NewFileGo In-Progress Features

New features are being added for the next Public Beta of NewFileGo.

The program will automatically extract data from the Windows Registry about file types and association. In the above screenshot, Explorer's "verbs" are added to Examples popup menu. These verbs are found on a file's right-click menu in Explorer (eg. open, print).

This means, essentially, that NFG can automate some right-click commands. Not all available verbs are found in the Registry for a file type, since some are generated live by third party DLLs. This is something NFG will not be able to automate.

The button next to the File Type field will retrieve a list of all registered file types from the Registry. Once again, NFG needs to be an expert at this specific task and automate the process as much as possible.

NewFileGo Design and Needs

I've an updated design philosophy that I'm using to implement NewFileGo. It's still close to the previous philosophy, but it's tweaked to fixed some issue.

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As said before, the "just add an option" idea is dead. The program should do the intelligent thing automatically, using a configuration option when it's a must, and use a hidden setting otherwise when it's not needed.

As an Example, NFG automatically generates a name for each Action. The UI is very spartan and only show the required settings on the page with optional things hidden in progressive disclosure controls.

Another Example, NFG uses a dropdown/edit control for the file types. The default extensions in the dropdown are defined in the NewFileGo.exe.ini file, so they can be customized by advanced users.

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The hard-coded settings idea is dead. These settings will be stored in the INI file, so advanced users can edit them even before a visible option is available. If a setting is deemed important enough, the UI can be updated to make it available for all used.

For NFG, settings are actually stored in a window that may be made available as an "expert settings" page.

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To make NFG work for more than just advanced users, it's going to need some built in scripts that will perform a "killer" tasks. A program that can run "any command" is great, but very conceptual. The "examples" button is a good start, but it's not a solution. Ideally, a textbox should be visible only when a "custom command" is used needed.

Robocopy is a great tool for Windows, but the command line is a terrible interface for even advanced users. A GUI like this one makes the program much more usable.
NFG could be an expert at running built in Windows command line tools that work on files. This would include programs like icacls.exe, attr.exe, notepad.exe, and explorer.exe.

NewFileGo Known Issues

(Misc)
- multiple instances can be started [Fixed in Test 2]
- error message sometimes occurs after the edit window [Fixed in Test 4]

NewFileGo Beta

Future plans:
- add more %x meta-variables (eg. file's path, other file attributes)
- more hidden advance settings (eg. wait for no-lock timeout)
- more example commands
- find a better program name than NewFileGo
- are they called 'rules' or 'actions'? are they called 'conditions' or 'triggers'? find better names for the items

How It Works:
NFG watches folders and executes a command when triggered. Each 'Action/Rule' defines a folder to watch and a file type mask. When there's an update to the folder, the program scans the file list for changes and reports files that match.

NFG does some behind the scenes magic to help execute a command on these files safely. First, the program waits for a bit if the file is locked.

Next, the command is inspected to help correctly execute it. When "cmd /c" is detected, the command is run using a hidden command prompt. The program attempts to run the command using the Explorer shell. This means that URLs and files can be executed using an associated program. If this fails, the command is executed using a different method.

Anything you can do with a script or a batch file can be triggered automatically.

Example Cases:
I've a folder that used as a network share open to Everyone. A "copy" and a "move" act differently, where one will inherit the permissions of the folder and one won't. Using NFG, each file can have its permission automatically edited to grant read-only Everyone.

Creating graphics, each program only supports saving files in certain formats. Using NFG, the file can be converted on the fly.

Major Oops

I forgot to document that macro keystrokes now have a "Repeat" option. Instead of using [LEFT][LEFT][LEFT], the command can be reduced to [LEFT=3]. I don't ever remember which version this was change was made.

I'll be updating the Keystrokes to make this change much more intuitive and discoverable. Something like [KEYNAME REPEAT=1] would be work better.

Known Issues - ArsClip v5

When UAC is disabled, ArsClip cannot run from the Program Files folder.

There is an issue loading SQLite3.dll on some systems (Fixed in the current beta).

Known Issues - ArsClip Test

Known issues in Test 21:
- AC fails to create the database on a new installation
- Edit Custom Menu creates two instances of the edit window
- Edit Custom Menu has show a blank clip

ArsClip and the VirtualStore

ArsClip doesn't work well with the VirtualStore, since it's designed to be portable. It writes all of its data to the same folder. so it can be copied or moved without any issue. The Program Files folder is protected by Windows, so it redirects writes elsewhere. Normally, this works the majority on almost all systems. It seems this is becoming more of an issue on Windows 10 systems.

One of the issues is that if AC is run as Admin (and it really should not be), it will actually write to the Program Files location. When run normally, Windows will read these existing files from the Program Files and writes will be redirected to the VirtualStore. This creates a condition where all writes are basically undone on the next run.

To help protect itself, ArsClip will now detect when it is running from the Program Files location and automatically store its data in the current profile. This only works for a new install. Another protection feature being researched is the ability to prevent AC from running as admin. This should prevent the file-limbo issue from occurring but won't help installs that already have this issue.

As per my design philosophy, automatic intelligent choices are better than adding just another feature or option. AC needs to be able to copy all of it's data from the VirtualStore to the current profile. This will fix users that are currently having file-limbo issues and prevent the issue in the future.