Development History - (versions 2.00 - 2.16a)

Version 2.16a - 23. March 2000

• Minor maintenance release only. The package was updated with the latest set of description plugins, the program includes some minor performance optimizations and a few details that will allow easier upgrades to version 3 when available.

Version 2.16 - 23. January 2000

• New description module was added to the package, with a set of seven new plugins handling graphics files (BMP, GIF, JPG, PCX, TIF, PNG, PSD). Some of the plugins also include extended details for exporting image information, such as digital camera support in JPG and TIF plugins, and IPTC-NAA record support in TIF and PSD plugins.
• The main description plugins module was also updated with a couple of new plugins (Word Perfect and Quattro Pro files).
• The Index.txt description plugin now better support Index.txt and similar files with tabs in it.
• Improved multi-language support and localized font handling.
• The "Ignore empty folders" was broken in the last version - fixed.
• Updated documentation due to some recent changes (new mailing address).
• Lost of minor internal optimizations, most of them resulting from findings while developing the new 3.0 version. Some of those got implemented in this release as well.

Version 2.15 - 2. November 1999

• The MP3 description plugin has now an option to allow play time calculation for variable bit rate (VBR) MP3 files. The default state is off. Use with caution, full processing of VBR files will have a very notable impact on scan performance.
• The new MS Office plugin introduced in previous version was occasionally leaving some open files behind. Fixed.
• Files compressed inside changed archive file usually did not keep their descriptions when disk image was updated in catalog. Fixed.
• Selecting the option to update folder from the main menu instead of the usual popup menu was causing an error message. Fixed.
• Occasionally disk numbers assigned to newly scanned disks would not be saved when saving the catalog. Fixed.
• Setting the printing orientation for reports did not always work for all users if it was different than the default printer setting. Fixed.
• There were a few reports about having problems with printing to network printers on Windows NT. While the problem could not be confirmed, this release includes some changes about handling printers that will hopefully resolve this issue.
• A few other minor updates and fixes.

Version 2.14 - 11. October 1999

• Added two new description plugins, handling MS Office documents (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Binder files) and Visio documents and templates. The updated plugin module is available as a standalone download, too.
• When launching a file type without associated program WhereIsIt will now show the "Open with..." dialog, just like Explorer. This allows you to associate file types on the fly for future usage as well.
• The Catalog Setup dialog is now made resizeable and will rememeber its size and position between sessions.
• If most recently used catalogs list was disabled, an error message may have occurred in certain cases when closing catalogs. Fixed.
• If a catalog was saved as both password protected and encrypted, there could be some problems with opening it later. Fixed.
• Other minor fixes and adjustments, such as adding a few new shortcuts to dialog items.

Version 2.13 - 25. September 1999

• Minor maintenance release.
• Files being moved on the same disk are now just renamed, resulting in faster operation and no additional disk space required.
• Improved support for password-protected ZIP files, program will now ask for a password if one is needed to extract compressed file(s).
• Added Ctrl-C shortcut to all item lists to copy the name of currently selected item (file, folder,...) to clipboard.
• Fixed two more serious problems with Copy and Move operations in file management support. Copying or moving folder to one of its sub-folders would result a recursive operation that would eventually crash the program. Also, files or folders that failed to be copied to target location during "Move To" operation may in some cases still be deleted at their source location. Fixed both problems.
• Searching for disks without location has also returned all files, even if the disk they were on had a location assigned. Fixed.
• The "Open in Explorer" command did not always work correctly when used on folders. Fixed.
• The date field in right top corner of generated reports has always used the default font setting. Fixed.
• Updating more than one disk in a script file was causing error messages in certain cases. Fixed.
• Opening and closing catalogs in script files used to affect the recently catalogs list in the program, usually resulting in removal of catalogs accessed through script files. From this release on, using script files no longer influences the recently used catalogs list.
• A few other small fixes and changes.

