Blog: WhizFolders, Articles and tips

We have worked hard to release the new trial edition of version 6.1. For the same reason, we could not update this Blog regularly. Now that the trial is out, we can work on new features and demos to help the users.

In the past, we have had problems with the trial where it used to expire if the user changed the system date or clock for any reason. Then, it was a problem to issue an extension and so forth. In the new Trial Edition, there is a built-in extension feature to deal with these problems even on the newer Windows Vista systems.

Here are some tips on using the trial edition effectively:

1. Trial period: The trial period runs for 15 days. When it expires, you can probably get one extension. The Deluxe Edition features are not included in the trial but we are adding flash demos to show them in the demos section of whizfolders.com. If you were using an old version 5.6.3 or 6.0 trial, note that this trial edition gives you a fresh 15 days trial period.
2. Purchasing: If you decide to purchase WhizFolders, please always do that from the Buy Now button that you see in the first trial screen. This gives us a chance to show you any promotional offers or give credit to the web site or affiliate who introduced you to WhizFolders.
3. The Tutorial: When you start the trial for the first time, a tutorial document comes up with some helpful hints. Both are important. You can start the hints or tutorials again from the help menu any time. Please go through the tutorial thoroughly as it demonstrates many features. If something is not clear, please take a look at the demos and this blog and finally the help file.
4. The flash demo movies: You should also go through the demos on whizfolders.com web site. Start with the introductory demos and then work your way through the more advanced ones.
5. This Blog: You will also find many useful articles on this blog. You can search the blog by using the search box on the right.

   If you still have some question unanswered, please feel free to write to us by email. We usually reply within a business day.

These things do happen, and that’s why we have an all automated web site just for this purpose at support.whizfolders.com. Please login there with your contact email address that is on our file, and you should be able to get the latest installer download along with the license codes. This facility is free of charge for a year after your original purchase. After that the facility is renewed once you buy an upgrade. (For purchases earlier than Jan 22, 2010, the free upgrade period is 2 years)

This takes care of installing WhizFolders. What about your documents? You should have kept a backup copy of all your .wzfolder files by using simple copy from Windows Explorer. WhizFolders also includes a simple backup feature that allows you to copy a document to a safe location from time to time. Whatever method you choose, you are alone responsible for keeping a safe copy of your documents.

When you reinstall WhizFolders on a new machine, put your documents in a documents folder of your choice using Windows Explorer so that you remember where you have them. Then, just double-click on a document name to open it in WhizFolders and it appears in the main window list. Do that for all your documents. Or, add them all at once by the right-click menu operation “Add an existing document to List…” You are all set to go. Don’t forget to continue keeping a backup copy of the documents in case it happens again. We can help if you lost WhizFolders but we can’t help you get back your documents.

It is a “reusable” download (you can buy a CD too by paying extra). The installer exe file that you download can be used again to install the product on any other computer. It is better to “save” the paid version installer exe file to a safe location (or burn it to a CD) so that you can use it again.

What if you lost the download? If you lose the program or key information, we have a special web site, support.whizfolders.com, where you can login and get the download and the key again. This facility is free for a year after your purchase. Some people also call this an upgrade-protection or maintenance. If any updates or upgrades are released within the next year after your purchase, you get them for free by using the same procedure. (For purchases earlier than Jan 22, 2010, the free upgrade period is 2 years)

However, if your upgrade period has expired, the web site asks you to renew your upgrade subscription by paying an upgrade fee. A special link to an upgrade order form is provided.

By using the same web site, the Pro version users can also upgrade to the Deluxe version at a special price.

Question: I use Whizfolders and love it. My problem is that I can have it either at home or at work. My home computer is a desktop and the work computer is a laptop. At the moment my Whizfolders is on my home computer and I have an evaluation copy on my laptop. It is invaluable and as a teacher, I do most of the work at home but need to access all the ideas and plans at work. Is there a way to do this or do I have to purchase another copy? If I do this, how can I share the folders between both computers or copy them across?

As for your first question, no, you don’t need to purchase a second copy. You can use your license on the laptop too as long as you are the only user using it on both machines. Just download a paid version installer from the special web site support.whizfolders.com and use it on the laptop to install.

Your second question: You can copy your .wzfolder document files to the laptop to use them at work. But, you will have to remember to update a file from one computer to another when you make changes. There is no automated syncing available for that.

If you do not understand where the document files are and how to copy them, please see the sections, Document Locations and Managing Documents to understand them better.

Sharing the documents over LAN or through USB, Flash drives: You may also decide to keep the documents always on the laptop and use them over the LAN from your desktop. If you do that, remember that LAN writes are not very reliable in Windows and there might be a data loss at times if the data is not flushed out properly. Same thing is true when you use flash or USB drives. In both these cases, you must take regular backups of your documents.

Use the new Backup feature: In any case, it would be a good idea to use the backup feature in the new WhizFolders to keep a regular backup copy of your documents, both at work and at home. It allows you to even keep multiple copies of a document, separate for each day.

Question: What extra features do I get in the paid version?

This depends on what Trial version you are using. Please look at the description in the trial reminder that comes up when you start the program. In addition, look at the New Features articles under News section on the right of this Blog.

Please see this discussion in http://whizfolders.com/doubts.aspx.

No, you just need to buy one license as long as you are the only user. Generally, this is acceptable for upto three different computers. But if there are more, please buy another copy.

Also, if someone else also uses WhizFolders besides you on either of the machines, then you need to buy another license for that person.

You don’t need to uninstall the trial version before installing the paid version.

No, your whizfolder documents won’t be deleted with uninstall. It is very important to understand that WhizFolders does not keep your documents but they are separate .wzfolder files in your file system. The main window of WhizFolders merely lists them and the list can be modified by the right-click menu. In the new version, WhizFolders also lists the location of the file. In the old version, you can see the location when you pass the mouse pointer over the document name. You also see it at the top in a blue label when you open the document.

If you have been creating your documents in My Documents, remember that you risk losing them on a Windows reinstall or if you accidentally delete that user. A proper back up of your documents and settings should be done regularly to avoid such mishaps.

It is always better to create your documents in a known folder that you back up regularly by simple copying.

If you are a paid version user and want to reinstall WhizFolders for any reason, please go to a special web site support.whizfolders.com.

There, you need to login with your email address. After login, you can get an email giving you the download location of the latest installer. The login email address is the one on which you purchased WhizFolders. You can also write to us to change this email address if necessary.