Recent Posts

1651

Find And Run Robot / Re: [Bug report?] farr - short freeze every 6 launch/close

« Last post by Armando on January 16, 2008, 07:44 PM »

I see. Thanks!

1652

Find And Run Robot / Re: [Bug report?] farr - short freeze every 6 launch/close

« Last post by Armando on January 16, 2008, 06:14 PM »

BTW - removing ALL plugins from the plugin folder didn't seem to affect the short freeze problem -- so it's not plugin related, it seems.

1653

Find And Run Robot / Re: [Bug report] Plugin related problem (it seems) : can't "reload" them!!!

« Last post by Armando on January 16, 2008, 06:07 PM »

OK. Problem is the farr alt tab plugin. I zipped it for now. Even with a new ini etc., farr doesn't like the farr alt tab plugin. Don't know why...??? Anybody else has problems with that ?

Edit : same problem there  : https://www.donation...51.msg93515#msg93515. Except that my Alt Tab plugin is up to date.

I reinstalled the plugin. Now it works. Weird.

1654

Find And Run Robot / [Bug report] Plugin related problem (it seems) : can't "reload" them!!!

« Last post by Armando on January 16, 2008, 06:00 PM »

Here's what I got when I wanted to re-enable my disabled plugins :



and then, after pressing "OK"




It's now impossible for me to load farr's plugins. What should I do?

1655

General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by Armando on January 16, 2008, 05:40 PM »

I think this is a small bug. 12 jan + 1 day duration does give 13 jan but it should be < 13 jan, I use <=13 jan.

It is now fixed.

-PPLandry (January 15, 2008, 10:24 PM)

Indeed. I tried the new build and it now works as expected. 

1656

General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by Armando on January 16, 2008, 05:35 PM »

Also, a weird thing has been happening with my HTML Pane content the last few days.  The text inside appears in random places.  Like, just now, I got the pane content I wrote in another grid show up in one of the items of my transcript grid.  Something is buggy about it.

-superboyac (January 16, 2008, 04:34 PM)

This seems very much like the "bug" I previously mentioned about the html pane (in one of my long posts).

1657

Find And Run Robot / [Bug report?] farr - short freeze every 6 launch/close

« Last post by Armando on January 16, 2008, 05:29 PM »

Every 6 launch/close ( ), farr will freeze for about 5.5 seconds (usually when launching something or just before being "closed"/hidden...). I don't know exactly when this has started, but it's been like that for a little while... probably since I changed my Launch history value to 999!

Anyway : I've discovered that the freeze corresponds to when farr saves changes to its ini file and creates a backup. Needless to say, my ini file has lots of lines... hence, it's pretty "big" (for an ini file... 69.5 Kb). But why on earth would it take so much processing power and freeze farr for a full 5.5 sec to save an ini file and create a backup?

I tried reducing the ini file's size  (by cutting the "LaunchHistory" section to 30 items) : farr's 6th satanic shutdown is much quicker : there'll be a slight freeze :1-1.5 sec maybe). The devil is in the ini size, it seems -- in this case, bigger isn't better, it seems...

(PS : just in case, I also tried stopping my antivirus and firewall -- they don't seem to be guilty of anything here. Maybe a "faulty" plugin? I tried deactivating them all, but it still does it. I could try reinstalling everything, but don't have enough time tonight [edit : see next post].)

(computer specs : laptop, core duo 1.8ghz, 2GB RAM)

1658

General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by Armando on January 15, 2008, 10:27 PM »

Nice.
(Going to bed now... trying to get back some sleep...  )

1659

General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by Armando on January 15, 2008, 10:18 PM »

Day view ([1]) is selected.

1660

General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by Armando on January 15, 2008, 10:05 PM »

Just edited my post

1661

General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by Armando on January 15, 2008, 10:02 PM »

Using IE or Gecko is messy stuff. I'm using a wrapper to isolate me from that. I would not want to write such a wrapper for the Gecko engine  . So it will be IE or Word (or a third party)

-PPLandry (January 15, 2008, 09:51 PM)

I see... 

re: licences: If word is installed, anybody can call it

-PPLandry (January 15, 2008, 09:51 PM)

Convenient.