Version 2.12 - 3. September 1999

• Maintenance release, just polishing it a bit.
• Word wrap settings in internal viewer and Description Assistant will now be saved between sessions.
• The categories and flags popup windows in Properties dialog have on rare occasions popped up on incorrect location. Fixed.
• Fixed a printer problem in Report Generator. Trying to print a report from Report Preview window and changing selected printer there could result in an error message in certain cases.
• If trying to use the Open in Explorer command on a file that does not exist on the media any more, some (newer) versions of Explorer may take it badly and crash. This is a bit of a bug in the Explorer, situations like that are not that unusual and should be handled better. WhereIsIt will now check if selected file does indeed exists before handing it over to Explorer.
• "How to Order" Wizard was in certain cases skipping the page selecting how to receive the product (e-mail / regular mail). Fixed.
• Fixed some cosmetical issues and rare problems. Repainting of the default button in dialogs had some problems in very specific cases, many Win95 users had a black-only caption bar instead of gradient etc.

Version 2.11 - 11. August 1999

• Minor maintenance release.
• Added a right-click menu with "What's That?" option to all controls in the program that have help accessible, and don't have a popup menu on their own. To access help about specific control, just right-click it and select the "What's That?" from its popup menu.
• Made some changes to the Main Description Module. The CDDB plugin was adjusted recently to handle cases where descriptions for the last few songs were missing. New in the module is a TTF plugin, handling true type fonts and returning their name and type, copyright notice etc.
• Addressing drives with UNC syntax is now also supported in the "UpdateDisk" command in script language.
• In windows other than main window (search window, user list, etc.) the filename of currently selected item was not always displayed correctly in status bar. Cosmetical problem only, fixed.
• Program will now better handle situations where printers are being added or removed on the system while program is running.
• Addressed a few rare problems in Report Generator, only occurring when Report Generator is used for the first time after a fresh install.
• Various other minor fixes, fixed some typos in the help file etc.

Version 2.10 - 25. July 1999

• Added a bunch of new tips for the "Tip of the day" dialog.
• Changing system colors in runtime is now better handled, changes will properly reflect in the program.
• Coloring items in WhereIsIt will now be disabled when system is using a high contrast coloring scheme (accessibility feature).
• GZip support appeared to be broken in the last few releases. Fixed.
• Made some changes to the How to Order Wizard to handle the new DigiBuy online ordering service instead of old PsL. All language files were updated accordingly as well.
• Made some very minor and fixes adjustments in the program, that one problem I was still looking at was confirmed to be fixed in RC1 release already.

Version 2.10 RC1 - 14. July 1999

• The install/uninstall program has been slightly adjusted to fully comply with the official "Designed for Windows 98/NT Logo" requirements. Some additional details were also added to be used with upcoming Windows 2000.
• Completely rewrote all drag&drop support, which is now based on COM technology instead of internal implementation. Apart as serving as a base for future extensions, the new system also supports auto-scrolling target window, and allows to use Ctrl and Shift buttons for Move/Copy operations. For example, you can now copy or move disks between catalogs by using drag&drop in the main window.
• Added parameter support for external programs like external viewer, or external shell program. You can now use the %1, %2, etc. to combine selected item's file name or file path into command line for external program.
• Open in Explorer command will now also move focus in Explorer's window to the file selected to be opened in Explorer.
• Added "Alt+DoubleClick" shortcut to display item's Properties, just like in Explorer.
• Fixed the Runtime Error 216 sometimes occurring on the exit.
• Fixed a minor appearance problem in Options dialog, only visible with small fonts (96 dpi) screen setting.
• Used a few different approaches in an effort to address a rare reported problem with the Options dialog and missing icons in Settings menu.

Version 2.10 beta 3 - 5. July 1999

• Added additional network support for drives and servers with a share-level access. When browsing the network tree, program will now always try to connect to the selected server or network drive - this allows user to logon and connect to network resource in order to gain access to it. This will mostly be used to access network drives or servers that are password protected and user is not yet authorized to access them in current session.
• Optimized searching for UNC drives on the network. Every drive that was cataloged as UNC network drive will now store its UNC name in catalog as well; the next time the actual drive is needed this UNC path will be checked first, before trying to browse the entire network to find it. Since in most cases drive will likely still be available on the same UNC name, it will be located much faster. Program is now also able to ask user to connect to the requested network drive first, using appropriate password if necessary.
• Some other optimizations about handling the network were implemented, too.
• Fixed a few problems regarding searching by file types in Advanced Search.
• Fixed a few minor problems regarding program's settings when program is run for the first time after being newly installed.
• The CDDB plugin may have displayed track time seconds in one digit only if there were less that 10 of them. It will now always display seconds in two digits, forcing a zero first if necessary.
• The position of splitter bar in Description Assistant's window was not saved between session if window was maximized. Fixed.

