Readability And Then Some

I consider the current state of Rename Master's Renaming Script tab a successful failure.

It does a good job of categorizing about 50 individual settings into 12 step types and 3 operation types. At heart, RM only performs 3 actions: Add, Replace, Remove. It also does a good job of being extremely flexible. All 12 steps types can be placed in any order and in any quantity. Very complex operations can be performed by combining the steps.

The failures of the Renaming Script tab, however, are varied. While the color coded buttons help hint about the 3 actions that can be performed, the meaning of colors are still very subtle. Numbering each step helped to explicitly state the order the steps are executed, but I'm unsure if most users know the steps can be dragged into position. Options like the temp variable allows for some complex cut-and-paste move operations, but it has a steep learning curve. Lastly, I think the current settings just aren't very easy to read.

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The current Public Beta is first going to focus on the less difficult problem: readability. I've changed the font to a thinner font (Times New Roman), so more of the settings can be displayed. I've also removed the step name from each step that is enabled for the same reason.

The next change is going to be to color code the entire step. This is going to take a bit of experimentation to get right. The colors will need to be able to display disabled and enabled text well without being to distracting. This should make identifying the type of step much easier.

I'm unsure at this point what to do to help advertise the drag-and-drop feature. I tried adding a tooltip hint, but this was very distracting especially when the mouse moved between steps. I did add a mouse cursor that triggers when a step is clicked on to show that drag is supported, but only advanced users will recognize the cursor. The good news is that most users will not need to re-order the steps and the order of the "default" script is designed to use the correct order: remove, replace, add.

Complex operations, however, are still a big issue. Using the temp variable to move text is not an easy concept to grasp for almost all users, though it is the most flexible method. I did add a "Split and Move" step, but it is also an advanced operation. I have thought of adding a "Select and Move" step similar to the "Add Counter" step. It wouldn't be very flexible, but it would be something a new user could learn quickly.

Having a mixture of simple and advanced operations keeps the program flexible, but most users will only ever use one or two of the operations. The more options a user has to sift through, the harder the program is to learn. I think that having some better example scripts that perform very common real world tasks will help. For example, the current set of example scripts does not use MP3 or JPEG metadata. I also think updating the Getting Started help window and the online help might also be needed. The information for Getting Started provided is very sparse, so this would be a good place to answer the most common questions that new users have. While I'm not a fan of relying on help files when the program can explain itself, I think there are enough details in the program where it cannot be avoided.

Another Status Update

Check for Update

For the popular programs, I've added a 'Check for Update' button on the About window. When I first started making my programs available, there was a distrust of free programs. For this reason, I was very careful when adding any network connectivity to any of my programs. I'm still cautious today, so I've added an automatic check but for a new version, but it still requires manual execution.

Rename Master

For versions 3.0 and 3.1, the sort order was very broken. There were two problems with the sorting that made tracking the problem down difficult. First, there was a typo introduced when porting over to the new compiler. The result was files were mostly in the correct order, or completely in the correct order - depending if the file had numbers in the name. Secondly, a change made long ago assumed the formatting for a decimal was in English format. The official version 3.2 fixes all these issues.

In the current Public Beta, I've changed the Undo to support multiple operations. This means that both manual renames (using the F2 key) and renames using a script are tracked and can be reversed. I've also added a preview that shows the changes to be made at each level.

ArsClip

The current Public Beta v4.5 will soon be an official release. While it's ready to be released, I like to put a little lag time between releases of other programs so I can quickly address any problems. Besides some bug fixes, the only significant change is a the new Pin to List feature.

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.