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1376
General Software Discussion / Re: What is now the best dialog box enhancer/extender?
« Last post by rjbull on February 22, 2011, 02:38 PM »
I don't know what the fuss was about; FlashFolder is almost nothing. FileBox eXtender is still way ahead, even no longer supported
-Curt (February 21, 2011, 05:38 PM)

Does it fully work on Vista and Win7?  And, does it have the wonderful feature of being able to change a dialog to whatever directory Total Commander is pointing to?  Direct Folders can do both TC and Directory Opus; I know you could add file managers ad nauseam, but those, XYplorer and xplorer² would probably cover most DC users.
1377
General Software Discussion / Re: What is now the best dialog box enhancer/extender?
« Last post by rjbull on February 21, 2011, 05:56 AM »
I just installed Direct Folders because it's one of the few that seem under active development, basic features are free for personal use, and the Click Switch feature works with Total Commander very nicely.  On the other hand the current version seems too mouse-centric for my taste (I prefer keyboard-centric), and I seem to remember at least one mention on DC that DF spikes the CPU sometimes.  A couple of the pay-only features look very nice:
* Set default folder for any application.
* Rebound to the last used file in that folder.

I'll be interested to see if there's a new Vista/7-compatible version of FlashFolder (which I never tried), but I'm not holding my breath...
1378
General Software Discussion / What is now the best dialog box enhancer/extender?
« Last post by rjbull on February 20, 2011, 03:30 PM »
Please, what is or are the best dialog box enhancer/extender(s) on recent versions of Windows?

The excellent DonationCoder Review: Best Open/Save Dialog Box Extenders was written in 2005 and last updated in October 2006.  Many things have changed since then, in particular, new versions of Windows; XP has been replaced by Vista (I have 32-bit Vista) and Vista itself replaced by Win 7.  Some of the programs mentioned in the review have been updated while some seem to have been more or less abandoned.  New ones may have appeared; the author of AcFolders even announced his program here and said that he had taken note of the DC review in making it in AcFolders - new file-open dialog box extender, but it has only one other brief mention on DC that I can see, in Any dialog extenders (like FileBox Extender) for 64-bit Win 7?.  Other DC threads on dialog box extenders include:


I run Listary, the Pro version which has favourite folders, but its main focus is on improved searching through file lists, and it doesn't have a recent folders list.  Development might have stalled, too.  I could go back to PowerPro, but it's not as happy on Vista (at least with UAC On) as it was on XP, and the thought of wrestling with its configuration again is daunting.  Further, neither Listary nor PowerPro support Total Commander like some of the others do, notably Direct Folders.

As I'm going round in circles, I'll repeat the first line: Please, what is or are the best dialog box enhancer/extender(s) on recent versions of Windows?
1379
Living Room / Re: Cute jokes' thread
« Last post by rjbull on February 17, 2011, 03:12 PM »
BBC Bristol's early evening news programme had Graham Mack, a presenter for BBC Wiltshire, doing a warm-up for the Red Nose Day charity event.

Have you heard of the new Web site that aggregates YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook?

It's called   YouTwitFace.
1380
Living Room / Re: Can anybody recommend a free XML to PDF or RTF converter?
« Last post by rjbull on February 16, 2011, 03:31 PM »
I'd be interested to know if anyone has tried Treeline.  Features list includes, amongst much else:
    * Stores almost any type of information, including plain text, HTML, numbers, dates, times, booleans, URLs, etc.
    * The tree structure helps keep things organized.
    * Each node can have several fields that form a mini-database.
    * Several node types, with different sets of fields, can be included in one file.
    * The node format, including fields, output lines and tree-view icon, can be defined for each node type.
[...]
    * TreeLine files are XML by default, but there are options for automatically compressing or encrypting the files.
[...]
    * File Import and Export The data can be exported to HTML.
    * An XSLT file can be exported to work with the XML TreeLine files.
    * Tab-delimited tables and tab-indented text files can be imported and exported. Plain text files and Treepad files can be imported.
    * Mozilla and XBEL format bookmark files can be imported and exported.
    * Generic XML files can be imported and exported, allowing TreeLine to function as a crude XML editor.
    * ODF text documents can be imported and exported as outlines.
    * Batch file conversions can be done from a command line interface.
1381
Living Room / Re: Recommend an alarm clock mp3 features.
« Last post by rjbull on February 16, 2011, 02:59 PM »
Kirby is good, but the snooze feature is not flexible enough for my purposes
-superboyac (February 15, 2011, 04:04 PM)

