Author Topic: NANY 2011 Release: TaskDaddy Release (Read 108149 times)

daddydave · « **Reply #25 on:** July 09, 2010, 02:08 PM »

I didn't know this when I started but Quick Outlook Task by DC member jpijper is very similar what TaskDaddy aspires to be.

It's called a FARR alias there but it actually is a standalone program too, so it works with or without FARR.

It also has a lot of features TaskDaddy doesn't have yet, like calendar support and search, so I'll have to think about whether TaskDaddy is worth developing any further.

Paul Keith · « **Reply #26 on:** July 09, 2010, 10:40 PM »

There's also TaskBlaze if you haven't heard of it.

These apps aren't really whether there's something similar or not.

They are more about which program has the most comfortable syntax.

It's like CircleDock. Why use it when there's RocketDock? Because people may want it in a circle.

daddydave · « **Reply #27 on:** July 21, 2010, 09:01 AM »

@Paul. Good point, thank you. It's about choices.

I couldn't actually find a download link for TaskBlaze, even though it says "Link: Download TaskBlaze.zip (127.0K)". There was another program I ran across where the author had blogged about it but had put it in a Microsoft repository which has now been discontinued (the repository that is).

Perry Mowbray · « **Reply #28 on:** July 30, 2010, 01:48 AM »

Hey I just tried this (as we use Outlook at work)... why are there two windows? If I move the window, there's another one (identical) behind; both close when complete. $:-\$

Also: the width of the window is wrapping the body text under the input box so I can't see the word "help"

But it works!!!

daddydave · « **Reply #29 on:** July 30, 2010, 04:49 AM »

Hey I just tried this (as we use Outlook at work)... why are there two windows? If I move the window, there's another one (identical) behind; both close when complete. $:-\$

Also: the width of the window is wrapping the body text under the input box so I can't see the word "help"

But it works!!!
-Perry Mowbray (July 30, 2010, 01:48 AM)

Thanks for the bug reports.

Could you post a screen shot?
~~When you see the two windows, do both seem to be responsive or is one more like a ghost image?~~
What version of Outlook?
What version of Windows?

~~I actually didn't test with an Exchange Server configuration, I wonder if that is causing the two windows somehow.~~

EDIT: Ha! I have the two windows too, I never noticed before. It should be something simple to fix. I still would like a screenshot so I can see the wrapping problem.

Perry Mowbray · « **Reply #30 on:** July 30, 2010, 09:06 AM »

It'll have to wait until Monday for a screenshot as I don't use Outlook at home.

Both windows were functional and I think (from memory) that I could have used either. Definitely not a ghost

It looked like the same code was run twice to produce the same window twice...

daddydave · « **Reply #31 on:** July 30, 2010, 09:11 AM »

It looked like the same code was run twice to produce the same window twice...
-Perry Mowbray (July 30, 2010, 09:06 AM)

I'm sure I've got a double function call in there somewhere and I'm seeing the two windows as well. Never noticed it because one window is directly on top of the other, and if I ever saw two windows, I probably thought it was because I was running the program so many times to test it.

Perry Mowbray · « **Reply #32 on:** July 30, 2010, 09:30 AM »

Does AutoIt have a resizable window? I know that I started using such a library with AHK which fixed those font issues: when the window and controls have fixed dimensions I think what's happening is that different system fonts are bigger/smaller and not fitting correctly (and wrapping).

daddydave · « **Reply #33 on:** July 30, 2010, 12:04 PM »

Does AutoIt have a resizable window? I know that I started using such a library with AHK which fixed those font issues: when the window and controls have fixed dimensions I think what's happening is that different system fonts are bigger/smaller and not fitting correctly (and wrapping).
-Perry Mowbray (July 30, 2010, 09:30 AM)

Is it like AWT in Java / sizers in wxWidgets? I haven't found anything like that so far, but worse case I can probably calculate widths / heights.

I'm sure the window itself can be made resizable.