Version 2.10 beta 2 - 21. June 1999

• The Next and Previous buttons in Description Assistant have now assigned keyboard shortcuts for easier browsing through items list without having to move focus out from description window.
• When moving selection one level up in the tree, either by double clicking the '..' entry or by using the Back One Level button, program will collapse currently selected branch in tree window. Data hidden by collapsing selected node is visible in the right window anyway, so this behavior should make browsing a bit easier.
• Made a few optimizations regarding browsing the net, it will respond faster in some cases.
• Search window did not allow itself to be resized below its original width. Fixed.
• Selecting the drive button in Add/Update dialog with ALT + drive letter shortcut caused an error in some computers where the new network button was available as well. Fixed.
• A few users have reported problems with Explorer when program is started for the first time - beta 2 includes some additional changes to hopefully avoid that.
• Addressed some other problem reports that were more difficult to confirm.

Version 2.10 beta 1 - 13. June 1999

• WhereIsIt now fully supports UNC addressing in network environment, no longer requesting for network drives to be connected to a local drive letter in order to be scanned - now you can scan a network drive by simply browsing the Network Neighborhood. Read more about the new UNC support in beta release notes, included with the program.
• The Settings dialog has been completely rewritten in this version. While there are no visible changes to the end user, internally this part of the program has been redesigned for better performance and resource saving, resulting as well in noticeably faster program startup and shutdown.
• The help support has been extended by adding in a searchable "How to..." section, giving tips on usage of most important and most frequently used parts of program. Recommended reading for all users to get the most out of the program.
• CDDB plugin was expanded to handle multiple and unreliable hits as well by asking the user to choose among possible returned results. Please note that this behavior can be disabled if program is not allowed to stop and wait for user feedback, for example during automated updates.
• The Insert media dialog will now while waiting for you to insert the required media show not only media name and type, but disk location as well, if one is provided in disk's properties.
• Improved multi language support, some critical sections in program's user interface where translated text often had trouble fitting can now better adjust themselves to translations.
• Sorting disks by date or categories did not always work correctly, fixed.
• *Many* other internal improvements, changes, optimizations,... while still preserving full compatibility with existing language files.

Version 2.03 - 13. May 1999

• Description Assistant now allows you to set categories, flags, and disk locations for current item as well, not only the description.
• Fine tuned the CDDB plugin, only confirmed Audio CDs are now checked with CDDB server to minimize false hits. MP3 plugin can now better handle unknown or damaged MP3 files with ID3v2 tags.
• Index.txt-stlye description plugin now has user definable list of text files that will be checked to be imported as folder indexes. Index.txt and similarly formatted files contain a list of "(file) (description)" entries to describe the contents of folder they are in.
• The "Check for update wizard" now allows you to download the new version of WhereIsIt from any available mirror site.
• The four list view mode buttons on the toolbar (large icons / small icons / icon list / details) are now combined in one single button with popup menu, similar as they are in Explorer. This allows to shrink the toolbars a little, especially the main one.
• Message boxes will now play appropriate system sounds when they are displayed, just as in other applications. Some have preferred it quiet, but it's better to comply with system standards and rather turn sounds off in system Control Panel.
• HTML documents created with program now include character set meta names based on currently selected language. Previous versions have always set this to iso-8859-1, the western alphabet, which was not best choice for some languages.
• Limiting search hits did not work in most cases. Fixed.
• If Search window was marked to stay on top of other windows, its popup dialogs would be displayed behind it as well. Fixed.
• A few other minor fixes or adjustments.

