Rwsoft Updates

Tasker Updated to v1.4

2008-08-21T01:14:00.001+02:00

Tasker, the port of NowDoThis, has been updated to a newer version.

Version 1.4, besides having cleaner, more readable source code, offers a major new feature: inline line breaks.

This was found to be an issue when writing a reasonably-long item of around 20 characters or more. While Tasker was designed with the intent of the user only entering a very short item, sometimes you need to be more verbose. This is what happened when I tried to add the item "go shopping with the others" to the list, this is what I got:

Obviously, the easy solution would be to resize the window to fit in the entire item, but: (a) it's not as convenient or quick; and (b) it's just not possible when you enter a really long item.

To add a pseudo line-wrap, just enter a double semi-colon when you want to add a line break. For example, the item above could be re-written to "go shopping ;; with the others". I know it looks weird, but it works well. This then translates into this:

Simple.

You can download Tasker version 1.4 here.

Use Tasker to create simple to-do lists

2008-08-11T18:16:00.001+02:00

Fast and easy to-do list. A port of NowDoThis.

Tasker is a simple to-do list which can be used as a simple day-to-day task manager.

Features

Easy to use, quick, blunt interface.
Super-fast.
Ideal for quick, basic task managing
Commenting.

Source: Java
Version: 1.4

Installation

Make sure your computer can run Java programs. No installation is necessary besides unzipping. Ensure that you know your rights.

Compatibility

Should work on all operating systems. Tested on Windows XP and Vista.

Download

Tasker.zip (12.2KB)

Mini Tutorial

Editing the task list: You can edit the task list by clicking the "edit list" link at the bottom of the main screen. You're now greeted by a large text box.

Start putting in the things you want to go done. Items are separated using line breaks. To create a new item, simply tap Enter.

You can also edit the task list externally. In the program's directory, Tasker creates a file called "todo.txt". Since it's a basic text file, you can use any basic plain text editor, such as Notepad in Windows.

Commenting: As a new feature in version 1.3, you can now add comments. This is done by simply adding a '#' to the beginning of a line, to effectively "comment it out". Blank lines are also ignored, although these are removed.

Going through the list: When you're done editing, click save to return to the main screen. Now Tasker should display the first item you entered on the list. When you click "done.", Tasker will show you the next item on the list.

After you've completed all the tasks listed, Tasker will tell you that you're finished, and the "done." button will disappear. If you try to edit the list, you'll find that it's empty, since Tasker deletes an item immediately after you click "done."

Adding line breaks in items: As of version 1.4, you can now add line-breaks (or pseudo line-wrapping) into an item itself. See here for more info.

Legal Notice: About My Programs

2008-08-02T14:47:00.001+02:00

This is a legal notice regarding the licensing of my software.

In short, all my programs are free software. You can install and run wherever you like. Be my guest.

Disclaimer:

While I make every effort to ensure maximum compatibility, my software is distributed WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY of any kind. I cannot accept responsibility for any damage caused to your computer.

Rwsoft 2.0: New Design

2008-08-01T04:36:00.001+02:00

Rwsoft has an all-new design, with cutting-edge features and more accessible content than ever.

Moving away from the very plain green, red, and grey theme; Rwsoft now has a new, more scalable design architecture. Re-built from the ground-up with new features and a minimal performance hit.

The redesign came about after some extensive research regarding accessibility and usability, and web design.

Rwsoft is now fully content driven. This means that I've successfully separated the CSS (styling) from the content. In turn, this means more content from me, and better performance for you.

New features

Users of Firefox 3 and Safari 3.1 will now be able to appreciate some of the CSS3 features I've implemented, such as rounded borders.

Perhaps the most exciting new change is the addition of a blog, with a fully functional RSS Feed.

The main pages of Rwsoft now have a user-friendly, attractive introduction to the content below.

In the interests of typography, I've implemented sIFR onto Rwsoft. Right now it's available for titles everywhere except on the blog. More info on sIFR here and here.

With a re-design comes a new logo. The new Rwsoft logo is both sleek and functional.

