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Recent Posts

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5001
Living Room / Re: Lots of New Members
« Last post by MilesAhead on July 05, 2011, 03:22 PM »
i don't get it.  :huh:

(playing off laser) Lazar, as in Lazarus: Popular back-from-the-dead guy in the bible. ;)



I got the reference.  But explaining a joke is kind of like death warmed over. :)
5002
@superboyac  I don't think I ever tried Newsleecher.  I did Forte Agent, even under Wine on Linux as well as Windows.  I tried to stay with the free binary download software and stuck with PowerGrab even after it was no longer developed.  But the limit on simultaneous connections finally prodded me to try Newsbin.

@MerleOne if you have broadband I'd just go with GigaNews. I've been with them for years. If you want a free server to test it out I'd ask at the support forum.  Any info I have would be several years out of date.

http://forums.newsbi...092b8872ba9b4d65bdd8

If you have a registered version enter it in the profile because it shows up on the forum.  Then they know you're a paid customer when you post questions.

edit: Don't know why I didn't think of it.  GigaNews has free trials:
http://www.giganews.com/

I've been on it several years and it's difficult to remember them being down.  Maybe for a one or two hour period every 18 months or so.  Something in that range.  And the retention is constantly expanding.

5003
Developer's Corner / Re: Bourne / Bash Shell Scripting Resources
« Last post by MilesAhead on July 04, 2011, 11:42 PM »
I never got into CGI except in the most superficial way(like finding out what it is.)  On Windows the best use I found for bash was to enable use of Linux utilities on Win32.  There are stand-alone exe ports of Linux tools for Win32 but you can really string the commands together out of a bash shell in Windoze.  You can do all those cool command substitute tricks with "find" results etc..

By using the bash shell you side step many of the problems such as cmd.exe eating characters that Linux commands use for special purposes.

One resource may be the bargain bin if you have a brick & mortar computer book store nearby.  Since bash is a superset of sh shell, many of the old example sh scripts still work.  I used to have a $9 "in a nutshell" book with many example sh scripts.. but I can't seem to find it to get the exact title.

For me a rudimentary knowledge of bash was required to control Linux startup.  If you are on a Linux server such as Apache then it couldn't hurt to know some bash.  I looked on some of the online book sites but didn't see a cover that looked like my nutshell book. I guess my info is dated. But with unix based systems esp. old scripting code often still works with a couple of tweaks.  The basic system doesn't change all that much. Most of the scripts for the system are still under /etc etc.. :)

5004
They surprised me!  Must be competition from Usenet Explorer.  Now they are offering either $30 with one year of internet search, or $20 with no search:

http://www.newsbin.com/buy.php

Usenet Explorer is $35 with a year search subscription and updates.  Maybe this will prompt a price cut there also?

edit: I mention Usenet Explorer because I use it too.  It and Newsbin have many similar features. I'm sure there's some competitive stimulation as I see on the respective forums, references to features in the other, requested by users.  The UI is the main difference.  I use both but I do prefer the Newsbin UI.  If NB is going to include internet search subscription for $30 a year I just may have to rethink forking out $35/year for Usenet Explorer. I mainly use it to search and as backup binary downloader.

I don't think you can go wrong with either.  But if you are not interested in the search feature Newsbin is a better deal as you can update the downloader whereas Usenet Explorer uses the $35 search re-up fee as a means to continue getting program updates.  It was a good deal in the past because NB search was so much more expensive.  It will be interesting to see if there's a pricing change for UE soon.



5005
Living Room / Re: Lots of New Members
« Last post by MilesAhead on July 03, 2011, 03:58 PM »
We get about 80 new members a day.

(we used to get over twice that a day until i hardened the registration page and stopped the automated bots from registering -- that's a scary thought isn't it?)

That's weird.  What's the advantage of registering if you're a bot? Or is it people using those BugMeNot autoregs because they can't be bothered?
5006
Living Room / Re: Lots of New Members
« Last post by MilesAhead on July 03, 2011, 01:26 AM »
I've noticed we've gained in the neighborhood of 20+ new members just in the past 24 hours.  Is this a normal rate, or are we enjoying an unusual influx? 

Welcome, all you newcomers!

Hmmmmmmmm, maybe someone hinted if you signed up you could get an assortment of Cuban Cigars?


