variations of an image - with filehamster i don't have to manually rename the file or move a previous version to another location. i just create the new image and it drops right into place in the web page design - if i change my mind about the graphic i just bring back a previous version using filehamster. no messing about renaming, etc. after i've completed the project i'll dismiss most of what filehamster what saving for me - lots of the files will be almost duplicates or too similar to bother keeping.

-nudone (October 05, 2007, 11:45 AM)

-
sounds like a good choice for me then. will prob install it this evening, starting a new batch of drawings which inspired this thread...

Re acdsee
I'm doing mostly vector images so ..

text file a project like a web site design will have plenty of things done to it that i'm sure to forget about. easy to forget how something was made to work in an awkward browser or whatever. so, i'll make a note of it all - if i used a tip from a book i'll state the book and page number - it it was a website then i might copy and paste the information and url from the site . they are all just little things to remind me of how and why something was done. and i'll also include a todo list of what needs finishing, etc, etc.

-nudone (October 05, 2007, 11:45 AM)

-
I've been cursing myself, well, more thinking why didn't i..
... keep a coherent record of my recent windows install & what was done when etc
I've often had the same feeling re projects, especially say if they are abandoned for a long time & then the funding allows me go back to them. can be a nightmare 

10536

Living Room / Re: Versioning of files

« Last post by tomos on October 05, 2007, 12:21 PM »

I work on a directory named "current". When i want to save the current state, i go one directory up, copy "current" to "copy of current", create a new folder with the current date/time and move both the "copy of current" and the other "date/time" folder inside that new one.

The advantage of this is that i only keep 2 folders at the root (the current and the last backup), and i can still quickly browse through the older copies

-jgpaiva (October 05, 2007, 10:30 AM)

took me a while to visualise that even though I do something vaguely similar but not as organised. will try your version - in fact I already cant visualise it again
will definitely have to actually do it to get a proper sense of it 

10537

Living Room / Re: Versioning of files

« Last post by tomos on October 05, 2007, 10:32 AM »

hmmm, getting loads to think about here !!

consistency, yes, absolutely mouser 
Re current setup,
I not only keep multiple versions of files, but have very regular incremental backup going on.
Problem with incremental backup is if something gets changed & I dont notice it for a while it can be a bummer trying to find last known pre-change version or whatever.
Yes,
I guess this could be a problem with any of these solutions
(e.g if something changes without my planning or noticing or keeping record of it) -
but I know if I have comments or keep a good record a la Ralf that it would make my life easier

What would be nice in a doc ... maybe a spreadsheet would be better for me - sometimes I might have dozens of files (as opposed to versions) in a project.
What can be difficult is if i have to make (similar) minor adjustment to say 100 files
writing re each file in a doc would then be timeconsuming...
I'll have to think about possible structures

Nudone, just read your post - do you not sometime find it confusing having three different "systems"

every time i try to post there's a new post 
jgpaiva,
will read yours now but gotta head out ..
'later! tom

10538

Living Room / Re: Versioning of files

« Last post by tomos on October 05, 2007, 05:36 AM »

mitzevo,

that is nice !

#  Set or change a comment with a single keystroke <Alt+Z> # Set/clear comments for many files at once (add to existing comments)

& so easy to copy, 

EDIT: Seems to be available in free version as well..

unfortunately I use DOpus[8], will have to check out their take on this

10539

Living Room / Re: Versioning of files

« Last post by tomos on October 05, 2007, 05:18 AM »

When working on media files, and if you have the money to burn, perhaps take a look at http://www.softimage...products/alienbrain/ . Don't have any experience with it myself, but it sounds cool enough. And id software uses it

-f0dder (October 05, 2007, 05:08 AM)

mind you looking at it that "starter pack" is only 12$
will look closer

10540

Living Room / Re: Versioning of files

« Last post by tomos on October 05, 2007, 05:17 AM »

@ f0dder, - hah, money to burn, if only

10541

Living Room / Re: Versioning of files

« Last post by tomos on October 05, 2007, 05:15 AM »

thnks justice
I had had a look at their site but only now notice they have a forum & a wiki

my fear of too many versions is unnecessary:

Occasionally tell FileHamster to remove unprotected files. Please note that files get set as protected by default when you add a comment.

I'll give it a go & let you know how I get on

10542

Living Room / Versioning of files

« Last post by tomos on October 05, 2007, 04:36 AM »

I know that there's threads with recommended articles about versioning
and it's not that I'm a lazy beggar
(I swear! I'm unfortunately weeks after a new xp install still busy with sorting out problems &, I confess, tweaking ...)

but maybe someone could give me a bit of direction re versioning (then I'll start reading!)


maybe I should start by explaining what I would like:

I'm working on a drawing, lets say a contour map.
I'll save it as "Map"

then I save versions as maybe

Map01, Map01a, Map01b, Map02tonal, Map03darker, Map03e (so it lists alphabetically - from d to e)

that works reasonably well but I would like a way of attatching
comments that I can easily printout with a file list or simply with associated file name
Lets say I want to send on Map3f to whoever,
it would be great to be easily access/copy the "changelog" from the previous version so I can tell them the important changes made,
or even to access the whole changelog from version one


I have glanced (thats all..) at tortoise svn etc - they do seem to be aimed at developers but may be suitable ?