Version 2.02 - 2. May 1999

• The SampleModule.dll was slightly modified and recompiled in order to avoid false virus alert in the latest Norton AntiVirus update. Thank you, Symantec, very much.
• New CDDB description plugin! It can import information about Audio CD discs and their tracks (title, artist, disk/track length, comments,...) from CDDB servers on the Internet.
• Further improved updating target catalog after file operations like copy and move. All types of items are now handled correctly and will keep all their properties during such operations, including compressed archive files that will keep their contents information.
• Optimized a bit program's performance and resource handling, resulting in a few % faster startup time and lower resource consumption.
• Further improved the MP3 description module to handle some more unusual ID3v2 tag implementations.
• The file management menu was not updated properly when language was changed, it was retained in previous language. Fixed.
• Addressed some details about storing window's state and position between sessions, some users had reported problems with those.
• Fixed some other issues reported so far, not very commonly encountered, or just of cosmetic relevance.

Version 2.01 - 20. April 1999

• Improved MP3 support, added ID3v2.3 tags support in description plugins.
• Added additional navigation tools to large categories and flags lists in Properties dialog, to help you find a category or flag faster.
• When copying or moving files or folders and option is checked to update target location in catalog, program will now also transfer existing descriptions, as well as categories and flags settings if both source and target disk are in the same catalog.
• Addressed a possible printer problem under Windows NT.
• Fixed some problems with categories handling when there are more than 255 categories defined in a catalog.
• Addressed a rare problem with password protected catalogs.
• Cancel button in Properties dialog did not cancel all changes as it should, it was acting more like the OK button. Fixed.
• A few minor adjustments, mostly user interface related.

Version 2.00 - 31. March 1999

• WhereIsIt has a new home on the Internet! Visit "www.whereisit-soft.com".
• Reports will now always include a full list of assigned categories instead of "(multiple)" mark, otherwise displayed on screen lists.
• Enabled support for printing only specified range of pages in Report Generator.
• When updating selected folder only instead of whole disk, the new data for that folder was not always saved when saving the catalog unless there were some other changes in data of the same disk. Fixed.
• Fixed automatic catalog updates, sizes for nested folders were not updated properly in their parent folders.
• Made some adjustments to archive extracting function in order to detect and handle properly out of disk space situations.
• Addressed some auto-save related issues, preventing for auto-save to kick in while manual save is already in progress.
• Some other minor or rare problems have been addressed.

Version 2.00 Release Candidate 1 - 20. March 1999

• Release-candidate version, only bug fixes from now on.
• Catalog preview window in extended open dialog will now resize itself accordingly to current dialog size.
• Importing descriptions from list-based sources such as Descript.ion, Files.bbs, Index.txt,... files was broken in beta 5. Fixed.
• Transferring category and flags settings between catalogs when moving or copying disk from one catalog to another did not work correctly for categories and flags assigned to folders. Fixed.
• A few other minor changes.

Version 2.00 beta 5 - 14. March 1999

• Released an additional description module, for importing user-definable text files as descriptions. This feature was high in demand, but there are a lot of reservations about how much sense this can really have. The new plugin is not included in distribution package (it can be downloaded separately) and is not officially supported as part of WhereIsIt - use on your own responsibility.
• Extended Open Dialog with catalog preview has been optimized to be more responsive when working with large catalogs. Preview function should no longer interfere or cause delays while selecting catalogs to load, even with very large catalogs.
• Implemented some minor changes in Description API interface to enhance some plugin functions, especially with run-time setup support.
• Adjusted description import filter for MP3 files to handle new variable bitrate (VBR) MP3 files. Please note that file play time will not be calculated for VBR files due to performance reasons.
• Fixed some problems with removing data from catalog, error messages could occur in certain combinations of items selected to be removed.
• Extracting files from SFX archives did not always work correctly, except for RAR SFX and ACE SFX archives. Fixed.
• Text in combo box in Compare Results dialog was not initialized correctly.
• Lots of other small changes, improvements, and bug fixes.