5007
General Software Discussion / Re: Opera 11.5 Released
« Last post by MilesAhead on July 01, 2011, 04:45 PM »
@MilesAhead - pardon my ignorance, but what exactly is this "auto-wrapping" of bookmarks?


If you resize the window(make it narrower) the bookmarks bar will make more rows to fit them all on instead of using '>>' at the right end to show there are more.
5008
General Software Discussion / Re: Opera 11.5 Released
« Last post by MilesAhead on June 30, 2011, 09:06 PM »
Don't know if that happens to you, but until recently, i'd get not just those "lame bookmarks" that MilesAhead spoke of, but also a whole slew of duplicates (sync online process). With latest versions, the sync process seems to have improved.

Wonder why Opera installs those "lame bookmarks"?
Are they getting money for this publicity?

Not sure but I did notice I was able to right click on all the folders in Bookmarks Bar and then Show On Bookmarks Bar.  Should have saved me time except the order was reversed. I still had to play around dragging them into the correct order. (edit: Sort Descending under View Menu then clicking Show On Bookmarks Bar I only had to move the bookmarklet. That's much easier.)

Where Opera still has the edge is auto wrap bookmarks bar.  All these years and no other browser I've seen can duplicate it.  Firefox can fake it via css settings.  But as soon as you resize the window you lose the scrollbars. Opera does it correctly out of the box.
5009
Release 6 went Final today.

Hmmmmmmmmm, just clicked on the Buy Button and it still says $15. You may be able to get in under the wire before resumption of $35 standard price.
5010
General Software Discussion / Re: Opera 11.5 Released
« Last post by MilesAhead on June 29, 2011, 03:00 PM »
One thing that bugs me is every time I update I have to clean off those lame bookmarks I don't want. It should only stick bookmarks in if install detectd zero bookmarks or first install.
5011
Quote from Twitter.
We are targeting July 1 to release Newsbin Version 6.
There will be a price increase to $20.00. Keys bought now will still work in V6.


The current price is $15.00

That sounds right.  RC4 came out just a few days ago.  RC5 was released today. Looks like they're trying to go final fast.  $20 increase will bring it back to the long standing $35 price.
5012
General Software Discussion / Re: Opera 11.5 Released
« Last post by MilesAhead on June 28, 2011, 09:31 PM »
Does it let you use your own ftp site or do you have to use their server?
5013
General Software Discussion / Re: Opera 11.5 Released
« Last post by MilesAhead on June 28, 2011, 03:07 PM »
If ad-block plus add-on goes to opera along with xmarks and few other FF add-ons then i have no other choice than to switch.

I don't know about passwords but for bookmarks this trick still works:

Export Firefox bookmarks as html

Import into Opera
Close Opera browser
Open Opera bookmarks.adr in a text editor

There should be a folder line underneath Trash or near the top that says
something like "Bookmarks imported from Firefox"

Delete that line and the imported bookmarks will fall into place
under the others.  I usually delete the stock ones that come with a
new install.  I use folders on the bookmarks toolbar so to get those I
have to drag & drop them onto the Personal Bar(if they still call it that)
but that only takes a few seconds.

All the free bookmark transfer programs I've tried I still have to go into
bookmarks.adr to get rid of that superfluous folder.

Periodically I use XMarks to sync from Chromium to Firefox but I don't leave it on all the time.  Too many issues with duplicates.  At least now FF has CheckPlaces and Chromium has Bookmark Sentry to get rid of the dupes.
5014
General Software Discussion / Re: Can we talk about mkv files here please?
« Last post by MilesAhead on June 28, 2011, 12:43 AM »
But still I guess subtitles weren't encoded into the file with MakeMKV? They're not vitally important to me, since I'm not hard of hearing, but it would be nice to have them.

