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1801

General Software Discussion / Re: Fixed Drive Letters for Removable Drives

« Last post by Target on November 06, 2007, 10:28 PM »

thanks for clarifying this, unfortunately it doesn't help...

Once you've assigned your usb devices to NTFS junctions, they all appear identical in the remove usb storage device popup, ie for each device assigned a junction, you will see the line 'safely remove usb mass storage device'.  There is no reference to device names or drive letters (cos there aren't any!!).

If you right click on the tray icon and select safely remove hardware, you get a more detailed dialog box, with the option to drill down (in a tree view) on each device.  Using this method you can id which devices are which but at the expense of convenience (and when it's all said and done, that's what these things are supposed to be about) 

Target

1802

General Software Discussion / Re: Fixed Drive Letters for Removable Drives

« Last post by Target on November 06, 2007, 05:34 PM »

not sure what you're talking about here - opening/accessing the drives isn't a problem, it's shutting them down I'm having problems with...

the screen shot below shows 2 devices, one is my MP3 player (listed as F) and the other a USB key (just listed as a device)



The USB key has been assigned an NTFS junction, while the player hasn't (for this port).  Obviously if I assign them both NTFS junctions, then they will both appear identical...

so, how to tell them apart....

Target

1803

General Software Discussion / Re: Fixed Drive Letters for Removable Drives

« Last post by Target on November 06, 2007, 01:11 AM »

Bill Castner discussed it in the AUMHA Forums: The Care and Feeding of USB Storage Devices in XP.

great solution, however if you have multiple USB devices in use you don't get any indication of which is which when you try to remove a device, ie I use both a key and and MP3 player.  Using the NTFS junction method makes these devices appear identical when I want to remove a device (unless I go the long way round and right click)...

anyone got any suggestions???

Target

1804

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: Use scroll lock LED as hard drive indicator

« Last post by Target on October 18, 2007, 01:33 AM »

FYI, that command is in the script, albeit commented out...

i don't see why it couldn't be uncommented, then you wouldn't need to run it from the prompt (not sure what happens if you need to restart the script though...)

Target

1805

Coding Snacks / Re: REQUEST: Program that deletes all files/subdirectories in a directory...

« Last post by Target on October 16, 2007, 11:55 PM »

how about this then...

DelAge32 deletes or moves files with a mimimum age given by the number of days.
Syntax:   DelAge32 filespec days [options]

The files are specified by search pattern (e.g. *.* for all files), with relative or absolute path.

Options include: /recurse (subdirectories), /subonly (excluding initial directory), /includeRO, /rd (remove directory), /move target, /created (use "created" time stamp instead "last modified"), /accessed ..

Example:   DelAge32 C:\some\where\*.* 100 /recurse

Deleted files are listed with age (number of days). The output can be redirected to a file.
With option /preview the action can be safely tested without actually deleting or moving files.

http://home.mnet-onl...t.muc/wbat32.htm#top

maybe not an exact fit, but it's small, and free...

1806

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: fixing tray icons

« Last post by Target on October 16, 2007, 05:51 PM »

sorry, I'm not Tom C (any resemblance is purely coincidental...)

Target

1807

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: fixing tray icons

« Last post by Target on October 16, 2007, 12:55 AM »

yup, I have a setup that I'm pretty happy with, so I'm really only looking to sort out the icon randomising functionality...

I'm most definitely not looking for lots of bells and whistles.  I like small, and functional, and no installs...

Target

1808

Post New Requests Here / IDEA: fixing tray icons

« Last post by Target on October 15, 2007, 11:14 PM »

I have a requirement for something that can 'fix' which items are displayed in the system tray, kind of like those apps that save your desktop icon positions etc and force them into the same layout/configuration.

problem I have is that I like to hide all bar the icons I use (currently 2 AHK scripts, browser, and total commander), and I have to reset these every day.  The native (XP) functionality works, but the settings don't stick (see my thread here... https://www.donation...ex.php?topic=10398.0)

Ideally it would be something in AHK that could be integrated into the tray menu script I use (I'm sure this is possible, I just don't know how to go about doing it...)

TIA

Target

1809

Living Room / Re: tray icons, help!!

« Last post by Target on October 15, 2007, 11:04 PM »

good idea - i had thought about it, but wasn't sure whether anyone else had ever suffered under this 'feature'...

1810

Living Room / Re: tray icons, help!!

« Last post by Target on October 15, 2007, 09:09 PM »

Ahhh, at least it's not just me (no one else I know has this problem...)

not sure if I want to get another tray manager to 'fix' it though - I already use a AHK tray menu script, and an excellent AHK traymin script (it's unsigned, so I can't give credit - I think I may have gotten it from the forum) which cover off 2/3 of the functionality offered by most tray managers.  basically I only need to see those 2 icons, plus a couple of miscellaneous ones (browser, total commander).

I'm surprised this doesn't rate a mention somewhere, then again, maybe it does, but I just can't find it....

It doesn't even appear to be a windows annoyance (and it sure is!!)

