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4451
Living Room / Re: DOTCOM saga - updates
« Last post by IainB on November 18, 2012, 10:46 PM »
Worth a read:
Megaupload Search Warrant Requests Ignored Massive Non-Infringing Use
As a direct result of the Megaupload raid many legitimate users of the site lost access to their personal files. To find out why the Government put the interests of copyright holders before those of the public, one user convinced the court to unseal the seizure warrant matarials. Surprisingly, however, there is absolutely no mention of Megaupload’s legal use in the released records. In a response Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom says the whole case is a tragic copyright comedy...
(Read the rest at the link.)
Looking at it in practical terms, how might you go about this Dotcom raid if you were the US authorities pursuing the matter?
Some people - not me you understand - might suggest that you could perhaps take the following approach:
  • Objective:
    Stated objective - To nail and bring to justice a commercial group suspected of copyright crime.
    Primary objective 1: To destroy their business enterprise rather than succeed in them being found guilty (guilt being likely to be too difficult to substantiate).
    Primary objective 2: To communicate the message that so-called "copyright crime" could be met with penalties worse than death and is just not worth it.

  • Constraints:
    All strategic instructions and directions are to come from the **AA.
    The police/SS authorities are to be responsible for devising/executing the strategy for surveillance, SWAT and seizure in their respective territories.

  • Problem:
    Authority to proceed needs to be based on evidence that a serious large-scale money-laundering/Mafia-type crime has been committed, however accusations are weak on substantive evidential proof.

  • Solution:
    • Make the proof up! For example, including fitting-up the suspects by getting them to behave like they committed a crime, by telling them to follow the directions from the FBI, during surveillance. Don't mention that you did that in the seizure warrant or subsequent charges/accusations. It'll leak out later.
    • So as to avoid the thing going to trial, arrange to make the raid illegal by default, so that charges will reluctantly have to be dropped - "It was a 'genuine mistake' yer honour".
    • Collaborate closely with the police/SS authorities and keep stressing the threats/risks so as to wind them up into a feva and testosterone/adrenaline-fuelled feel-good state of high alertness.
    • Communicate using FEAR: Act like terrorists so as to make an example that will literally terrify other suspected/potential copyright "criminals" (that's potentially every consumer on the planet). Let the dogs of war loose - make it a no-holds-barred, fun-filled SWAT-fest-with-prejudice exercise! Make it seriously over-the-top excessive violence at all times. (Don't waste all that testosterone/adrenaline!)
      "That's the way to do it!" (- Punch, in Punch and Judy).
    • Wiretapping the suspects illegally (without warrant).
    • After seizure, don't mention the humungus amount of legitimate property held on the servers. If there's any liability for damages or consequential losses from any of this, it's an externality that the State will be obliged to foot the bill for.
    • Effectively commit a crime (you're doing all this illegally, don't forget) against tens of thousands of people's property - and probably that of the suspects' themselves - by unwarranted and deliberate excessive use of force and seizure, seizing all servers and property (content/data), in order to destroy the suspect's business. Just Go For It and never mind the collateral damage - this is a SWAT-fest, don't forget!
    • Encourage the police to commit borderline/actual perjury in court, when giving their testimony. They are to just do their job the best they can.

  • Remember to ensure that you do all this illegally - because the warrants were invalid (both in the US and New Zealand, and maybe elsewhere too).

No, promising as this might seem, I really do think that it would be highly inadvisable to follow such an approach as is being suggested above by these people.
I mean, if you did actually do all that has been suggested, then wouldn't it rather look like as well as actually be an illegal action committed by police/SS authorities internationally?
I could be wrong, of course, but that could arguably be a close fit with the definition of a monumental State clusterfark. And then the State would also have the devil of a job trying to pay for and clear up the mess and discombobulation afterwards. Think of the cost in lost votes!

