We’ve created a NoteFrog forum for discussing V2.
You’ll need to register (attempting to prevent spammers/bots).
It’s completely optional, but if there’s something you want to discuss/report/etc, join us there.
We’ll add more detail, but for now:
What’s where?
c:\Program Files (x86)\NoteFrog (Vista/Win7) OR
c:\Program Files\NoteFrog (Windows XP)
-
NoteFrog.exe
EasyTimer.exe
recycleDB.exe
hunspelldll.dll
_help.html
unins000.dat
unins000.exe
c:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Roaming\HTConsulting\NoteFrog (Vista/Win7)
c:\Documents and Settings\YourUserName\Application Data\HTConsulting\NoteFrog (XP)
(You will need Admin privileges to access/view these files/folders)
chime.ogg
etbkg.png
timer.png
resources (folder) containing
nf_options.html
nf_utilities.html
command.png
editbuttons.png
help_24.png
itembuttons.png
rtfbuttons.png
toolbuttons.png
help.gif
CuckooClock.wav
Frog.wav
en_US.dic
en_US.aff
en_US.dat
Created in “resources” folder by running NoteFrog
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NoteFrog.ini
NoteFrog.db
NoteFrog.a/b/c.log
Want to run NoteFrog from a USB?
(Note: Database/Library access will be much slower than running from a hard drive)
Create a folder (NoteFrog or whatever) on the USB
Copy all files/folders from the above locations into the folder)
You MUST edit the NoteFrog.ini to reflect the new location for:
Database =
Opened = (if present)
Dictionary = (if you want to spell check)
Be sure to use a “Plain text” editor (e.g. Notepad) and save the file as NoteFrog.ini (Notepad will add a .txt by default unless you’re specific – “save as”
This information is primarily for version 2 beta testers, but most of it will likely apply to version 2 users as well.
You can read about program differences in posts below. This post is about getting ready to test.
Current alpha testing has not revealed any instances of data loss or corruption, but if you’re using your real NoteFrog library, you’ll probably want to create a backup, just to be safe.
You should download the beta install program and install it like any other NoteFrog install. If you’ve used the standard installation for previous installs, the beta install should run using your normal library. If you’ve changed the standard installation location, contact us for instructions – essentially you’ll need to replace the old executable with the new one and move a few new files to make them accessible to the program.
Upon first running the program it should locate the ini and library and start up as the previous version did. If you’ve installed version 2 into a new location and wish to run it separately from your version 1.9 installation, the new version 2 program will ask you if you want to create a new library or locate an existing one. That decision is up to you.
The new help menus are functional but are not at the level of detail they will be for the normal production install. We welcome your comments on how to improve them. Our familiarity with the program, causes us to sometimes take things for granted that others may not know.
We’ll probably issue a new beta in two to three weeks, depending on your issues, comments, suggestions – unless there’s a “show stopper” issue which requires an immediate fix.
Please report you findings regularly so we can stay current in addressing any issues.
Thanks for your participation.
Celeste
Personalization
Indifferent to (or upset by) the default NoteFrog colorscheme? You can personalize the NoteFrog colorscheme to one of your liking via “Options – Colors”.
Or with a “trick”
Got one you really like? Send it to us and we’ll publish it.
NoteFrog Version 2 will not be a “features” release, but rather a “new foundation” release. Version 2 release 1 will look, and function, much like Version 1.9. Features will be added once we have the new foundation in production.
That said, version 2 does contain some changes and features a somewhat new look.
Command Box
As you can see, we’ve streamlined the function/edit/tool button area and added a “command” box, which can be used to effect any of the button changes via a command/text entry, e.g. “new”, “bold”, “copy”, etc. You may access the command box via the F10 key. You may see a list of available commands by entering a ? in the command box.
Alternate Menus with incorporated “Help”
We’ve added an alternate menu capability, available as a selection from the normal windows menus, which include the functionality of the normal menu selections, but also include help via “?” mouseover buttons.
