ArsClip Version Jump

The official release of version 4.0 of ArsClip has been uploaded. I've jumped versions because of a major feature change. The change in this version is a completely new popup window. The changelog for this is rather long, so instead of trying to tell you about it, I threw together a video preview.

ArsClip Youtube Video

1 in 1000

For every 1000 downloads I usually receive feedback from 1 users. This is why your feedback is so important. To put this in perspective, the previous version of Rename Master was downloaded about 60,000 times in 8 months -- I'd expect 60 responses. Only a portion of this feedback is about program features or issues.

Each Public Beta may only be download a few dozen times, so the odds of receiving feedback is much lower. This is why I make my beta versions open to everyone.

The good news is that I've been receiving more feedback than normal the paste few months. This is why there have been more beta updates than usual. Each bug fix posted is usually the result of a report and each new feature is at least indirectly related to a specific email received.

Rename Master Fine Tuning

In the new Rename Master v2.9.6, the changes made are subtle.

The emphasis of interface changes is on improved logical placement and visual cues. Buttons that are logically related to scripting have been moved to the Scripting tab. Renaming Steps are now color coded and only display addition text when enabled -- improving recognition and readability. Also, folder operations have been centralized in a new Folder Tools button.

For new users, the initial interface defaults are designed to make learning easier by only showing the more important features of the program. The main window was originally designed when desktop resolutions where smaller, so the default starting size was rather small. Even so, most of the area of the window was wasted with large control areas. These sizes have been adjust for a modern desktop and to utilize the window space more efficiently. The default script has also been updated so that changes in one step are not easily undone by a following step.

Finally, several months worth of small improvements and bug fixes are included with this update. Many sections of the program have been re-visited to smooth out rough spots that have gone unnoticed.

More ArsClip Fine Tuning

In version 3.2.0 of ArsClip, I went back to older forgotten sections of the program to polish it up. In the current 3.2.1 version, I found more forgotten parts of the program and improved them as well.

The Edit History and Remove Clips windows are now one window, with tabs to show the Popup Clips and the Removed Clips. This helps logically combine all clips into a single window that shows the entire history of the clipboard. Also, this gives an easy way to link these clips back to their configuration settings now found in a single page under [Clipboard>History] in the configuration. Since the configuration page also links back to the Edit History window, this makes navigation and discovery much easier to do and understand.

The Permanent Clip window was also altered with just a single major change (beside some aesthetic tweaks). I've hidden the advanced, lesser used settings by default and included a "More/Less" toggle button. The first time a user sees the window, only the Menu Caption and Clip settings are shown, to help enforce the purpose of the window works. This also doesn't overload users with too many options that make learning the basics confusing.

The last major change I've made was to the Sound options. I no longer use the Windows routine that requires a registry write, and this was the only setting that was not portable. I've also created a new [Clipboard>Sound] category and re-written the configuration settings to be much easier to configure. No longer is the Control Panel required for setting up a sound event.

The rest of the changes are smaller tweaks or bug fixes and are listed in the changelog.

Development Downtime

My video card fried on my development machine yesterday (my only machine), so it will be a few days before I'm up and running again. I was been thinking about investing in a new card for a few months, to replace my ancient 8800 GT. This event, however, forced me to upgrade a little sooner than planned. It's a good thing I'd already did the researched and was prepared to replace it. Thanks in part to recent donations, I should only be able to afford expedited shipping and should only be down for a few days.


Update: I've found an older card laying around to use for now. It's OK for a six year old card, but it's not easy on the eyes at all. The scaling blurs text too much to use a resolution lower than native and the refresh rate is a bit low at this size.

A New ArsClip for the New Year

ArsClip v3.2.0 has officially been released. The goal of this version was to go back to older sections of the program and clean up clutter and fix old problems. This did, however, require adding new functionality and features to alleviate some of these issues.

The Configuration window has received quite a bit of work. I've added settings that were previously only found on the Popup window and re-categorized/re-organized the options. Options should be easier to find and the more important options should appear first in the list for each page.

The default view of the popup has been simplified for new installs. This makes learning the program much easier by having much less clutter and implicitly adds value to the 'Full Mode' menu command.

External Editor support adds a convenient way to edit clips directly in the programs associated with text files and bitmaps. This automates almost all of the steps required to edit clips in your favorite editor.

Lastly, I've replaced the the Shift+Select and Ctrl+Select keystroke commands with user definable actions. This adds a quick way to execute any command normally found on the right-click menu.

Housekeeping

It's been a very long time since I've actually read some of my program's pages. I've noticed quite a few outdated things that needing fixing. For example, the screenshots for some of the programs were very old.

To fix this, I've been doing some rewriting and creating new screenshots. I've also included a few award links for my most popular programs. My skeptical side has prevented me from posting most of the awards, since I don't trust many of the freeware download sites.

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Those that visit the Public Betas section already know that I've recently been doing the same type of work with ArsClip and Rename Master. My goal is to improve the initial learning experience and to fix sections of the program created long ago that I rarely visit.

The New ArsClip

Version 3.1.6 of ArsClip is now an official release.

In this update, a new popup trigger method has been added that's very mouse user friendly. The new Trigger Window is a small strip that resides on the edge of the window. After an optional amount of time, the popup is triggered when this window is hovered over.

Another new option is the Destroy Clip option. Sometimes, you copy sensitive information and ArsClip does all too good a job of remembering items. Even when you remove the item from the list, it gets moved into the Removed List and is also shown on the Recently Removed popup submenu. This new option will prompt to delete the clip completely.

Lastly, I've updated the Edit Clipboard to automatically work like most people edit the clipboard - with a text editor. ArsClip will open a temporary file containing the clipboard's contents with your favorite text editor. Saving and closing the editor will automatically update the clipboard with the new text.

As always, bug have fixed in this version. Most notably fixed, is the popup menu position for progams that use non-standard Windows controls -- commonly browsers like Firefox and Opera. ArsClip will move the popup to the mouse cursor automatically in specific cases. The most common case is when the popup shows on the top/left of a program's window.

All of these new features are a direct result of user feedback. Big goes thanks to all those that participated in the Public Beta versions and helped me fix and fine-tune the program over the past few months.

I Forgot

Early last year, an artist made a portfolio stop animation piece and used Rename Master for re-ordering large batches of photos. I was sent a private link to the video and asked not to release because of all the legal issues. Several months later, it was posted but restricted for viewing directly on Youtube's site because of the issues. I, however, hadn't even thought of looking for it online, until over a year later.

So, here is the video. Yes, joejoesoft.com got a mention in the credits.

Trivia Time

Since 2004 there have been:
- ~7 million files served
- ~2500 page views a day
- Over a terabyte of data transfered
- Over a dozen magazines distributing my software
- ~2000 e-mailers and commenters
- ~50 official Rename Master versions
- ~50 official ArsClip versions
- ~150 donations

Thanks again for all the support. Ad revenue and user donations contributes significantly to the cost of running this website. It's what has kept this website alive for all this time and will continue to do so.

Release Reminders

Rename Master v2.9.5 is now officially released. While there are a few new features, this releases is mostly comprised of bug fixes. Like ArsClip's last version, released a few months ago, it was worked on in public beta versions for a very long time. Even with the grim warning on the Public Betas page, these beta releases have been very stable since the changes to the program a usually small or trivial.

As always, the updates are based almost purely on user feedback. If I get no feedback, I just assume everything is good as it is.