Recent Posts

626

Living Room / Re: download the "unable-to-download swfs"

« Last post by CodeTRUCKER on January 26, 2008, 01:57 AM »

ummmmm no, that ain't my question...when i Do try savin that (which i did b4 actually registerin and makin a forum for this) failed cuz the intro nor the game loads just wit only the main.swf

-papoj1 (January 26, 2008, 01:50 AM)

Oops, sorry, I misunderstood you.   It looks like you will have to wait for ScanCode to help you.

627

Living Room / Re: download the "unable-to-download swfs"

« Last post by CodeTRUCKER on January 26, 2008, 01:45 AM »

First of all, welcome to the forums.

About the game... View|Source Code hasn't killed anyone so far. Try http://americandadvs...milyguy.com/main.swf
I'm still downloading it to check for dependencies, but give it a shot.

-scancode (January 25, 2008, 05:34 AM)

    Congrats, u r poster #1 k ummm i think i tried savin the main.swf once and i end up gettin a game window of it that doens't load the intro thus not loadin the game

-papoj1 (January 25, 2008, 05:52 AM)

Again, welcome to DC!

If you have a link such as you have displayed, then generally if you right-click and choose "Save As" you can download it to your PC, unless the server has restrictions on it.  Try what I said and let us know.  If you don't understand, just let us know and we can try again.

I forgot to tell you if you left-click it will not give you the chanc to save.  It will only execute on your computer.

628

General Software Discussion / Re: Best free firewall for Windows?

« Last post by CodeTRUCKER on January 25, 2008, 10:10 PM »

Maybe, but even if that was the case, even if that was some kind of "conspiracy" etc. (I understand the nuances, don't worry...  ), one still has to adapt to these rules and constraints, even if they were artificially created. There are different ways to do that, one being to play it their way, or at least partly -- Comodo is not that expensive BTW...

-Armando (January 25, 2008, 09:43 PM)

Your're right, we do live in a "real" world and in some sense we have to play the game, but my comment was intended to be directed to the concept of if there is ever enough you can do to be really safe?  Based on what I am reading here, "safety" from serious Bad Boyz in the virii trade appears to be something of a myth, so the ones that suggest being vigilant and doing nothing else do have a strong argument as a valid and operational alternative. 

Thanks for the tip on Comodo.

629

General Software Discussion / Re: TheBat email client v4 (early alpha) - some observations

« Last post by CodeTRUCKER on January 25, 2008, 09:59 PM »

as I wrote in previous message, there is a difference between wrapping long URLs in rescipients viewer and URLs wrapped by sender's MUA or sender's MTA

-marek_mikus (January 25, 2008, 06:06 AM)

Right, ok.  I understand that.  Since the bat has no control over that, then I guess there's nothing it can do.  However, I still think my work around is a good idea, where the user can highlight text that spans multiple lines, and a right-click context menu item can open up those multiple lines of text as a hyperlink and merge it.  Again, this is a very common issue in email and I don't think it would be that difficult to implement.

-superboyac (January 25, 2008, 11:15 AM)

superboyac, I have asked developers yesterday about this and received answer, it was done now. So, stay tuned :-)

-marek_mikus (January 25, 2008, 07:07 PM)

Marek, I am glad that this feature will be implemented to Superboyac's specs , but maybe I'm not communicating so I have a final thought I would like you to address...

I am not a great coder, but I have coded some working apps and I know this can be done, although I would have to work to make it happen.  

Given that the developers of TheBAT! have produced an exceptional product in many respects they must be excellent coders..  
Please help me to understand why this is so difficult?

If this can be done to let the user do it via the mouse, why can't it be automated via parsing the text, regardless of where the wrapping occured? 

630

General Software Discussion / Re: TheBat email client v4 (early alpha) - some observations

« Last post by CodeTRUCKER on January 25, 2008, 09:39 PM »

how could program detect wrapped link in plaintext? surprise me :-)

-marek_mikus (January 24, 2008, 03:56 PM)

Why not use the existing spellchecker?  Here's how, I'll use the link to this thread as an example as it is fairly representative of many URLs...

http:://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=11985.0#quickreply 

(FYI - I put in two colons so the SMF engine wouldn't compact the URL)

-=o=-  First, like Superboyac saiid, it is a long string without spaces...