OK. SQLNotes date filter related question : there's something I don't quite get with the "date filter". I'm probably missing something.

Why is this item still showing when the date filter is set to : "Due < 12 janvier 2008 ....... 0 days"



Edit : BTW : When the filter is set to "11 janvier 2008", the item finally disappears.

1662

General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by Armando on January 15, 2008, 09:47 PM »

A-MA-ZING. Very exciting.

Pierre, it seems like it's going to be *really* powerful... + no redundancy (well, in my case, since I'm using Word as my main Word Processor).

(Aren't there any restrictions with MS licenses, etc.?)

Also, for the above mentioned bug (Access violation at address 7C901010 in module 'ntdll.dll'. Read of address 0000004C).  Could it be related to the Trident/IE engine? And so, would the gecko engine make a difference and... could it be used (unless that would involve licensing complexities + huge rewrites...)? I'm by no means an expert, of course...

1663

General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by Armando on January 15, 2008, 09:32 PM »

@Armando:
Using MSWord as the HTML Editor is an excellent idea. Making a full featured editor is a big job which I'd like to postpone if I can. Preliminary test seem good. I can create a word document in a window and load text into it. Menus are OK too. Main thing left to fix: docked toolbars do not show.

-PPLandry (January 14, 2008, 11:33 PM)

fast pace! 

I got this idea thinking of how Outlook 2003 offers the choice of using word as the email editor.

Will your "version" integrate MS Word's "engine" inside SQLNotes' interface (like SQLNotes original html' UI is part of SQLNotes, or like MS Word can be Outlook's email word processor) ? Or will Word and SQLNotes' UI and engine remain 2 very distinct  BUT communicating entities?

(You don't have to answer... I'm thinking out loud.)

1664

Older Newsletters / Re: --> Special Edition Mini Newsletter for January 13th - Codename "Three Things"

« Last post by Armando on January 14, 2008, 10:25 PM »

Thanks for the "Special Edition Mini-Newsletter", mouser. Not a bad initiative at all!

1665

General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by Armando on January 14, 2008, 09:34 PM »

Then, I came back to what I typed in the html pane before, and it wasn't there anymore.

-superboyac (January 14, 2008, 06:15 PM)

Did you try a quick search? (Ctrl + Q)
Or a normal one ? (Ctrl + F)
If it's still there somewhere, it should show up...

1666

General Software Discussion / Re: post your 5 most used applications in 2007 here!

« Last post by Armando on January 13, 2008, 02:18 AM »

FullRecall

-tamasd (January 10, 2008, 05:21 PM)

looks interesting...

FullRecall is a software that can help you memorize the knowledge for lifelong periods with the minimum time investment. Underlying artificial neural network gradually grasps your forgetting curve to schedule optimal days for the reviews–i.e., days when you will be close to forgetting an information.

http://fullrecall.com/

1667

General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by Armando on January 13, 2008, 01:42 AM »

Pierre : reading your answer on the other thread (GemX ), I’ve been thinking about Ultra Recall… Which you’ve probably tried… or not ?
An in depth comparison of Ultra Recall and SQLNote should be very interesting.

I think I find SQLNotes less restrictive, but maybe more “geeky”… They're somewhat different beasts though, as UR tries to be the database for everything on your hard drive, and almost encourages you to store-import documents (word documents, etc.).