MakeMKV should pull in ordinary subtitles automatically.  It won't grab closed captions though.  You can get much more detailed info from its forum:

http://www.makemkv.com/forum2/index.php
5015
General Software Discussion / Re: Selector 2.9.1.0
« Last post by MilesAhead on June 27, 2011, 06:14 PM »
Selector 2.9.1.0 Removed ini file option to set the matching Translucent background color.  Now when the PopUp Window opens, a pixel is sampled.  The label text isn't as perfect as setting it manually but at least you can read it over most any background. :)
5016
General Software Discussion / Re: Selector 2.9.0.0
« Last post by MilesAhead on June 25, 2011, 01:05 AM »
Selector 2.9.0.0 Added TransBackColor ini file option for Windows 7 Transparency.  How to use is get the pixel color from the PopUp Window background using a pixel color get utility.  This one worked fine for me:

http://www.nattyware.com/pixie.php

Use the 6 character hex for the color.  This is what I use for the default:
TransBackColor=A9D5F0

What the color will actually be will vary according to your desktop "personalize" color transparency settings.  This way you should be able to get it to match up instead of having blocky patches where I overlay approximated color esp. in the radio button control area.

Here's a new screen shot:



If you can't get it to look good then disable the Windows 7 Transparency option by removing the check mark in the Tray Menu.  Then you can still choose a "Vista Color" to set a good looking background.


5017
hi, I just read here about pad files... what are pad files? :)

You can read more here and also download free PadGen specialized editor:

http://pad.asp-software.org/

I'm no longer so enthusiastic about using them.  Every time I update my program, help and readme files, I also have to update the pad file and upload that.  The new utilities I write now I don't bother.  The bots can read the apps off my site if they want to make them available for download.

If you have a program that's actually selling then it may be worth the trouble. :)

5018
Sometimes I'm a cup short of a coffee or I would have thought of it earlier.

You just need a little sweetener...
-cranioscopical (June 24, 2011, 01:40 PM)

Then I'd be sweet AND sour.   heh heh
5019
Miles, maybe you could share the template so that others may have a starting point for their templates? ;)

That's no problem.  Usually if Scite4AHK is installed there's a file in Windows\ShellNew folder called Template.ahk.  Next I have to work on templates for AutoIt3 and FreeBASIC.  Although FB is more likely to be command line unless I start playing around with the dialog resource editors.

Here's my Template.ahk.  Also since it uses a few routines in MilesAhead.ahk I'll include that as it helps to make some things generic.

Template.ahk

; AutoHotkey Script Template for MilesAhead
;#SingleInstance force
#SingleInstance ignore
#NoEnv  ; Recommended for performance and compatibility with future AutoHotkey releases.
SendMode Input  ; Recommended for new scripts due to its superior speed and reliability.
SetWorkingDir %A_ScriptDir%  ; Ensures a consistent starting directory.
#Include MilesAhead.ahk
progname := _FileBaseName(A_ScriptFullPath)
Menu Tray,NoStandard
Menu Tray,Add,Donate,DoDonate
Menu Tray,Add,Visit Hotkey Page,DoVisit
Menu Tray,Add,About,DoAbout
Menu Tray,Add
Menu Tray,Add,Quit,DoQuit
Menu Tray,Default,About
Menu Tray,Tip,%progname%

; boiler plate ini file naming
;
;~ IniFile = %A_ScriptDir%\%A_ScriptName%
;~ IniFile := RegExReplace(IniFile,"i)ahk$","ini")
;~ IniFile := RegExReplace(IniFile,"i)exe$","ini")


;change hotkey and do something here
!+F10::
Return

DoAbout:
  FileGetVersion,filever,%progname%.exe
  MyMsg =
  (
%progname% v %filever% Copyright (c) 2011 www.FavesSoft.com`n
Enter Usage info here`n
  )
  MsgBox, 4160, About %progname%, %MyMsg%
Return

DoDonate:
  Run,"http://www.favessoft.com/donate.html"
Return

DoVisit:
  Run,"http://www.favessoft.com/hotkeys.html"
Return

DoQuit:
  ExitApp

MilesAhead.ahk

;
; MilesAhead include script with a few system related functions
;

; returns non 0 if program is running
_IsRunning(program)
{
Process,Exist,%program%
Return errorlevel
}

_LoWord(arg)
  {
    Return arg & 0xFFFF
  }

_HiWord(arg)
  {
    Return arg >> 16
  }

_LoByte(arg)
  {
    Return arg & 0x00FF
  }

_HiByte(arg)
  {
    Return (arg & 0xFF00) >> 8
  }

_WinVersionMajor()
  {
    Return _LoByte(_LoWord(DllCall("kernel32.dll\GetVersion", "UInt", -1)))
  }