Alarm++ checks out for all your requirements?
1382
General Software Discussion / Re: Bulk Creating Folders
« Last post by rjbull on February 16, 2011, 02:47 PM »
...or just an batch
-AbteriX (February 16, 2011, 02:28 PM)

+1  :up:

Batch files are a free and convenient way to do many jobs.  But, it's only us older hands who know how to use them?  :o
1383
Living Room / Re: Recommend an alarm clock mp3 features.
« Last post by rjbull on February 15, 2011, 01:50 PM »
So, I've managed to purchase a Panasonic Toughbook W8 for around $450.  I'm going to use that as my alarm clock!  ;D
-superboyac (February 15, 2011, 01:12 PM)
The way I feel about alarm clocks, it had better be tough 

You might take a look at Kirby Alarm Pro (or maybe Lite, see the purchase page).  You can use it as a scheduler as well then.
   Run a program automatically
   Pop up a note
   Play a sound
   Send e-mails automatically
   Transfer a file by FTP (pro version only)
   Backup files and folders (pro version only)
   Say the time
   Say the message
   Handy To Do List (with query facilities)
   Plus loads more!

Hmmm...  not sure about mp3 from that.
1384
General Software Discussion / Re: eType - nice free auto spell checker word suggestion (and basic translation)
« Last post by rjbull on February 13, 2011, 10:21 AM »
i just thought it was good for a free tool (maybe there are better ones).
-nudone (February 12, 2011, 04:51 PM)

I can't think of any free ones, unless you count free-for-personal-use PhraseExpress and can set it to work that way.

i use TinySpell http://tinyspell.numerit.com/ for everyday use. it isn't free, but it's pretty cheap. best spell checker/correctrion tool i've tried that works in all programs.

I keep hearing about this but haven't tried it...  Otherwise, as donationware rather than simply free, the S in mouser's CHS is Spell, but then you have to do a clipboard dance.
1385
General Software Discussion / Re: Any better Clipboard program.
« Last post by rjbull on February 12, 2011, 02:36 PM »
if he only would fix my one minor complaint of the program, I'd probably depend on it a lot more.
-superboyac (February 11, 2011, 11:42 PM)

But if your'e anything like me, you'd only find a new minor complaint  :(
1386
General Software Discussion / Re: eType - nice free auto spell checker word suggestion (and basic translation)
« Last post by rjbull on February 12, 2011, 02:33 PM »
Interesting mix of features.  But it doesn't do text (including phrase) expansion, or text correction, does it?
1387
General Software Discussion / Re: Upgrading RoboForm from v6 to v7: worthwhile?
« Last post by rjbull on February 10, 2011, 02:37 PM »
Mentioned by Keith Russell in the Yahoo! Group PowerToolsSoftware: PC Magazine review of LastPass 1.72.

Brief mentions of RoboForm Pro 6.9, Kaspersky Password Manager 4, Identity Safe (a feature of Norton Internet Security 2011), Norton 360 Version 4.0, Steganos Privacy Suite 12, Encrypt Stick 5.0, SplashID Key Safe
1388
General Software Discussion / Re: Any better Clipboard program.
« Last post by rjbull on February 10, 2011, 01:58 PM »
Just want to report back that I finally got around to check out Oscar's File Renamer. Indeed it's very convenient, but it doesn't do unicode unfortunately.
-mwang (February 10, 2011, 02:45 AM)

I found it very useful for renaming files that were actually open at the time, which Total Commander wouldn't do.  Oscar's defers the renaming action until you press the Go button, which is great when you need to refer to the file contents.  Thanks for reporting back; I'm sorry it doesn't do unicode.  It's probably too old, dating to a time when that wasn't considered.

Another option might be to make a directory listing and edit it into a renaming batch file.  Again, though, I don't know about unicode on command lines.

Edit: I then dig around a bit in XYplorer, and found out that it has a rename method called "Edit Item Names ...", with which I can pretty much do what I would like to do with Oscar's File Renamer. Not sure when it got this (I often upgrade XY without knowing what's new). It's nice.


Doh!  :-[  I have a lifetime license for XYplorer and didn't think of it  :(  TC is my main file manager and XY, excellent though it is, does things so differently that I use it less than I should.
1389
General Software Discussion / Re: Link Checker with built-in HTML editor freeware?
« Last post by rjbull on February 08, 2011, 02:41 PM »
Does it have to be integrated?  Would you consider a making a list of old and current links, and using a freeware multi-file search-and-replace program to replace them?

