Recent Posts

5326

Best Dialog Extender / Re: Revisiting (XfilesDialog, File-Ex, Direct Folders)

« Last post by superboyac on March 13, 2008, 03:20 PM »

I will check it out right now, thanks!!
I am currently using FileBox Extender (free!) for the first time.  It's pretty good.  I don't like the interface as much as the other ones I've tried, but it works better than them.  Even Autocad works, no problem.  So, FlashFOlder is next!

5327

Best Dialog Extender / Revisiting (XfilesDialog, File-Ex, Direct Folders)

« Last post by superboyac on March 13, 2008, 11:37 AM »

I have been using these programs for two years now since reading the big review here when I first joined DC.  After the review, I decided that XFilesDialog suited me the best of the "Best in Class" choices.  After a couple of years, I wanted to change because of a couple of annoying things about the program.  Stuff like the annual subscription process when there are barely any updates.  The program doesn't work with all programs, such as AutoCAD.  It has an annoying splash screen that can't be disabled without a hacked workaround I got from here. 
So, I decided to try out File-Ex.  I thought this would be the ONE because it has a trainable wizard where if certain dialogs and programs don't work, they can be trained to work.  WHile it's a fantastic idea, it doesn't work well at all.  At least not for AutoCAD.
THen, I tried Direct FOlders (which I know there are a lot of complaints of here).  I like the interface of Direct Folders out of all three. If they all worked as described, I would choose Direct Folders.  But Direct Folders still doesn't work with AutoCAD.  And Direct Folders seems to crash a lot.

So, what's the point here?  In my opinion, none of these programs are best in class.  They're all pretty good, but have some pretty major flaws.  And it's not just because it doesn't work with AutoCAD.  I bet the same is true for other programs that use a slightly modified version of the regular open/save dialogs.

Here's my summary:
XfilesDialog is good for it's stability and tweakability.
Direct FOlders has a great interface with the floating bar and genius double-click on an open space feature.
File-Ex had a great idea in the training wizard for unsupported apps (if it worked).

5328

Post New Requests Here / IDEA: Ever have your tray icons disappear randomly?

« Last post by superboyac on March 12, 2008, 07:10 PM »

Do any of you have some of your system tray icons disappear for no reason?  It happens all the time to me.  I thought it had something to do with the auto-hide feature of xp, but that didn't make sense since I have it disabled.  Instead, I use a tray management utility called PS Tray.  But I don't think that's causing it either.

Anyway, here a solution to the problem in this link (post #11):
Clearing System Tray History
Apparently, Windows keeps a history of any icons that appear in your tray, and if you clear it, then the problems go away.

IDEA
Can someone create a tiny utility that will clear the history upon shutdown or booting or something, so this problem goes away?  I know a lot of us use those 3rd party system tray utilities and disable the windows one, and they are fully capable of handling all of our system tray issues.  So, this utility would just let those programs do their job without meddling.

5329

General Software Discussion / Calendarscope (annoying/paranoid license procedure)

« Last post by superboyac on March 12, 2008, 04:16 PM »

So, I bought Calendarscope exactly 3 months ago.  Today, it stopped working, saying by registration code was not valid, contact the company for a new one.  Then, I realized that they sent me a new license code a couple of weeks ago, so I had to use that one for it to work.  Yeah, if the license key goes bad, the program stops working completely, and if I didn't remember about the new code email, I would've not been able to use the program until I got a response back from the company.
The whole process is a little annoying for a simple calendar program.  I mean really, it reeks of paranoia.  I don't see why I have to enter a new license code every three months, that shouldn't be my problem, especially if I buy the program.  I can see how mouser offers free license for his software that need to be periodically renewed (for free I might add) or you can buy a permanent one with any donation.  That makes sense.  You don't do that kind of behavior for purchased licenses.
And on top of it, I feel Calendarscope is a little overpriced.  I don't have a problem with that since I was willing to pay it for the best program of its kind, but still, for that price, don't cause inconveniences for me.
Overall, a big thumbs down to their licensing scheme.  Furthermore, the license only allows one year free upgrades (which probably means maybe 1 or 2 minor upgrades over the course of the year).  Then, you have to pay FULL price, not even a discounted price, for subsequent upgrades.  It's just a calendar program!

Very Lame.

I can't wait until Pierre implements the calendar module in SQLNotes.  It should work as well as Calendarscope hopefully, if he implements all the features.  I'll gladly pay $100 for SQLNotes.

5330

General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by superboyac on March 12, 2008, 12:21 PM »

How come the "auto add new items" in the field manager is grayed out?  I want to use this option, but no combination of clicking on boxes enables that checkbox.

5331

General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by superboyac on March 12, 2008, 11:29 AM »

Is it always going to be necessary to uninstall first to install updates?  What will happen if you don't uninstall?

5332

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm sick of everything requiring a restart!

« Last post by superboyac on March 12, 2008, 06:50 AM »

I'd love to go to Linux and I read your saga, Zaine, but I just am too attached to my windows software right now to do it.

5333

General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by superboyac on March 10, 2008, 01:24 PM »

Will do.