To help improve accessibility, I've added a Site Search and a Sitemap. It's harder than ever to get lost!

Other features

Minor feature additions include a nice rollover effect on the home button (see below), and a brand-new favicon.

Old design

Just for reference, here's a stored screen shot of Rwsoft 1.0 (click to open a large version - in a new window)

Catalogue your fonts with jFontGen

2008-08-01T02:55:00.001+02:00

Catalogue all your fonts

Easily view all the fonts you have installed on your computer in a variety of ways.

Features include:

A variety of ways to set up and view your fonts
An integrated font viewer
An HTML generator which generates a table of your fonts. It also includes an option to view the HTML source code used to create the table
A list of pangrams to mix up your font samples

Source: Java
Version: 3.5

Installation

Make sure your computer can run Java programs. No installation is necessary besides unzipping.

Compatibility

Should work on most major Operating Systems.

Download

jfontgen.zip (11.7KB)

String Tools for power typists

2008-08-01T02:48:00.001+02:00

Tools for working with type

String Tools is a program designed for quick typists and power users. It is ergonomically designed. Once you learn the many keyboard shortcuts, you won't have to stay switching between mouse and keyboard. It also has an always-on-top mode; useful for when you need to program when working in-between other apps.

It has several tools available, including case-conversion (to upper case, to lower case), counters (line, word, and character count), and many, many more.

A big variety of tools to help when controlling text; see the program itself for details.
Super-fast.
Ergonomic in use - intelligent keyboard shortcuts and instant text control
Always-on-top mode for when working with text between multiple programs.
One-click to quickly copy the result.

Source: Java
Version: 2.3

Installation

Make sure your computer can run Java programs. No installation is necessary besides unzipping.

Compatibility

Should work on most major Operating Systems.

There are two versions of the program: the normal Cross-Compatible version, and a special Windows-only version. Both versions will work on a Windows computer.

Download

String_Tools_(Win).zip (229KB) for WINDOWS users.
String_Tools_(Cross).zip (54.2KB) for EVERYONE ELSE.

Convert between different currencies using Currency Calc

2008-08-01T02:40:00.004+02:00

Convert between Maltese Liri, Euros, British pound sterling, and U.S. Dollars

Easy to use, hard to break.

Handles spaces and commas, not just numbers.

Fully integrated manual conversion-rate editor, to help keep the rates up-to-date.

Many new features - see readme for details.

Source: Java
Version: 3.0

Installation

Make sure your computer can run Java programs. No installation is necessary besides unzipping. Ensure that you know your rights.

Compatibility

Should work on all operating systems. Tested on Windows XP and Vista.

Download

CurrencyCalc.zip (15.9KB)

Mini Tutorial

Selecting two currencies: Once you open the program, you'll find that the OK button is disabled until you select two currencies you want to convert between. After you've selected your two currencies, click OK to launch the converter window.

Converting: In the converter window which pops up, click the field where you want to enter the value, and type it in. Simply press the "Calculate" button next to it to show the equivalent value in the the other box.

Updating: Every now and then, I suggest you check for updates. This can be done by going to Menu > Update rates.

If the rates are successfully downloaded, you should see a confirmation at the bottom of the window:

Generate random email addresses with jEnerator

2008-08-01T02:34:00.001+02:00

Generate completely random email addresses

jEnerator uses a dictionary to generate a completely random email address.

You can customise the results; either with or without numbers. The results are guaranteed to be random and unpredictable every single time. Examples include:

combatants@denial.name
organ88@museum13.mil
... and many more

Roughly 2,623,562,063,021,592 possibilities! (that's over 2.5 quintillion).

Source: Java
Version: 1.6.1

Installation

Make sure your computer can run Java programs. No installation is necessary besides unzipping.

Compatibility

Should work on all operating systems (Only tested on Windows XP and Vista).

Download

jEnerator_1.6.1.zip (280KB)

jNote for all your fast and simple note-taking needs

2008-08-01T02:23:00.001+02:00

Fast and simple text editor

An easy to use text editor with tons of extra features to help you work faster and more safely.

