Recent Posts

3076

General Software Discussion / Re: ClipCache Plus 3.xx Preview...Don't Get Too Excited

« Last post by rjbull on November 17, 2005, 10:36 AM »

a preview of the next release of ClipCache.

-Nighted (November 17, 2005, 05:33 AM)

I registered out of sheer gratitude, but I've never bothered to install the shareware version as the old free one (clipc141.zip) does all I want...

I feel like I've lost an old friend. I'm going to miss this program. 

Do you feel an absolute need to change to something with more features?  Someone on Fidonet used to have a sign-off line: "in a pinch, a stone ax still works."

3077

General Software Discussion / Re: software i love

« Last post by rjbull on November 17, 2005, 10:31 AM »

hierarchical note tools (outliners)?

-mouser (November 17, 2005, 09:16 AM)

I'm still looking for a Windows  NON-hierarchical notes tool for storing (semi) random notes, like Memory Mate and InfoSelect for DOS were.  Everyone who's tried it says MM for Win is a dog, and InfoSelect for Win is far too expensive, besides doing lots that I don't want.

What I do want: indexed files for fast retrieval, and sensible Boolean search logic, not just single words or some crippled patronising "you can't possibly understand it" cut-down version.  However, useful as /regular expressions/ are in some situations, I don't need them here.

Mouser, if you do a directory synchronization review, will that include programs that synchronize laptops over a serial or parallel cable, as well as PCs over a network?  IThat last is all that SynchBack does - very useful, but not all I want.  I should add that Total Commander can easily synchronize PCs over a cable, but you have to do it manually.  That is, you can't (as far as I know) give it a script for a set of directories and actions and leave it over the lunch hour, or something like that.

3078

Best E-mail Client / Re: Pegasus Mail?

« Last post by rjbull on November 17, 2005, 10:15 AM »

I am a Batevangelist - I love it, and can't see myself changing email client for a long while.

-m_s (November 17, 2005, 04:17 AM)

Hmmm.  As long as that isn't a Battyvangelist...   

3079

Best E-mail Client / Re: Pegasus Mail?

« Last post by rjbull on November 17, 2005, 03:41 AM »

For instance the fact it requires a default reply-to address, which makes it nigh useless when working with multiple accounts...  It seems old-fashioned and clunky to me, and I would certainly choose Thunderbird over it, and possibly even OE. 

-m_s (November 11, 2005, 05:11 AM)

I see ThommyTulp has succinctly answered this in the interim - thanks, TT - while I went off and asked the same question in the Yahoo! Groups Pegasus area (the real support is by mailing list, but that's too busy).  Here's part of the reply.  It's message 43, but you have to join the list to see it, so no point in a link:

=== begin quote ===
> You do not have to enter a default repl-to address. You may do so
> if you want to, but you are not forced to. If you have not
> specified a default reply-to address, the replies to your
> messages are sent to the From-address of your message (i.e., to
> your e-mail address). Setting up a default reply-to address is
> useful only if the reply-to address is different from your actual
> e-mail address. An example: in a mailing list, you want to make
=== end quote ===

It seems old-fashioned and clunky to me,

-m_s (November 11, 2005, 05:11 AM)

Well, it -is- one of the older ones.  Who wants to be a fashion victim anyway...

3080

Living Room / Re: Looking for a few good puns

« Last post by rjbull on November 16, 2005, 04:24 AM »

I'm talking real groaners to torture my co-workers with. No blonde jokes or the like.

-Edvard (November 15, 2005, 06:14 PM)

Question:  Why do cats eat cheese?
Answer:     So they can wait outside mouseholes with bated breath.

3081

Mouser's Zone / Re: Ideas i want to bounce off you guys

« Last post by rjbull on November 16, 2005, 04:08 AM »

the moment we have a nag that cannot be removed until you dontate, or limit features, then the program ceases to be freeware.

-mouser (November 15, 2005, 04:53 AM)

As a personal comment: I think the problem with donationware is knowing how much to give. If I give a couple of dallars I feel rather stingy, but if I start giving $15-20 I start thinking 'do I really need this program?' and as a newcomer to the site I also wondered 'is there a cheap commercial version' or a 'free' version with no expectation of a donation? Don't misunderstand I think donationwar is a great idea but it takes some adjustment in the mindset.

-CarolHaynes (November 15, 2005, 05:34 AM)

A big difference here is that a single donation of any amount covers not just one, but several programs, AND from time to time gets you discounts on shareware.  If any of the software included is even modestly appealing, $20 or even more starts to look like a good deal.

