Recent Posts

4426

General Software Discussion / Re: Browser Bunch 1.1.0.0

« Last post by MilesAhead on May 07, 2012, 12:45 PM »

Browser Bunch 1.1.0.0 Now if Default Button on Gui is blank, when you press it you are prompted to assign the default browser, if the program can determine it. If you click No on the MsgBox, then a File Open Dialog is presented, same as for all the other buttons.

This is kind of a quick start. If you only use one browser no sense making you load it manually. I could detect default browser on start up, but that would complicate setting the default button to some other browser. This method is simpler and less likely to go wrong.

At this point there is no automatic ini file backup. Once you have your browsers set up I recommend making a copy of your BrowserBunch.ini file. Since the program launches and quits, there's no tray icon menu for other commands. The design is simpler.

I guess I could add an .ini file option IniBackupName or something. If not blank I can copy the existing ini file to that name before overwriting it. I'll try it out and see if it makes sense to do it like that.

4427

General Software Discussion / Re: Browser Bunch 1.0.0.0

« Last post by MilesAhead on May 07, 2012, 12:10 PM »

If run with no params, it shows usage and quits. You have to supply a UrlFile on the command line. Please read the Readme.txt.

It's not designed to stay running. It launches the browser with Urls and exits.
See the included example url file.

As noted in the Readme, it's designed to be run from SendTo or Jump List. From command line try
BrowserBunch ExampleURLfile.txt

then just hit Enter when the InputBox opens. I'm adding a means to pick up the default browser if it's not already set for the default button. I should post it in about an hour or so.

4428

General Software Discussion / Browser Bunch 1.4.2.1 beta

« Last post by MilesAhead on May 06, 2012, 09:31 PM »

Browser Bunch 1.0.0.0 is a launcher used with a file full of Urls. The file is specified on the command line. This can be done conveniently using SendTo Menu.  Windows Seven Jump List is even better. Pin the program to Taskbar. Drag plain text files full of Urls onto the Taskbar Icon.

If the program is run with no params, it displays usage info.

Here's a screen shot of the Gui Window that pops up allowing you to select your preferred browser for this group of Urls:



As you can see some of the buttons are blank(they are all blank on first run.) If you press a blank button a File Open Dialog will allow you to associate a browser exe with that button. Or you can cheat and just add the paths to your browsers to the .ini file.

The program also has an option to use a filter. Say as example I saved 500 IMDB search Urls to my Urlfile. But I only want to show those that have "wind" in the name like Windstruck or Gone With The Wind. I type wind in the InputBox and only those Urls will be added to the command tail.

As you can see in the screen shot, the label gives the stats on the length of the command tail, and the number of tabs that would open if you launch a browser. Just press Esc Key or click on the 'x' in the corner of the window to abort the launch.

It doesn't have any fancy mechanism to collect urls. But as I noted in the Readme.txt EditPadLite7 will handle the drop of the address bar text from most browsers. Worked with chrome, MaxThon and Firefox.  Didn't like Opera. But select then copy and paste works with everything.

Download page:

http://www.favessoft.com/downloads.html

4429

Living Room / Re: Firefox and LastPass problems

« Last post by MilesAhead on May 03, 2012, 05:51 PM »

Thanks - I will give URLpack a try.

Update: Tried it and it works nicely.

Just on thing - I don't like the gather function. I keep some URLS on my desktop and I don't want them deleted from the desktop or added to a pack. Simplest way to do what you want it to create a shortcut on the desktop to URLpack (you could use desktop.ini and an icon to make it a distinctive shortcut) and just drop browser icons directly onto that shortcut. That way you don't create extra desktop icons and you don't delete irrelevant ones.

-Carol Haynes (February 27, 2012, 07:16 PM)

btw I experimented with drag and drop of addressbar on the Gui using ActiveX Web Browser Object to catch the drops. It worked ok for chrome, Maxthon, Firefox, but Opera does something differently. In any case it's not a good design to use the Gui for URL drop because I detect if a browser is the active window and if you hit the hotkey to open the Gui to drop onto it, instead it will open a bunch of tabs in the browser. (Works fine if you open the Gui first, but it's easy to forget that.) It was interesting though. "jethrow" on ahk forum showed me how to use the IE events to catch the drop and stop the browser from actually navigating while getting the url from the event params.