-=o=- Next, if you split this at just about any point it is basically unintelligible jibberish as far as a spell check is concerned.  Yes, I do see that a split between "quick" and "reply" might get past this, but this is far and away the exception and not the rule; in fact, the chances of the split actually occurring at a chance intelligible break like that would be astornomical.  Also given it was jibberish to start with, it seems an "intellegent" parser would be able to identify the string as a URL (the "http;//" at the beginnig of the string would be a big hint) and could be "marked" in the editor to treat it as "Do not break" when lines are wrapped.

-CodeTRUCKER (January 24, 2008, 10:56 PM)

but as I understand You, You are talking about lines wrapped by rescipients viewer, but problem is in URLs wrapped by sender's MUA or sender's MTA, so rescipients plaintext viewer have no chance to know, link is wrapped to more lines

-marek_mikus (January 25, 2008, 03:17 AM)

Maybe I'm dull or dingy, but to me it doesn't matter if the break was on inbound e-mail or the original editor.    It all comes down to parsing text and applying rules.  If it it finds "A" do "This" if "B" is found, do "That". 

I'm sorry Marek, but I still don't see this as a major hurtle and if TheBAT! had the capability, it would be the first client in history where you wouldn't have to worry about broken URLs, AFAIK There are a whole lot more people than Superboyac and CodeTRUCKER that would applaud such a paradigm shift. 

I am not saying that there would never be abroken URL, but I think mathematics professionals would be on my side of the probability argument, but I could be wrong?

Like I said, maybe I'm just dense.  If someone sees why my logic wouldn't work or couldn't be coded, I would appreciate the clue. Since T-Bird has an extension capability, maybe I might see if my logic holds any water by making an extension to do this?

Man, my to-do list is turning into FrakenDo!

631

General Software Discussion / Re: Best free firewall for Windows?

« Last post by CodeTRUCKER on January 25, 2008, 08:48 PM »

Personally I still believe that if you end up getting infected in the first place, and you're getting infected from something that's nasty enough to be a problem, it's going to be sophisticated enough to breach whatever software firewall you're running.

-f0dder (January 25, 2008, 07:31 PM)

If this is the case and there is evidence that a firewall/AV may be a beacon, then the idea of not using anything begins to at least be worth considering.  This isn't to put words in your mouth, but I think this logic holds up?  Further, then the whole firewall/av industry is a self-aggrandizing entity.  Makes you wonder "who" is actually putting all those "annoyance" virii on the web?  I'm not a "conspiracy theorist" by any means, but neither do I pretend that the Emperor's New Clothes are anything but his B-Day suit.    There is LOTS of money in this business too. Something to think about.

 
This also seems to suggest that there is no way to really be safe, any more than it is safe to go for a walk.  As long as the drive-by shooter doesn't drive by while you are walking.  You're safe.  Am I making sense or is my medicine kicking in?

632

General Software Discussion / Re: Attention Mod

« Last post by CodeTRUCKER on January 25, 2008, 08:33 PM »

BTW - this doesn't have to be decided tonight, tomorrow or next week.  Any time before the vernal equinox would be great.  (notice I didn't say what year. )

The whole idea is to connect people with purpose and however that is accomplished is fine by me. 

Off Topic

Actually, I think one of the best things that has happened so far is Carol's idea for a button to allow member's to request other members to join IRC, but lest I hi-jack my own thread, I'll leave that alone.

633

General Software Discussion / Re: Attention Mod

« Last post by CodeTRUCKER on January 25, 2008, 08:24 PM »

This thread is still alive and well, so anyone who has thoughts, please play right through and offer your perspectives and ideas. 


I have been working with App's idea to use the "Send Topic" button that is on the bottom of every thread. The benefit is it is already in place.   This means no need to build from the ground up, only some adjustments would need to be effected.  Our Tech Staff will be happy with this, provided the "adjustments" aren't to taxing.  If the changes were simple enough, the mod could be used very soon.  Here are the present caveats and some ideas to overcome them...

Caveats

• The "Send Topic" button is to vague IMO.  It does call attention to the thread, but it is impotent to direct the Recipient to the post where assistance is needed.  I don't think it can be assumed that the Recipient can just go to the bottom of the thread to locate the post.
• If anything is invasive, The "Send Topic" surely qualifies.  As a Sender I, personally, would not want to use my email address.  Actually, I'm not sure what SMF was thinking when they came up with this.  Perhaps the email address is for verification.  Whether it is or isn't the mail that is sent to the Recipient does show the Sender's email address. 
• The requirement to have the Recipient's email is a no brainer, so that's all I'll say.
• The interface for sending needs a face lift, specifically the email boxes would need to be removed and the "Comment" box should be enlarged from its present 20-character length to see the whole comment.