3082

Mouser's Zone / Re: Ideas i want to bounce off you guys

« Last post by rjbull on November 15, 2005, 04:01 AM »

I wonder if there isn't a way to get people to participate more in the life of the site?

-m_s (November 14, 2005, 02:15 PM)

Sure you want that?  It's already getting so big and busy I can't keep up.

3083

Finished Programs / Re: Program closer

« Last post by rjbull on November 15, 2005, 03:51 AM »

a program that could sit in the system-tray and which would, on a mouseclick, drop down a list of running processes, so that the user could simple click, say, a red x to close any particular program or process?  Where would this be useful?  Well, I would find it handy for

-m_s (November 14, 2005, 05:15 PM)

Not system tray (use a program launcher like Horst Schaeffer's PopSel or Qsel); but try Taskill by DS Software  http://members.ozema...tv/freezip/freeware/
Quote
 "Taskill v1.02 [6kB]

Taskill is a process viewer and killer. It works in GUI or CLI mode and can kill multiple instances of the same task in one go."

Note the program size: 6kB!

 

3084

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: Locate 3.0 - great HD search tool

« Last post by rjbull on November 14, 2005, 04:13 AM »

It's old school, however. Based on the powerful, but venerable Norton Commander it's for those of us who were weaned on DOS & if a mouse was ever spotted next to our computers we knew it was time to set out traps. 

-Innuendo (November 11, 2005, 12:58 PM)

I'm using keyboard only whereever possible, but still prefer programs with a nice UI, that don't look like coded in 1992

-brotherS (November 12, 2005, 12:29 AM)

But... but...  that was back when programmers were REAL PROGRAMMERS, and wrote REAL PROGRAMS Many in assembler, too, for which you need to be close to genius level.  Anyone ever looked at Vsevolod Volkov's assembler-written Volkov Commander, which some people thought the best Norton Commander clone ever for DOS?

I love Total Commander; it was the first program I found that made Windows almost semi-tolerable.  I think Locate still has a place beside TC because it's indexed, which makes file-searching quicker.  It's one of a small class of like programs which include Catfish, Cathy, and  recently FastFind (most of these are noted at http://www.tinyapps.org).  However, on a quick look, Locate may well be one of the best, perhaps THE best.

Being at heart a DOS command-line person I also use another Locate, the one by Charles Dye;  http://www.highfiber...~raster/freeware.htm

It has a vast array of features well worth checking out by anyone who uses command lines, which amongst other things means that you can build your own batch files for specific jobs.  Though a DOS program (hand-coded assembler again) it understands Windows LFNs, extending its usefulness.

3085

Best E-mail Client / Pegasus Mail?

« Last post by rjbull on November 11, 2005, 04:44 AM »

I read the e-mail client review the other day, and was surprised to find that Pegasus Mail wasn't  included.  I'd always thought it was the best known of the freeware clients.  Is that pure chance, nobody happened to have any experience of it? 

3086

General Software Discussion / Re: Find words as you type - on the fly searching, almost anywhere

« Last post by rjbull on November 03, 2005, 04:10 AM »

I've long been looking for something that could spell-check on the fly, anywhere where text is entered.. and haven't found anything yet. Spell-check, and, well, maybe such things as stored texts which one could activate with keywords... like, for example, if you type "btw" that it would actually put in "by the way". In some cases that could be very useful

-moerl (November 01, 2005, 12:17 AM)

I have not tried these myself, but FWIW (probably not much):

====== begin quote ======
Occasionally you need to check the spelling of words in an application that does not include a spelling checker and you don't want to launch your word processor just for that. This is when tinySpell becomes handy. It is a small utility that allows you to easily and quickly check the spelling of words in any Windows application. tinySpell monitors your typing on the fly and alerts you whenever it detects a misspelled word. It also checks the spelling of every word you copy to the clipboard.
tinySpell installs itself in the system tray for easy access. It comes with an American-English dictionary containing more than 110,000 words.

 http://www.megspace....computers/tinyspell/

====== end quote ======
Freeware, with donation if desired

Would AllChars do for keyword-activated expansion?

http://allchars.zwolnet.com

But that's two programs, of course.

