Rename Master New Stuff

As mentioned in an earlier post, new features were already planned for v3.2 or Rename Master. These have been added to the current Public Beta upload.

The first feature is a new page in the Textfile Wizard. Now, this wizard will automate almost all of the entire process. The last new step is an option to generate a Renaming Script. Like the other pages, it uses a visual cue to preview the results.

The second feature is an update to the Remove Expression. This Step will now remove or replace an expression. This advance "swiss army knife" is now more flexible.

The last change is a new meta-variable that will insert file contents into the filename. It will default to plaintext, but it will try to autodetect files that use the Unicode header to override this setting. Currently, there's not much for safety and it doesn't discern between binary data and text.

Pin to List

A long time ago, I had a suggestion for support for clips in ArsClip that weren't permanent, but wouldn't be erased from the Popup Clips. I ended up creating two features, Recently Removed and Recently Clicked. Both of the list make it easy to find clips that have been used last or fell of the list.

Just a few days ago, I had the same request. Now that I've used Win7's "Pin to list" options in a jumplist, I know that those two features weren't really the correct solution.

In the current Public Beta v4.5, I've added a 'Pin to List' option to the Clip Menu. A "pinned" clip is moved to the top of the list and does not move as new clips are added to the list. Like the Win7 lists, it allows you to separate important items from a list that's constantly changing.

What I've not figured out yet, is how I'm going to handle keystroke assignment (accelerator keys) for these clips. Currently, there is no key assigned. I'm leaning towards just using the same keys that are reserved for popup clips, so that the order of keys is consistent.

Status Update Time

ArsClip

Version 4.4 is close to being ready, but not until I close one or two last issues.

First, HTML Clip support is still partly broken when saved as a Permanent Clips. This issue will be fixed in Release Candidate 3.

Second, I've been trying to track down one last bug for almost a month where the popup would suddenly become empty. I'm about 95% sure now this is a Windows issue where a ListView will report itself as empty, even when it has items. There is, however, a workaround for this issue. Since I've been unable to reproduce this on my own system, I've been relying solely on user feedback.

I expect version 4.4 to be officially released in a few days.


MouseWrangler

Version 1.3 has been officially released. The changes made were mostly to polish up existing features and to port it to the new compiler. Ironically, I use this program the most with the new Delphi compiler to send a stream of keystrokes using a single mouse gesture.

I rarely get feedback on this program, so most changes are just things that I want added to the program. I've a few ideas for updates for the next version, but these are very low on my todo list.


Rename Master

Version 3.1 has been officially released. It's a very small hotfix that's mostly for issue from port to the new compiler.

I've a few ideas already for the future v3.2:

First, I'm planning a tweak to the Textfile wizard to include a page for auto-generating a script. The new Wizard helps with this complicated process, but it can do more to make it easier to learn.

Second, I'm had an idea for a new Scripting Step for some time, but had to wait until after the compiler update to include. It's a Replace Expression step. Like the Remove Expression step, it will allow for creating very abstract string patterns and allow one or more of those patterns to be replaced.

Third, I had a request for adding metadata from plain text files. For example, there could be a new variable that would contain the first line of text. So, you could rename a group of text files using the first 40 characters from the first line of text.

For this feature, I'll need to so a bit of research to figure out some mechanisms. For example, there may need to be a way for the user to easily specify which file extension should included as "plain text", instead of just using ".txt" files. I could, also, make a generic variable that would text from a file by specifying the positions.

?filetext:1-40?

In the variable above example, characters 1-40 are extracted from the file. This example has no safety features, so it would also blindly use binary data from a file. Also, there needs to be a way to specify plain text and Unicode text. So, this might require two new variables: one for plain text and one for Unicode.

What's Happening

ArsClip

I think version 4.4 will be a small update. The only current new features are two new Permanent Clip Commands. There are some "show-stopper" bug fixed already, so I'm more inclined to rush this update. The only thing holding it back is the new Permanent Clips rewrite. It needs more user testing before I'll feel comfortable with an official release.

MouseWrangler

Version 1.3 is very close to being finished. I'm finding and fixing the last of the problem from port to the new compiler. This, also, is going to be a small update since I'm out of ideas for improvement. The major new feature is the screen drawing feature. Not only does it make it more compatible with most programs, but it makes it much easier to draw shapes.

Rename Master

Version 3.1 is also very close to being finished. This is the smallest of the updates that will just contains three problem fixes. There's one last possible issue to address, that may not be a bug with the sorting. Once this issue is researched, this version will be released.

The List Index Out of Bounds Error

The current Public Beta of ArsClip addresses this error, but I've not had a confirmed report from anyone that the problem is fixed for them. There may still be another issue because I'm still getting reports.

If you receive this error - "List index out of bounds (0)" - and have tried the current beta, please let me know if it works or not.


EDIT: This problem has been fixed in the current 4.4 Public Beta upload.

EDIT2: There is another List Index error I'm still trying to track down.

More Status Updates

I've uploaded a new beta version 3.1 of Rename Master to address issues that were not detected when upgrading to the new compiler. I'm planning on fast-tracking this version for an official release, so no new features are planned for this bugfix version.

ArsClip is past due for an official release, and the new target date is tomorrow. This will be the second release using the new compiler. This version will include some small new features, but it mostly contains small improvements and bug fixes.

State of the Union 2

Here's a quick summary of the progress of all the works in progress.


Rename Master

Version 3.0 has been officially released. Any new uploads will only be for quick bug fixes.

ArsClip

While I'm mostly focused on bug fixes, some minor features and options are being added. My goal for AC v4.3 is to get it ready for an official release. I'm loosely planning on a release in about a week.

The current beta addresses a long-standing issue regarding how formatted text clips are placed on the clipboard for a paste. The new options allow for more flexibility to suit your needs. The default option is to use both a plain and formatted text, and the target program will chose the version it wants to use. This was the behavior of AC prior to version 4.0, but it is broken in version 4.0 through 4.2. The new options are to use the formatted text version only, or the plain text version only.

MouseWrangler and RatTrap

Only minor changes in the works for these program.

State of the Union

Here's a quick summary of the progress of all the works in progress.


Rename Master

My current goal with RM is to get version 3.0 ready for release. This program has been worked on for the past three months and had at least 15 test versions. I'm working on the final polishing touches. This will also be the first release of the program using the new compiler version.

ArsClip

My current goal is to get version 4.3 ready for release after RM version 3.0 has been released. The biggest changes in this version, however, are behind the scenes to support Unicode and the new compiler. Most of the other changes are bug fixes and improvements to existing features.

MouseWranger

I've just started updating this program again to fix some long-known issues. So far, the big features are a much improved per-program disabled detection and on-screen drawing. The first feature now ignored right-clicks as soon as the right-click is detected. The second feature also makes drawing gestures easier, but also removes some conflicts with foreground programs by creating a fullscreen invisible window that intercepts the mouse events.

RatTrap

This is a new program that's hardware specific to Cyborg RAT mice. This means the possible audience for this program is much smaller. Beside any bug fixes, this program probably won't require many changes since it's job is extremely simple.