-------------------------- DESKRULE CHANGELOG http://zabkat.com/deskrule -------------------------- Here you will find a brief list of items added in each consecutive build. For more information please refer to the full documentation. If you cannot read this file properly, turn on the WORD-WRAP mode in your text editor NOTE: some advanced panels and commands are not available in the cheaper Lite edition [2.8.0.0] 9 Mar 2024 ---------------- * CAPTION MESSAGES. Deskrule used to show information messages on its statusbar. Now it uses a more prominent window for its simple notifications, that goes under the main window. These messages go away after a while automatically -- or click on them to make them go away sooner. * Program settings are now searchable. Use the filter box under the property list to type a keyword, and all the matching properties will show. Text is matched against the name and description, so you should be able to find what you need. It's not a good idea to type too many keywords as they are matched as a single phrase. Clear the search (click X button) to show all properties. * A new font is used for the dialogs and accessibility for disabled users is improved [2.7.0.0] 23 Feb 2024 ---------------- HAPPY 10th BIRTHDAY DESKRULE! * toolbar button label text option, turn it on from settings (F12). Labels take more space but help novice users understand the command buttons. * Right click on any toolbar and use LOCK TOOLBARS menu command to lock their positions. Use the command again to unlock them. The locked mode is rather fragile as new rule boxes can be added or reset. Meant for people that mostly use a fixed set of search rules. [2.6.6.0] 12 Dec 2023 ---------------- * Option for FRIENDLY DATES, turn it on from program settings (press F12 key or the toolbar button) If enabled it shows file ages for items instead of exact dates, e.g. it will say modified in the last 26 minutes instead of 12/12/2023 11:28:32. Note files that are older than 2 months will show the full date as before This setting affects ALL date properties, modified, created, date photo taken etc [2.6.5.0] 23 Oct 2023 ---------------- * dark mode improvements for windows 10/11 [2.6.4.0] 17 May 2023 ---------------- * program settings use a modern toggle control for yes/no options * Fixed handling of floating point properties, respecting the decimal separator of your locale (1.20 vs 1,20). Whenever you add a floating point variable in a rule, you must use your locale separator. This applies especially to GPS map searches [2.6.3.0] 30 Mar 2023 ---------------- * Dark mode improvements include dark messageboxes and dark progress bars * You can see previews and thumbnails of SVG vector graphics * registry tweak nFastFilterCnt added in the previous version 2.62, is also used when you sort results by a slow column. If you have too many items and a very slow column to sort them by, it switches to sort by NAME so it's done quickly [2.6.2.0] 21 Feb 2023 ---------------- * BETTER QUICK FILTERING the first time you use the quick filter box, it may take some time to extract all the duplicate file properties, especially if they are SLOW like ID3 tags for MP3s. Deskrule will show a progress bar when this happens (on the statusbar). Although this doesn't make things any faster, you can see how long it will take, and possibly CANCEL the operation, pressing ESC key If you have thousands of files showing, filtering for all details could be practically impossible, so if there are more than 512 files showing, quick filtering will only use FAST properties like name, size and path. This limit is adjustable through nFastFilterCnt registry tweak. If you only want to filter by filename, use program options F12 key * main program font is changeable through settings [2.6.1.0] 2 Jan 2023 ---------------- * if you have SEARCH HIDDEN FOLDERS option OFF, then deskrule won't go into C:\WINDOWS folder, since it is huge and you hardly ever want to search in this folder. If you do want to search, start the search inside it, or turn ON search hidden folders, but then expect long delays. [2.6.0.0] 9 Dec 2022 ---------------- * AQS SIMPLE SEARCH In simple mode (one rule box for everything) you can issue Advance Query Syntax searches, which you may be familiar with from MS Outlook, e.g. the search phrase: date:this month size:small deskrule would search for documents that contain DESKRULE that were modified THIS MONTH and are of SMALL size. Of course this kind of functionality already exists in deskrule though regular search (individual search rule boxes) but some people may find it useful. AQS is explained in more detail here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/lwef/-search-2x-wds-aqsreference You can also use system property names as System.IsFolder:TRUE and advanced boolean search tricks like : author:(theresa OR lee) Beware that search phrases are lenient with syntax errors, so if you misspell a property name for example, you may end up searching for something completely different — and you may wonder why! This new mode is incompatible with live filename search introduced in v2.5, so to use AQS you must turn off SEARCH AS YOU TYPE setting (F12 key). It works only within folders that are in the search index at present, as it cannot offer a "robust" alternative. * DEFAULT FILE