Author Topic: Auspex (Read 95507 times)

timns · « **on:** January 10, 2011, 09:23 AM »

Mr mouser has been very generous and set up a new board for me where we can discuss the apps what I wrote (with apologies to Ernie Wise)

So the first obvious one would be Auspex, which is my larger NANY contribution for 2011.

Where would we be without DC?

Download here

movrshakr · « **Reply #1 on:** January 11, 2011, 11:19 AM »

I just came across this, and think it sounds absolutely wonderful. I am having a bit of difficulty seeing how to "make it start working."

For example, if I want it to ALWAYS replace "teh<space>" with "the<space>", exactly how do I do that?

And how would I handle this: I want it to replace "form<space>" with "from<space>", but also allow me to change it back to "form<space>" in those cases where that IS the intended word. I type 'from' many times more than 'form' and often misspell it.

timns · « **Reply #2 on:** January 11, 2011, 12:24 PM »

I just came across this, and think it sounds absolutely wonderful. I am having a bit of difficulty seeing how to "make it start working."

For example, if I want it to ALWAYS replace "teh<space>" with "the<space>", exactly how do I do that?
-movrshakr (January 11, 2011, 11:19 AM)

Click the "New" button, and set up a Replacement as per this screenshot:

And how would I handle this: I want it to replace "form<space>" with "from<space>", but also allow me to change it back to "form<space>" in those cases where that IS the intended word. I type 'from' many times more than 'form' and often misspell it.

Tricky! You could have something that changed "form" to "from" but it may drive you nuts after a while. One option would be to have a Replacement with something like 'frm' instead, that you deliberately used instead of "from", just to avoid the whole thing.

Those typos that are in fact another valid word are problematic... let's throw it out there: anyone got any good ideas for this?

movrshakr · « **Reply #3 on:** January 11, 2011, 01:17 PM »

OK, I got the T E H thing to work (can't type t e h anymore as it gets replaced!)

. Don't know what was happening, but it would not take any typing in the replacement box. I did a paste into it instead, and that worked. Later, I observed it WAS taking direct typing into the box. I don't know exactly what the sequence of things was, but definitely, it did not take direct typing when first tried--and there was a beep on some of the keystrokes.

What does the check-box Erase Trigger on/off do?

timns · « **Reply #4 on:** January 11, 2011, 01:31 PM »

OK, I got the T E H thing to work (can't type t e h anymore as it gets replaced!) . Don't know what was happening, but it would not take any typing in the replacement box. I did a paste into it instead, and that worked. Later, I observed it WAS taking direct typing into the box. I don't know exactly what the sequence of things was, but definitely, it did not take direct typing when first tried--and there was a beep on some of the keystrokes.

What does the check-box Erase Trigger on/off do?
-movrshakr (January 11, 2011, 01:17 PM)

It deletes (or does not delete!) the space/enter/tab that you typed to show Auspex that you'd come to the end of your word.

It's handy to have that character deleted if, for example, you are using auspex to replace short acronyms with something that you then add something ELSE onto.

For example, I have one called mld which exapands to http://downloads.ourwebsitesaddres.com/

so I can type mld<tab>readme.txt and auspex creates:
http://downloads.our...ddres.com/readme.txt (having removed the tab char for me)

movrshakr · « **Reply #5 on:** January 11, 2011, 01:46 PM »

Ah on erase trigger--makes sense and could be handy, as you show.

I notice that I have to exit and restart after entering a new mnemonic. That is no problem, and I guess it make sense, but, as a very low priority enhancement, you might want to add a SAVE button to avoid having to do that.

I did add a f r m replacment; now, to see if I can remember to type it that way.

Oh, is there any way to transfer the Word autocorrect list into Auspex?

timns · « **Reply #6 on:** January 11, 2011, 01:57 PM »

Ah on erase trigger--makes sense and could be handy, as you show.

I notice that I have to exit and restart after entering a new mnemonic. That is no problem, and I guess it make sense, but, as a very low priority enhancement, you might want to add a SAVE button to avoid having to do that.
-movrshakr (January 11, 2011, 01:46 PM)

You should not have to do that. It should appear right after you created it...