_WinVersionMinor()
  {
    Return _HiByte(_LoWord(DllCall("kernel32.dll\GetVersion", "UInt", -1)))
  }

_WinVersion()
  {
    dwVersion := DllCall("kernel32.dll\GetVersion", "UInt", -1)
    Return _LoByte(_LoWord(dwVersion)) . "."
    . _HiByte(_LoWord(dwVersion))
  }

;call EmptyWorkingSet in AHK
_EmptyWorkingSet()
  {
    Return DllCall("psapi.dll\EmptyWorkingSet", "UInt", -1)
  }

;reduce memory footprint by calling EmptyWorkingSet
_ReduceMemory()
  {
    If _WinVersionMajor() > 4
    {
      Return _EmptyWorkingSet()
    }
    Return false
  }

;function by HotKeyIt on AHK forums
FormatMessageFromSystem(ErrorCode)
  {
    VarSetCapacity(Buffer, 2000)
    DllCall("FormatMessage"
            , "UInt", 0x1000      ; FORMAT_MESSAGE_FROM_SYSTEM
            , "UInt", 0
            , "UInt", ErrorCode
            , "UInt", 0x800 ;LANG_SYSTEM_DEFAULT (LANG_USER_DEFAULT=0x400)
            , "UInt", &Buffer
            , "UInt", 500
            , "UInt", 0)
    VarSetCapacity(buffer,-1)
    Return Buffer
  }

_GetWorkArea(ByRef left, ByRef top, ByRef right, ByRef bottom)
  {
    VarSetCapacity(work_area,16,0)
    success := DllCall( "SystemParametersInfo", "uint", 0x30, "uint", 0, "uint", &work_area, "uint", 0 )
    If success =
    {
      Return 0
    }
    left := NumGet(work_area,0)
    top := NumGet(work_area,4)
    Right := NumGet(work_area,8)
    Bottom := NumGet(work_area,12)
    Return 1
  }

_MarginWorkArea(ByRef left, ByRef top, ByRef right, ByRef bottom, ByRef margin = 4)
  {
    If _GetWorkArea(left, top, Right, Bottom)
    {
      If Margin is Integer
      {
        If (Margin < 0) or (Margin > 12)
          Margin := 4
      }
      Else
        Margin := 4
      left += Margin
      top += Margin
      Right -= Margin
      Bottom -= Margin
      Return 1
    }
    Return 0
  }

_TaskbarGapArea(ByRef left, ByRef top, ByRef right, ByRef bottom,  percentgap = 5)
{
  _GetWorkArea(left, top, right, bottom)
  If (right - left = A_ScreenWidth) And (bottom - top = A_ScreenHeight)
  {
    Return
  }
  Else If (bottom < A_ScreenHeight)
  {
    bottom -= (bottom // 100 * percentgap)
  }
  Else If (top > 0)
  {
    top += (bottom - top) // 100 * percentgap
  }
  Else If (left > 0)
  {
    left += (right - left) // 100 * percentgap
  }
  Else
 {
    right -= (right - left) // 100 * percentgap
 }
}

_GlassEnabled()
  {
    isEnabled = false
    If _WinVersionMajor() < 6
    {
      Return false
    }
    DllCall("dwmapi.dll\DwmIsCompositionEnabled", "UInt", &isEnabled)
    Return %isEnabled%
  }

_EnableBlurBehind(hwnd)
  {
    VarSetCapacity(struct, 16, 0)
    NumPut(1, struct, 0, "UInt")  ; dwFlags=DWM_BB_Enable
    NumPut(1, struct, 4,  "Int")  ; fEnable=TRUE
    DllCall("dwmapi.dll\DwmEnableBlurBehindWindow", "UInt", hwnd, "UInt", &struct)
  }

;returns string, wrapped in quotes when conataining spaces
_WrapQuotes(str)
  {
    If InStr(str," ")
    {
      str := """" . str . """"
    }
    Return str
  }