Here's the thread if you might like to incorporate it yourself in your own mod:

http://www.autohotke....php?f=1&t=85778

4430

General Software Discussion / Re: Locate32

« Last post by MilesAhead on May 03, 2012, 04:57 PM »

There's an OS API where you can register your app or window to get folder change notification messages or updates. I forget if it uses a Windows Message or what. Last time I used Locate32 I noticed when I set it to automatically detect changes, I got that Explorer opening every file in the system. I assume it used that API. If I turned the automatic change detection off, it didn't churn the drive but then I had to do manual updates, sort of like the Linux locate command.

Everything Search isn't perfect.  Sometimes I notice on start it doesn't refresh the little database and I have to kill it, delete the .db file, then run it again. Now and then it happens. Other than that it's pretty easy on the drive. It keeps the .db in memory. I notice when I kill the app it writes the file to the home folder.

Of course on Vista pre-SP1 there was a lot of stuff that contributed to HD churning. SP1 fixed most of it. Even so, I turn Windows Search indexer off for Windows Seven.

4431

General Software Discussion / Re: Locate32

« Last post by MilesAhead on May 03, 2012, 03:48 PM »

btw I'm curious. I used Locate32 for quite awhile. But I noticed on Vista it used folder change notification on the entire drive it seemed. I noticed periods where my drive was all but unusable as Explorer went through every file on all my disks checking if they changed or something. It really made it unusable for me. Did you notice anything like that? Perhaps it's been fixed?

Just wondering as that alone drove me to use Everything Search.

4432

General Software Discussion / Re: Locate32

« Last post by MilesAhead on May 03, 2012, 01:33 AM »

Alternatives to the StartUp Folder include:

RunIt that starts via Registry key

and Delayed Cuts where you can set delays for programs to space out the boot up loading.  Other than spacing out the load, Delayed Cuts is good for things like delaying a program that needs a network folder mapped as a drive letter to work, until after a command that maps the drive letter has run.  That's just one example. It's pretty general purpose.

.. both are available on this page:
http://www.favessoft.com/downloads.html

All my downloads are free for you to use at your own risk.
One proviso, I only have English Language Windows single monitor system for development. I can't support what I can't try out.

4433

Finished Programs / Re: IDEA: Simple Duplicate Folder Finder

« Last post by MilesAhead on May 02, 2012, 03:31 PM »

I always thought '+' sign was restricted as a file/folder name character. Apparently it is allowed. I just created a new folder named with a '+' at the start. But I am seeing a lot of stuff on the web about deleted files/folders that start with a plus not showing up in recycle bin, and other anomalies. It may be asking for trouble. Even though it's an allowed character, it's used for concatenation on the command line. It's bound to be misread by some software(likely Windows itself.)

edit: a leading underscore may accomplish the same thing without the bugs. _FolderName should float to the top.. unless you already have a bunch of folders with leading underscores.

4434

General Software Discussion / Re: Url Pack 1.6.2.0

« Last post by MilesAhead on May 01, 2012, 10:28 PM »

Url Pack 1.6.2.0 Set Gui popup window to Stay On Top.  Makes it easier to drag default folder onto it.

4435

General Software Discussion / Re: Url Pack 1.6.1.0

« Last post by MilesAhead on May 01, 2012, 04:22 PM »

Url Pack 1.6.1.0 Now the Default URL Folder may also be changed by dropping a single folder on the Gui.  Added MsgBox when changing the default folder to display the new value. The Url Folder Button no longer closes the Gui after pressing.  This makes it easy to select a folder for Drag & Drop when changing the default URL Folder.

About Box has been updated to reflect the new feature.

4436

Finished Programs / Re: IDEA: Simple Duplicate Folder Finder

« Last post by MilesAhead on May 01, 2012, 02:27 PM »

I think you would have a better chance lobbying an existing file manager to add the feature. Also I took a look at working with the new Windows Seven Libraries. It's all COM based and a lot of work for a feature that will only work in Windows Seven. Pretty nasty spaghetti code.