Oh, but wait...maybe that explains why the DOJ dragged their feet so much over releasing the sealed seizure warrant documents...
4452
Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: SysExporter - (Screen-scraping) Export data from Windows controls - Mini-Review
« Last post by IainB on November 18, 2012, 04:37 PM »
You saved me the effort of finding the references to those other programs  :)
There's a somewhat similar thread, dating to 2007: IDEA: Grab contents of an on-screen list.  It contains a skrommel AHK script, CopyListView.ahk.
-rjbull (November 18, 2012, 03:03 PM)

There's a veritable mine of information in those old DCF posts, and I did also see the item about CopyListView.ahk - and had meant to mention that opening post as an example of what I called "the general problem".
(I am about to rectify have rectified the omission now by updating the OP.)

By the way, it's probably a good job that you mentioned that particular IDEA thread, as I then went back and read the whole thing through (I did not do that before).
Though I had reckoned that CopyListView was ahead of its time (developed in 2007), I now see (having missed it before) that @JoTo recommends a then current version of SysExporter as an alternative solution.
I thought that was odd, because, if it wasn't then, then CopyListView would now probably be effectively rendered redundant/obsolete by the use of SysExporter.    :tellme:

Incidentally, I am still discovering/trying out further useful applications of SysExporter - the latest being in analysing the data about all the tasks in Task Scheduler. Take a look at Task Scheduler in SysExporter and you will probably see what I mean - you can get a sort of "flat file" view of all the tasks, which you can then (say) export to Excel for analysis.
I am considering the use of an MS Access database as an alternative/comparison to using Excel for this sort of analysis, but I suspect that Excel will probably win in terms of ease-of-use and flexibility. Still, suck-it-and see to find out.
4453
Living Room / Re: Internet freedoms restrained - SOPA/PIPA/OPEN/ACTA/CETA/PrECISE-related updates
« Last post by IainB on November 18, 2012, 03:36 PM »
I had seen but had forgotten about this - i.e., mandatory substantive evidential standards of proof required in file-sharing cases - until I came across it in StumbleUpon (which I hardly ever use). It is a post from TorrentFreak from March 2011.

The idea that this could happen in the US or elsewhere could presumably scare the pants off th **AA.
One wonders whether a great deal of commercial/political pressure already has been and will be brought to bear on the Danes to "rectify this anomaly" that they have created.
Substantive evidential proof of guilt indeed! Whoever heard of such a thing?    8)

Supreme Court Ruling Makes Chasing File-Sharers Hugely Expensive
March 25, 2011

A court ruling has not only sharply reduced the amount of compensation rightsholders can expect from Danish file-sharing cases, but has also drawn a line on evidential standards. To accurately claim their losses in future, rightsholders will have to gain physical access to an infringer’s computer. A leading lawyer in the field says the costs will prove prohibitively expensive.

In 2005, anti-piracy group Antipiratgruppen (APG) and the underlying music group IFPI tracked a man who they say was sharing 13,000 music tracks via a Direct Connect network. The case moved through the legal system and went all the way to the Supreme Court.

The 6 year-old case has now been concluded and although the rightsholder plaintiffs in the case won their battle – albeit in a much smaller way than anticipated – the Court’s ruling is set to prove a huge setback to their overall war.

The case against the now 57-year-old was brought by APG on behalf of many IFPI-linked record labels and artists. As is so often in these cases, they had hoped for a punishing outcome in order to deter others. The rightsholders had originally demanded 440,000 kroner ($83,400) in compensation but that claimed amount was ultimately reduced to 200,000 ($37,900).

However, yesterday the Supreme Court decided that the defendant should pay only 10,000 kroner ($1,900), a major setback for the rightsholders who had hoped for a much higher precedent-setting amount on which to model future cases.

The compensation-limiting factor problem proved to be the reach of the evidence relied on by Antipiratgruppen. APG used techniques which scraped the index of the files said to be being made available by the defendant and then linked them back to his IP address, a method which has been acceptable in the past. But while the Court accepted that some sharing had occurred due to the defendant’s confession, it wasn’t satisfied that the index was an accurate representation of the files physically present on the defendant’s computer.

Per Overbeck, lawyer for the defendant, said that the lowered compensation award shows that it’s worth fighting back.

“The ruling demonstrates that it pays to be critical of Antipiratgruppen’s claims,” he said.