Version 2.00 beta 4 - 5. March 1999

• Searching for duplicates is optimized and noticeably faster in many cases.
• Fixed a bug in Catalog Setup, where using "Copy from..." button to copy categories from another catalog didn't do its job correctly in some cases.
• Fixed a nasty bug in loading/saving search expressions, causing problems to some users. This version should be able to correctly load most of your saved expressions, but if you still have problems, write and save your expression again.
• Fixed a problem in Description Assistant. "Index out of bounds" message would appear when trying to edit description via Description Assistant for items located near the end of a long list (for example, a long list of files in the folder).
• Fixed a few similar problems in "Compare to Catalog" as well, sometimes occurring when calling up this function the second or later time.
• The "Compare to Catalog" function had some problems when scanning files on NTFS partitions under Windows NT, specifically with comparing files by date and time. Program has been adjusted accordingly.
• Included a workaround for some STB, Diamond and other S3-based video cards that were exhibiting problems with images.
• Adjusted a few details about handling multi-volume ACE and RAR archives.
• Adjusted description importing priorities on disk scan. It appears that in some cases new, just imported descriptions would replace the current ones in catalog, even if option was set to preserve existing descriptions.
• When running on Windows NT, "Move To..." and "Delete" functions deleted only files on source location, but did not remove folders. This problem did not exist on Windows 95/98.
• "Copy To..." and "Move To..." operations have sometimes failed to update target catalog, even if so instructed.
• Updated and fixed some issues about calling up the Search and Duplicates windows in different circumstances.
• Archive files were still showing extension in their file names even if this was set to disabled. Fixed.
• English language file was spell-checked and a few typos fixed.
• Some minor changes in help file and the rest of documentation, including the FAQ.TXT.
• As always, lots of other minor changes and adjustments to address other, not very common problems reported so far.

Version 2.00 beta 3 - 21. February 1999

• Added new support for ACE archive format. Both browsing and extracting functions are supported, including in ACE SFX archives.
• Support for browsing RAR archive files has been completely rewritten to avoid many problems with this archive type. Archives created with newer versions of RAR should be recognized correctly now, including all RAR SFX archives.
• Top bar in main window will now show parent disk info while browsing files and folders. More details about the disk are available in associated tool-tip, and you can click it for quick selection in catalog.
• Added a "Configure Plugin" button to plugin list in Add/Update Disk dialog.
• When processing a file operation on a list of items from different disks, program will now first handle all items that are available for access, and later ask to insert appropriate disks to handle the rest. Previous versions have always handled disks in alphabetical order.
• English help file is now completed and up to date for version 2.0.
• Optimized main window's painting during resize events, reducing flickering.
• Fixed a problem in Properties dialog - if changing categories, disks or flags with '...' button, item data in Properties dialog would be reseted to state when dialog was shown.
• Fixed a few problems related to duplicates searching and "Index out of bounds" error messages in Search dialog.
• Fixed a problem with searching for categories or flags. Some items in subfolders that were loaded as a result of search hit were missing their data about categories, disk locations, or flags. This could have some side effects in other parts of program, too.
• Setting to search for files inside compressed archives was acting just reversed of what it should be.
• Some items in Search dialog were not available for translation.
• Fixed sorting files by disk numbers.
• Some other minor fixes.

Version 2.00 beta 2 - 13. February 1999

• Multi-language support is now enabled, and translations can begin. Only English language file is currently prepared for version 2.0.
• Added a new option to hide file extensions in file names if extension column is also visible in list view. Some may not care much about having extensions displayed twice in both Name and Ext columns.
• The dialog asking to save modified catalog(s) will now show a check box to apply the same answer to all other modified catalogs as well.
• Modified a bit how searching by descriptions is performed. It should return less "false" hits due to spaces inside target text while retaining its flexibility.
• Modified the items sorting in report generator, which will now display disks in the same order as they are in the main window, and file and folders in the same order as they are on source list. Previous versions have always sorted all items alphabetically.
• Exporting descriptions has been extended with an option to add just created or updated description files in catalog.
• The algorithm to find first free disk number was changed to return first free number after the biggest one used so far in current catalog. This should help if counting disks in catalog does not start with number 1.
• It is now possible to search for items without assigned category, flag, or disk location.
• Outlook bar in Program Settings dialog is now able to adjust its width according to text used for items inside - this will ensure that item text will not be stripped, and make translations easier.
• Sound file to play after long operations is now user definable.
• Help file has been updated, but is not yet completed. Most of major dialogs are now covered with correct context sensitive help, but there is still some work left to be done.
• Fixed a problem with removing archive file contents. In most cases, this operation has caused an error message in beta 1.
• Fixed importing descriptions from archive files where option was set to only import descriptions, but not archive file contents. Description was attached to parent folder instead of archive file.
• Fixed some search expressions related problems.
• Fixed the problem with searching inside archive files - the new search engine did not handle this setting correctly, it was almost always regarded as being turned off.
• Fixed and improved some details in report generator. Duplex printing should now be OK, and it is possible to print range of pages (but only if printing from print preview).
• Fixed some minor details in exporting descriptions to HTML format.
• Fixed the option to disable showing disks in catalog when catalog is loaded, disks were always expanded.
• Many other small fixes, adjustments and improvements.