Remedies

• First change needed to make this mod effective as opposed to just usable, would be to have the "Send Topic" button modified or create a "Send Post" button on each post (as Carol suggested).  This would make the notice to the Recipient surgical in locating the specific call for assistance.  Since the Recipient would be essentially offering a service, I think it would courteous to make their life easier by giving them a direct link. 
• As App stated, a change that offered an option to send via email or PM has merit.  After the removal of the email address boxes, the Member's forum name would need to be the only information requested for the Recipient.  The Sender's forum name already populates the dialog, so it would not be necessary to have anything other than that, i.e., no password should be needed, but the added security of requiring the password is never a bad idea.
• There should also be an "override" available to the Recipient.  Presumably this would/could be an option within each member's profile.  Some Recipients might even prefer both or none.

FYI - If the "Send Topic" could be cloned and modified as suggested above, it would fulfill the criteria for this mod as it was originally envisioned.


The only two things left to do is to see if...

(1)  Anyone else wants it and would use it or if there are other ideas.

(2)  See what the Tech Staff that would have to do the work, has to say about the "doable-ness" to put it in operation.



Remember: the window to offer your comments and/or ideas is still open.  Please feel free to post them regardless of the above discussions on this board.  This is your Community and anything you have to offer is welcome! [/list][/list]

634

General Software Discussion / Re: Attention Mod

« Last post by CodeTRUCKER on January 25, 2008, 07:35 PM »

How about a button along side the user name (like the current set of icons on the left) that displays when someone is online - clicking on an online button would send an instant invite (pop up) to join the IRC chat? Users could have the option to disable the icon in their user profile if they don't want to get invited.

-Carol Haynes (January 25, 2008, 06:02 PM)

Carol, a button would be a good idea for calling someone to IRC in real-time, but as the "sought member" might not be online/available in real-time the "call" might not be "heard."  Also, even if a "You have been called to...." it would "summon" a member to the thread, but there still remains the reason why the member was sought?  This is why I was suggesting some free-form method that would allow the text of the reason for the "call" to be included.  Like App has said, we don't want to bother or take advantage of those we receive help from unnecessarily.  I'm thinking providing some explanation in the "call" could allow the "Guru" to determine how, when, or ever they would respond to the "call."   Any thoughts?

Frankly, I think your button idea to request someone to join IRC is splendid in itself!   Maybe we should split this thread and see what the community thinks of your idea? 

635

General Software Discussion / Re: Attention Mod

« Last post by CodeTRUCKER on January 25, 2008, 07:21 PM »

App, your "No" vote has been heard loud and clear, but in all fairness I was offering the idea to the "Community." 

I would like to hear what others have to say.

636

General Software Discussion / Re: Attention Mod

« Last post by CodeTRUCKER on January 25, 2008, 05:56 PM »

Ah! I just stumbled across a real-time example of where this idea would be useful.

637

General Software Discussion / Re: Attention Mod

« Last post by CodeTRUCKER on January 25, 2008, 05:50 PM »

This is where something like the deskbar really comes in handy. 

No need to wander off the page/thread you are on.

Type in the member's name (or part of it), change the dropdown to 'Members', and click the search button. It will open a new browser window that you can use to locate the member's profile and send the PM from there.

-app103 (January 25, 2008, 05:23 PM)

Thanks for the link.  That will be pretty handy!  For this application, there are still plenty of steps.  Maybe it will grow on me as I use it more.  Maybe my idea would be too much work to put it in operaton.  I certainly wouldn't want to unduly burden any of the tech staff.  I wonder what they have to say about it?

Attention:: @mouser@, @Gothi[c]@, @Wordzilla@ - Can you help over here?   

638

General Software Discussion / Re: Attention Mod

« Last post by CodeTRUCKER on January 25, 2008, 04:26 PM »

Hmmmmm....

Don't we already have a private message system that can serve that same purpose?

-app103 (January 25, 2008, 04:22 PM)

It could, but the message isn't necessarily private and leavig the thread to post a PM might be counter-intuitive.

I was seeking something more intuitive so it would be used.  Given the member being sought was not on the thread in the first place,  you know what effort would be involved in setting up the links to have available for the "sought member" in his/her PM.  I don't see that as an incentive to calling needed help.  Still if that is the method, I'm game.