PROPERTIES. The details you see in search results are a mix of some standard stuff (name, size, date) and properties you searched for. If you right click on the column header you can use SELECT COLUMNS menu to add or remove properties of interest, then use SET AS DEFAULT menu command to make sure that they always appear regardless of what you search for * FOCUSED DIALOGS. Whenever a dialog window or message appears, the main deskrule window is alpha-shaded, to help focusing on the message at hand. This behavior can be turned off setting the advanced registry option GAO2_NOSHADEDLG (=16) * EXTERNAL MAP SEARCH Since the demise of IE the embedded map dialog doesn't work. We've designed an alternative dialog that maintains the output information (including saving the location name), but uses an EXTERNAL internet browser window to define the search area, and imports the latitude/longitude coordinates to use as search rules. You select the map point you want, specify a search area around it (in miles/kilometers), and deskrule will find photos shot in that area as before. The procedure isn't as smooth as before, but it is tolerable IMHO Explanator video: https://youtu.be/jiuqrU1TPAs [2.5.0.0] 7 Nov 2022 ---------------- * LIVE FILENAME SEARCH. In simple mode, you can activate SEARCH AS YOU TYPE setting (press F12 key) and locate files by name easily. The search mechanism doesn't change, you just don't need to press START SEARCH button; matching filenames appear immediately as you type, and if you modify the search keyword, the results update to match it automatically! Compared to regular simple search mode, you lose the capability to search in file contents and other indexed search properties, but if you search for filenames only live search makes sense! Automatic search begins once you type the 4th letter (to save CPU effort). This threshold can be revised (up) as it is shared with the quickfilter automatic jump setting. To begin a search with fewer letters, press ENTER key or click the start search button. DEMO VIDEO: https://youtu.be/KkY09-y6xak [2.4.2.0] 6 Apr 2022 ---------------- * Map photo search tool revived, should keep working till November (whatever next?). The map shows an "unsupported browser" warning, but you can click on DISMISS and not worry about it. * NEARBY PHOTO SEARCH. A new command under MAP toolbar button (use the arrow to show the menu and pick NEARBY PHOTOS command), will find photos shot close to another one you specify. Use drag-drop or double click on the dialog to load a photo with GPS location data, and supply a range in METERS (1000m = 1km) around it. When you close the dialog, deskrule will convert the geolocation data to range rules for the longitude/latitude rule boxes. At this point you can add the search root folder (even add extra search rules on e.g. date) then hit START SEARCH button to find pictures nearby the base one. [2.4.1.0] 10 Feb 2022 ---------------- * multimonitor DPI fixes, switching monitors while deskrule is running should be smoother [2.4.0.0] 18 Oct 2021 ---------------- * REFINE SEARCH. A new toolbar button next to START SEARCH lets you refine previous search results. It is like a local search, where instead of searching your hard disk, it just considers the previous search results available in the window, applying a new search filter on them. Old search results that don't match the new filter are removed. One possible use is to correct desktop search results that include special symbols. E.g. if you search for HOW-TO (notice the hyphen), then desktop search will return files that contain "how to" but the hyphen will be ignored. If you press CTRL+R keys at this point (without changing the original search criteria), you will find the exact matching documents, including the missing -. This way you combine fast and exact search. You can also refina a search with different search rules, if you like. Refine search acts as a super visibility filter, like when you type keywords in quick filter (FILTER RESULTS) box -- with more powerful search criteria of course. If you double click on the filter icon in the statusbar, you cancel the refine search filter and you can see all the original search results. * dialog font sizes increased for better readability in higher DPI * catalog registry tweak nCatalogMinFile is a byte limit that excludes small files from the catalog (default smaller than 1024 bytes). Set it to 0 if you want all files catalogued, but perhaps you should consider increasing it! (unless you have a use for searching really small files). * double-click on the status bar (left side) to repeat the last message, error or otherwise. [2.3.2.0] 26 Aug 2021 ---------------- * HARD LINKS property can be used for (NTFS) file searches, look for it under "legacy" category * START SEARCH main button is shown in bold font to make it stand out * INVERT SELECTION keyboard only command press * key in the numeric keypad * F5 key refreshes search results, in case some files were deleted * Better handling of mobile phone paths, they are now more readable * Offline catalog, ADD MEDIUM progress dialog includes a PAUSE button if you want to momentarily stop the creation process; click on pause button again to resume the operation, or CANCEL it altogether [2.3.1.0] 8 June 2021 ---------------- * Location-based photo search