Pierre, I hope you don’t mind… but I feel like giving it a short shot…. It's been a while since I tried UR, but off the top of my head I'd say that some advantages over SQLNotes are :

- Better export/import features (for now): for example, its Outlook import/export was/is outstanding.
- Better and more mature tagging (Keyword) features (for now…)
- More stable, I believe (maybe) (for now, again…)
- Better proofing tools (for now?)
- A find and replace tool (until soon… I hope)
- Able to internally show external (linked) document
- More mature “logical linking” features (for now)
- Better Undo/redo…
- Somewhat lighter on resources… I think (I noted in my Utra Recall document : 0% of cpu power and 30-40mb with a minimal database. Right now, with a pretty minimal database too, SQLNotes consumes between 5-10% cpu and about 60mb of RAM…)

and maybe :
- UR has a somewhat more polished and intuitive interface (for now ... but I DO like SQLNotes’ interface : there's something that's more coherent about it); I liked UR’s data explorer pane where there was a kind of folder view of the data, but it didn’t seem convenient for huge amounts of items
- UR has VERY accurate Web Clipping... ALTHOUGH in some ways, Web Clipping is better in SQLNotes ... last time I tried Ultra Recall, you couldn't edit what you clipped! It might have changed, but I doubt it (I checked their forum and release history…)


Some UR’s disadvantages now…in other words : some less powerful aspects of Ultra Recall (IMO) :
-   Displaying of numerous nested items can be somewhat less "clear or convenient” than SQLNotes “outlined grids” model. Hierarchical representations of items in grids is just very very convenient. SQLNotes’ "Ecco style grid" approach allows for an incredibly coherent and flexible way of displaying data (mind mapping abilities, or export feature to mind maps softwares would be fun too... but that's another story...) .
-   In Ultra Recall, the calendar is really not that great... SQLNotes future one looks MUCH more promising,
-   No "Immediate note taking" in UR, if I’m not mistaken... now MUCH better in SQLNotes.
-   If I remember well, table and formulas, etc. are better in SQLNotes and are underdeveloped (or non-existent?) in Ultra Recall... Am I right?
-   UR doesn’t offer SQLNote’s sophistication for data analysis, filtering, etc. (like pivot tables, etc.)
-   UR offers no quick "search as you type" feature
And…
-   Developer is not as accessible and… quick to make changes!

Those who use Ultra Recall on a regular basis, what do you think of these comparisons?

(I'll shut up for a month now...)

1668

General Software Discussion / Re: GemX - missing in action

« Last post by Armando on January 12, 2008, 08:13 PM »

Actually, you're right. Bad wording on my part, sorry!!!
Although since new versions of the beta appear almost every month, it's like an endless trial... until the final version (will be released, at some point). Pierre Paul Landry (pplandry DC member : very nice and open developer) suggested a $49.99 introductory price. But "contributing" beta testers should get a free license (you could check that with him though).

So... you downloaded it.... You should also go check the thread about SQLNotes.

SQLNotes is really impressive once you start to understand how it works and everything you can do with it. I can't wait for the essential features I need to be implemented : calendar (soon) + Outlook import and palm syncing (if it happens)... I'll just ditch Outlook and many other software, most probably.

1669

General Software Discussion / Re: GemX - missing in action

« Last post by Armando on January 12, 2008, 07:52 PM »

Btw. I have just received a reply from GemX through DSM, in about 2 hours after the request. (And it's long after their business hours.)

-tamasd (January 12, 2008, 07:42 PM)

Well, if they can get back on tracks, that's cool for all those who still use and like their products!

From the little testing of TexNotes that I did, I don't think it can add to what you have (Onenote, Evernote). Well depends on what you are looking for. To me TexNotes was more about text formatting and editing and such (and very powerful), than about data, which is where Onenote and Evernote shall be more powerful. GUI seemed extremely overdone, way too many things, but it was also very configurable so no problem..

-tamasd (January 12, 2008, 07:47 PM)

I agree with all that.

I'll add to what I say previously that, nevertheless, TexNotes is a very nice and likable application and it has some very good export features... So it's still an option, ken, if you're willing to take the GemX route...

1670

General Software Discussion / Re: GemX - missing in action

« Last post by Armando on January 12, 2008, 07:16 PM »

I create a lot of text files (which I currently manage with UltraEdit) and have been thinking for a while that using a Rich Text app to manage them would have some real benefits.