Or then there's Filehamster (https://www.donation...dex.php?topic=7492.0)
which saves versions but
1) I'm not sure how accessible these versions are outside Filehamster
2) not sure how accessible the comments are
3) I save files sometimes very often - I have a horror of having to redo stuff -
I dont want a new version for each save & think that''s what Filehamster does

Then there's the possibility to add comments in ntfs ? (descript.ion files in DOpus ?)

as I say humbly looking for a bit of direction/help,
not afraid to go in the deep end, but naturally the easier the better!!

thanks, tom

10543

General Software Discussion / Re: XP or Vista user — take the poll!

« Last post by tomos on October 05, 2007, 03:39 AM »

... with a defragmenter such as PerfectDisc which organises your files on the basis of how often they change even defragmenting a whole disc effectively becomes only defragmenting a few files over a period of time as the files that don't change are blocked together. This effectively means that incremental backups will be larger than if you didn't defrag but the increase in size won't be huge or counter productive.

-Carol Haynes (October 04, 2007, 04:48 PM)

now that sound like a reason to have a defragmenter that costs money

10544

Living Room / Re: Whats on your desktop?

« Last post by tomos on October 04, 2007, 01:18 AM »

nice desktop all right App
maybe you should autohide your todo list as well though !!
(for peace of mind of course)

do those widgets come looking that good or is that a theme -
couldnt be your win theme cause youre using windows classic 

so where does one get such nice clocks & temperature readings etc 
I mean i know they're yahoo but there's thousands of them out there....
(i searched for cpu clock but couldnt see those ones)

10545

General Software Discussion / Re: How do you launch stuff?

« Last post by tomos on October 03, 2007, 11:12 AM »

I use the Jet Toolbar to launch my programs and browsers and find that having it at the top is the most convienient way to access it.  I also have it so it appears when moused over.  I find it to be very quick and convenient.

-deberett (October 03, 2007, 11:07 AM)

http://www.cowonamer...oolbar/features.html

Voice Recognition           jetToolBar supports any SAPI-compatible speech recognition engines, and includes Microsoft Whisper speech recognition engine by default. You can enjoy voice recognition if your computer has sound card and microphone. To launch program, simply talk the name of the button.

so do you actually talk at your computer ?  

10546

General Software Discussion / Re: alternatives to partition magic/paragon?

« Last post by tomos on October 03, 2007, 02:04 AM »

with 2GB of ram & for some reason the pagefile wasnt being accessed (I believe that was the problem)
I couldnt go into hibernation with FF + 40tabs open.
dunno did it say "not enough resources" or "not enough virtual resources to .... your API"
apologies about the vagueness of text

but it's sorted now...

-tomos (October 02, 2007, 04:05 AM)

a bit off topic but that wasnt sorted (just pretended to be for a while...)
error was (when going into hibernation):

"Insufficient system resources exist to complete the API"

is related to xp sp2 struggling with too much memory (odd reaction though!)

solution is ms hotfix, see page
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/909095
or
if that doesnt work the more recent comments here may help:
http://www.ntwizards...2004/10/13/hibernate

10547

General Software Discussion / Re: alternatives to partition magic/paragon?

« Last post by tomos on October 03, 2007, 01:58 AM »

Yep - I knew about that reg key

Does any one know a way to move the whole user profile to a different partition

-Carol Haynes (October 02, 2007, 03:12 PM)

1. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/236621 (Windows 2000 & 2003) and an article based on this KB but adapted to work for Windows XP @ http://www.dennislaz...ocumentsandsettings/

2. Another guide... Storing Windows profiles on a different partition

-PhilB66 (October 02, 2007, 10:55 PM)

i wonder if it's worth all that...? or is it more a feel good/tidy up thing ?? 

EDIT: odd, in guide two there it says make new "mover" account,
login & change registry settings (steps 8 to 11)
then it says:

13. Do a cold boot of your computer. 14. Use the "mover" account again. 15. Go through processes 8 until 11.*

* again !
wonder do they mean go through it again simply to double-check the changes you've made ...

10548

Living Room / Re: Whats on your desktop?

« Last post by tomos on October 02, 2007, 09:20 AM »

something from Star Trek maybe ?
(I wouldn't know - just a guess)

10549

General Software Discussion / Re: alternatives to partition magic/paragon?

« Last post by tomos on October 02, 2007, 07:44 AM »

I've read though (sorry couldnt tell you where)
that if these apps want the option to page out to disc,
it can cause trouble if there's no paging file there at all..
(sort of like they just need the reassurance )

were you saying somewhere f0dder that you don't use a paging file?

EDIT sorry Carol didnt read your last post before posting this

10550

General Software Discussion / Re: alternatives to partition magic/paragon?

« Last post by tomos on October 02, 2007, 04:05 AM »

Imho there isn't much reason to have your pagefile on a separate disk - ideally, it shouldn't be used very much... stuff more RAM in your PC if it is.

-f0dder (October 02, 2007, 03:42 AM)

with 2GB of ram & for some reason the pagefile wasnt being accessed (I believe that was the problem)
I couldnt go into hibernation with FF + 40tabs open.
dunno did it say "not enough resources" or "not enough virtual resources to .... your API"
apologies about the vagueness of text

but it's sorted now, one fixed size paging file on hdd2
as I said above:

(I also had small [paging file] on C drive but was having difficulty with some programmes &
hibernation till I got rid of the one on C..)

which makes me think I'm sticking with a paging file, but with all that I suspect it is used very little while I'm working..

Oh yeah,
I added Photoshop Scratch disks to the partition with paging file (& temp/internet stuff as well) -
at least that way they're all out of the way