I’m happy to release the Beta version of WhizFolders Search Filter. If you install this filter, you will be able to search for text in WhizFolder documents from Windows Desktop Search (WDS). Note that WDS needs to be installed on Windows XP but comes built-in with Windows Vista.
Download the Filter: Please CLICK HERE to download the installer for WhizFolders Search Filter and run it to install. It installs in the same folder where your WhizFolders product is installed. Also, if you want to uninstall the filter without disturbing your WhizFolders product, you can do that with the Control Panel’s add/remove programs.
I have tested this filter on WDS 3.01 on Windows XP and WDS 4 on Windows Vista. If you see any problems, please write to us. You can always uninstall the filter by using the Control Panel’s add/remove programs.
A few things to note on the filter operation:
Well, after my last post on the WhizFolders desktop search filter, I discovered a bug. The filter worked properly for “searching in the file contents” in non-indexed locations on Windows Vista. But it failed to work in indexed locations. This was unacceptable.
I have been researching this bug for last few days. Finally, after much research, I have fixed it. It turns out that the filter will need to use a temporary folder on Vista that you will set up during its installation.
I know many of you are waiting for the next Alpha release of WhizFolders. But I’m determined to release this filter first. I guess, it will need a few more rounds of testing. If all goes well, I will release it tomorrow. Thank you for your patience.
Whew! Making that search filter turned out to be quite complex. The good news is that it is finally working in all our tests. I am going to formally release it for beta testing on Monday, 1st June.
To summarize, when you install this filter, Windows Desktop Search will be able to include the text (title, content and keywords) from your WhizFolder documents in its search index.
I will make another announcement here when this filter is actually released for beta testing in our user support area.
The Alpha release of WhizFolders Deluxe (in testing) seems to be quite stable. No bugs have been reported so far. Meanwhile, I have been busy researching and prioritizing the list of new features that can be added to the Alpha without changing the file format of the WhizFolders file. Starting from next week, you will see a rapid progress in Alpha development. I hope to start the week with the release of Windows Search integration so that you can search for text within WhizFolder documents from Windows Search. Many users have asked for it, and this is the first thing to finish on my priority list. After that, a new Alpha will be released for both the Deluxe and Pro editions. Please watch this blog.
Have a nice weekend!
Another new feature in WhizFolders Deluxe 6.2.4 (under Alpha testing) is the keywords panel below the topic viewer that shows the keyword tags assigned to a topic. Here is a picture:
As soon as you click on the bottom tab “Keywords for above topic,” a panel opens that shows the keywords assigned to the topic shown in the viewer. You can even pin this by the Pin icon as I have done in this picture. Then the panel stays that way and goes on showing keywords assigned to each topic that you view in the viewer.
In case you haven’t noticed, a new version of WhizFolders Deluxe edition is in Alpha testing where we are continuously adding great new features. This version is available from our self-service area for paid customers, support.whizfolders.com.
We just released Alpha 6.2.4 that completely revamps the hoisting feature. Now you can hoist any level. Hoisting means, you want to concentrate on a particular tree of notes and don’t want other topics to be visible to distract you. Here is an example, the following list of topics shows a list before hoisting.
Suppose, I want to concentrate on the topics underneath “The power of hyperlinks” to develop that outline further. So I select that topic and click on the menu “View–Hoist all child topics.” As soon as I do that, all other topics go away and I only see the topics that I want to work with. Here is a picture after hoisting.
This list exactly works like the full list. I can add more topics, move them around, print them, and so on. Even if I close this document, it remembers its hoisted status. When I finish working on this hoisted list, I can go back to the full list by the menu “View–Unhide All (unhoist).”
If you use WhizFolders for outlining and haven’t used hoisting, try it out. It makes the outlining process much more powerful.
I’m happy to announce the Alpha release of version 6.2 of the Deluxe Edition. An Alpha release means, new features are still being added with each release. If you are a paid user of the Deluxe edition, you can participate in the Alpha testing by a login at our self-service web site support.whizfolders.com. You will be able to download the Alpha update and begin to enjoy the new features. Now is the time to remind me about a feature you suggested but still don’t see it in WhizFolders.
Here are the Release Notes for WhizFolders Deluxe 6.2 (Alpha).
The Pro edition 6.2 won’t be updated during the Alpha testing. Once the Alpha release finishes, the Beta testing will start. The Pro edition 6.2 will be released during this time for beta testing.
I’m happy to announce that more dictionaries for the spelling-checker can be downloaded from the paid user support area. There are many new language dictionaries in there and also some technical, medical and autocorrect dictionaries as well. Complete instructions are given in the user support area on how to download and install a new dictionary file.
Once you obtain a new .ADM (main language dictionary) or .ADU (user dictionary) file, you will need to use an Addons Utility called “Install Dictionary.” You will find this in the WhizFolders Addons installer available separately in the same paid user support area.
Looking at the pictures in the custom dictionary article, you might be wondering where I got the files “technical.adm” and “autocorrect-british.adu” from. These downloads will soon be available from the paid user support area. I am preparing a section there that will contain not only these files but many more along with the steps for installing them in WhizFolders.
SpellUtils utility is meant for advanced users of WhizFolders Spelling Checker. It is part of WhizFolders Addons that is available in the paid user support area. When you install WhizFolders Addons, you will see this utility on the Windows Start Menu group, WhizFolders Addons.
SpellUtils allows you to import word lists from text files to your custom dictionaries (adu files). The custom dictionaries are used in WhizFolders Spelling Checker to ignore or auto correct your own words which would normally cause a spelling error.
If you don’t know what a custom dictionary is, please read the article “All about custom dictionary files for the Spelling Checker.”
If you know what a custom dictionary is, how it is used in WhizFolders and how you can edit it to change the Ignore, Auto Correct and Exclude lists, you will appreciate this utility better. When you use the Edit button to directly edit these lists, you can only add one word or word pair at a time in the above lists. But suppose, you are already using another spelling checker with some other word processor. You have already added hundreds of words and auto correct word pairs in that tool, how can you transfer those lists to the custom dictionaries in WhizFolders spelling checker? That’s where this utility is useful.
SpellUtils has easy buttons to import the Ignore, Auto Correct and Exclude lists from plain text files. The only requirement is that for Ignore and Exclude lists, each word should be on one line. In case of Auto Correct lists, the word and its replacement should be separated by a tab character on the same line. Note that this utility and WhizFolders spelling checker can only use non-unicode text files. So if you have unicode text files, you may need to edit them to remove words that can’t be saved in a normal text file and then save that file as normal text file before using it in this utility.
When you start SpellUtils, it is automatically able to find the path where WhizFolders custom dictionaries are installed whether it is Windows XP or Vista. Then you can browse and select an existing dictionary (.adu) to work with or you can create a new adu file. Once you do that, SpellUtils allows you to import the above lists in the selected custom dictionary ADU file.
Similarly, to transfer your word lists from WhizFolders Spelling Checker to other spelling checkers, you can use the Export buttons of the utility.