Speaking with Politiken, IFPI lawyer Johan Schlüter said that the Supreme Court decision to tighten the standard of proof in these cases could mean that Antipiratgruppen has to seize and investigate the defendant’s computer in any forthcoming cases, an expensive process that would require a bailiff, IT experts, and in some cases a locksmith.

“I will not directly say that we can not afford it, but it could be so expensive that it could mean we cannot pursue such matters,” said Schlüter. “We can not accept that we have become completely neutered, so we’ll now sit down with some IT people and think through what we can do to provide better documentation.”

Schlüter commented that the industry is in somewhat of a “cultural battle” with illegal copying and he could have a point. A recent moral standards study in Denmark found that a high percentage of the public found illicit downloading socially acceptable.
4454
Living Room / Re: Gadget Fridays
« Last post by IainB on November 18, 2012, 07:19 AM »
The problem with plastic is that it can include toxins, like bisphenol A, which is linked to cancer and all kinds of nastiness. It gets worse though... While many manufacturers have eliminated it, they have replaced it with bisphenol S.
20 years ago, nobody really knew about the problems, but more recently, research has been published on it.
-Renegade (November 17, 2012, 04:37 PM)

There's a whole alphabet of bisphenols for food-plastics manufacturers to get through yet, to discover whether they are harmful. Give the experiment more time.    :o
4455
Living Room / Re: How Much Do You Trust Wikipedia?
« Last post by IainB on November 18, 2012, 07:08 AM »
How much do I trust Wikipedia? I don't.
Wikipedia does not - cannot - provide an authoritative source of reference.

Whilst there is little doubt in my mind that there is potentially much that could be or indeed is useful and relevant in probably most of the Wikipedia entries, there is also little doubt (from personal experience) that there is much that is seriously flawed - e.g., suffering from graffiti, vandalism, being opinion-based and irrational (as opposed to factual and rational), being biased, based on hearsay, apocryphal, or just plain wrong.
All this rubbish comes from anonymous authors, from registered Wikipedia authors, and from Wikipedia's so-called "professional" editors [Yeah, right.] alike. The latter in particular are very suspect IMHO, because some have been known to even lie about their "credentials" just so as to get into a position where they can influence the wording of specific areas of "history" or knowledge - all in the name of religio-political ideology, apparently. Or maybe they were paid to do it. Who knows?

Somewhat depressingly, I think, there seem to be a lot of people out there who don't like to see any version of the truth being promulgated except their own preferred bias or their own reality bubble or paradigm. In these cases, rational argument/debate is neither wanted/accepted nor tolerated, and often actively discouraged with prejudice. Critical thinking is a victim here.

From my experience, this seems to be especially so in areas relating to religio-political ideology, business management, science, and IT practice and theory - which all covers a potentially huge  area of human information/knowledge.
This gives me some concern. For example, in IT in particular, where I have seen so much rubbish in IT-related areas that it makes me wonder sometimes whether the IT sector hasn't been cursed with attracting some of the most irrational, ignorant and narrowest minds on the planet - as well as some of the brightest.

In any event, my recommendation is to by all means use Wikipedia as a first point of reference - if you wish to do that (and it is very handy) - but not to leave it at that, and to always take what Wikipedia says with a pinch of salt until you can confirm what it says after having accessed authoritative sources.
I therefore avoid mentioning Wikipedia when I need to provide an authoritative reference to clients.
One of my personal favourites since childhood has been Encyclopaedia Britannica.
4456
Living Room / "Corruption" errors on startup of Task Scheduler
« Last post by IainB on November 18, 2012, 06:06 AM »
This has been posted in the hope that it might be of help/use to others in fixing what looks like it could be a relatively common problem.

Description of problem:
The PC is an HP ENVY 14 laptop running Win7-64 Home Premium.
For a while now, I have been getting some odd startup error messages on this laptop - nothing serious or fatal - and today I got another one: the HP Support program popped up a message window saying that it had an update task that required a restart. So I restarted.
After restarting, it asked for a restart!
After restarting again, it still asked for a restart.