BTW, in the coming update, you'll be able to copy/paste items from one DB to another. Not quite a full merge just yet, but a big improvement over the current.

-PPLandry (March 10, 2008, 11:52 AM)

Great.  I was just thinking about that, and I realized it must be somewhat complicated because of all the levels of data and display.  For example, if I want to merge databases, it needs to be able to process what to do with existing and updated items, what if grids are using fields not in the current database.  I imagine the merging databases feature dialog is going to be sophisticated with several options (at least I hope so).

5334

General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by superboyac on March 10, 2008, 11:50 AM »

One minor request if possible:
On the "about" screen, can you display the exact version number along with the build number?  I'm running multiple copies of SN on my work, home, laptop computer, and I forget which versions I have on each.

5335

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm sick of everything requiring a restart!

« Last post by superboyac on March 10, 2008, 11:47 AM »

WhyReboot is cool, thanks.
Yeah, I know that I usually don't have to restart, but I was just venting because it happened like 3 times in one hour last night.  And my computer is slow (6 year old workhorse!) so it takes a while to reboot.

5336

General Software Discussion / I'm sick of everything requiring a restart!

« Last post by superboyac on March 09, 2008, 10:29 PM »

Who else is sick of every little update/install/uninstall requiring a restart?  Man, I just went through a series of them where they all wanted a restart.
Just a little rant on my part.

5337

General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by superboyac on February 27, 2008, 03:03 PM »

If you set an auto-assign on the item field, it will be triggered when you add items, all items. A few options:
1- If you want a create date, why not use the build-in ItemCreated field
2- You can use forms to create the item. Form can have default values, so creating an item using a specific form will add your date field
3- Base your grid on a yes/no field and add the auto-assign to that field

You can certainly create a specific text field for this grid (instead of "item"), but it is not recommended

-PPLandry (February 27, 2008, 02:34 PM)

OK, I should try forms out.  I don't know anything about forms yet.  I'll keep using the Item field, it makes sense. I don't want to use the Item Created field because I may have to manually change the date sometimes.

5338

General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by superboyac on February 27, 2008, 02:01 PM »

AutoAssign question:
Before, I used an autoassign date command, so that whenever I created a new item for my jazzpractice grid, I had it set up so that the current date gets automatically assigned whenever something was entered in the jazzpractice field.

Now, I'm creating another grid to keep track of my project logs at work, and I want the date to be automatically assigned also.  However, I'm not using a custom field for my entries anymore, I'm simply using the normal Item field (so my grid only has two columns, Date and Item).  Is it a problem if I set an autoassign rule in the regular Item field?  Doesn't that mean that the date will get autoassigned anytime I use the Item field anywhere in the database?  This seems to me to be the wrong way of going about it, I'm pretty sure.  My solution is to create a custom field for this grid so I won't have to modify the Item field.  Am I thinking about this right?

5339

General Software Discussion / Re: Why is it so hard to find a decent image organizer?

« Last post by superboyac on February 25, 2008, 06:15 PM »

Can anyone help me find a program to recommend to my sister?

Unfortunately, I'm not that familiar with image organizers.  I use ACDSee just for photo browsing, but I've never tried organizing anything beyond the regular directory structure.  My sister's needs are very simple and she's not a poweruser on the computer, so all of this exif stuff and powerful featureset is not for her.  Her needs are the following:
--transfer files from the camera to the computer
--organize the pictures in a user-friendly way.  Tags, albums, whatever, as long as it has a good interface and easy to use.
--Easily prepare a selected group of photos or albums to be printed by either putting them on a cd or something, or using an online service.

I know a regular file manager will do most of this, but I'm afraid even the file manager method would be too complicated for her needs.

I'm thinking she might like ExifPro, it's cheap and looks good.  Maybe Picasa?  I used Picasa recently and thought it was kind of klunky and weird, with a smooth interface (but I didn't think it was all that easy to use...just a little weird).  ACDSee has album organizing features (that I've never used), but it seems simple enough like just click pictures to include in albums, but there probably is something better.  Photo Collector looks kind of like something she would like.

5340

General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by superboyac on February 22, 2008, 05:01 PM »

As far as I know, only the items are using ID numbers.  Obviously, Pierre knows the implications of this better than us.  But just by speculating, assigning ID numbers to grids and fields has pros/cons.  For the grids, the benefit is that renaming the grid won't cause confusion for the user like I'm experiencing.  On the other hand, it's much easier and more intuitive to use field names instead of numbers in equations.  Let's say you use a field name in an equation and then you rename that field.  Do all the equations get updated with the new name?  Or do the equations stop working because that name no longer exists?  I don't know.  As Pierre said earlier, when a grid is renamed, there's an internal workaround where even though the old name isn't being used anymore, it still is including a blank entry " " so that the item still can be recognized as part of the grid (regarding that checkbox field that determines what the grid will show).