Version 2.00 beta 1 - 31. January 1999

• Completely rewritten search user interface and large part of search engine. The new user interface design is divided in two modes - Quick Search, and Advanced Search. Quick Search is capable of quickly finding items based on their names and/or descriptions, including searching by file masks, text included in item's name or description, file types etc. Advanced Search mode offers a complete search expression editor, allowing you to write, load, and save your own search expressions using full set of logical operators, and full set of WhereIsIt's search conditions, such as searching by name, description, size, date, time, attributes categories, flags, disk locations etc.
• New Description API programming interface allows WhereIsIt to be extended with third-party description plugins, importing descriptions from other, currently not supported description sources. All existing description filters were rewritten according to Description API specification, and extended with some new filters (importing HTML titles as descriptions, for example). The pre-release version of Description API in Windows Help format, as well as a sample description plugin are included with the program for all interested in writing their own description plugins.
• Program now uses new and enhanced catalog file format, capable of storing new features implemented in this release, and providing space to implement some new ones in next releases. Your existing catalog files will get automatically converted to the new format first time they are saved - you will also notice that new catalog format produces noticeably smaller files.
• Added catalog protection. Each catalog can now have assigned read-only and full access passwords, and catalog file itself can be stored encrypted for additional security.
• Extended categories, flags, and added new disk locations. There can now be up to 4095 categories per catalog, and up to 255 user-defined flags or disk storage locations. Categories can be organized in a tree structure, allowing some categories to act as subcategories (up to 16 levels). Disks are now also allowed to have categories assigned.
• Add/Update Disk dialog has been renewed, to comply with Description API settings, as well as to improve some features and interface appearance. New feature is a Folder Limitations button, where you can visually select virtual root folder, as well as check/uncheck each folder on selected disk if it is to be included in disk scan or not. There is also a new checkbox available, allowing for Add/Update dialog to be redisplayed after scanning completes - useful when adding multiple disks to catalog.
• A new tab in program's settings handles items to be skipped during disk scan. Apart from hidden files and folders you can now also choose to skip zero-sized files or empty folders, Recycle Bin folder, and provide list of file masks for files to ignore (for example "*.tmp, *.bak).
• Due to popular requests, program now allows removal of selected files or folders from catalog. In addition, you can now also remove the contents of compressed archive files, if no longer interested in files inside.
• In addition to "Copy To" command, program now also supports "Move To" and "Delete" commands to allow complete file management. Additional features are optional deleting to Recycle Bin, or automatic updating of catalogued data if destination disk is found in loaded catalogs.
• Items in all lists can now be syntax-colored, according to their type, category, flags, or disk locations. All colors, file types etc. are user- adjustable, stored either globally (file types) or inside each catalog file.
• File lists and the main tree window now support optional explorers one-click interface, with item underlining and click-less item selection.
• Internal ASCII viewer has been improved with new HEX mode for binary files, auto-detection of ascii/binary files, added is toolbar and a button to call up Quick View (Plus), if installed.
• There are two new wizard dialogs available. The "How to Order Wizard" will advise and help you choose the most suitable way how to send in registration fee, and will either connect you with online ordering site, or print the already filled registration form based on your decision. The other wizard can check on the Internet if there is a newer version of WhereIsIt available for download.
• ANSI/OEM conversion of imported descriptions is now optional.
• You can optionally set the program to play a default system sound (a "ping" of some kind, usually) after a long (>10 sec) operation completes. This can bring back your attention when a complex search or disk update operation completes.
• Sorting algorithm used in program has been rewritten. While it still supports stable sorting, it is noticeably faster especially on large lists. It does require some additional working memory though - WhereIsIt will try to detect if memory is very low, and use the old algorithm instead in this case.