4437

General Software Discussion / Re: Url Pack 1.6.0.0

« Last post by MilesAhead on April 30, 2012, 06:57 PM »

Url Pack 1.6.0.0 Added Tray Menu command Set URL Folder to change the default URL folder. This is saved to .ini file as DefFolder option.  A BrowseForFolder Dialog appears. The folder containing UrlPack.exe is the root. It allows creating a new folder.  This way you may save multiple Packs and change the folder as a means to launch the particular pack. For example if you want to open the browser to only forums, you may copy or add url shortcuts to a sub folder Forums, then designate it as the default folder.

To set a folder not contained in the dialog tree you may type the complete path in the Edit Line. Of course you may also use the Edit IniFile command to edit the .ini file directly.

4438

Finished Programs / Re: IDEA: Simple Duplicate Folder Finder

« Last post by MilesAhead on April 30, 2012, 04:39 PM »

The only thing I found that looks like it may be close is this:

http://sourceforge.n...s/vfolderdups/files/

There's not much on description. I'm not going to install it to see exactly what it is. But it's a Windows installer so I'm assuming it's Win32 code.

Unless writing a file manager app most people aren't keen on providing code to delete folders/files. There's just too much potential for unhappiness with no real upside. I would try the freeware sites if this sourceforge utility is not it.

4439

General Software Discussion / Re: MagicRAR

« Last post by MilesAhead on April 29, 2012, 10:26 PM »

I don't do compressed folder. But I find the shell interface stuff interesting. They come right out and say it's all based on Undocumented Windows functions.

Just went on the Buy page and it's a subscription model. Only subscription I had was TV Guide and I don't even do that one anymore. There's better TV coverage for free on their web page.

4440

General Software Discussion / Re: Selector 3.4.1.0

« Last post by MilesAhead on April 27, 2012, 07:22 PM »

Selector 3.4.1.0 Increased the delay when copying text to clipboard. The old setting could miss capturing large blocks of text.

4441

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: AdBlock for Chrome

« Last post by MilesAhead on April 27, 2012, 03:29 PM »

I don't run a lot of tabs. So I don't have actual experience of your situation. But the only way I've found that handles the sudden audio is the chrome built in setting to just block all plugins. I seldom have more than 5 tabs open. But even so, I don't remember the last time I got surprised by noise just opening page. It's the best solution I've found so far. It's not part of AdBlock Plus. It's just a chrome content setting.

4442

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: AdBlock for Chrome

« Last post by MilesAhead on April 26, 2012, 10:10 PM »

I use AdBlock Plus in chromium 20.x. Also a good idea is disabling plugins in chromium settings. This totally kills off the "sudden loud noise" phenomenon when landing on a web page.

If I want to play a clip I right click on it and click Run This Plugin.  Works on about 95% of clips. In the rare case when the hitch in timing messes up the response I just load the same page in Firefox using Selector hotkey.

Since I only use Firefox as secondary browser I don't mess with all the NoScript settings. I just set it to block everything unless I want to play something on a particular page. I find this approach removes all the "white list" tedium and just gets the job done.

I don't mind the ads so much if they are just graphical. But that sudden screech business should be illegal.

4443

General Software Discussion / Re: Url Pack 1.5.2.0

« Last post by MilesAhead on April 26, 2012, 12:14 PM »

Url Pack 1.5.2.0 Minor bug fix where browser path could be wrapped in double quotes even if already quoted.

4444

General Software Discussion / Re: Url Pack 1.5.1.0

« Last post by MilesAhead on April 25, 2012, 09:48 PM »

Hope it works for you.  Funny how assumptions can block things. I just assumed browsers only looked for one web address on the command line. Surprised me when 3 I tried handled a bunch without complaining.

edit: btw, as long as it gets a browser from the .ini file setting, it won't check the default browser in Run Silent mode. That way you can override the default for your purposes. The quick way to get it to check for a new default browser is to use the Edit IniFile command in the Tray Menu. Just set DefBrowser to empty or delete that line altogether.  Then it will use the dummy index.html file to get the associated program. Just saves closing UrlPack, editing ini, opening etc.. it's done in one shot with Edit IniFile.