3087

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: ITSD Organizer keeps your notes at hand

« Last post by rjbull on October 14, 2005, 03:11 AM »

Jibz:  thanks, but my focus on these things isn't so much organization/to-do lists as strage and retrieval of information.  That's one reason I haven't bothered much with Keynote.  It doesn't have Boolean search logic, as far as I can see.  I've seen the suggestion (maybe here, but more likely TalkAboutShareware) that one could get round this by using freeware Treepad Lite to maintain files, and use also freeware and freestanding Treepad reader, which has better search features, for searching.  But, I haven't tried this.

3088

General Software Discussion / Re: Macro programs - advice sought...

« Last post by rjbull on October 13, 2005, 11:06 AM »

kfitting:  Thanks, that's clearer, though I have no experience of VB.  I'm not ig on hotkeys - prefer a menu, I think - so maybe AutoIt might be a better choice.

Did you know that there's a new version of AutoHotKey, hot off the press?
"The latest version is 1.0.40.00 (released October 11, 2005"

3089

General Software Discussion / Re: Macro programs - advice sought...

« Last post by rjbull on October 13, 2005, 04:53 AM »

Most of you probably know PTFB, Press the Freakin' Button, the excellent freeware tool for pressing dialog buttons.  The latest version is now shareware and has been much upgraded to become (yet another) macro program.  Does anyone have any experience with the new extended version?

Current link  http://www.tlhouse.c...uk/pc_software.shtml


N.B.  I shall be on holiday 15-30 Oct., far, far from a computer! 

3090

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: ITSD Organizer keeps your notes at hand

« Last post by rjbull on October 13, 2005, 04:45 AM »

New versions have not been released in two years, but go to the message boards.  THere are several posts from marek from June (I believe) giving status updates on

-kfitting (October 12, 2005, 12:23 PM)

Thanks; I really had assumed a complete halt on progress and it's good to hear that something's happening after all.

I've been using JBLab Secure Notes a bit;  http://www.jblab.com/pim.html
small, fast, quick startup, just like Treepad Lite, but with lots of useful extra features.  OTOH it's nothing like as nice to navigate around, which is one reason why I registered - gives a bit more urgency if I make suggestions to the author.  It turns out he's about to re-write it completely anyway.  I'm also hoping that Horst Schaeffer will bring out an upgraded version of MemPad  http://home.mnet-online.de/horst.muc/

3091

General Software Discussion / Re: Macro programs - advice sought...

« Last post by rjbull on October 13, 2005, 04:24 AM »

My definition of script (come up with on my own so don't get too hung up over it!) is just a file that can be run over and over to do a certain task... sort of an algorithm. 

-kfitting (October 12, 2005, 07:38 PM)

I wasn't thinking too clearly, again...  I suppose what I was wondering was how much work do you have to do from scratch, and how much does the program help you.  Viz., in PowerPro so many things are scripts because you have to know beforehand exactly what actions you want to perform, the right commands to enact them, and not leave anything out.  By contrast, Macro Express can "learn" by watching what you do.  I've found it still isn't perfect, especially when you start tweaking time delays between actions.

3092

General Software Discussion / Re: Controlling hotkeys

« Last post by rjbull on October 13, 2005, 04:08 AM »

?
Could you install " Folder View" again
remove the hotkey settings
and de-install it again.
?

-Stefan (October 13, 2005, 03:50 AM)

<sigh> I was afraid I might have to do that...

Thanks...

3093

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: ITSD Organizer keeps your notes at hand

« Last post by rjbull on October 12, 2005, 10:55 AM »

By struggle what do you mean?  I have several Keynote files over 4 meg and havent noticed any problems.  Once an individual node gets to be rather large the program slows down while in that node, is that what they meant?  Keynote 2 is supposed to alleviate a lot of this and add tremendous functionality... unfortunately, while development was started, no news has come in the last couple months.  Hopefully it hasnt ended, but we'll see.

Kevin

-kfitting (October 12, 2005, 05:39 AM)

It probably is what you mean, but quoting http://www.pcrei.com...PPMLA_README_1st.txt
which is the PowerPro support site
"Though I have given the steps to collect all the years' archive
into a single .knt file, mainly for searching purposes, my personal
advice is to keep each year's archive in a separate .knt file like,
2000.knt, 2001.knt, 2002.knt etc. This is because Keynote struggles as
the file size becomes larger taking longer time to open, save and
search. Since you can open multiple .knt files at the same time
(tools > configuration options > general settings > uncheck "allow
only one instance") it should be no problem."

Looks to me like Keynote development has been stalled for more like two years than two months?  But IIRC it's open source if someone else is willing and able to carry it forward.