gets much faster in windows 10, taking advantage of indexed GPS properties (System.GPS.LatitudeDecimal etc). For more information see here http://zabkat.com/deskrule/gps-photo-search.htm * Right click on the search results column header to choose which file properties you want to see. Normally deskrule picks file details matching the search parameters; SELECT COLUMNS menu command allows you to TEMPORARILY see extra file information. If you want to add some details permanently in all search results, use msExtraColumns registry tweak (search the documentation for more details) * some resizable dialogs like google maps will remember their sizes when you restart Deskrule * If you bought DeskRule and want to use your unlock key immediately after you install the trial, press keys and follow the instructions. For more information see the email with your registration key. [2.3.0.0] 26 February 2021 ---------------- * MOUSE PEEK PREVIEW. Press both left+right mouse buttons together to see a large preview of the item under the cursor. Then let go of the mouse keys and the preview will go away! It is also available through keyboard shortcut; then any key (except Pageup/Down) will dismiss the preview. Program settings (F12) allows you to choose the preview size as a percent of your monitor. For text previews, the registry setting nPeekTextWidth is the maximum width of the popup preview window, for pictures the size is determined by the bitmap dimensions. * VERTICAL TOOLBAR WIDTH. When you stack search boxes one on top of the other, you can now choose the width of the left docked toolbar using program settings. The right value would depend on your taste and your screen DPI resolution. In this mode, normally no property names are shown to save space. You won't see e.g. NAME before the box where you search for file names, you recognize the box by it's hint text (cue banner inside the box). If this isn't clear enough, use the registry tweak bRebarLabels (see the help file for details editing the registry). Set it to 1 to show a single letter from the title (N for Name, C for Content etc), that is usually adequate as a reminder. Or set bRebarLabels to 2 to show the full property name in a separate row, if you don't mind the wasted space. * QUICK JUMP TO PROPERTY. When using the normal file property search boxes, use to quickly jump to the search box that starts with "letter", e.g. will jump to Name, to Date modified and so on. This works best if you are already in the search toolbar area. * HIT HIGHLIGHTING. When you search for text in documents, the quick previewer panel will highlight the keywords found in a distinct color so you can see them in context. Pressing F3 key in the quickviewer jumps to the next keyword hit. * RIP FLASH VIDEOS. The on-board SWF videos have been replaced with youtube "videos" (sorry no sound but you can follow the text descriptions). * F1 key for help works better with your preferred web browser * new macro commands KEYDOWN/UP, similar to SENDKEY but more flexible. For example SENDKEY A is equivalent to KEYDOWN A followed by KEYUP A. This is useful e.g. if you want to simulate pressing SHIFT key while clicking on a dialog button: * a few bugfixes [2.2.0.0] 20 August 2020 ---------------- * New program option (F12 key) to have search toolbars docked VERTICALLY on the left side (instead of top). Rules cannot be rearranged other than deleted and re-inserted, but many people may find this easier to manage. Note you cannot have more than one column of toolbars in this mode. * If a statusbar error message is too long to see whole, it will scroll FYI [2.1.0.0] 4 April 2020 ---------------- * Deskrule 64-bit version will automatically use 32 bit text extraction filters, in case you have only 32 bit versions of them installed * mini search engine refabrication for faster results display * registry setting msExtraColumns is a comma separated list of details (columns) you want to appear in all search results along the default Name/Size/Date. Use full property names as System.Title etc [2.0.5.0] 23 February 2020 ---------------- * Ctrl+mousewheel changes thumbnail size as well as view styles * Detective panel function DATE() converts strings to dates. Perhaps its most useful case is with an empty argument, which returns the current date. This can be used to calculate the file age in days e.g. DATE("") - $System.DateModified * Detective panel functions FILE2 and FILEPROP can be used to compare the current item with others, e.g. for synchronization checks. FILEPROP can only fetch a single property, whereas FILE2 can execute any arbitrary expression on the second file. The example below tests if the file is newer than its namesake in E:\OTHER\ folder: $System.DateModified > FILEPROP($System.DateModified, "E:\other\" + $name) You can have only one FILE2 but as many FILEPROP as you need in an expression. See the documentation for more details. * Abbreviations pseudo-environmental variable can be used to simplify complex detective expressions. Either type %ABBR% or use the Operator drop-down box. Think of it as a #define term that is replaced with something else. To define its content use the ABBR button at the right side of the desktop detective panel. [2.0.4.0] 24 October 2019 ---------------- * More complete dark user interface including program