I figured that the Task Scheduler might have the details on the task, and decided to take a look as the task clearly wasn't working as it should.
I have to admit that I haven't really looked in the Task Scheduler in ages, and when it started up I was a bit alarmed to see that it had 4 errors that popped up one after the other. I closed the Task Scheduler and started it up again, and the same thing happened. I repeated this a third time - same result. So here were a bunch of consistent errors that indicated that the Task Scheduler was probably unable to work properly and that it could have been this way for some time, without my knowing.    :-[

The errors:

Task Scheduler problem 01 - errors.png


Discovery:
I googled the first error that had popped up, using the string:
Task Scheduler error User_Feed_Synchronization - The task image is corrupt or has been tampered with)
- and came up with several relevant references, which I have copied below. After reading through them and experimenting a bit (trial-and-error), I figured out an approach that was likely to be most relevant for my laptop and OS.

The fix:

Task Scheduler problem 02 - fix.png


The Result:
To my delight, with this first fix, all of the Task Scheduler errors went away, and thus no further fixes seemed necessary. (Phew!)    :)
However, it was too good to be true.    :(
Following a laptop reboot the three untreated errors returned, so it seemed that I had only fixed the first error.

Task Scheduler problem 03 - fix.png

Unresolved issues:
The root cause of the problem (something had apparently corrupted/tampered with the tasks) is unknown - i.e. How does the task get corrupted in the first place?

References:
4457
Living Room / Re: Hurricane Sandy Discussion Thread
« Last post by IainB on November 17, 2012, 10:45 AM »
After all the misinformation and debate about the cause of H-Sandy, it's good to see some certainty - clear and rational truth being spoken by those who know...
http://www.memri.org...0/0/0/0/0/0/3637.htm

Who would'a thunk it?     :tellme:
4458
Living Room / Re: DOTCOM saga - updates
« Last post by IainB on November 17, 2012, 08:30 AM »
@40hz: I suspect that you might have summarised the situation pretty accurately. It will be interesting to see how close your prediction is as events unfold.
4459
Living Room / Re: Internet freedoms restrained - SOPA/PIPA/OPEN/ACTA/CETA/PrECISE-related updates
« Last post by IainB on November 17, 2012, 05:22 AM »
I see common sense reigns supreme in the UK...Oops, or maybe not...
(TechDirt post copied sans embedded hyperlinks/images.)
UK Looking To Cement Its New Anti-Free Speech Reputation By Arresting Man For Posting Photo Of A Burning Poppy
by Mike Masnick
Tue, Nov 13th 2012 12:14am
from the making-a-mockery-of-free-speech dept

Lately, we've noted a string of questionable prosecutions in the UK over statements made by people on social networks. These posts may have been in poor taste, but hardly seemed like the sort of thing that ought to be criminal. While UK prosecutors are finally admitting that perhaps they need to rethink speech online, it apparently hasn't stopped these kinds of arrests and prosecutions. Police, over the weekend, arrested someone for posting an image of a burning poppy. The poppy is seen as a memorial sign for those who died in battle, and the image was posted on "Remembrance Sunday." While some might say this in poor taste, it certainly seems like a legitimate form of political protest... but apparently not to law enforcement in the UK:

"A man from Aylesham has tonight been arrested on suspicion of malicious telecommunications," Kent police said in a statement after the arrest. "This follows a posting on a social network site of a burning poppy. He is currently in police custody awaiting interview."

The article notes that free speech advocates in the UK are speaking out in response to this, pointing out how ridiculous it is -- and noting that part of the reason why soldiers fought wars for the UK was to provide freedoms like the ability to express their views on things like war.
4460
Living Room / Re: DOTCOM saga - updates
« Last post by IainB on November 17, 2012, 05:14 AM »
Some developments...
Unsealed Megaupload Seizure Warrants Reveal Use Of Flawed Logic... And An 'Undercover Computer'
4461
General Software Discussion / Re: Gmail Makes It Easier To Find Large Messages
« Last post by IainB on November 16, 2012, 07:01 AM »
Yes, sorry, I might have posted this in the wrong place:
I just spotted this in my Google Reader: Finding Large Attachments and Emails in Google Mail/Gmail
You don't really need the script.
I didn't know enough about Gmail search to realise that it could be that simple.     :-[
-IainB (November 09, 2012, 04:56 AM)