Maybe I'm just dull, but in 15 months of being at DC, your suggestion never ocurred to me.  

I stated above, I could have used this tool.  I'll use your suggestion as a test case.


Reporting back...

Here is what was involved with using the PM for this purpose...

Here are the steps I used in "calling" tinjaw to a thread involving Python.  We'll assume we are already in that thread.  I will also use what short-cuts I am aware of, but keep in mind others might not be familiar with them.  I'll flag these points with "**" and expound.

**(1) I acquire the thread/post address by right-clicking on the title link and "Copy link address."  (A novice may not be familiar with this.)

**(2) - Since I need tinjaw and he is not in this thread I can't just click his "PM" icon under his name.  (I know I can click on ayone's PM icon and chage the name, but again a novice might not understand this.)

**(3)  Now I am in the PM and it is addressed I leave tinjaw a message that says something like, Hey tinjaw... I can Python be used in LINUX for a text title formatter/inserter?  See this thread <right-click and paste thread/post link here>.  Thanks in advance  for the help! - Calvin  (Once again, the novice might not know the "right-clicking" options)

Take a look at the time stamp of the this post and the "Edit" time-stamp below.  Ok, I'm slow, but it would still take a number of steps and time to accomplish the "call."  On the othe side, it would require an extra step to get to the needed location.

Agreed, the PM is a viable tool for this purpose, but like I said, my hope was to have a tool that would be intuitive so it would be used.

Even if this idea never gets off the ground, I learned something!   Thanks, App! 



<edit> for clarity </edit>

639

General Software Discussion / Attention Mod

« Last post by CodeTRUCKER on January 25, 2008, 04:18 PM »

Maybe this is already in effect, but in 15 months of participating/lurking on this board, I have not seen it.

What we're talking about is a forum modification/device/method that will "call" any particular member to a discussion rather than just hoping they drop in.  Here is a tangible example.

Imagine being in a thread where the issue of servers arises and no one on the thread is particularly versed in servers, it would be beneficial IMO to be able to "call" f0dder.  You might add to the bottom of your post in that thread...

"Attention:: @f0dder@ - we need assistance with some aspects of servers, can you help?"

The next time f0dder logs in or if he is online and clicks to the next page a similar window to the announcement that he has PMs waiting would alert f0dder to check his "call box" or display the "call" with a suitable link that would allow f0dder to go directly to the thread and offer whatever he would.

Likewise if there was a discussion on UltraEdit, a "call" could be dispatched for @zridling@ and @mrainey@.  A discussion on Microsoft could call @Veign@ and one on Python might "call" @tinjaw@, etc.  Oh and we would need @CarolHaynes@ if we had a discussion on the English equestrian scene.

I am sure you get the idea and I think there would be great value with instant R.O.I. rather than relying on chance, but this is only my view.  I can tell you I would have used such a mod twice yesterday, if it had already been available.

What do you say?    Could you have used it?

[Disclaimer - the use of "f0dder," "zridling," "mrainey," " Veign," "tinjaw" and "Carol Haynes" are only for example due to their related involvements with the subjects and does not suggest that they should be involved in any way.]

<edit> added disclaimer, spelling and formatting </edit>

640

General Software Discussion / Re: Fixed: "Thunderbird is still running..." error and maybe others?

« Last post by CodeTRUCKER on January 24, 2008, 11:54 PM »

I didn't lose my messages, nor was Thunderbird exhibiting any of the symptoms you posted about.  For one, it was crashing several times per hour. It just silently closes and the bug reporting dialog appears.  Also, an encryption called Freenigma - which was once installed as a Firefox extension over a year ago and was removed shortly thereafter, but never on Thunderbird - has corrupted several dozen messages.  The entire message is replaced by an invitation to sign up for a Freenigma account.  Freenigma says they know nothing, that it is probably just a Thunderbird problem - which they claim is very susceptible to corruption.

Finally got on my nerves to the point where I just abandoned it.

Jim

-J-Mac (January 24, 2008, 11:35 PM)

Yep, that certainly is out of the realms of my experimentation and I have edited your part out of the post since it wasn't really germaine to my subject.  I am grateful you posted as it provoked me to do some digging on the "Thunderbird is still running..." error.  It should benefit a lot of people that did have that error.  I'm not going to post the whole thing in the other boards, but point to this thread.  Might bring some new members to DC!