dialog boxes [2.0.3.1] 8 October 2019 ---------------- * Use the Program Settings toolbar button to turn on DARK MODE, the latest fashion in user interfaces. Not all things are rendered dark, e.g. all dialogs are still in windows default colors. There is room for improvement =) * Zoom previewer takes JPG photo/picture orientation tags into account and shows correctly turned picture previews * Desktop detective panel has new function DIRCNT that can count items in folder objects. See the documentation for more information * Deskrule should look better in multiple monitors that happen to have different DPI resolution [2.0.1.0] 25 February 2019 ---------------- * Added registry options msCatalogIncl and msCatalogExcl which control which files go in and which are excluded from the catalog, respectively. You normally use only one of these. They are comma separated wildcards of names to include or exclude, e.g. "*.txt,*.pdf". Without them, all files go in the catalog. * On-demand offline cloud files are shown with a link overlay icon, to distinguish them from locally available content [2.0.0.1] 21 January 2019 ---------------- * Better search in cloud drives (onedrive, dropbox etc). Deskrule will search for basic properties in cloud drives, but will not cause unnecessary downloads for (offline) files on demand, e.g. for preview purposes. * if some of the rule boxes get out of shape (e.g. after a window resize), deskrule will automatically arrange them. You can also right click on any toolabr and use the AUTO ARRANGE menu command * If a search result is in a deep folder and cannot be opened by windows, deskrule offers to create a temporary readonly copy and open that instead. Note that Deskrule can preview deep documents but most other applications cannot open their own documents if they are in a folder with too many letters. [2.0.0.0] 10 December 2018 ---------------- * Offline file search. Create a CATALOG of your removable media files, and have them searched just as if all your files were connected. Deskrule will search the index of your external hard discs, DVDs etc, then tell you where they are located. You create the index table ONCE, then fast offline file searches become possible. You can do a basic search by Name or modification date, or add more properties like tags and comments. You trade-off a bigger index table with richer search attributes. Optionally you can save a short text and a little thumbnail for offline preview purposes. Offline search is seamless, you use the same search boxes (even the advanced search panels) as if you were doing a normal desktop file search. The only difference is the folder path: instead of e.g. C:\MY DOCUMENTS you enter the special path DR::CATALOG as the root of the search, using the new catalog toolbar button next to the folder path box. For more information press F1 to access the on-board help in Deskrule. * The amount of preview text to store in the catalog and the thumbnail picture pixel size are tweakable from program options. Increasing the defaults will result in larger index size. * Introducing tip of the day window, showing useful tips and tricks every time you start the program. The window stays on top so you can try out the tips as you read them. Tips are also available from the drop-down menu next to Help toolbar button. You can also read all the tips from the file DRTIPS.HTM in the program's installation folder. * Negative keyword search. Adding a leading minus symbol before a keyword excludes it (NOT rule), e.g. THIS -THAT will match documents that contain THIS but not if they also contain THAT. Useful for text rules in the normal (toolbar) search mode. * Folders in the system search index can be searched faster. If a folder is not in the index (the normal windows index, not the deskrule offline catalog), you can press keys to have it added. This command is applied to the folder being searched, whatever appears in the addressbar. * Choose property dialog shows descriptions for many common properties. For other properties you can right click and use WHAT IS THIS PROPERTY menu to find more details online. Usually the first search result is the documenation you need. * WDX plugins that export text content in wide (unicode) format are handled properly. For more information see here: http://zabkat.com/blog/tc-plugins.htm [1.6.2.0] 22 October 2018 ---------------- * fixed google maps (picture geolocation search) problem * improvements to desktop detective (SYSTEM and TOKEN commands), allowing external (DOS or powershell) programs to be used when searching for documents; see the documentation (F1) for more details * macro command MATH allows simple integer arithmetic operations [1.6.1.0] 4 June 2018 ---------------- * Search history toolbar button offers quick access to recent searches. Note that you can save searches you frequently use via the "disk" toolbar icon * plain text (toolbar) rules show a history of frequently used keywords. Also note the addressbar supports autocompletion of partial folder names using the UP arrow key. * macro command NOPOPUPS will cause any dialog windows that appear during the macro execution to be invisible. If you are annoyed by windows flashing quickly as a result of macros, put this NOPOPUPS instruction first in all your macros [1.6.0.0] 8 May 2018 ---------------- * Advanced search panel: If you select more than one compatible rules, you can modify their properties simultaneously. For example say you want to find music tracks that contain "Mozart" in either the Title or Artist properties. After you insert the 2 text property rules, select them and type the desired text to find. Both rules will be defined on the same data. If the selected rules are not compatible (e.g mixed text and dates), you can only change the boolean context of the rules. * Macro recorder allows you to compose macro commands "programming-free". Pressing F9 key you can do simple operations (launch commands, manipulate dialogs etc). When you are done, click on FINISH (macro recording) button and you get the script written for you automatically. To edit the previous macro without invoking the macro recorder press or quit the macro recorder immediately [1.5.7.0] 21 Feb 2018 -------------- * New macro commands (CHOPSTR, GETSEL, GETFOCUS etc, see the manual). When a macro stops with an error it offers to run in debug mode so you can fix it. * Desktop detective panel function FBYTES can be used to detect file types by content. Eg PNG files could be detected as FBYTES(1,3)="50.4E.47". Of course this byte extracting functionality can be used to anything else you can imagine. [1.5.6.0] 21 Dec 2017 -------------- * When searching for multiple keywords inside files' contents, the previewer window will show all keyword matches, and in a more pronounced fashion too * search option to clear WDS (fast) search results before starting second phase robust (slow :) search. See the FRESH RESTART option in the program options dialog (F12 key). This is useful when WDS results aren't what you were expecting to find. * macro commands (F9 key, not available in LITE version) support debugging and single stepping, handy if you need to troubleshoot your macro instructions. While single-stepping a macro, you will see more information about each command as it runs, and you will see the command's active window drawn with a distinct border * Ctrl+F9 key repeats the last macro [1.5.5.0] 22 Sep 2017 -------------- * Deskrule looks better in high resolution monitors with a large icon skin. It is automatically adjusted depending on your display resolution * you can "zoom" item icons in and out using CTRL+mouseWheel. Each zoom level goes either to larger icons/thumbnails or smaller, all the way to detailed view mode. * [UWP-store version]: fixed problem with google maps (picture geolocation) [1.5.4.0] 21 June 2017 -------------- * macro instruction CLICKDEF meant for controls that are only accessible through accessibility interfaces (MSAA). It performs the default action on the item. * Registered program with windows restart manager in case of abnormal crashes [1.5.3.0] 4 June 2017 -------------- * Desktop detective panel supports conditional statements. The format is like MS Excel IF expression: IF(question, true, false) If "question" is TRUE, then the "true" argument is returned, otherwise the "false". All 3 arguments can be whatever makes sense. The "Question" is true when it is not empty (if a string) or not zero (if number). For example: "is " + if(len($name)>15, lo + ng, short) will result in "is long" for long filenames (>15 chars) and "is short" for smaller names. * Right click on an item and you will find a submenu to COLOR TAG it. This is a temporary highlighting that you can use for any purpose you like, e.g. mark RED all items you want to copy later. You can filter by color tags using the pane background menu (right click "nowhere" to see it) * Color filter button added next to the filterbar, that allows you to filter the results by the colors you have tagged your items. To show all items double-click on the filter (funnel) statusbar icon. [1.5.2.0] 20 May 2017 -------------- * Experimental support for "macros". These are scripts that help you automate things you do again and again. It is a simple programming language that automates the user interface, so you can operate dialog windows. To start the macro editor press F9 key or use the system menu (right click on the program's titlebar). This is an advanced topic so you will need to read the documentation for all the details (press F1 on the macro editor) * When using the quickfilter box to search within results, and IF the search all columns mode is enabled (program settings: Quick filter, Match name only = NO), you see highlights of the keyword you filtered for, in any column it appears first. Otherwise the quick filter only matches filenames and the reason for the match is obvious. * file comments from DESCRIPT.ION files can be searched [1.5.1.0] 9 March 2017 -------------- * Easier drag-drop from search results to other windows (deskrule window stays in the background) * Fixed bug for very high resolution display DPI (large text size) [1.5.0.0] 14 January 2017 -------------- * Windows shell is not yet ready for very long filenames, but DeskRule can find documents in deep and otherwise inaccessible folders (using simple properties like NAME and contained text). Windows Search Index won't work beyond 260 letters so deep searches aren't instant. Shell context menu commands are not available either. But it is a small step in the right direction! * Deep file search is available for all supported windows