Perry Mowbray · « **Reply #34 on:** July 31, 2010, 08:04 PM »

Once the window is resizable then the controls need controlling

In AHK I use Tital's Anchor library: http://www.autohotkey.net/~Titan/#anchor

daddydave · « **Reply #35 on:** July 31, 2010, 10:11 PM »

This looks like what I need (these control properties appear in the Koda Form Designer as well):
http://www.autoitscr...ICtrlSetResizing.htm

Perry Mowbray · « **Reply #36 on:** July 31, 2010, 10:59 PM »

Yep: that looks like the AutoIt equivalent

The only other thing you may need to do is to remember the size of the window for the next run...

daddydave · « **Reply #37 on:** August 03, 2010, 10:09 PM »

Found the duplicate GUI display call, and noticed for the first time that one of the GUIs exhibited a wrapping problem and one didn't. Hmmm. Anyway it is not compiling at the moment because something else I changed I have to figure out.

~~So I'm curious if this also fixes the wrapping issue also~~. (EDIT: It doesn't...yet) Because the GUI Ctrl resizing thing really makes my head hurt, I'd like to avoid it if I can. That's the kind of thing that makes me want to rewrite it in C++ where I can use sizers or something. Which means it might not ever get done.

Perry Mowbray · « **Reply #38 on:** August 03, 2010, 10:28 PM »

Why not just make the window a little wider?

daddydave · « **Reply #39 on:** August 04, 2010, 06:50 AM »

Why not just make the window a little wider?
-Perry Mowbray (August 03, 2010, 10:28 PM)

Yeah, I'm thinking something like that..but I'm thinking I must have screwed something up when I made some mods, because I am seeing the wrapping problem myself.

EDIT 8/6: Somehow in the combination of removing Segoe UI hard coding and redesigning the GUI slightly so that the /f /p combination has Skip and Cancel All buttons, I screwed up some of the numbers. It's ok now, I think. I'll hold off on the next release until Skip and Cancel All are actually implemented.

DeVamp · « **Reply #40 on:** August 31, 2010, 04:09 PM »

Now this looks like a very nice program.

Quite easy in use.

I use rainlendar (http://www.rainlendar.net/cms/index.php), witch makes a nice integration with outlook.
So I place Taskdaddy on the shortcut list, and can add in no time tasks to outlook and they appear in rainlendar.

GREAT! Gotta love technology and integration!

daddydave · « **Reply #41 on:** August 31, 2010, 04:20 PM »

Glad you like it, DeVamp! There are a couple of interface bugs I need to fix (updated the known issues above just now).

daddydave · « **Reply #42 on:** September 10, 2010, 07:16 AM »

I had not touched this project for a while (people in real life wonder why I waste time on it).

Good news (for those who don't wonder that), I should be able to post a new version with bug fixes shortly.

As I think I previously mentioned, in the version I haven't uploaded yet, I think I have fixed the display bug where the instruction to the user was invisible due to some unexpected wrapping and also the issue where it was displaying two GUI windows on top of each other.

Finally got around to implementing Skip and Cancel All for using file input mode in combination with GUI mode (-f -p or /f /p). I never cease to be amazed at how the tiniest change I make will never fail to break something else. Anyway, got all that settled, I think. However it was in testing the aforementioned "-f -p" mode (aka, the "prompt for each task in the file" mode) that I discovered a NEW bug, again involving two GUI windows on top of each other but happening only when being prompted for each task. Again this is an artifact of trying to use the same GUI for the normal interactive mode, and as a confirmation dialog for file input mode, which seems like a stupid idea now, but I'm sticking with it. But don't worry, I'll get this working soon and hopefully uploaded, so be on the lookout.

I was going to work on the helpfile, but how to do it is still percolating in my mind, so you will not see a new version in the next release as of yet. I'm leaning toward doing this eventually: a sticky note-ish window with usage examples and a link to "About Taskdaddy..." and a link to the helpfile (when I have one) and checkbox for "Don't show this again". I want to reorganize the helpfile so that it emphasizes "How do I...?" more.

daddydave · « **Reply #43 on:** September 10, 2010, 08:07 AM »

Now this looks like a very nice program.

Quite easy in use.

I use rainlendar (http://www.rainlendar.net/cms/index.php), witch makes a nice integration with outlook.
So I place Taskdaddy on the shortcut list, and can add in no time tasks to outlook and they appear in rainlendar.

GREAT! Gotta love technology and integration!
-DeVamp (August 31, 2010, 04:09 PM)

I don't think I properly thanked you for the kind words, so THANK YOU, DeVamp!