I am concerned by your report as I have been leaning toward T-Bird.  Thanks for the clarification. 

641

General Software Discussion / Re: Best free firewall for Windows?

« Last post by CodeTRUCKER on January 24, 2008, 11:29 PM »

true enough, but doing something might help, whereas doing nothing....

target

-Target (January 24, 2008, 07:33 PM)

I wonder... is there any evidence to suggest that some "really nasty malware" actually tries to bulls-eye some AV/firewalls?  Could ZA, etc. have some kind of a footprint that could tell malware "Yoohoo, here I am!"  If there is a substantial possibility, then maybe doing nothing would be better.  Any history to confirm/deny this possibility?

I don't have any knowledge about this, but it was what target wrote that provoked the thought.

642

General Software Discussion / Re: TheBat email client v4 (early alpha) - some observations

« Last post by CodeTRUCKER on January 24, 2008, 10:56 PM »

how could program detect wrapped link in plaintext? surprise me :-)

-marek_mikus (January 24, 2008, 03:56 PM)

Why not use the existing spellchecker?  Here's how, I'll use the link to this thread as an example as it is fairly representative of many URLs...

http:://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=11985.0#quickreply 

(FYI - I put in two colons so the SMF engine wouldn't compact the URL)

-=o=-  First, like Superboyac saiid, it is a long string without spaces...

-=o=- Next, if you split this at just about any point it is basically unintelligible jibberish as far as a spell check is concerned.  Yes, I do see that a split between "quick" and "reply" might get past this, but this is far and away the exception and not the rule; in fact, the chances of the split actually occurring at a chance intelligible break like that would be astornomical.  Also given it was jibberish to start with, it seems an "intellegent" parser would be able to identify the string as a URL (the "http;//" at the beginnig of the string would be a big hint) and could be "marked" in the editor to treat it as "Do not break" when lines are wrapped.

-=o=-  Now we have two split lines.  For the sake of argument we'll say both are unintelligible strings that could/will be flagged by the spellcheck.
Obviously, any string that starts with "http://...", "https://..." or "ftp://..." is easily identified as an URL or FTP address.  What about the backend?

-=o=-  The back end will more than likely be unintelligible jibberish, as I said, but here is the key...  the positively identified front end will always be at the end of the line as the last "word" on the line and the back end will always be the very first "word" of the next line.  An exception could be a URL/FTP address that is verrrrry lonnnnng.  In that case the first part is the positively identified address which is the last "word" on a line.  The next line would be complete jibberish with no spaces and the next and the next, etc. The last part of the string would still be the first "word" of the next line.  I realize that even the "http//" part could be split anywhere in the string, but think about it... no where could it be split and be the beginning or end of any English word that I know of.   

-=o=-  So with what we have established above, it would seem a simple matter to parse using the exisiting spellcheck engine (if it can be used during the wrapping process) to identify and keep together a URL/FTP address.  There would needs be more code to make this all happen, but that shouldn't be any kind of hurdle.  Probably, a few lines of code.  At least, the logic picture is pretty straightforward.  Franly, I think "marking" the string as a special entity would be the simplest approach, but the parsing method should work as well and it wouldn't take too much more effort to even repair broken URL strings from an original e-mail.

Is this doable in TheBAT! 

I'm with Superboyac... this has plagued e-mail clients (and other editors) since the beginnig.  Let's get it out of the way! 


<edit> customary spell corrections and clarifications </edit>  Mouser, can we have a button installed to frame our edit remarks?

643

General Software Discussion / Re: Best free firewall for Windows?

« Last post by CodeTRUCKER on January 24, 2008, 05:18 PM »

Thanks for the input, CodeTrucker. I might as well give it a "go". I'm running BitDefender as my real-time AV and will report back with my experience. The firewall continues to be well-behaved, using no CPU that I can detect and 17/39 MB of RAM/VM split between its two processes.

-Darwin (January 24, 2008, 07:58 AM)

FWIW, keep in mind this is not really a "firewall," perse.  It is what is called a "HIPS."  The acronym HIPS stands for Host- based Intrusion Prevention System.  You may want to give this a read if you are unfamiliar.  The article is a bit dated, but it is still informamtive.  Also, the "CyberHawk" in the article is now the present-day "Threatfire." AFAIK.  BTW - if you learn something significant beyond the article, let me know as I haven't looked to far beyond it yet. (there I used one of your favorite smilies <cheesy grin>)

644

General Software Discussion / Re: starting a revolt against Opera. Worth it?