Can you try the tiny refresh button on the top right next to the search box and see if that makes the item appear for you please? (little green button just above the list on the right)

I did add a f r m replacment; now, to see if I can remember to type it that way.

Oh, is there any way to transfer the Word autocorrect list into Auspex?

Well, yes and no: there's an import feature. (Go to File->Import Word List) which imports words that will be suggested as you start to type them. If you want to bulk create a load of replacements for spelling corrections, that's not in place yet, but a good idea.

I'll add that to me list.

rjbull · « **Reply #7 on:** January 11, 2011, 02:07 PM »

timns, what didn't you like about other programs of this kind that you made your own?

movrshakr · « **Reply #8 on:** January 11, 2011, 02:21 PM »

OK, the refresh button made the changes "take" immediately-- it is the "Save" button. I just didn't know what that was/did. New to this really neat utility, ya know!

timns · « **Reply #9 on:** January 11, 2011, 02:57 PM »

timns, what didn't you like about other programs of this kind that you made your own?
-rjbull (January 11, 2011, 02:07 PM)

I'd actually only seen one thing similar before, and it was terribly basic. Something on lifehacker I think it was - I've junked it now so cannot recall.

If I'd have known about things like AHK I may not have started this little project, but I do like to think this is friendlier, and it should be easier for folks to get to grips with. It's also unicode and should be able to handle any keyboard, which I believe makes it a bit more special.

I was not even aware that there'd been a NANY in '09 with similar features. I have a bit of a bad habit of not looking around enough to see what else is out there when I get excited about doing a bit of coding of my own

timns · « **Reply #10 on:** January 11, 2011, 02:57 PM »

OK, the refresh button made the changes "take" immediately-- it is the "Save" button. I just didn't know what that was/did. New to this really neat utility, ya know!
-movrshakr (January 11, 2011, 02:21 PM)

No problem - I enjoy the banter. At some point soon we'll have a little user guide too.

movrshakr · « **Reply #11 on:** January 11, 2011, 03:12 PM »

Since we are just chatting, here's another thing...I just was in Excel and tried to copy/paste one cell to another. I received popup dialog saying "Cannot open clipboard: access is denied." It had Auspex...in the title bar of the window.

Messing around, I was able to do it. Just tried again; got the popup again. Does Auspex inhibit other program's use of the clipboard?

timns · « **Reply #12 on:** January 11, 2011, 03:19 PM »

Since we are just chatting, here's another thing...I just was in Excel and tried to copy/paste one cell to another. I received popup dialog saying "Cannot open clipboard: access is denied." It had Auspex...in the title bar of the window.

Messing around, I was able to do it. Just tried again; got the popup again. Does Auspex inhibit other program's use of the clipboard?
-movrshakr (January 11, 2011, 03:12 PM)

It should not have any effect on other programs, but a couple of people have noticed issues. I use a standard clipboard component so it should play nice. But I'm just about to make the clipboard feature switchable anyway - so unless you really like the clipboard extensions that auspex offers (and there are much better ones around, I do agree) you will be able to switch 'er off.

movrshakr · « **Reply #13 on:** January 11, 2011, 03:49 PM »

That seems to be a good thing to do (make it switchable). But recognize I don't know what I am talking about!

since I am a newbie to this. I don't know how the clipboard is used with Auspex, or how it could be used if I did xxxx.

Here's a new one: I enter a new replacement, click refresh, click "x" upper right. It doesn't close--does nothing.

and I saw earlier you are aware that it hangs around on the taskbar.

rjbull · « **Reply #14 on:** January 11, 2011, 04:34 PM »

I'd actually only seen one thing similar before, and it was terribly basic. Something on lifehacker I think it was - I've junked it now so cannot recall.
-timns (January 11, 2011, 02:57 PM)

Probably Texter?

If I'd have known about things like AHK I may not have started this little project

I think Texter is written in AHK!