4445

General Software Discussion / Re: Url Pack 1.5.1.0

« Last post by MilesAhead on April 25, 2012, 08:51 PM »

Just uploaded again, but it's just updating the version number in the Readme.txt. No script or exe changes.

4446

General Software Discussion / Re: Url Pack 1.5.1.0

« Last post by MilesAhead on April 25, 2012, 08:39 PM »

Url Pack 1.5.1.0 No longer uses .vbs script. The "Run Silent" with multiple URLs on the command line is run directly out of AutoHotkey_L now.

If you delete everything but the URLS folder and the UrlPack.ini file, then unzip the new version into the folder, it should be good to go. It's not necessary to do that.  But it's a good test that I included everything needed in the .zip.

4447

General Software Discussion / Re: Url Pack 1.5.0.0

« Last post by MilesAhead on April 25, 2012, 08:25 PM »

It probably doesn't have PowerShell. Hang on. I may not need to use it. I'll try without it and if it works I'll upload and post here.

4448

General Software Discussion / Re: Url Pack 1.3.3.0

« Last post by MilesAhead on April 25, 2012, 03:44 PM »

Heh hiya! sometimes it's a brilliant hack that makes an app really sing!

-TaoPhoenix (April 14, 2012, 07:44 PM)

I haven't tried out the latest release using your scenario, but the "Run Silent" mode may be worth a try. Search on "Run Silent" in Readme.txt for details. It loads very fast. In fact I'm not going to use delays myself unless I feel the need to load complicated URLs.

Basically it uses a .vbs script to run a .cmd batch(created dynamically) without the telltale command prompt flicker. All the sites are just concatenated on the command tail in the .cmd batch.

For example I'm using chromium with a URL pack of 4 sites. This one, Videohelp.com, Vista64 and Windows Seven forums.  When I hit the hotkey chrome.exe just comes up with them all in tabs. No delays.

4449

General Software Discussion / Re: Url Pack 1.5.0.0

« Last post by MilesAhead on April 25, 2012, 03:38 PM »

Url Pack 1.5.0.0 Added "Run Silent" mode. If both long and short delays are set to 0 the Open URLs Button will use this mode.  Instead of opening the pages with the default browser via file association, the default browser is determined via system call, or the DefBrowser .ini file setting is used. The browser is then run via RunSilent.vbs script to open all the URLs by specifying on the command line.

Naturally this will only work with browsers that accept multiple URLs on the command line. But it works for me using Firefox, Opera and Chromium.

This is a very fast method. But some complicated URLs may cause page load errors. The simpler the URLs the better.

See Readme.txt for the gory details.

4450

General Software Discussion / Re: Url Pack 1.4.0.0

« Last post by MilesAhead on April 23, 2012, 06:34 PM »

I did find when playing around with my Selector app, that chrome, firefox and opera will accept multiple web addresses on the command line.  At least simple ones. https login types may have an issue.  But I just tried loading Firefox via batch with 4 pages while doing a malwarebytes scan to busy the HD. It loaded fairly quickly, considering.

Here's a .vbs script to run the batch file without the telltale command prompt flicker

[Select]

Set WshShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
WshShell.Run "C:\Utils\DoFirefox.cmd", 0
Set WshShell = Nothing

and here's the .cmd batch to open the pages in FF

[Select]

start "" "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php http://www.videohelp.com/ http://www.vistax64.com/ http://www.sevenforums.com/

Adjust the paths to suit your system. A few shortcuts with a couple of web page sets may alleviate the need to use a Saved Tab Set.

Just playing around and thought I'd pass it on.

edit: If I read the docs right, XP and later the command line should be able to hold a max of 8191 characters, including the program path, switches and all other args such as web addresses or file names.  That should still be enough room to launch quite a few pages out of batch though. I rarely open more than 5, but you should be able to cram a dozen in there.