« Last post by CodeTRUCKER on January 24, 2008, 05:07 PM »

Codetrucker, first of all: yay for your idea of tagging files! I like tags; it all started with mp3s and their genre tag

Anyway, I use linux and I don't think we have an implementation of AHK for linux yet.

-housetier (January 24, 2008, 04:32 PM)

Ah!  I have used LINUX before (SuSE 8?), but my life/business needs have directed a return to Windows.  Once I get this utility working in my world correctly, It might be iteresting to see if it could be ported to your world?  We'll see?  I am never satisfied with just standing on my previous works.  I always like trying a new challenge!  Porting this as yet unrealized utility to LINUX would definitely be a challenge.  Keep it in mind though, I might call on you for some trials if I get that far, eh?  Man, my to-do list is really starting to grow!

I could invest 40 EUR and give my old laptop 50% more ram, maybe that'll allow me to use firefox more smoothly...

3 Rules of Computers

• RAM = GOOD
• More RAM = BETTER
• Most RAM = BEST!

... but you already knew that!

645

General Software Discussion / Re: TheBat email client v4 (early alpha) - some observations

« Last post by CodeTRUCKER on January 24, 2008, 04:43 PM »

regarding nohtml inline, could you be a little more specific? 

-mouser (January 24, 2008, 04:24 AM)

Sorry about that.   Corrected original wording in my post; however, my questions have been addressed by Marek, except for the one about SmartBat.  Well, maybe he already answered it.

-CodeTRUCKER (January 24, 2008, 03:21 PM)

for 4.0, no changes are prepared for SmartBat/Scheduller except GUI changes, as I heard, scheduller improvements are planned for 4th generation, but do not when

-marek_mikus (January 24, 2008, 03:37 PM)

Thanks for the feedback!  I can wait for the new implementation, but please don't fall into the trap of trying to be the "SUPER PROGRAM" that tries to be everything to everyone.  Some developers have fallen into this trap and have made great apps not-so-great by doing so.  TheBAT! is a great e-mail client (and getting better) and I hope it stays that way, personally.  I just think the SmartBAT is sparse and a little dated, IMO, but I'll be waiting to see what Ritlabs does with it.

646

General Software Discussion / Re: TheBat email client v4 (early alpha) - some observations

« Last post by CodeTRUCKER on January 24, 2008, 04:31 PM »

...there is new searching pane in viewer

-marek_mikus (January 24, 2008, 09:01 AM)

Would this happen to work like the character-by-character incremental parsing of messge bodies, subject, etc. of the "tree" including subfolders?  (See Pocomail 4 "Focus" box)

-CodeTRUCKER (January 24, 2008, 03:26 PM)

do not know about Pocomail, but no, this is related to searching text in preview of message

-marek_mikus (January 24, 2008, 03:31 PM)

Hmmm... there is a little utility value in searching in the body of a preview for specific text (if I understand you right?), especially if the search parses character-by-character, but I would have very little use for such a thing, personally.  I can see it being a boon to lawyers, contract writers, etc.  My needs are not so critical, but it is improtant for me to be able to locate specific strings in past e-mails (up to 25,000+ so far) quickly.  I know I can use the full search feature, but this is a matter of convenience, I guess?  My think ing is you can't do anything to an e-mail until you have it.  

Here is the link to the free 30-day trial of Pocomail4 download if you want to check out the competition's method of handling a quick search.  Don't misunderstand me I am not playing tit-for-tat here, nor am I trying to start a mail client flame war.  I only see that there is a capability in a competing product that I would LOVE to see in TheBAT!   Thanks again for joining the thread. I wish more developers/representatives would do so.

<edit> spelling and clarifications </edit>

647

General Software Discussion / Fixed: "Thunderbird is still running..." error and maybe others?

« Last post by CodeTRUCKER on January 24, 2008, 04:02 PM »

This may seem simplistic, but it worked for me.  All I did was rename (not copy) the numeric part of the prolile folder name and in the "profile.ini". 

I changed my original profile folder name from...

     97234.default  (your number part of the name will be different)

to...

     12345.default   

I followed with going up one level and editing the "profiles.ini" line from...

     Path=Profiles/97234.default

to...

     Path=Profiles/12345.default

I saved the "profiles.ini" and fired up T-Bird and My mail was back!  The only caveat was I had to re-install all my Add-ons.  I am still working on how to make them re-appear.