versions, not just windows 10. It is not dependent on LongPathsEnabled registry tweak. Sorry this feature is not available in Deskrule Lite edition. * The quick previewer shows (deep) plain text and image previews. You can also export the results as text (pressing on the selected files) then use something that understands long paths like PowerShell. If you have xplorer˛ installed, you can press key in Deskrule to preview the selected text file in editor˛. * keyboard shortcut toggles the preview pane on/off (in the docked/hidden state). You can also do this with the mouse, clicking on the little pin icon found on the quick previewer pane's titlebar. [1.4.2.0] 7 November 2016 -------------- * zoom toolbar on picture preview window fades out letting you see most of the previewed image. Move the mouse over the toolbar to see the buttons properly. * Stock kind property (aka TYPE, one of the default rules) also supports searching for folders. Note that these "kind" categories are extensible through registry editing. For more information press F1 key in deskrule. [1.4.0.0] 29 September 2016 -------------- * Find pictures using a map! Finding pictures by latitude/longitude data is now very easy with the new PICTURE MAP toolbar button. This opens google maps and you can choose a place where to search for pictures. This way you can find pictures you shot in New York or in Cyprus. Your pictures must contain geolocation exif tags that define where each picture was taken. Most modern phones and cameras with GPS receivers can add this information. * The drop-down menu next to the map toolbar button has a command to show a picture on the map. Useful for pictures found using the new geographic search mode. This works only for one picture at a time. * Detective function GREP() checks file contents. This special function is a workaround to include "search in file contents" rule in complex desktop detective expressions that won't allow direct use of $System.Search.Contents property in any other way. * System.Comment property also handles some special comments created by xplorer˛. These extra comments cannot be found by fast WDS search. * Various shell:xxx folders are added in the drop-down list of FOLDERS SEARCHED input combo box and are available for quick autocompletion. For example type in PICT in this box and hit up arrow key and it will fetch shell:my PICTures; hit the up arrow key again for the next completion [1.3.0.0] 1 September 2016 -------------- * Desktop detective mode also supports simple functions like len() and mid() that can be used to manipulate strings and dates — e.g. calculate string length or extract substrings. For more information press F1 to see the deskrule help file. A drop-down box in the desktop detective panel allows easy insertion of functions. For example the expression: DPART($DateModified, year)+1 = DPART($DateCreated, year) will find all files that were modified one year after they were created. * Desktop detective edit window has a context menu for cut/copy/paste/clear. These commands are also available with their usual keyboard shortcuts. * /G command line option extended so that except for a saved search name you can pass any string to search for, like as if you were using a SIMPLE search mode. This will match the keyword in any string property like Name or Contained text. If you need to specify quoted text, use single ears, e.g. deskrule.exe "/G:this 'or that'" Remember to get out of the simple mode and see all the search toolbars you must click on the magnifying glass toolbar icon. [1.2.2.0] 1 June 2016 -------------- * Deskrule LITE version introduced. It has almost everything as the full version, except for the advanced search panels. The good news is that it costs HALF price compared to the full version. For more information see http://zabkat.com/deskrule/lite.htm [1.2.1.2] 8 May 2016 -------------- * You can enter multiple folders to search in one go, separating them with pipe (|) characters, e.g. c:\folder | d:\ | f:\test A convenient alternative is to select many folders in an explorer window then drag-drop them in the "folder to search" box (addressbar). To drag-drop and add folders one by one, hold down the CTRL key while dropping in the addressbar * Image previewer also rotates images (press Ctrl+left/right arrows to rotate (anti)clockwise). There is also an autohiding toolbar for all zooming operations. * Registry setting szSimplePropertyList is a comma separated list of system property names to search in simple search mode (in case fast windows search doesn't produce any results). By default only filename is searched after the WDS stage. Note if multiple keywords are entered, they should ALL be present in a single listed property (e.g. not one keyword in filename and the other in file contents) * Pan gesture (scrolling with the finger), should work on touch-enabled computers (fingers crossed :) [1.2.0.9] 15 April 2016 -------------- * Image previewer pane supports zooming in/out. Click on a picture with the LEFT mouse button to zoom in, and with the RIGHT to zoom out. Hold down CTRL key to zoom in/out to the maximum extent. To zoom with the keyboard, press CTRL+plus/minus keys, like in your internet browser. You can drag-scroll the enlarged image to see other parts of it. Remember you can also double click on the