You bring up a good point on the technology integration, too, and my thinking was kind of along the same lines. My main motivation for this utility was to get tasks on my Windows Mobile PDA (Dell Axim X51V). There's no easier way to get tasks on a PDA than to put them in Outlook and let them automatically sync to the native tasks on the PDA. PDA platforms without native tasks are pretty much dead to me (Android and IPhone come to mind). But the two PDA's I have had in my lifetime (Palm Tungsten T3 and the Axim) both died of a bad digitizer and the Axim seems to have power problems as well, so I am trying to figure out what to do next. (I failed in replacing the Tungsten digitizer, which was my test for determining whether I was competent to replace the Axim digitizer). Maybe I should pick up a Palm PRE off of ebay.

AzureToad · « **Reply #44 on:** September 17, 2010, 10:16 AM »

Cool app! I created a shortcut ("td") and now quickly add tasks by typing
td @category Task title :Task body #duedate
in the run dialog box - slicker than snot!

Suggestion tho, is there a way to interpret date values such as "today", "tomorrow", "Monday", etc? THAT would be cool!
Maybe a priority flag of ^H for High, ^L for Low?

I like it, so far no issues!
WinXP SP3, Outlook 2007

DeVamp · « **Reply #45 on:** September 17, 2010, 10:25 AM »

Suggestion tho, is there a way to interpret date values such as "today", "tomorrow", "Monday", etc? THAT would be cool!
-AzureToad (September 17, 2010, 10:16 AM)

+1

or maybe instead of #duedate, you also have a #+3, witch means 3 days from today.

or something similar. :-)

daddydave · « **Reply #46 on:** September 17, 2010, 11:15 AM »

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions, AzureToad and DeVamp!

Now I can't remember if I documented it (I'm in the process of rewriting the help file), but if you begin a task subject (title)with the ! character, it makes it high priority and if you begin with the ? character, it makes it low priority.

I agree 100% on the #today, #tomorrow, #+3 idea. Remember the Milk does something like this, IIRC. The due dates get passed to Outlook as is, so I tested it just now hoping it would just work the same way Outlook does, unfortunately it doesn't. I will look into it. Thanks!

daddydave · « **Reply #47 on:** September 17, 2010, 11:27 AM »

so you will not see a new version [of the help file] in the next release as of yet.
-daddydave (September 10, 2010, 07:16 AM)

Changed my mind. I will not make any dramatic changes yet, but I do want to make some slight structural improvements. I am no longer using KEL's CHM Creator, I am using chmProcessor which has some minor UI quirks (it is in alpha) but I am finding it almost too good to be true. You can write your help files as a Word DOC and it will compile them to a Windows helpfile, with hyperlinks intact. And it's free as in kittens and free as in open source.

daddydave · « **Reply #48 on:** September 19, 2010, 10:50 PM »

I have uploaded a new version of TaskDaddy and I am calling it a pre-release. Here are the changes made:

Fixed label wrapping bug.
Fixed duplicate GUI window bug.
"Skip" and "Cancel All" buttons added to the GUI window when confirming individual tasks in file input (using /f and /p).
Blank lines now ignored when using file input.
Help file completely reorganized and rewritten, some of the changes include (1) the command line interface de-emphasized; (2) removal of screenshots with old name LaserTask, including the examples of command line use within shortcuts; and (3) removal of version number from help file.

Mouser has generously provided hosting and a subdomain for TaskDaddy, which I am starting to do something with, finally. I just posted the helpfile in the HTML/Javascript for now, converted for the web by CHMDecoder. I don't much care for the navigation tree being invisible without Javascript, and it inherits a lot of Word artifacts from my new system of using Word documents to generate CHM files. chmProcessor has an option to output files for the web too, but overall I like the CHMDecoder look better. I may end up doing something different like save the Word doc to HTML directly and try to tidy it up. Here is the link:

http://daddydave.dcmembers.com

mouser · « **Reply #49 on:** September 19, 2010, 11:22 PM »

awesome. quick comment, you say:

Mouser has generously provided hosting and a subdomain

in times like these it's important to remember that the hosting is really provided for and paid for not by me, but by everyone who has donated and continues to donate to support the site. it's because of the generosity of the DC community that we have hosting for the main site and the member server where we can host these kinds of things.