Hope this works for you too!

Update...

I did some more experimenting and I found the following...

-=o=-  I was able to rename the profile folder/path entry to anything  I tried "jhasdjdf034ai7uha4n80q734uih80qhcv8734hn.default" this was just random jibberish and it worked just fine.  I also tried using a single character or number and that worked too.  It seems that any matched string will work, but I put mine back to the original, just in case.

-=o=-  I also found that to restore all my Add-ons all I had to do was go into the Tools >> Add-Ons and select any one of them and then re-select the same one.  I exited out of Thunderbird and re-opened it to find all my extensions back and working perfectly.  Please note it was not necessary to select/deselect each one.

-=o=-  I was also able to duplicate the dreaded "Thunderbird is already running..." error message and I was able to fix it.  The fact is that Thunderbird was not running.  This is why you can't go into the Processes and turn it off.  It isn't there.  It is not running.
 
I was able to reproduce the error at will by making any kind of incongruent change in the number part of the "Path=Profiles/54321.default" line in the "profiles.ini".  Like making it Path=Profiles/5432.default" WHILE Thunderbird was running.  I wasn't able to make the change like this to the "54321.default" in the profile follder since it was being used. 

It appears that when Thunderbird is opened it checks to make sure that something in the "54321.default" is not open (maybe the folder itself) and it checks against what is in the "profiles.ini "Path=Profiles/54321.default".  I really don't know for sure, but what I do know is if these two are not matched then Thunderbird assumes it is running because it appears to T-Bird that the profile folder is not available and produces the "Thunderbird is already running..." error.  The good news is that it is easy to fix!   You need to make the "Path=Profiles/54321.default" line in the "profiles.ini" and the "54321.default" folder name match and it will work AFAICT.   As a final experiment I renamed them both to "mouser" without the ".default" part and it worked just fine. 

-=o=-  Conclusion - The reason this error appears is somehow the profile folder name or the "Path" information becomes corrupt in memory and when you try to open T-Bird it throws the error.  I am guessing it has to be in the memory or registry(?) because I never was able to see any visual corruption other than my own intended discrepancies.  Since the corruption has occured before I figured this out, I was not able to verify if there had actually been a name/path change.  If any of you are experiencing the "Thunderbird is still running..." error, I would be interested to have you look at the profile folder name and the "Path" line in the "profiles.ini" and report back if you did or did not see a discrepancy.


Your mileage may vary, but it was completely consistent for every experiment I tried.  I am not a "Guru" or hacker.  I just tried something and it worked for me.  Maybe it will for you too!

Lastly, if you have any kind of corruption with T-Bird that makes it unusable, regardless if you get "Thunderbird is still running..." error, please try the renaming as outlined above and post back with the results.

Hope this helps someone.


<edit> spelling and re-formatting for readability</edit>

648

General Software Discussion / Re: starting a revolt against Opera. Worth it?

« Last post by CodeTRUCKER on January 24, 2008, 03:53 PM »

...I can also use the description field when bookmarking a page, and search for the keywords when wanting to retrieve it. This might work, but require some getting used to because I don't see the tags I have used before, I cannot browse them. Also I don't get suggestions for already present tags when I start typing them: "f" will suggest "foo" for example.

-housetier (January 24, 2008, 09:32 AM)

housetier, I'm not positive it will work in Opera, but I am working on a general file tagging utility that will allow for consistency in applying tags in filename creation.  It may be expandable to other needs, like Opera?  Don't get in a hurry though, I am trying to implement it in AHK and I have never coded in AHK before!.

649

General Software Discussion / Re: TheBat email client v4 (early alpha) - some observations

« Last post by CodeTRUCKER on January 24, 2008, 03:26 PM »

...there is new searching pane in viewer

-marek_mikus (January 24, 2008, 09:01 AM)

Would this happen to work like the character-by-character incremental parsing of messge bodies, subject, etc. of the "tree" including subfolders?  (See Pocomail 4 "Focus" box)

650

General Software Discussion / Re: TheBat email client v4 (early alpha) - some observations

« Last post by CodeTRUCKER on January 24, 2008, 03:21 PM »

regarding nohtml inline, could you be a little more specific? 

-mouser (January 24, 2008, 04:24 AM)

Sorry about that.   Corrected original wording in my post; however, my questions have been addressed by Marek, except for the one about SmartBat.  Well, maybe he already answered it.