previewer titlebar to have it floating as a separate window, that can be enlarged to taste. [1.2.0.7] 5 March 2016 -------------- * Desktop detective autocompletion list shows infotips on property names, so you can easily see which one does what you need. You can also use the "Insert property" button for more clarifications. [1.2.0.6] 3 March 2016 -------------- * Added program option "Disable wildcards" that makes strings you put in toolbar rule boxes verbatim. If you don't know what a regular expression is, or if you want to search what you type, then turn on this option (e.g. to find brackets). Note you can still search with regular expressions and wildcards using the advanced or detective search panels. [1.2.0.4] 5 February 2016 -------------- * New stock property FileCount returns the number of items in a folder. The registry value szFileCountRule can be either a comma separated list of filename wildcards to match (default='*' to match and count all folder contents) or even the name of a previously saved complex filter. This innovative property allows you e.g. to find all folders that contain 3 or more MP3 files and such tricks. Remember, to edit registry settings you must FULLY quit DeskRule pressing ALT+X. * Added option to search subfolders (press F12 key for all options). This is on by default but you can turn it off to search only a single folder (the root specified in the addressbar) * Double click on the right of any box rule (if you can find empty space on the toolbar) to add a new rule. [1.2.0.3] 26 January 2016 -------------- * Added large-ish (24x24) toolbar for high DPI desktops [1.2.0.1] 7 January 2016 -------------- * Stock.SignedBy legacy property also returns the countersign (timestamp) certificate name, if any * In desktop detective window (see below) you can press CTRL+DOWN ARROW to autocomplete partially typed system property names. If you see the property you need in the drop-down list, select it with UP/DOWN arrow keys and press ENTER or SPACE key to insert the property name. * command line switch /C turns Deskrule into a console tool. After the end of the search the results are printed out in a console window and the program exits. To use this /C mode you must start DeskRule from a console (DOS) window and make sure you also use the /G option to specify the saved search to repeat. Optionally you can specify a file for the text output using the > redirector. For example: deskrule.exe /C "/G:some old search" "C:\root folder" > results.txt Note this console mode is only available for registered versions (purchased). * New search mode Desktop Detective. The unique feature is that you can test file properties of a single file against each other. So instead of finding files that are Modified this year, you can search for files whose Modification date is older than their Creation date (!). All file properties can be combined in sensibe logico-arithmetic operations to match files with unique precision. You type these property expressions in a new panel called Desktop Detective (next to the Advanced search panel). For more information please refer to the quickstart guide (press F1 key) * Added various stock properties for some system properties that don't exist or won't work properly. You can find them under the LEGACY category: TotalFileSize - actual file size, including streams and compression/sparse attributes Streams - number of any alternate data streams (NTFS) Strean names - More details about the parallel streams Many other useful properties are covered using TC plugins (see http://zabkat.com/blog/tc-plugins.htm) for example: Filename character count: (FilenameChrCount) http://www.bleichroth.info/pub/wdx/wdx_FilenameChrCount.html Hard link information: (NL_Info) http://ghisler.fileburst.com/content/wdx_nlinfo.rar Folder content counters: (DirSizeCalc) http://ghisler.fileburst.com/content/wdx_dirsizecalc.zip Any plugins you install will be available from the Legacy category, along with older shell column handlers * command line option /J forces deskrule to load all 1000+ system properties. Note that most of them are either duplicate or empty (that's why they are normally left out), but it allows one to use some exotic properties. * Option to show shell infotips for items. When you don't see file details, the popup will show also the attributes searched for, if not otherwise available. * A few small bugs fixed [1.1.0.1] 17 Jume 2015 -------------- * When searching for filenames only (no other properties) in NTFS local folders, and if running in administrator mode, files are found very quickly using the MFT and no indexing. To get this mode working you need to right click on deskrule icon and pick "Run as administrator" menu command. This also works if you start searching from "My Computer" folder where all the local NTFS drives will be searched by name. * F8 key to clear search parameters (equivalent to clicking on the toolbar button) [1.0.0.44] 5 May 2015 -------------- * Better collaboration with compressed folder NSE plugin (see http://zabkat.com/blog/compressed-folder-shell-extension.htm). To search into compressed archives make sure you have the program option "Enter virtual folders" set to YES [1.0.0.43] 1 April 2015 -------------- * Right click on item includes Export selection menu command which copies all