Using EboBar
Can I get the search window any faster?
Disable icons and/or disable transparency; also, keep the size small.
This transparent window is ugly. I can hardly read anything in there.
Simply disable transparency.
This EboBar thing window is too small! The entries get clipped. There's too few entries!
You can resize the EboBar like you can resize any other window by dragging any corner or edge with your mouse. EboBar will memorize the size and use it from then on.
The text I enter vanishes after a short time!!
Yeah, that's the cool "re-enter text after n seconds" feature. It's very handy, but if you don't like it, you can switch it off in the configuration menu.
Can I add single files rather than entire directories?
No, not at this moment. What you could do however is create a directory (possibly even in "my documents") and put shortcuts to the files you want to add in there.
This program didn't find a certain document although it is obviously there!!
Read this section for more details.
I've added new programs. EboBar doesn't recognize these files. How can I tell EboBar to add them?
A1: Tell EboBar to "look for new files right now!" Right-click the icon in the system tray, select "Re-scan directories."
A2: Make EboBar rescan automatically every time you reboot. It then takes a reboot to recognize your new files but at least doesn't require you to do anything. Simply check this option in the configuration menu.
The HIDE function does not work! I chose "Hide" for a certain file but it's still there!
True, because the HIDE function does not really hide. It merely gives the file a very bad score so it'll turn up behind all other potential entries. But if there are no more potential entries, your file will eventually show up, despite having this miserable score.
What's the point? Well, maybe you DO want to access this file after all, so it's still possible to access it. It will however not disturb you, i.e. if there's any other file which might fit your query, it is prefered.
Well - here's one of the major flaws I've seen on virtually every available desktop operating system: Dialogs remain on your screen even when they're not usable! I've witnessed countless people falling into this trap: They clicked around on a dialog, something popped up on top of it (like a small message box or a file requester). The old dialog was still visible - and they fruitlessly tried to operate it. They clicked again and again, wondering why it wouldn't respond to their clicks. They didn't have the slightest clue that this new window on top of it wanted to be taken care of before they may return. This is so unintuitive. This is why I have chosen to make a configuration box transparent when its inoperable - nobody would try to click around on it while it's transparent. That's what I hope, at least. Maybe other developers will pick up on this one.
Using a scan definition, I specifically told EboBar NOT to add files that contain a certain pattern. EboBar still added some!
EboBar has detected a change in one of the directories you have declared accessible and is rescanning it. This usually is so quick you won't even notice it. However, if it's a big directory or over the network, this rescanning might take some time. If this happens too often or if you simply don't like this background monitoring feature, switch it off in the configuration menu.
Why does EboBar look a lot cooler on your screenshots than on my computer?
For one thing, because I'm using a version of Windows that doesn't completely suck, i.e. not Windows 98. Then, I've taken the shots with transparency enabled and a wallpaper on the desktop.
Then don't use it.
Be my guest.
Multi-user environment
Are the settings per-user or global?
It's entirely per-user. Everything you do is for you only, all users may have their very own settings. This does of course not apply to systems that do not support multi-user environment. The only exception here is the option to have EboBar start immediately when Windows is loaded.
Can I make EboBar automatically run during startup for some users only?
Not using the configuration menu. When asking EboBar to start during startup, it creates a link in the common startup folder. What you need to do is to create a link like this in the personal startup menu of everyone who should be blessed with EboBar - and not into the common startup folder. Since you're reading this, you're probably an administrator, so you know what I'm talking about.
Why should only the administrator uninstall the program? (NT/2000/XP)
Because EboBar stores the settings and file listings for each user in their respective user directory which only the users themselves can access. Since the point of the uninstaller is to remove all traces of EboBar, only the administrator can do that. A common user would not be able to delete other users' settings.
Technical details
Why don't you use the registry to store the settings?
I hate the registry! It has to be one of the dumbest inventions within Windows. How many times have you reinstalled your operating system? I have done that more often that I can remember. It's a very, very tiresome process because you have to reinstall every single application you were running and usually have to re-configure it as well. Instead of simply copying all files from my main computer, I had to go through this very process of installing and configuring when I set up my new notebook. Yes, I could have saved registry trees into a file and merged them back on my notebook - but seriously, would you trust a common user to do that? Besides, bigger applications have their traces everywhere inside the registry. Now should I as a user really have to scan my registry for references to that application and copy them out?
What I was aiming for was that old-fashioned model where your application just was a set of files on your hard disk, not - as in Windows - completely tied, linked and engulfed by the OS. If you want to remove an application nowadays from your drive without a working uninstaller, you're up the creek without a paddle. In contrast, EboBar can be run from anywhere and does not require installation. It only has the standard registry entries created by the Nullsoft installer to allow you to uninstall it from the control panel and upgrade it properly, the program itself does not use the registry. You could simply copy it to another computer - including the settings - and run it from there.
Your configuration file is ASCII. This is lame!
Oh yeah. Sure. Binary files require less processing and take up less space, granted. But then: ASCII helps you, the user, debug the system - and you have absolute clarity about what's going on. No secret cookies, no spying on your data, no unique identifying string. I personally think that a HTML file beats a DOC file. If your DOC file is corrupted for whatever reason, have fun trying to fix it.
Yep. Although MFC eases programming and helps you create better, object-oriented code, I chose against it. I wanted a really tiny program which simply does its job and nothing more. I'm disgusted about today's trend to bloat programs unnecessarily. ICQ, a program that is simply supposed to pass messages, takes up 16 MB of RAM on my computer!
And MFC has a lot of overhead, especially when there's just one MFC program running. So I bit the bullet and wrote everything with the awkward Win32 API to offer you the smallest possible EboBar.
Since some developers seem to believe that bigger programs are worth more (and unfortunately, some consumers do too), there is a frightening trend towards bloatware.
Money, registration and other annoying stuff
No, it is not. Look at it this way: How much would it cost you to ask a friend of yours to write a program like this for you? Hey, fifteen bucks is a pizza and some drinks at your favorite Italian restaurant, and your friend is gonna do you a huge favor if he spends months to write this application (and maintains it) for that price.
But hey, this program has only 104K!
You're right! It's only 104K! That's why it's worth more! There's this misconception of "bigger is better" or even "bigger is more expensive". Hey, it's harder to make a program compact and efficient. Many people resort to the irrational technique of additional more totally irrelevant functionality to their program just to make it bigger and therefore "worth more". What use is a half-hearted web browser in a music playback program? Or your personal TODO list in a program that is supposed to simply pass messages? I've struggled hard to keep useless stuff out of EboBar and program it in such a way as to waste as little resources as possible.
Yes, I have to admit I was very reluctant to go for the Shareware/Crippleware approach. It was my original intent to release EboBar as "Anythingware", which implied that if you liked the program, you had to send me anything, most preferably money (the amount being at your own discretion), but if you were too cheap to send money, you might at least send me an e-mail stating that you like the program so I got something for writing the game. My reckoning was that someone who usually doesn't pay Shareware will either look for a crack on a warez site or simply cease using the program.
After hearing from some other developers what their experiences with that kind of loose licensing were, I quickly reconsidered and chose the more traditional way. I'm not too happy about it, and I don't kid myself by denying that this program will find its way to crackerz sites in no time, but although I know this application won't make me rich, I would like to get at least some money off it (especially since I need a lot of money right now). Besides, it's for your own good: Profiting from the sales will increase my motivation to maintain EboBar. Yeah, you heard that one a thousand times, I know. But there's a lot of truth in that line.
Yup. And there's no time limit on that either. I don't punish people for not hesitating to purchase my product.