_FileBaseName(path)
  {
    SplitPath,path,,,,basename
    Return basename
  }

_FileDir(path)
  {
    SplitPath,path,,fdir
    Return fdir
  }

_FileDirWithSlash(path)
  {
    Return _FileDir(path) . "\"
  }

_CheckForUpdate(url="http://www.favessoft.com/",ininame="FavesVersions.ini")
  {
    urlfile := url . ininame
    localfile := A_ScriptDir . "\" . ininame
    param := _FileBaseName(A_ScriptFullPath)
    If (FileExist(localfile))
    {
      FileDelete,%localfile%
    }
    ;MsgBox, 4160, , localfile is %localfile%
    URLDownloadToFile,%urlfile%,%localfile%
    If ErrorLevel
    {
      MsgBox, 4112, %param%, Server access failed!
      Return
    }
    IniRead,onlinever,%localfile%,Versions,%param%,%A_Space%
    IniRead,zipfile,%localfile%,Downloads,%param%,%A_Space%
    FileGetVersion,localver,%A_ScriptFullPath%
    If localver =
    {
      MsgBox, 4112, %param%, local Version Info Not Found!
      Return
    }
    If onlinever =
    {
      MsgBox, 4112, %param%, Online Version Info Not Found!
      Return
    }
    ;MsgBox, 4160, URLDown Online Verson, %onlinever%
    ;MsgBox, 4160, URLDown local Verson, %localver%

    If (onlinever > localver)
    {
      If zipfile =
      {
        MsgBox, 4112, %param%, Could not determine Download Filename!
        Return
      }
      MsgBox, 0x1024, %param%, Current Version is %localver% : Download %onlinever% ?
      IfMsgBox Yes
      {
        urlfile := url . zipfile
        ziplocalfile := A_ScriptDir . "\" . zipfile
        URLDownloadToFile,%urlfile%,%ziplocalfile%
        If ErrorLevel
        {
          MsgBox, 4112, %param%, Download attempt failed!!
          Return
        }
        Run,%ziplocalfile%
        Run,%A_ScriptDir%
        If (FileExist(localfile))
        {
          FileDelete,%localfile%
        }
        ExitApp
      }
    }
    Else
    {
      MsgBox, 4160, %param%, %localver% is the Latest Version
    }
    If (FileExist(localfile))
    {
      FileDelete,%localfile%
    }
    Return
  }
5020
Thanks for the comments. Sometimes I'm a cup short of a coffee or I would have thought of it earlier. :)


5021
General Software Discussion / Finally started really using Template.ahk
« Last post by MilesAhead on June 24, 2011, 12:01 AM »
Duh!!  After copying and pasting Tray Menu stuff, about box code, yadda yadda that I put in 90% of my AHK scripts, I finally made them generic and put them in Template.ahk.

So now when I right click in Explorer to make a new ahk script, then edit, it has all that custom tray menu, name the .ini file boiler plate already in.


5022
General Software Discussion / Re: Set Work Area 1.2.0.0
« Last post by MilesAhead on June 20, 2011, 07:03 PM »
Does FreeBASIC also make it run (even) quicker?

It's the same WinAPI call.  The nice thing about FreeBASIC is it produces very small win32 stand-alone exe files with no basic run time needed.  awa.exe is 81 KB and that's that.

Now the zip download is 40 KB instead of 400 KB. :)

I just determined there was no advantage to using a gui app in this case.  Rewrote it in FreeBASIC mainly to keep from forgetting all my FB as well as making the exe smaller.

Also this version doesn't output to stderr.  Just makes it easier to redirect the output to a log file or whatever.

5023
General Software Discussion / Re: Adjust Work Area 1.0.0.0
« Last post by MilesAhead on June 20, 2011, 06:57 PM »
Set Work Area has been superceded by Adjust Work Area 1.0.0.0.

See first post in thread for usage and download link.
5024
General Software Discussion / Re: Set Work Area 1.2.0.0
« Last post by MilesAhead on June 20, 2011, 04:51 PM »
I rewrote awa.exe console version in FreeBASIC.  The exe size is reduced to 78 KB.  Also changed the icon to match FavesSoft site favicon.

Note that all output is done using 'print' statements.  No longer any need to redirect stderr if you wish to send results to a log file.

5025
General Software Discussion / Re: Fold 2.0.1.0
« Last post by MilesAhead on June 20, 2011, 03:22 PM »
File managers with quad windows may be a solution but I haven't found a free one that seemed stable and predictable.
Have you tried Q-Dir ? It's free and seems to work well.

I periodically try it and have it on my system.  In fact I changed Half Shell utility to send 4 folders to command line to support it. It just doesn't feel as solid as I'd like with files over a GB.
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