I read a statement somewhere that the "size:" search term was "an undocumented feature" in Gmail search. However, when I looked in the Help notes I saw that it is included (I don't recall having seen it or the date search terms before though). The Help has recently been updated, so maybe it was undocumented previously.
In any event, it always seemed rather strange to me that Gmail search didn't have these kinds of search terms, seeing as Google would probably tout itself as the de facto King of Search.
4462
Finished Programs / Re: DONE: "Filegrab"-like functionality integrated into the file explorer.
« Last post by IainB on November 16, 2012, 03:44 AM »
Problem solved!
Many thanks @f0dder! That seems to work perfectly now.

By the way, in the discussion above, there are some notes about what file metadata you can get from which file explorer.
Just by coincidence, I have today tried out a proggie called SysExporter, and it was so good that I thought it might be useful if I wrote a review report about it. Here it is: SysExporter - (Screen-scraping) Export data from Windows controls - Mini-Review

What it shows is that, in the case of file metadata, you can capture all the metadata text that you can cause to be listed in a file explorer display window. For example:
...The next image shows the same approach, where I captured the data displayed by SysExporter about some music files listed in one of my file manager (xplorer²) windows. Rather nice. (Again, the embedded question marks - this time in the bitrate field). Notice how the column headings have also been captured in Excel.
-IainB (November 15, 2012, 10:06 PM)
SysExporter - 03 Excel paste + sort 2.png
4463
Mini-Reviews by Members / SysExporter - (Screen-scraping) Export data from Windows controls - Mini-Review
« Last post by IainB on November 15, 2012, 10:06 PM »
Originally posted:2012-11-16
Last updated2016-09-30

Basic Info
App NameSysExporter
(View and export data from Windows controls)
Thumbs-Up Rating :Thmbsup: :Thmbsup: :Thmbsup: :Thmbsup: :Thmbsup:
App URLhttp://www.nirsoft.net/utils/sysexp.html
App Version Reviewed$FREE v1.61 > v1.75 (64-bit). There is also a parallel 32-bit version.
Test System SpecsWin 7-64 HP, Win8.1-64 PRO, Win10-64 PRO
Supported OSesCompatible with Win 64-bit/32-bit.
Support MethodsDownload and Support: http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/sysexp.html[/url]
Help file: comes with the software.
Upgrade PolicyUpgrades are $FREE and loaded to the above website.
Trial Version Available?$FREE - as reviewed in this review. (PayPal Donations accepted)
There is no PAID version.
Pricing Scheme$FREE version only. Donations welcome.

Intro and Overview:
There is a general problem in Windows OSes - one that has been a continuing source of frustration to me and probably many others - that many System and application displays often contain really useful data that is effectively "protected" from being copied/used.
Here is a perfect example of this general problem, from a 2007 post by @Jimdoria in the DC Forum: IDEA: Grab contents of an on-screen list
Spoiler
IDEA: Grab contents of an on-screen list
I know this one is pretty simple, but I haven't been able to work it out in AHK myself yet, so I thought I'd post it.
I have several programs that display information in a standard list view, but make it difficult to get at that information in a format I can work with. I'm working with a couple of programs that use a binary format when they save the list data to disk. I can manually go through and scrape the list data out of the binary file, but it's drudgery.
It would be nice to have a tool that would let you click on a visible list view, and would "suck up" the entire list and place it on the clipboard. You could then paste it into a text editor and do whatever was needed to it.
Options might include whether to separate list columns with commas, tabs, or a custom character.