Very easy to use. Help file included.
Adjustable fonts for easier reading.
Line counter.
Many other built-in tools to facilitate easy text editing.
Supports just about any text format.

Source: Java
Version: 2.5

Compatibility

Should work on all operating systems (Only tested on Windows XP and Vista).

Installation

Make sure your computer can run Java programs. No installation is necessary besides unzipping.

Download

jNote_2.5.zip (37.7KB)

Use File Namer to rename files easily and efficiently

2008-07-31T02:20:00.000+02:00

Rename files with ease and efficiency.

Just downloaded a whole week's worth of photos from your trip to Maui? Need to sequentially rename a whole list of files so they can alphabetically follow each other? Try File Namer!

File Namer is a program which inspects a folder full of files, intelligently weeds out the useless files (e.g. hidden files), and renames them according to a prefix of your choice.

As an example, let's say I just came back from a trip to Scotland, and I want to blog it - include pictures and so on.

After choosing (say) 3 photos, I lay them out to write about them. This is how they look (good luck trying to remember them!): DSC5424.JPG, DSC8931.JPG, DSC9387.JPG

To get around this, simply tell File Namer to do its work. Add the prefix "Scotland-Trip-" and click OK.

This is what you'll get (much better!): Scotland-Trip-1.JPG, Scotland-Trip-2.JPG, Scotland-Trip-3.JPG

File Namer is extremely easy to use. It also includes an extensive help file.

Source: Java
Version: 2.4

Compatibility

Fully tested in Windows XP and Vista. However I haven't tested it in Mac or Linux (use at your own risk on these OSes).

Installation

Make sure your computer can run Java programs. No installation is necessary besides unzipping.

Download

File_Namer.zip (69.7KB)

How to: Run Java Programs

2008-07-31T01:17:00.000+02:00

Java is a programming language which was designed to be written once, and run anywhere (WORA). With this in mind, Java runs on a platform called the JRE which ensures that programs will perform the same on different Operating Systems (OS). There are a few things we need to do to set up the JRE.

Ensure the JRE is installed

Most newer computers come pre-installed with a JRE version to ensure that Java can run straight off the bat.

It's recommended that you go to www.java.com/getjava to download the latest version. You also can check what version you have here.

Working with JAR files

Ensure the JRE is installed (see above)
If you downloaded a ZIP file, then unzip it to a convenient location (e.g. the desktop, your documents folder, etc)
Double-click on the executable Jar file. 99% of the time, no installation is necessary.

Working with EXE files (Windows only)

Repeat steps 1 and 2 above
Double-click on the Exe file to run the program
Sometimes this may trigger an installer, in that case install as normal and the program should function like a native application (JRE still required though).

Additional Note

Most of the programs available on this site come packaged in compressed ZIP files. This makes it faster and easier to download.

However, before you run the program, you're going to need to uncompress, or unzip it. If you're having trouble unzipping, the YouTube video below might help (the video uses WinZip).

If you're running Windows and are looking for a freeware unzipping solution, check out 7-Zip. It's a product I highly recommend for file handling.

_{Note: If you're using Internet Explorer, you may need to over-ride the security settings.
Just click "Allow Blocked Content" from the bar on top. (via)}

Introducing the Rwsoft Updates Blog

2008-07-30T17:14:00.000+02:00

Welcome to an all-new feature here on rwsoft! As part of the site re-design, we now have our very own blog!

The blog was designed from scratch, and it was a hard job trying to figure out Blogger's template system, as well as to get it to fit in with the entire web site design. After a few hours' work, however, the design was beginning to take shape, and by the end of it, I can truly say I'm satisfied.

From now on, all site-wise updates will be posted and documented on here, including software updates and new features.

Over the next few weeks, I plan to author blog posts to cover what's already been published, such as new programs, the site re-design, etc.

To stay informed about future blog posts, please take the time to subscribe to the blog feed. If you'd like, you can also subscribe by email.