information as text in the clipboard for further processing (e.g. saving in a text file for logging). This command was previously available as keyboard shortcut only. To export all results first select everything with . For more useful keyboard shortcuts click on the HELP toolbar button. * A few advanced tweaks are documented in the quickstart guide (registry editing required) [1.0.0.41] 25 February 2015 -------------- * Right click on toolbars to access a context menu with 2 items: autoarrange will size the various bands optimally. The other command can be used to hide/show the autofilter field (if you don't need it) * Date rules optionally accept times as well as dates (for fussy customers :) -- these you must type in manually though in the form HH:MM:SS after the date * Whoever wants to buy a license key now you can! Click on the SECURE ONLINE ORDER button in the opening nag screen. Introductory offer price $39.95. [1.0.0.40] 19 February 2015 -------------- * You can define which rules appear by default in normal search mode using SET DEFAULT menu command next to the reset toolbar button. These rules will show whenever you click on Reset and whenever you switch back from the Simple search mode * 64 bit version included in the installer. The package includes both 32 and 64 bit versions and installs the one most suitable for your Windows system. [1.0.0.39] 16 February 2015 -------------- * Super plain/simple search mode, turn it on/off using the magnifying glass toolbar button. It makes things much simpler if you just want to find text attributes like names and file contents. If you search somewhere not in the search index, it only finds filenames. * Search folder field has a drop-down portion with folders where you search FREQUENTLY. * Licensing and registration introduced. You get 15 days to try it for free, and from then on the nags start pushing you to either purchase or uninstall. The trial never really expires but it gets too slow and restricted after a month. * Documentation updated (press F1 key), including demo videos, please use the drop-down menu next to the HELP toolbar button. [1.0.0.36] 6 February 2015 -------------- * Layout and search customizations. Use the drop-down toolbar buttons to save the simple rules you want to appear on the toolbar (search templates), and also specific search rules you use often. [1.0.0.34] 24 January 2015 -------------- * Windows search index is used to speed-up searches whenever possible. A first phase of search uses WDS and if something is found the search is paused. If you cannot see what you were looking for in these results, click on the footer button to repeat the search robustly (slow but accurate). [1.0.0.32] 9 January 2015 -------------- * WDX content plugins are also integrated for attribute search and for text content search. There are many plugins to choose from http://www.totalcmd.net/directory/content.html . See the WLX section below for information how to tell deksrule to use them. You must create a new TCPLUGINS.INI section called ContentPlugins and add what you need as such: [ContentPlugins] 0=C:\Downloads\plugins\wdx_textsearch\TextSearch.wdx 1=C:\Users\god\Downloads\wdx_xpdfsearch\xPDFSearch.wdx ... The extra file attributes are found under the LEGACY category, where all the older column handlers like TSVN are also located. Or put the category selector to ALL PROPERTIES and filter for WDX to see what's included. [1.0.0.31] 31 December 2014 -------------- * Experimental support for TC lister plugins (WLX) extending the capabilities of the quick previewer panel for more file types (there are tons available at http://www.totalcmd.net/directory/lister.html ). If you already use TC you can copy your WINCMD.INI file to shell:appdata\zabkat\tcplugins.ini. Alternatively create this INI file manually, create a section called [ListerPlugins] then list your WLX plugin paths as following (obviously using YOUR plugin paths): [ListerPlugins] 0=C:\Downloads\plugins\listplugsample\Debug\listplug.wlx 1=C:\Downloads\plugins\wlx_TotalHLT_1.7b160\Highlight.wlx 2=... The order of declaring the plugins is important: if a certain file type (extension) is handled by more than 1 plugin, the one listed first will get the preview job. Note that by default such plugins are only loaded when deskrule cannot find anything more "native" for the task. [1.0.0.29] 21 October 2014 -------------- * Improved previewer speed when loading the same document type (e.g. PDF) over and over again [1.0.0.28] 29 August 2014 -------------- * numeric rules can also have "approximate to" values, e.g. ~20KB (using the ~ operator). This matches the number given and a 10% range around it. [1.0.0.26] 2 June 2014 -------------- * Program settings toolbar button (or F12 key) shows the most important adjustable program options [1.0.0.25] 14 May 2014 -------------- * Legacy column handlers (TSVN etc) available for rules and finding files. Look under LEGACY category. * Leave the mouse hanging over some box rule to see quick instructions in a tooltip window. [1.0.0.23] 20 Apr 2014 -------------- * Quick previewer pane shows previews of the selected file (depending on type). It also shows any keywords you searched for, if applicable [1.0.0.20] 31 Mar 2014 -------------- * Added plain search mode on the main toolbar 22.Feb.2014 - original release