Target

1811

Living Room / tray icons, help!!

« Last post by Target on October 15, 2007, 08:23 PM »

XP is intent on confounding me here...

I really like the tray icon function that lets me hide unused icons in the tray, however I can't get the settings to stick!!

I have 3 or 4 apps that I want to show (only!!) but I daily have to reset these.  Works fine for the day, but next day when I log in again I have to redo it...

I've googled but not come up with anything that even sounds close

anyone got any ideas????

1812

Developer's Corner / Re: Code Snippet Storage/Library/Catalog/Organizer/GinzuSwissArmyKnife

« Last post by Target on October 10, 2007, 12:11 AM »

dunno if this is of use, but I ran across this one in the last week or so

http://www.garybeene...gbware/gbcodelib.htm

free for personal use, $30 for commercial use

portable version available

snippets can be downloaded as well

sadly, I've never been disciplined enough to make myself use anything like this 

1813

Developer's Corner / Re: Programming 101 Lesson: Don't Purge User Data

« Last post by Target on October 01, 2007, 10:09 PM »

seems to there's 2 parts to this...

  1. the requirement for data retention.  The amount and type of personal info that could/should/would be retained would depend on the data and the user/use, however I can't think of a single instance where someone might not make a reasonable claim for that data (under FOI, or auditory requirements, legal actions, etc)
 
  2. the establishment and maintenance of a sensible data management process, ie live storage limits, archive timetables, etc.

in line with 1 above, it would seem appropriate for any business to retain all records of 'recent' transactions in a live database.  Most (big?) businesses analyse this information as a marketing resource if nothing else.  Obviously there are limits to the currency of any information, which is where 2 comes in, however there should always be the option to recover data which is deemed no longer current.

surely developers of a database of this type should be conscious of and make allowances for these requirements - this is a very sweeping generalisation but its just good practice

the amusing thing with mousers situation is that these institutions will aggressively seek your business via mailouts, telemarketing, advertising, etc, however they don't appear to value your business enough to retain either your business or your records....

another issue here (and slightly off topic I suspect) is what happens to his credit rating?  if this had been his only credit record (and a very clean one it would seem) and there is no longer any record of it, does this not place him at a disadvantage?

1814

General Software Discussion / Re: any excel pivot table experts out there?

« Last post by Target on September 13, 2007, 05:48 PM »

if you're building pivots manually, you can set the sort order and field in the layout options dialog (apologies if this isn't exactly correct - it's not something I use very often - but it'll get you started)

double click on the field header, then select advanced.

Set the sort order (descending?) and the field name (it will probably default to the 'active' column anyway).

you can force your pivot to refresh on open under the options dialog (or select TABLE OPTIONS from the pivot context menu) - last check box is refresh on open

1815

Living Room / Re: Forum Signature Spam: Let's discuss how to handle..

« Last post by Target on September 12, 2007, 08:24 PM »

for me sig's seem to be a double edged sword, on the one hand they can be enlightening or amusing, or you can be subjected to lines (and lines and lines) of meaningless drivel or overlarge images that add nothing.

don't know if this is possible (although from the above it seems likely) but why not block links in sigs altogether - it seems to me that most would probably sit better in the respective users profile.  This would stop potential spammers using this tactic at all

If a particular poster has a pressing need to publish a link, surely it should be relevant to the discussion/question, and included in their post

1816

Basic / Re: What flavors of basic?

« Last post by Target on September 11, 2007, 07:52 PM »

Whoa!! and I thought that was a simple question...

I'll take it that the answer is no, there is no officially preferred option

many thanks to all who responded, I shall look into the nominated alternatives


with respect to emergence, I have no particular allegiance here, I just started using it.  I will say that so far, so good.  The documentation is reasonable for a beginner, though it could be better.  I have yet to venture into the forums (you need to register first, and they screen your application) 

Thanks for the various heads up, but I tend to lurk more than anything as most forums seem to have a number highly active and responsive members who are far more skilled/experienced than I (and I tend to avoid rabid or elitist groups like the plague - I just can't be bothered with that sort of nonsense)

FWIW, I'm also working with FBSL, and it's driving me crazy!! 

I'm a braille programmer (no, I'm not vision impaired, and apologies to any who might be offended by that) - that is to say, I code by bumping into things (often repeatedly).  I usually have the editor and the help file open side by side and switch between the 2 as I go (I seem to spend a lot more time in the help files...).   

The FBSL documentation is probably fine for someone who already has another language under their belt, but I'm really struggling with it.

of course this has nothing to do with the original thread, but I really needed to vent <end rant...>
 

1817

Basic / Re: What flavors of basic?

« Last post by Target on September 11, 2007, 01:20 AM »

simple question (compounded by the above thread...)

I assume when I read basic, you mean BASIC, but the references to VB makes me wonder.

if we're talking BASIC, is there a preferred flavour??  I've been experimenting with Emergence Basic (no reason, it's free, and it was handy...), but if there's a better/preferred option I'd rather know now...