I have a bit of a bad habit of not looking around enough to see what else is out there when I get excited about doing a bit of coding of my own

That seems to be a congenital problem for coders! Your competitors, or near-competitors, include:

Typing Buddy
FastFox Typing Expander
Type Booster
Smart Type Assistant
Typing Assistant
Comfort Keys (and Comfort Typing)
Phrase Express
Instant Text (the Big Daddy of the genre)
Let Me Type
ShortCut
Type Pilot (and freeware lite Speed Pilot)
Breevy
SuperKeys

Here are some Donation Coder threads, which deal with text expanders, completers and the like:

jgpaiva's abbreviations importer
https://www.donation...dex.php?topic=2598.0
link to jgpaiva's AHK tools
https://www.donation...dex.php?topic=3461.0

Harrie's review of Instant Text, and following posts
https://www.donation...dex.php?topic=2631.0

Word AutoCompleter
https://www.donation...1036.msg6713#msg6713 (mentions IntelliComplete, AutoTyping, LetMeType, AllChars, Type Pilot)

External links:

Productivity Talk - Harrie's own forum site for (primarily) Medical Transcriptionists
http://www.productivitytalk.com/

Jon Knowles site on typing productivity
http://home.earthlin...net/~agjon/index.htm

Jon Knowles' ABCZ typing abbreviation system
http://home.earthlin.../~agjon/abczrule.htm

And I'm not sure even that is comprehensive...

[Edit 2011-01-12, 22:27] Added Breevy. [/Edit]
[Edit 2011-01-14, 20:42] Added SuperKeys [/Edit]

timns · « **Reply #15 on:** January 11, 2011, 04:53 PM »

That's some darned good research! Glad I didn't see this before I kicked off my project.

Then again, there's certainly a lot more than one of any type of software by now. Always room for another pretender

SirJoyJoy · « **Reply #16 on:** January 13, 2011, 05:23 AM »

Hi! This is quite a promising piece of software, thanks for taking the time to build it! I've tried a lot of productivity tools, my current favorite is Autohotkey. However, it really seems Auspex has something unique in the way it dynamically recognizes often-used words (it works fine side-by-side with Autohotkey btw).

Some bugs I'd like to share:

[1.] Keypresses in quick succession seem to get mixed up (see attachments "1-1" until "1-4")
- When editing code, I often want to insert a new line between two existing lines. Therefore, I position the cursor at the start of the line above which I want to insert the new line. Then I press Enter, quickly followed by Up. The problem is: if there is not enough delay (<±250ms.) between the two keypresses, Up gets sent first, followed by Enter. Result: the new line gets inserted at the wrong position.
- A seemingly related problem arises when using Alt+Tab to switch applications (e.g. switching from Word to Notepad). Switching apps still works, but when I switch quickly (just a quick press on Alt+Tab and immediately releasing both keys), a Tab is sent to the switched-to application. Keeping Alt pressed for ±500ms. longer solves the problem.
(I've tried this with or without Autohotkey running, but the problem stays)
(maybe it's related, but when I examine the file Auspex.xml, I find that a lot of candidate sentences have spaces written at positions where I haven't typed them - either that or my typing is way worse than I think...; e.g. name="Thiss entence comesf rom thef ile auspex.xml")

[2.] Some Ctrl+keycombinations produce unwanted extra keypresses in some applications (see attachments "2-1" and "2-2")
- In Word/Outlook, pressing Ctrl+I sends a Tab-keypress before the Ctrl+I is sent (doesn't happen in Excel or Notepad though).
- In Word/Notepad/Outlook, the same with Ctrl+M: this sends an Enter-keypress before the Ctrl+M is sent (particularly nasty in Outlook, since Ctrl+Enter is the shortcut to send the message; pressing Ctrl+M now has the same effect...).
- No problems with any other hotkeys (e.g. Ctrl+B or Ctrl+U).
You probably know this, but these hotkeys are ancient ASCII-keycombinations (e.g. Ctrl+I -> Tab; Ctrl+M -> Enter; http://www.pcguide.c...s/tablesASCII-c.html). Maybe it has something to do with it?