1390
General Software Discussion / Re: Local History Tape Archive - need help
« Last post by rjbull on February 08, 2011, 01:54 PM »
There's several things I could suggest, but a better answer might come by talking to your town librarians. Info mapping, cataloging, data classification, storage and retrieval are their specialty. And they're also probably the most underutilized talent pool in the country.
-40hz (February 08, 2011, 07:58 AM)

They're an endangered species in Britain.  Brutal "cuts" to balance the UK budget means county councils are seeing libraries as a soft target.  Library users are protesting, as well we should.
1391
Living Room / Re: OK - lets get to know each other... who are you, what do you do, where from?
« Last post by rjbull on February 08, 2011, 01:50 PM »
I think that a photograph is like seeing the world through other people's eyes, that's why I don't find my own photos very interesting ;)
-jgpaiva (February 08, 2011, 12:35 PM)

I once heard a photographic club judge say he liked a photo that told a story.  I've always thought I'd rather have a photo that could inspire a story  :)

I could easily imagine that church as filming location for a few fantasy/medieval movies!

Nobody seems to know when the church was built; it looks to be part-Saxon, so it's over a thousand years old.  That makes it old enough for the Middle Ages, and then some!  Movie makers would find too many modern graves in the churchyard to make things easy, but no doubt they'd cope, and longer shots would be fine.  We rarely get hoar frost like that, though.
1392
Living Room / Re: OK - lets get to know each other... who are you, what do you do, where from?
« Last post by rjbull on February 07, 2011, 09:14 AM »
another beautiful image - very classically 'English' looking :)
-tomos (December 10, 2010, 04:41 AM)

Thanks  :)  I could have done without the wires; maybe should have walked closer, but that might have changed everything else.  Had to have a go, though; we very rarely see hoar frost like that in this country.
-rjbull (December 10, 2010, 02:19 PM)
Fantastic image! For some reason, it first gave me a romantic feel, and the second time I looked, it changed to scary :P
ps: I had to go back and look for the wires ;)
-jgpaiva (February 07, 2011, 04:43 AM)

If you mean my photo, rather than tomos', then thanks!  :)  I believe that what you get out of a photograph depends on what you bring to it - and by the same token, you photograph things, and photograph them in particular ways, depending on what sort of person you are, and what's in your mind.  I've always had a strong liking for fantasy and science fiction, so maybe that's part of where your dual response came from  :)
1393
General Software Discussion / Re: Infix PDF Editor now at version 4
« Last post by rjbull on February 06, 2011, 01:23 PM »
Same Bits du Jour offer to be repeated on Thursday 10 February, 2011, same price as above.
1394
The Getting Organized Experiment of 2009 / Re: Do Visions and Missions work for you?
« Last post by rjbull on February 06, 2011, 10:10 AM »
In my experience, mission statements are an illiterate mish-mash of management buzzwords.  In richly-deserved lampoon, much like this:

Mission statement generator© -  it's vertical, tracing and almost perfect

Do you feel left out because your business does not have a mission statement? Do other Executive Directors laugh at you because you don't have a corporate vision?

Writing a mission statements is a tricky business, but now help is at hand with the ISMS Mission Statement Generator©.

The ISMS Mission Statement Generator©  has been has been described on the Internet as: Dual-headed, top-down and almost spectral.

Example:
To incubate plug-and-play deliverables with maximum effect for the benefit of our patrons and other private parternships

1395
General Software Discussion / Re: General brainstorming for Note-taking software
« Last post by rjbull on February 03, 2011, 02:33 PM »
Just for the compleatist, I just stumbled over these two when looking for something else.  I haven't tried them.  They're both freeware.

Techno Notes Manager
Save and organize any texts with rich formatting.
Free-form personal notes organizer with tree-like structure. Sometimes this kind of software called outliners. Main purpose is to store many notes with hierarchical structure in single file.
    * Main features: Modern easy-to-use interface
    * Full rich text support including images, tables, bullets, etc.
    * Powerful encryption
    * Full-text search engine
    * Organization with hierarchy and by keywords (tags)
    * Export to HTML or RTF
    * Spell checker
    * File attachment to any nodes
    * Portable mode support
    * Multilanguage interface

Smereka: extensible personal freeform database and personal information manager

Smereka is a freeware program that allows you to organize your data in an hierarchical, searchable database stored in a single file.