I had been looking for a way to capture the data from the Windows update history display (this is on a laptop with Win7-64), to put into a database, so that I could analyse the history for failed updates. Looking through the display manually was becoming a tedious experience due to its functional limitations, and I wanted to automate/filter the analysis as much as possible.
I am a long-time ad hoc user of NirSoft utilities, but I had completely missed the relevance of his proggie SysExporter until today, when I read this post: How to Print the Windows Update History in Vista
I went to the NirSoft website and downloaded and installed the 64-bit version of SysExporter (file: sysexp-x64.zip) - there is a 32-bit version also.
There is no installer. Just open the .ZIP file, and then Copy and Paste the files into a suitable directory, and SysExporter runs from there.

Description: (copied from the Help file)
SysExporter utility allows you to grab the data stored in standard list-views, tree-views, list boxes, combo boxes, text-boxes, and WebBrowser/HTML controls from almost any application running on your system, and export it to text, HTML or XML file.
Here's some examples for data that you can export with SysExporter:
  • The files list inside archive file (.zip, .rar, and so on) as displayed by WinZip or 7-Zip File Manager.
  • The files list inside a folder.
  • The event log of Windows. (This was the sort of thing I was interested in.)
  • The list of emails and contacts in Outlook Express.
  • The Registry values displayed in the right pane of the Registry Editor.
  • The data displayed by SysInternals utilities (Registry Monitor, File Monitor, Process Explorer, and others.)
  • The text inside a standard message-box of Windows.
  • The HTML inside any instance of Internet Explorer.

The first two images below show my use of the SysExporter GUI, with the Control Panel Windows update history display in the background.
The SysExporter dual-pane display shows the open application Windows and associated objects in the top pane, and the details of the selected objects in the lower pane.
The Windows update history display has been selected in the upper pane, and its contents are displayed in the lower pane (1,152 lines of updates).
I selected all 1,152 lines in the lower pane, pressed Ctrl+C (Copy) - which puts the lines into the Clipboard (comma delimited) - and then I pasted the Clipboard contents into an Excel spreadsheet and filtered for the problematic update I was concerned about (KB2667402 had had many recurring failures) and Status="Successful", and sorted on the date column. I could then see the dates when update KB2667402 had been successful.
This only took just a few seconds. Simple, easy, painless, and certain.

(Note that the pasted data in Excel contains embedded question marks in the date field. These were also visible in the lower pane of SysExporter, though they are not apparent in the Control Panel Windows update history display. Notice how the column headings have also been captured in Excel.)
EDIT - 2013-01-04: I later discovered the menu Option to select "Remove Question Mark Characters".    :-[

SysExporter - 01 sysexp + Windows update history(800).png

SysExporter - 02 Excel paste + sort.png

The next image shows the same approach, where I captured the data displayed by SysExporter about some music files listed in one of my file manager (xplorer²) windows. Rather nice. (Again, the embedded question marks - this time in the bitrate field). Notice how the column headings have also been captured in Excel.
SysExporter - 03 Excel paste + sort 2.png

Who this software is designed for:
  • The general problem - in Windows OSes, many System and application displays often contain really useful data that is effectively "protected" from being copied/used - is addressed by SysExporter.
  • Anyone who has encountered this problem will probably find that SysExporter shows many potential uses and has a profoundly simple elegance in the way it provides a solution.

The Good:
  • Does exactly what it was designed to do, and effectively.
  • Enables you to save time by accessing data simply and easily, when before it may have been extremely cumbersome or almost impossible to unlock the data and use it.

The needs improvement section:
(Nothing to comment on here.)

Why I think you should use this product:
Save time. Make better use of the data provided by the system/applications on your Windows-based computer.
Overcome the system constraints. Do what you couldn't do with your data before!

How it compares to similar products:
I do not have any knowledge or experience of comparable tools to SysExporter, though it has been mentioned along with other products, elsewhere in the DC Forum:
For example:

Conclusions:
SysExporter is arguably the proverbial answer to a maiden's prayer for those who, like me, suffer from the general problem in Windows OSes - that many System and application displays often contain really useful data that is effectively "protected" from being copied/used.
Suffer no more.
There may  be other, similar solutions that I am unaware of, but SysExporter is extremely effective.