[...]

In addition to UltraEdit, I also own and love both OneNote and EverNote Plus. Perhaps once I understand TextNotes Pro better, I'll realize it doesn't do what I think it does or that it doesn't add meaningful features or benefit to my current software configuration. Any thoughts?

-KenR (January 12, 2008, 03:22 PM)

My feeling is that it probably won't do much more than OneNote for you, in terms of features (especially regarding text formating and outlining), etc. to justify using it. Unless you want to create little manuals, books, etc. : it has some nice features to achieve that (but then, other applications can do similar things too). You should maybe know that some here (like Nudone) have found TexNotes to be crash prone, which is NOT good for a text "editor"... I can't

If you'd just prefer many to work with single (RTF or not) files instead of files inside a database, there are other options out there.

One option that some people like (here at DC : J-MAC) is AM-Notebook, written by aignes (Martin Aignesberger).

AM-Notebook uses that file format : http://www.trichview.com/, and everything can be exported in RTF format.

According to some, AM-Notebook might have problems with Unicode support though… But that might not be a problem for you since you speak English.,.


For notes, you could also use SQLNotes (code name), which is now available for free for a free 50-55 days trial  in beta ("renewable" at each new  beta installation, if I remember correctly). It’s immensely powerful and does much much more than only note taking… but it could be used just for that if you wanted. The new Daily Build, allows for rapid NoteTaking, GTD fashion — but you first need to register at the SQLNotes website (http://www.sqlnotes.net/)  and download the full version (and install it…) before you can extract the daily build and copy it in your SQLNotes program folder…

SQLNotes might well be overwhelming though... I'd first try AM-Notebook.

Good luck!

1671

General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by Armando on January 12, 2008, 05:39 PM »

Pierre :  Ok… Last last comments... (I hope you find these useful  )

about the « tagging” feature. I think that this "terminology" can be a bit misleading . But it might well be just MY OWN misunderstanding.


This is how you explain the tagging option:

The Tagged list: Tagging items is a bit like selecting items. Except that they remain tagged until you explicitly un-tag them. Many operations can be performed using selected items or tagged items.

....I still don’t really get all you can do with what you call “tagging”. It seems to me that tagging in SQLNotes is more like linking or even bookmarking. (If so, couldn’t you change the “tag” term by something like “bookmark” or "Link" ? IMO, it’s more a bookmarking feature than a tagging one. Bookmarking-tagging something could also be shown by an asterisk beside the Item #, or a color change, or even HAVE ITS OWN FIELD... Right now, I believe it appears only in the properties pane, as somekind of special “non-dragable to the grid” field.)


As for “web 2.0” style tagging (like the “book index” metaphor I mentioned earlier in this thread... or somewhere else), will that be implemented in a way that’s more directly usable?
Yes, the present “category” field allows tagging in a broad sense (as would any field used for that purpose, in fact), but the categories inserted there form a “sentence” so to speak and each term is not inherently differentiated  (to allow proper sorting and complex manipulations).

For example : in Outlook, by inserting “;” between terms in the category window or field, you get clearly diffentiated  terns/categories. Then :

- “Items-tasks-events” can be dragged dropped from one category (or tag) to another when viewed in a “grid”
- “Items-tasks-events” can be clearly sorted according to each individual tag term,
-  users can also choose tags in a list that’s updated everytime a new category/tag is created -- so that (for example) a theme is not tagged differently multiple times,
- etc.

I’m pretty sure that there are already ways to do some of that… I just don’t know how (I don't fully understand all the field's parameter).

(BTW : I think EverNote has created one of the finest categorizing/tagging system. Tag2find’s one is also pretty neat.)

1672

General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by Armando on January 12, 2008, 04:32 PM »

OK, last contribution for today…
 

I mean, do you guys see how powerful this program is?  It's like I'm creating my own mini-programs here.  I bet there is someone out there selling some kind of transcript software.