3094

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: ITSD Organizer keeps your notes at hand

« Last post by rjbull on October 12, 2005, 03:33 AM »

For notes, recipes, game codes/faqs, whatever,  I stick with Keynote:

-Nighted (October 11, 2005, 11:40 PM)

Keynote's never quite "clicked" with me, and I noticed that the person who collects the Yahoo! group on PowerPro as a Keynote file remarked that it "struggled" with large files.  Any comments on that?

3095

General Software Discussion / Controlling hotkeys

« Last post by rjbull on October 11, 2005, 06:00 AM »

I installed Folder View, found it tended to hang/crash my system, so uninstalled it again.  But it's left a hotkey behind, and it's one I sometimes press in Total Commander's file finder.  Windows then says Can't find the folder, blah-blah.

How do I remove the hotkey when the application itself isn't there any more?  I can't click on the .EXE in Windows Explorer or whatever and (obviously) can't get to the Properties dialog of a file that no longer exists.

3096

Living Room / Re: Thinking about a DonationCoder.com fundraising thing.. opinions wanted

« Last post by rjbull on October 10, 2005, 08:17 AM »

How about an image (don't ask me to draw it) of a machine with a handle (could be like a meat mincer) - coins in one end, software out of the other ?

-CarolHaynes (October 03, 2005, 10:36 AM)

Weird Al Walker used to use an inverse of that, bits in, tools and product out
http://webappwarehou...om/weirdal/utils.htm

3097

General Software Discussion / Re: anyone know a commandline tool to add a line of text to end of a text file?

« Last post by rjbull on October 07, 2005, 04:00 AM »

Stefan mentioned SED and AWK, which are both command-line text manipulation tools.  SED is the simplest, and is best used for regular expression search and replace.  AWK is its own little programming language, and is a more powerful than SED, but much

-dajo (October 06, 2005, 08:21 AM)

Uh, I ended up feeling that SED was a bit like trying to use an early programmable calculator, and that AWK was actually easier simply because it's more like a recognisable language.  Eric Pement has a good Web site for both and also for the kind of command line tools Stefan mentioned (go to his SED page and keep paging down);

Eric Pement's  Web site; SED, Awk, Perl, search-and-replace utilities including useful supplementary information, help and workarounds for Minitrue / MT / MTR / Ministry of Truth under Windows 2000 / Win2K.

http://www.student.n...du/pemente/index.htm

One set of Unix utils ported to Windows and including CAT is at
http://unxutils.sourceforge.net

Mouser, here's the online help for the Berkley utils version of cat, more informative than the GNU equivalent;

=== begin quote ===
usage: berkcat file(s)
Concatenates the file(s) to the standard output.
If one of the files is `-', the standard input is used.
No options.
Example:
       C:>cat - file1 >newfile
       this is the new first line
       and this is the second.
       ^Z
       C:>mv newfile file1

This is a way to add 2 lines to the beginning of file1 without using
an editor.

To append file1 at the end of file2, type
        cat file1 >> file2
=== end quote ===

3098

General Software Discussion / Re: top 10 freeware apps from "snakeoillabs"

« Last post by rjbull on October 06, 2005, 05:12 AM »

Oh, and RJ, yes, I started out with AutoIt 2 and 3 early this year, but switched to AutoHotkey to suit my own uses for it. I use AutoHotkey mainly as an autocorrect and hotkey application. I have other scripts, some thanks to skrommel, but mainly for those two uses, which AutoHotkey makes easy and fast. If I'm correct, AutoHotkey is based on AutoIt.

-zridling (October 06, 2005, 01:06 AM)

Thanks, zridling...  I've steered clear of AutoHotkey partly because its autocorrect feature doesn't work in Win98, IIRC, and I still use some Win98 computers.

3099

General Software Discussion / Re: top 10 freeware apps from "snakeoillabs"

« Last post by rjbull on October 06, 2005, 05:06 AM »

1-4a Renamer looks mighty fine, but I love BULK RENAME UTILITY!

-zridling (October 06, 2005, 01:02 AM)

The requirements are resolution at least 800 x 600.  Currently I'm stuck in 640 x 480.  Talk about  "Worst.  Interface.  Ever." 

3100

General Software Discussion / Re: anyone know a commandline tool to add a line of text to end of a text file?

« Last post by rjbull on October 06, 2005, 05:02 AM »

Unix  cat  in various ports to Windows/DOS