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Idea: File note

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Cuffy:
Back in 1999, Moonsoftware released a little app called FileNote. I used it so much it became second nature but when I moved up to a 64 bit OS it no longer worked. I emailed Moonsoftware about when it might be upgraded to 64 bit but received no response. It really is a neat little utility and when I ran across your site I thought it might be well to check since you guys seem to have talent bubbling out of your ears!
From the Moonsoftware page:

"FileNote is a little shell extension that allows you to add textual descriptions to your files. It adds one command to the shell context menu of a file object. This command lets you easily edit or create a text file that has the same name as the initial file, but with the extension TXT.
For example, if you have a file, MyImage.jpg, you right-click on that file and choose the FileNote command from the context menu. A new text file called MyImage.txt is created and Notepad is opened to edit that text file. If a text file with that name already exists, it will be opened for viewing/editing.

FileNote 1.1.0, released on Sunday, January 03, 1999"
Download: FileNote_110.exe (206 KB)

Does anyone have any ideas what could be done to make it work on a 54 bit OS?

TIA,
Cuffy

AndyM:
Write a batch file to do what you want (if origname.txt doesn't exist, create it, open it up in the editor of your choice) and then put an entry in the context menu pointing to the batch file. 

This just came up in another discussion:

https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=11208.msg89524#msg89524

also see:

https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=9357.msg69966#msg69966

Nod5:
Hi Cuffy,
I agree with AndyM. What you request (if I understand it correctly that is) can be done through a script plus a .reg file.

The solution below is tested and working for me. You can make it yourself in these steps:

1. create the folder C:\program\FileNote (some other folder name/path is ok if and only if you change the path in the .reg and .ahk files below accordingly)
2. open notepad, copy and paste the code below into it, save as filenote.ahk

--- ---#SingleInstance ignore
IfNotExist, %1%
 exitapp
IfExist, %1%.txt
 run, notepad "%1%.txt"
else
{
 FileAppend,, %1%.txt
 run, notepad "%1%.txt"
}
sleep 3000
3. install autohotkey (autohotkey.com), run Ahk2Exe.exe in the folder C:\Program\AutoHotkey\Compiler. In it, navigate to filenote.ahk and compile it into filenote.exe.
4. put filenote.exe in folder C:\program\FileNote
5. open notepad, copy and paste the code below into it, save as filenote.reg

--- ---Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\*\shell\FileNote]
@="FileNote"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\*\shell\FileNote\command]
@="C:\\Program\\FileNote\\FileNote.exe \"%L\""

6. doubleclick filenote.reg to import it to the registry, creating the context menu FileNote entry

to later remove it, do these steps:
R1. delete folder C:\program\FileNote and its files
R2. open notepad, copy and paste the code below into it, save as filenote_remove.reg

--- ---Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\*\shell\FileNote]
@="FileNote"

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\*\shell\FileNote\command]
@="C:\\Program\\FileNote\\FileNote.exe \"%L\""
R3. doubleclick filenote_remove.reg to remove the FileNote context menu entry from the registry

For convenience, I have attached filenote.reg , filenote_remove.reg , filenote.ahk and a compiled filenote.exe (MD5 7e0a8ca8bb7519a00f5596630969f1fd ) in filenote.zip .

If you use filenote.exe and filenote.reg from the .zip, you only need to do steps 1,4 & 6.


note: if you select multiple files and then trigger the FileNote context menu entry, FileNote.exe still only opens a .txt file for the specific file you right clicked. However, if you select very many files (perhaps accidentally select all files in a folder) and then choose FileNote in the context menu, then the FileNote.exe program might freeze and .txt files might be created and opened for more than one file. I don't know how to solve that problem completely without having FileNote.exe running permanently.

edit: I should also add that I only use Win XP 32bit myself and so can't testdrive it in a 64bit OS. So tell me if it works as it should.


edit2: on second thought it's simpler to do all of this in autohotkey. Also on second thought, since MoonSoft and the original freeware program still exists ( http://www.moonsoftware.com/freeware.asp ) it is more sensible to name this script something slightly different. So here's "FileNoter". Again, only tested in Win XP 32bit.

Create it yourself:
B1. open notepad, copy and paste the code below into it, save as filenoter.ahk

--- ---;-- filenoter by Nod5
;-- search donationcoder.com forum for more info
#SingleInstance ignore
if 1 != context_initiated_filenoter
 goto do_reg

IfNotExist, %2%
 exitapp
IfExist, %2%.txt
 run, notepad "%2%.txt"
else
{
 FileAppend,, %2%.txt
 run, notepad "%2%.txt"
}
sleep 3000
exitapp

do_reg:
RegRead, xreg, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, SOFTWARE\Classes\*\shell\FileNoter
if ErrorLevel = 1 ;-- no such registry entry found, so create it
{
RegWrite, REG_SZ, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, SOFTWARE\Classes\*\shell\FileNoter,,FileNoter
RegWrite, REG_SZ, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, SOFTWARE\Classes\*\shell\FileNoter\command,,%A_ScriptFullPath% "context_initiated_filenoter" "`%L"
msgbox, FileNoter context menu entry created`nusing path %A_ScriptFullPath%
}
else if xreg = FileNoter
{
RegDelete, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, SOFTWARE\Classes\*\shell\FileNoter
msgbox, FileNoter context menu entry removed
}
exitapp
B2. install autohotkey (autohotkey.com), run Ahk2Exe.exe in the folder C:\Program\AutoHotkey\Compiler. In Ahk2Exe, navigate to filenoter.ahk and compile it into filenoter.exe .
B3. doubleclick filenoter.exe to automatically add/remove the context menu entry. (This puts the current path to filenoter.exe in the registry so repeat B3 if you move filenoter.exe ).

Alternatively, use filenoter.exe (MD5 be2f73f8c60237c6bbe72ae3b1e78216 ) in the attached filenoter.zip and only do step B3.

Cuffy:
Got filenoter.zip
FileNote is already installed
It throws an error on boot.......... Windows doesn't like the path C:\Program (may cause other apps to malfunction????)
I use C:\Apps for the things I install to play with..........
Gonna see if I can move Filenoter to C:\Apps\Filenoter... results to follow...
FileNote appends extension........ the Moonsoftware app didn't..
I think appending may be a better way to go???
64 bit OS..... free trial if you can run it? I have a Celeron with EM64T.... works fine.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=XP+Pro+trial+download  ..........
I'll have more on the .reg entry in a bit..... XPPro64 has two Program files folders...
1. Program Files
2. Program Files (x86)
P.S. I'm not a programmer..... I'm a 74 yr old diabetic idiot... bear with me!
THX

Nod5:
Hi again Cuffy,
Yes, I was too quick putting in the "C:\program" path, which is the standard path here in Sweden. "C:\program files" is standard in english versions of Windows. But "C:\program" sounds so international, that's why I keep forgetting that it is not. Sorry about that. Run filenote_remove.reg to remove the registry entry with the "C:\program" path.

Let me know if filenoter.exe works as it should for you.

On appending the extension: Yes, for "aaa.doc" FileNoter creates "aaa.doc.txt", not "aaa.txt". Two reasons for that: it was simpler to code and it avoids problems when several files have the same name but different extensions. Example: If I have "aaa.doc" & "aaa.pdf", which one would "aaa.txt" be a filenote for?

That said, I can change filenoter to make "aaa.txt" instead of "aaa.doc.txt" if you prefer that - just say so. But then the .doc and .pdf in the example will have to share one .txt filenote.

Finally, I really hope that I will also be busy installing operating systems (or whatever we use in the future) when I'm 74 years old. :Thmbsup:

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