-superboyac (January 11, 2008, 01:03 PM)

I really share that love for SQLNotes. In my case, I really have to fight against my inner geek to not start using it more. And the reason for that is that it would be a bit suicidal to move my data from Outlook to SQLNotes now…. because I rely so much on my palm. I still need Outlook, UNFORTUNATELY.
I told Pierre that the palm syncing thing was primordial to me (so is the calendar…), and so is the transfer of all of my Outlook data.

I think that the most important things now  to have more people trying SQLNotes (and see all its huge potential -- literally) are:

1-   In time, A better manual/- a good helpfile + even MORE tooltips (for columns, etc.).  SQLNotes is not yet exactly that... “intuitive”… Remember, superboyac : at the beginning you said that you couldn’t “get your head around it”...

So… The “getting started” page is a good… start… I like it, but I’m sure that there are still some basic and important questions that should soon be answered about data manipulation. Like:

• Where's the data when it's not in the grids and how to populate the grids with that "invisible" data ? (An “empty” search shows all items in the data base… but…)
• What’s the searching syntax all about ? I know its probably SQL syntax — which I admit I don’t know much about… but, eventually, a little guide for the user will be a big  +. And also, some more prefabricated syntax suggestions in a drop down menu.
• How does one use the pivot tables (a very simple, “walk through”, guide… like : 1- right click on the “empty” pivot chart, 2- select “Field List”, etc.)
• What does that mean exactly (in the "getting started guide") : "the basic concept is to arrange pieces of information (items) using a tree outline, put these items into folders and assign values.” Which folders ? Personally, I don’t see folders anywhere.

      Or some UI related questions like :

• How do you "reactivate" some special toolbars if you make them disappear by mistake ? (I'm thinking of the "menu tool bars", like the "View" --> "Grids " tool bar – I now know that you can drag menus and create new toolbars, but… I mention this one because it really took me a while to find out how to restore that damn tool bar I "deleted" by mistake  )

Etc.

I believe that these minor but important additions to the "getting started guide" will help.


2-   Better import of Outlook or ____ (fill with your favorite app’s name) data in SQLNotes (I’m mentioning Outlook because it’s still a pretty popular choice… and I use it everyday ),
 
3-   Less stability issues. OK, it's generally pretty stable, but certain things will just crash it. Some examples of what crashed it this morning (I know I've just been somewhat unlucky -- it's never been like that before... I mean, it'S a bit like if I did all the "wrong" things  ):

• mix of shortcut keys and other UI configurations : an hour ago I pressed ctrl+alt+1 (and then I also tried all other 1-9 numbers) and it crashed  SQLNotes. (Pierre : I think I now  know what’s doing  it : if you remove the Grid “menu toolbar”, SQLNotes won’t be happy about it.
• I wanted to see the “itemHTML” field in my Grid, and the app froze (maybe because it was trying to display in the grid something that was to “big”???? Don’t know)
• I wanted to move an item to another Grid (by drag and drop) and I got a “Runtime error ’94’ Invalid use of Null. I was then able to achieve the same thing by enabling the right field in the "properties" pane/window.
• Some times, when the panes are docked to the right, a weird thing happens :

Resizing the “blank pane” or trying to make it disappear will eventually crash the application.

When SQLNotes crashes, some data just disappears from the grids, and customized columns (and UI customizations in general) usually disappear too… I know it's not all necessarily gone for ever (especially the data), but it can be a bit traumatizing when you don't know where it's all gone and how to get it back.
For now, I’m sure these crashes could discourage someone with a busy schedule…   It’s still beta software though, so it’s normal to have stability issues.

4-   Some other important (and soon coming, I know) features like a good calendar, gantt charting and easy tagging will be major attractions.


Another suggestion (I just thought about that while writing) : I wonder if grid could be displayed as a kind of folder hierarchy. So we could also group grids according to themes, etc. What do you think?