Text file import
We’ve added the capability to import a directory of text files (.txt and/or .rtf) into NoteFrog, with each text file creating a new item in the current active stack.
Image display
Captured images are now displayed in natural image format whereas in release 1 they were displayed as a rich text rendition of the image.
Sounds
Some of you requested the ability to change the default sounds for clip capture and reminders. All sounds are now external to the NoteFrog executable and are stored in the Microsoft recommended standard location which is a “hidden” system application data folder on your windows system drive.
For windows XP the location is – system drive:\Documents and Settings \”user name”\Local Settings\Application Data\NoteFrog\resources
For Vista/Windows 7 – system drive:\users\”user name”\appdata\roaming\HTConsulting\NoteFrog\resources
Coming attractions
Once the version 2 foundation is firmly in place, we have plans for additional features to include a “starts with” search capability and an “as you type” text replacement capability.
It happened to us. Missing tooltips on NoteFrog! Actually, tooltips were missing on all “programs” but present on “Browsers”, (yes, Browsers are programs too, but I’m making that exclusion for sake of identity).
So I began closing programs. No effect. Closed Firefox. No effect. Closed an instance of ie containing 6 tabs. Tootips returned for all programs, not just NoteFrog. I still had a tabbed instance of ie open. Re-opened the just closed instance of ie, containing the same tabs just closed. Still have tooltips on all programs.
This may take some research.
Update: Fixed for Version 2
Now that I’ve taken a “break” from version 2 development (see version 1.9.1 release below), it’s probably a good time to update you on version 2 progress.
Version 2 is currently in “alpha” release status and should be entering “beta” pretty soon.
You’re probably as excited about this as we are and eagerly waiting for it to enter gamma or kappa or maybe even Charlie.
In our development process, alpha testing occurs after the major part of development is complete. However, during alpha testing, new features or functions may be added as part of the overall development. This necessitates additional testing – we have to redo the entire testing process (some of the introduced feature/functionality may impact areas already tested, so we have to test everything).
Once we enter beta testing, feature/functionality is frozen so the need to do extensive retesting across the entire feature suite, as any errors are found and corrected is less.
The good news is, as mentioned, we should be entering the beta test phase very soon.
The not so good news is that our senior Quality Assurance engineer has abandoned the Windows platform for linux, thus we’re not progressing as rapidly in the testing arena as we would like. While this may be a negative for NoteFrog in the short term, it will likely provide future benefit to NoteFrog users as they migrate NoteFrog capabilities to mobile technologies. As a demonstration of the type of capabilities that are coming, visit GooConvert for an early look at a free web-based application with NoteFrog-like capabilities. Since it’s browser-based it is also mobile device capable.
So, even though the immediate result is a lengthening of the current version 2 beta test cycle, the opportunities afforded by the web enabled capability will more than offset it.
While on the topic of beta testing, we are looking for a few active beta testers to join us when we begin. If interested, please contact us beta@notefrog.com
We’ve made a change to Tooltips in an attempt to fix the occasional “non display” of tooltips a few users have experienced.
If you have not had any tooltip issues, there is no need for you to install this release.
Progress is continuing on NoteFrog version 2, with early beta testing scheduled to begin soon and an anticipated production release later this year or early 2012. Version 2 will not be a “features” release, but rather a “new foundation” release. We do not expect Version 2 release 1 to look, or appear to function, much differently than Version 1.9. Features will be added once we have the new foundation in production.
Speaking of version 1.9 and features – we’ve had two user reports of tooltips not displaying in version 1.9 even though turned on. In one case, the user reported the problem eventually cleared “on it’s own, following a re-boot” but in the other, re-booting didn’t help. We’ve been unable to duplicate this in any of our testing and are so far at a loss to explain it. If it’s happened, or happens, to you, please report it to us.
NoteFrog v1.9.0 has been released. This is a free update for all existing NoteFrog customers.
The major addition is the inclusion of a mouseover item preview for items in the list.
It also includes a few bugfixes.
This concludes the version 1 development cycle. The next major release will be Version 2.