5341

General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by superboyac on February 22, 2008, 11:54 AM »

Hi Pierre, I noticed the new "Full Hierarchy" option.  I still don't know how to fix my music grid.  Did you fix the issue with the hierarchies that have more than 500 items?  I still can't get my original hierarchy, no matter how I tweak the options.  You should have a copy of my database, it's in the last email I sent to you.
I'm still wondering about the whole renaming grids process.  I get your point that if the checkbox was also renamed, then the equations would potentially get screwed up.  How about using an ID number similar to the Item ID number that you are currently using, except the number will apply to grids.  That way, if grids are renamed, the ID number stays the same and maybe it won't be as confusing (like having " " being entered for the MusicItem field even though I'm now using Item).

5342

General Software Discussion / Re: Best program to manage information collections?

« Last post by superboyac on February 20, 2008, 04:41 PM »

SQLNotes.  No question.  This program can do anything.  And by anything, I mean if it can't do it from first glance, fiddle with it some, and it can probably do it.  I don't think there's another product on the market that comes close to the versatility of SQLNotes right now.  There's already an enormous thread here on the program (probably the longest thread at DC right now).  I've meticulously  tried out a lot of notetaking and PIM programs over the last few years, and as soon as a couple of new features are implemented in the beta for SQLNotes, I'm going to transfer ALL of my info into it.  That's everything.  Texnotes, EverNote, Mybase, addressbooks, random custom databases I created while using SQLNotes...everything.  And it can handle everything beautifully.  I'm telling you, I'm going to write a song about that program.

5343

Living Room / Re: Ring the bells!!! The HD Format war is OVER!!! Toshiba forfeits

« Last post by superboyac on February 19, 2008, 06:17 PM »

Wow, Sony actually won a format battle!  When was the last time that happened?

5344

General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by superboyac on February 19, 2008, 05:45 PM »

Pierre, why do you require SQLNotes to have administrator privileges to be installed on a computer?  Why isn't PowerUser status enough?

Congratulations on this thread so far.  It has surpassed the Notetaking thread as far as number of pages (28!).  It might now be the longest thread on DC.  I think the topic is worthy!

5345

General Software Discussion / Re: How to search for folders by size?

« Last post by superboyac on February 16, 2008, 06:11 PM »

... I'm really having a hard time finding this, and I've looked on all my file managers, and they can't do it (DOpus, Total Commander, XYplorer).

-superboyac (February 15, 2008, 06:46 PM)

That was true yesterday. Today I'll upload (in Beta Club) a version of XYplorer that can do it.

-DonL (February 16, 2008, 01:17 AM)

Very cool!  Thanks so much.

5346

General Software Discussion / Re: Why is my computer hiccuping every 60 seconds?

« Last post by superboyac on February 16, 2008, 12:03 AM »

Maybe I'll try that later.  i didn't use it that much, and it didn't find many things on my computer anyway.

5347

General Software Discussion / Re: Why is my computer hiccuping every 60 seconds?

« Last post by superboyac on February 15, 2008, 11:08 PM »

It was Spysweeper.

I installed it from the free thing I read here on DC a couple of weeks ago, and that's when it started.  I remembered that it was the most recent software I installed, and I noticed a spysweeper exe file running in my task manager even when spysweeper was shut down.  I tried deactivating all the "shield" options, but it didn't help.  So, I uninstalled it and everything is fine now.

Why does spysweeper need to have a service running constantly and what is it checking for every 60 seconds?  Nonsense.  It should just run when i need to clean my pc.  Oh well, good riddance.  I've read it's a great program, however.

5348

General Software Discussion / Why is my computer hiccuping every 60 seconds?

« Last post by superboyac on February 15, 2008, 07:35 PM »

Recently, my computer has started "hiccuping" every 60 seconds (at the :45 of the minutes:second on the clock).  How can I find out the problem?  At first I thought my cpu was being overloaded by my mp3 player (foobar) because sometimes it reaches 20-30% cpu, but it's not that.  And when the time comes, everything stops on the computer for a split second, not just the audio.  Like, I'm typing right now, and it will just stop on one of the letters for a split second and then a bunch of the letters that I just typed during the pause will avalanche across.
There must be a service or something that's checking something every 60 seconds, but I can't figure out what it is.

5349

General Software Discussion / Re: How to search for folders by size?

« Last post by superboyac on February 15, 2008, 07:06 PM »

I can't find any programs, but Skrommel's DelEmpty from this site does the trick in a roundabout way.  It allows me to pick a directory, and it will give me a list of all the subdirectories and their sizes.  So, while I can's use a criterea, the information is there at least.  Very nice, skrommel!

But, file managers like DOpus should definitely be able to do searches based on folder sizes.

5350

General Software Discussion / How to search for folders by size?

« Last post by superboyac on February 15, 2008, 06:46 PM »

Most search programs allow you to search with a criteria based on file sizes.  but I haven't found any to search and find folders based on the folder sizes, which would be really useful.  For one thing, it would be nice to find all the empty folders.  But also, you can search for all folders that have a size less than 5 MB or something like that.  I'm really having a hard time finding this, and I've looked on all my file managers, and they can't do it (DOpus, Total Commander, XYplorer).