[3.] Backspacing isn't always recognized correctly
- e.g. I have an Autocomplete "magnificent"
- Typing "mag" makes the pop-up appear
- By the time my brain sees the pop-up, I've already erroneously typed "magin" (autocompleting now would result in "maginificent")
- Backspacing to "mag", pressing Tab to Autocomplete -> Result: "magificent"

[4.] AutoCompletions sometimes disappear and appear twice after re-inserting (see attachments "4-1" and "4-2")
- While typing the text above, I noticed "magnificent" did not get recognized at alle anymore (it had also disappeared from the AutoCompletions list in Auspex; didn't show up after pressing Refresh).
- So I made Auspex re-insert it by typing it a few times in a row. Now it gets recognized again, but the popup shows the same word twice.
- Unfortunately, I haven't figured out how to reproduce this.

Low-priority feature request: When I select a folder in Auspex, the left pane becomes non-editable. It would be nice if I could make changes to this pane and the changes would be applied to all underlying items (see attachment "5-1").
- E.g. changing the "Triggered by"-key for the folder "AutoCompletions" would apply the selected key to all AutoComplete-items.
- It would be nice if the selected "Triggered by"-key would also be applied automatically to newly recognized autocompletions (for autocomplete, I like Enter better than Tab).

Pentium 4, 3.00 GHz, 1,5 GB
OS: Windows XP Professional SP 3
Microsoft Office Version 2007
Keyboard layout: Language="Dutch", Layout="United States"; I sometimes switch to Layout="United States (International)"

P.S. I'm new to DonationCoder, so apologies for any stupid questions/obvious remarks on my part...

cranioscopical · « **Reply #17 on:** January 13, 2011, 07:59 AM »

Always room for another pretender
-timns (January 11, 2011, 04:53 PM)

Oh, Auspex isn't something that needs to be thrown…

timns · « **Reply #18 on:** January 13, 2011, 08:20 AM »

Ok that is a most impressive piece of error reporting! I'll certainly take a look at all of these issues, and I also like your suggestion of being able to make bulk changes to items.

Thank you! I'll turn your report into a series of redmine issues to they can be tracked.

I'm working on a new release of Auspex this weekend so I shall see if I can get some of these extras fixed too.

Oh yes, and welcome to DC

timns · « **Reply #19 on:** January 13, 2011, 08:22 AM »

Always room for another pretender
-timns (January 11, 2011, 04:53 PM)

Oh, Auspex isn't something that needs to be thrown…
-cranioscopical (January 13, 2011, 07:59 AM)

usurpenly do come up with marvellous puns, Mr Cranio

mouser · « **Reply #20 on:** January 13, 2011, 11:37 AM »

auspex on downloadsquad today: http://downloadsquad...h-tons-of-potential/

timns · « **Reply #21 on:** January 13, 2011, 11:49 AM »

Ooh! A very generous article.

... despite the mention of "bugs"

cranioscopical · « **Reply #22 on:** January 13, 2011, 02:28 PM »

Ooh! A very generous article.
-timns

Well deserved timns!

Ath · « **Reply #23 on:** January 13, 2011, 02:42 PM »

... despite the mention of "bugs"
-timns (January 13, 2011, 11:49 AM)

I did get my Redmine account today, and plan to write up some of the issues I see with Auspex later, but yes, there are some...

timns · « **Reply #24 on:** January 15, 2011, 03:33 PM »

Build 78
New Features

* Now I know where my icons came from, FamFam freely given full acknowledgement
* Same for nudone of DonationCoder.com who did the really good ones
* Removed the multiple cut-n-paste feature. It's outside the scope of what Auspex is really all about, and there are a lot of really nice multi-clipboard applications out there
* Added new tokens for additional date and time formats

Bug Fixes

* Splash screen can now be switched off (but why would you want to?)

* Fixed issue where some users were not getting characters like '@' in Replacements
* Form resizing limited so you can't hide the controls in the left pane
* Fixed a couple of case-sensitivity issues