1673

General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by Armando on January 12, 2008, 03:50 PM »

A bunch of questions and/or suggestions:

UI related :

-   Is there an option for the “refreshing rate” of the UI? I wonder if SQLNotes could refresh grids more often — e.g.: every time an item is moved, changed, etc. I know one can press F5, but at first I didn’t know I HAD to and I didn’t understand why, for example,  the “grid tab” said  “(5)” when there were only 4 items in the grid.

-   In the little video demo of SQLNotes, you show how the detailed texts (HTML, I guess) of your items appear inside the hierarchy, as a “normal” outlined text… That’s really nice. How do you do that?

-   Can one “force” SQLNotes to save the UI exactly as it is EACH time it exits and then restore it EXACTLY as it was on startup? Right now, all my “grid tabs” are closed except for one on restore, and I’d like to have all of them opened as they were when I exited SQLNotes.

-   Sometimes, I switch items but the html editor displays the same data, a bit like if it was stuck. For example, it’s “title” will say something like “HTML: blabla (ID=17)” and will remain like that, whatever the select item. Why? Some related questions :

• How is the HTML “field” (I’m not even sure how to call it because it’s one of those “special fields”) treated and linked to the items : is it like an independent but “linked” item, or is it really an inherent part of the item?
• Could the HTML field be shown in someway in the “properties” pane ? so that if there’s something in it, it shows somewhere, even if the HTML pane is not opened.

-   Shouldn’t the AlphaNumeric and Date filter toolbars be added to the “toolbars selection menu” (when one right clicks on a toolbar)?

• Related to that… In the “View” menu, there could be a “toolbars” option where we can select the toolbars to display. I know that it’s possible to right click on the toolbars, but it would just add to the ease if use, IMO

-   It’s possible to customize keyboard shortcuts by right clicking on a toolbar and selecting “customize. I think that this “Customize” option should be added to the “tools” menu.

-   I’d like to have a “Save” feature/option in the “file” menu (not only “save as”). So if I want to save, I can… Even if I’ve set it to save every minute!

-   It would be great to be able to set/have/save different views for the same Grid (a bit like Outlook “views”)

-   It would be nice to be able to dock the image viewer like other panes (property, HTML…) and have the images appear beside the HTML pane, or autohide for instance… (it can really get in the way otherwise).

• Also, related to the image viewer, a feature to set the "resizing mode" of the picture (according to the windows width or height, or to even keep the original size) would be great.

Others :

-   Could the html pane use… MS Word as a word processor, as an option ???  Oh my god, that would be sooooooo nice… That might be completely impossible though. 

-   I find that SQLNotes is always using bewteen 2-9% CPU (I’ve got a core duo 1.8 ghz) when it’s opened, even if it’s not being used… Why is that? It’s a pretty high value for an app that’s just sitting the background. too high for my taste anyway.

-   The “show picture” feature in the “view” menu could have the option of always resize pictures to fit certain dimensions (and it the dimensions should be pretty small by default because it can really become unusabe if one has big pictures in there)


Ok... that was maybe too long -- and long to write!!!! Next time I should probably just phone you Pierre...???

1674

General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by Armando on January 12, 2008, 02:59 PM »

Edited my previous post, Pierre.

1675

General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by Armando on January 12, 2008, 02:46 PM »

Pierre : the "new quick Add Item form" is really nice. This is a great addition which will contribute to close the gap between SQLNotes and other note taking/Web clipping programs, and it will certainly achieve its aim of... boosting productivity (ahem... in my case, nothing computer related ever boosts my productivity...  ).

EDIT :
It works really well and I wonder if it'd be possible to have an option to automate it even further for web clipping : the appearing window could be shown only when another key would added to the usual hotkeys combination (win+A in EverNote), otherwise, what's been selected would automatically be copied, the default options would be instantly applied (folder, category, etc.) and a title (based on the first text line of what's clipped) would be automatically chosen... Et voilà.

For instant notes and gtd, a similar option could be selected/unselected to automate the process further : a title (based on the first text line of what's written) could be automatically chosen... It could be edited afterwards, of course...