Links to other info sources/reviews of this application:
Per the link given above: How to Print the Windows Update History in Vista
4464
Post New Requests Here / Re: Change name of particular file in all occurrences on hard disk
« Last post by IainB on November 14, 2012, 08:46 AM »
Seems easy to achieve in xplorer².
I used the Find function in xplorer², for files named "desktop.ini", within a large set of nested directories.
xplorer² brought up a Scrap pane with a flatfile list of all the occurrences. I selected them all and used the F2 (Rename) key which popped up the Mass Rename Wizard, in which I set all the occurrences to be renamed to "desktoG.ini" and pressed the Rename button.

It only took a few seconds.
I repeated the process to rename all "desktoG.ini" files to "desktop.ini".

I have had a lifetime licence for xplorer² PRO for years - currently up to the 2.2.0.1 [Unicode] x64 2012-10-06 version.
If you don't already have xplorer², you should be able to perform the above with a trial/evaluation copy from http://zabkat.com/
As file managers go (and I have probably tried each and every one of them at some point), it seems to be second to none (though I still miss Lotus Magellan!). It's a very powerful tool.
4465
Finished Programs / Re: DONE: "Filegrab"-like functionality integrated into the file explorer.
« Last post by IainB on November 14, 2012, 08:18 AM »
OK, when it fails to find FileGrab.exe, the process properties for SendToFileGrab.exe say that it is currently in the directory XYZ that has been selected to send some files from.
Putting the file SendToFileGrab.ini into the XYZ directory causes the SendTo to work fine.
However, putting the file SendToFileGrab.ini into the C:\Windows directory seems to have no effect.

Odd.
4466
Living Room / Re: Internet freedoms restrained - SOPA/PIPA/OPEN/ACTA/CETA/PrECISE-related updates
« Last post by IainB on November 14, 2012, 06:14 AM »
EU Court refuses FFII amicus curiae brief on ACTA
November 14, 2012
By Ante Wessels

On 13 November 2012 the FFII sent an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief about the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the Court of Justice of the European Union. A few hours later the registry of the court informed the FFII that only the Member States, the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission may participate in the Opinion procedure and submit written statements. The Court does not accept amicus curiae briefs from third parties...
(Read the rest via the above link.)

Looks like the Court of Justice of the European Union wishes to remain in a state of selective deafness. Not a good look really for democratic process.

"Mine ears are aking of thy drafty speech." (Chaucer's Melibus)
4467
Finished Programs / Re: DONE: "Filegrab"-like functionality integrated into the file explorer.
« Last post by IainB on November 13, 2012, 07:11 PM »
Thanks, I installed the new version and appropriate .INI file path.
Something wrong. Repeatable.
If you initiate the first run (i.e., FileGrab not already running) of the xplorer² command whilst in either the script's directory or FileGrab.exe's directory, then it works fine and you can add/paste files into Filegrab from those directories and from others.

However, if you initiate the first run (i.e., FileGrab not already running) of the xplorer² command whilst in any other directory, then you get the error message:
___________________________
[Window Title]
FileGrab.exe

[Content]
Windows cannot find 'FileGrab.exe'. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again.

[OK]
___________________________

If you press OK, then you get the error message:
---------------------------
Ewwor
---------------------------
FileGrab not running, and ShellExecute failed
---------------------------
OK  
---------------------------

If you press OK, then you are returned to the active window.
4468
Finished Programs / Re: DONE: "Filegrab"-like functionality integrated into the file explorer.
« Last post by IainB on November 13, 2012, 09:00 AM »
@tomos: Thanks for that. Yes, I am an xplorer² user, now, though I used to use XYplorer some time back. I am sure it's been improved over the elapsed time since I "jumped ship" though!    ;)
4469
Finished Programs / Re: DONE: "Filegrab"-like functionality integrated into the file explorer.
« Last post by IainB on November 13, 2012, 07:55 AM »
Maybe I misunderstand what you are talking about...
4470
Living Room / Re: Internet freedoms restrained - SOPA/PIPA/OPEN/ACTA/CETA/PrECISE-related updates
« Last post by IainB on November 13, 2012, 05:28 AM »
Amicus Curiae Brief to EU Court of Justice
November 13, 2012
By Ante Wessels

Today the FFII sent an amicus curiae brief about ACTA to the Court of Justice of the European Union. The FFII concludes that ACTA is not compatible with international human rights instruments, the European Convention on Human Rights, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, or the European Treaties...