Your files and notes can be stored in a single file - Smereka database. This file is being indexed on the fly, so you can search your information items as soon as they are added to the database. All information items - files, notes and even folders - can be tagged to create "alternative hierarchy".

The search capabilities of "Smereka" are extended by a hierarchical system of item storage (in a tree). This allows you to sort your items into a tree-like structure. You can move, copy items from branch to branch, assign icons to them and more.

Your information (text, offline webpages) appear on the screen instantly, as soon as you click a tree item - you do not need to run an external program in most cases.

And of course, you can share the database. Having received a single file, your peer may instantly browse all the array of your data, search it or export information items to disk.
Here are typlical cases of freeform database usage:

    * organizing snippets of text information: you are accumulating small, independent text files and saved webpages. They are used to store ideas, notes, article archive, etc.
    * data mining: you are researching some topic. You need to save and analyze a lot of diverse information, which is located on different webpages, in different text files. You also want to save relevant discussions, IM chats etc.
    * project management: you are leading a project, which requires organizing and storing a great quantity of artifacts: documents, important e-mails, chat transcripts, ideas, brainstorm protocols etc. In addition to specialized tools, such as MS projects, CMS or bug trackers, a personal database helps a manager to put pieces of informationtogether, which otherwise would not "fit" into these large and formal tools. Flexible reminders can be attached to any item and keep you track your project.
    * structured information exchange: you need to send your colleague a set of file together with some relevant instructions. You can attach files to the database as info elements, and insert text items as child (or parent) nodes.
1396
General Software Discussion / Re: Highlighting software - any alternative to Hilitext?
« Last post by rjbull on February 01, 2011, 02:18 PM »
DWM is the new desktop manager introduced in Vista, it's what gives you the fancy transparency. You can turn it off by selecting the Vista Basic theme. It's worth trying just out of interest.
-Eóin (January 31, 2011, 08:22 PM)

I'll have to look up how to tur it off, but it's worth a try, thanks.  Transparency doesn't add much, after all.

More likely though I'd still say it could be a UAC issue.

Try a reinstall, and make sure the first time you run it is as an admin. As it stands it sounds strange that you had to put your reg code in twice, it probably got confused and that's why the service didn't work.

I've had to put my reg code in twice in similar situations before.  I suppose it makes sense, if a program is registered to a user who isn't necessarily the admin.  It looks like the accounts are sealed boxes...
1397
LaunchBar Commander / Re: Shutdown Windows toolbar ( SuperboyAC special for DC!)
« Last post by rjbull on January 31, 2011, 02:15 PM »
I've been thinking about making a shutdown menu for myself, but I would want mine to contain options to run SyncBack Pro and CCleaner so I'm less likely to forget them.
1398
General Software Discussion / Re: The Bat: Great program, terrible documentation and support
« Last post by rjbull on January 31, 2011, 02:09 PM »
If we're going to have automatic wrapping, shouldn't it work even when text is pasted in?  Or should it only work as you type?"
-superboyac (January 31, 2011, 11:06 AM)

I'd have thought it was a case of offering both "Paste" and "Paste Special" commands for without/with formatting.
1399
General Software Discussion / Re: The Bat: Great program, terrible documentation and support
« Last post by rjbull on January 31, 2011, 02:08 PM »
The actual Ritlabs forum:
This is the one on their website.  According to the rules, you can only say "positive" things about the Bat there.  Nothing else.  no bug reports, no support questions, nothing about beta.  Only "positive" remarks.
-superboyac (January 30, 2011, 10:51 PM)

Something close to that was the original basis for my public spat with Bartels Media over Phrase Express.  In both cases, the respective company's attitudes are strange and pointless - because both programs are very good to excellent of their type.  The companies should have broad enough shoulders to carry comments and criticism, especially when it isn't even hostile criticism.
1400
General Software Discussion / Re: Highlighting software - any alternative to Hilitext?
« Last post by rjbull on January 31, 2011, 11:04 AM »
Good thought, Eóin.  Just tried running as admin.  I had to put in my registration again, and got this message:

***** CRITICAL *****
The application cannot be launched because it failed in installing the
core services (error code: -2147483647).
Please check the application integrity and try again.

Exited, ran it again, loaded OK, and looking in About, it says it's registered.  But, no highlighting at all.  :o  Firefox is running in user account, but surely Hilitext running as admin should still work.

What's DWM?
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