• The dialog for selecting folders has been completely rewritten, and it now supports some enhanced features used in different places in program (it is now able to detect changes in folder tree and update it automatically, display checkbox with folders, display drive or folder as virtual root...)
• Description exporting has been enhanced with HTML description format. Similar to Files.bbs and Index.txt files, a HTML file is stored on original media in each folder, containing file descriptions in HTML format.
• The Program Settings dialog is now better organized, with new setting groups available on the left side. Since more tabs are now available, settings have been re-arranged in a way that allows more space on form for translations. There are too many new settings available to be listed here, only some of them will be mentioned.
• Added is a new option in program settings, specifying if folders are allowed to have extensions. If you are using long file names with periods for your folders, disabling folder extensions might be a good idea.
• Catalog auto loading feature can now be set to load all opened catalog from the previous session when WhereIsIt starts.
• The "Locate in Catalog" function was added to action list for mouse double- click. You can select it in program's settings.
• The toolbar in main window provides some new features, such as extended buttons with pull-down menus (for example, the "Open" button has attached a pull-down menu with recently opened catalog files for quick access).
• The Insert Media dialog is now able to auto-detect when the required media has been inserted in drive, and continue with operation without waiting for user to press the OK button. Auto insert notification must be enabled in Windows for drive in question for this feature to work.
• The Search dialog is not yet replaced with a new version, but there are a few enhancements already available. Some of edit boxes in are now equipped with a history list, storing old search queries to be re-used if required. Searching by description supports a new feature - searching for items that sound alike, using the soundex algorithm. The Help and Stay On Top buttons have been moved to window's caption.
• A new Properties dialog is now available for cases when more than one item is selected. The new dialog will show common properties for a group of selected items, as well as allow you to change description, categories, flags, or disk locations for all selected items at once. The Properties dialog for single items has also been added some new features, like setting the same categories and flags to all available sub items.
• The work on new Report Generator is not completed yet, however some new features are available. Most notable are new, more friendly dialog layout, new HTML and RTF report exporting functions, new internal reporting engine, changes in Report Settings dialog for easier access etc. Report Generator will now allow to word wrap single-line descriptions, if space on page is critical. This way, description column will take less space, but multi-line descriptions will not be word wrapped to preserve text formatting.
• Language support has been improved with some new language settings, like right-to-left reading. Support for languages using DBCS is planned for the final release. The use of language files can also be disabled in version 2.0, allowing the program to run faster if only using internal English language.
• Version 2.0 is now much more DBCS-friendly, and Far-East users should be able to use the program with their own language with much better results.
• The Compare Results window is no longer modal - user can now switch to other windows without loosing compare results data. Some heavy adjustments all around the program were needed to support this feature.
• New script language has been added to WhereIsIt, mostly for automated catalog management (loading, updating, saving,...) Network administrators should now be able to schedule unattended catalog updates. The script language itself is only basic for now and will likely be extended in the feature.
• The "Open Catalog" dialog was enhanced and is now capable of showing some catalog's properties without having to open the catalog in program. Some of available details are the catalog-tree preview, catalog description, a few details about stored disks, catalog's owner and protection state etc.
• Improved mouse wheel support.
• WhereIsIt now uses a new registration system - instead of typing four lines of user data, each registered user now gets a personal key file to register the program and unlock all capabilities. The new system allows me to implement some additional features, and is easier to use for end users.
• MANY other improvements and changes were made in WhereIsIt 2.0 (I have to admit I lost track for some of them myself). Some more are still planned before the final 2.0 release will be completed. At a rough estimate, about 80% of code was modified or rewritten since the 1.2x release.