(See link for rest of post)
4471
Finished Programs / Re: DONE: "Filegrab"-like functionality integrated into the file explorer.
« Last post by IainB on November 13, 2012, 05:18 AM »
@DonL: Thanks for the suggestion. Yes, I think you can do what you say in XYplorer and in xplorer² also, but that's not what I want.
As described above, I use FileGrab to get the file/folder metadata into FileGrab's workspace, where I use it as a tool to massage the metadata - as described above - e.g., adding other files' (metadata) or removing it, and choosing to display Path, Short DOS name, etc. FileGrab is the tool, and seems to fill the niche.
It's the only reason I've held onto FileGrab since 1997!

It's a multi-step process to use it as it is though, and I noticed I was needing to use it more frequently lately, so wanted to reduce the repetitive steps. I'm l-o-n-g overdue for asking for help to integrate it with xplorer².    :-[
(I suggested to the xplorer² developer that he might consider adding the functionality into xplorer², a few years back, but he didn't seem too interested.)
4472
Finished Programs / Re: DONE: "Filegrab"-like functionality integrated into the file explorer.
« Last post by IainB on November 13, 2012, 02:29 AM »
Thanks. That's very helpful of you.
Yes, the script that you made worked a treat and was exactly the sort of thing I was looking for. It does integrate xplorer² and FileGrab quite nicely. The .ini file sounds like a more sensible approach.
It sort of gives FileGrab a bit of an extended lease of life, and much easier to use now that it is integrated with xplorer².

Actually, the thought occurred to me that the script might lend itself to being adapted and used as a generic "Send File To Application" tool, or even (say) just a "Send To" tool - if one were needed. Pros and Cons there.
4473
Living Room / Re: SkyDrive: Apple iCloud : Google Drive: Dropbox - comparison (FREE versions)
« Last post by IainB on November 13, 2012, 01:46 AM »
Dropbox has the ability to host personal sites. This is essential for me as I keep an OPDS catalog of all my ebooks online and I can access them anywhere from within my ebook reader program.
-edbro (November 12, 2012, 08:59 AM)
I was very interested in this. I presume your website catalog is in an OPDS format.
Could you provide a link to it please?
4474
Finished Programs / Re: DONE: "Filegrab"-like functionality integrated into the file explorer.
« Last post by IainB on November 12, 2012, 11:28 PM »
@f0dder: Many thanks! That works a treat!    :Thmbsup:
It runs with the correct/expected results when FileGrab is running and when it's not running.

Two things:
  • 1. FileGrab run status/location: To ensure that it is always running, I'd do one more thing myself if it was in AHK (but I don't know AutoIT), and that is an if/else something like:
    Spoiler
      IfWinExist Untitled - FileGrab
          WinActivate
       else
          Run C:\UTIL\ZiffDavis\FileGrab\FILEGRAB.EXE

    Would you be able to add that into the script, and (maybe better?) as well pick up the FileGrab.exe path as a string variable (parameter) provided in the xplorer² Command Description string? That would make the script independent of both the run state of FileGrab.exe and its location.

  • 2. Focus: After the Paste has been applied, could you force the focus of the FileGrab window to come to the front so it is ready to be used/edited? At the moment it stays in the background.

By the way, I had a look at your SendToFileGrab.au3 script, and I think I might try at some stage to translate it into an AHK script as an AHK exercise lesson. (I don't really want to learn AutoIT until I've got some mastery over AHK.)

Thanks again.
4475
Living Room / Re: Internet freedoms restrained - SOPA/PIPA/OPEN/ACTA/CETA/PrECISE-related updates
« Last post by IainB on November 12, 2012, 04:44 PM »
Amazing: US imposes sanctions on Iran for Internet censorship
One wonders whether this might now mean that we have to re-define the term "hypocrisy".
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