Got an email about the new beta version of iSiloX/XC yesterday...seems that scheduling is now an option for each channel created, and works in conjunction with Windows scheduler!

Am buried coming off vacation, so haven't had a chance to play with this new feature. Anyone else want to give it a whirl and let us know how effective it is?

Ahhh a new beta, how nice :)

Get it from here: http://www.isilox.com/info/beta/index.htm

iSiloX 3.35b1 addresses the following issues:

- Source HTML files that use only LF (0x0A) as line breaks may result in an extraneous '>' at the end of the content.

- Font size set with <basefont> would not be held in content at the same level.

- When removing single line breaks, the words adjoining the line break would become abutted.

- Links within a page whose source URL does not have a path component may not work.

iSiloX 3.35b1 adds the following features:

- iSiloX Clipper for Internet Explorer 5.0 or later. The iSiloX setup by default installs the iSiloX Clipper application to Internet Explorer, adding an icon to Internet Explorer's toolbar. iSiloX Clipper allows easy conversion of content as the user browses within Internet Explorer. The user can either select part of a page to convert or convert the entire page. In both cases, all applicable options normally available within iSiloX are also available, as well as the ability to follow links.

- Added support for automatic scheduling of iSiloX using Windows Task Scheduler to perform scheduled conversions for document lists with entries having scheduled conversions set.

- Added support for automatic scheduled conversions within iSiloX when a document list is open and one or more entries have a scheduled conversion that is due.

- Added Scheduling property page to the Properties dialog for specifying conversion schedules for documents. Each individual document can have one or more schedules for conversion. Schedules can be of the following types:

Once: A Once schedule is a scheduled conversion that occurs once at a specified date and time.

Daily: A Daily schedule is a scheduled conversion that occurs at a specified time of the day either once every specified number of days or on one or more chosen days of the week every week. A Daily schedule can also have an effective start and/or end date and time.

Weekly: A Weekly schedule is a scheduled conversion that occurs at a specified time of the day on a specified day of the week either once every specified number of weeks or on one or more chosen weeks of the month every month. A Weekly schedule can also have an effective start and/or end date and time.

Monthly: A Monthly schedule is a scheduled conversion that occurs at a specified time of the day on a specified day of the month either once every specified number of months or on one or more chosen months of the year every year. A Monthly schedule can also have an effective start and/or end date and time.

Always: A document with an Always schedule is converted whenever a scheduled conversion occurs such that at least one document entry in the list has a due next conversion time. An Always schedule can also have an effective start and/or end date and time.

- Added options for removing horizontal padding to the Margins property page of the Properties dialog. The available padding options are:
Keep all left and right padding
Ignore all left and right padding
Ignore only left and right padding specified on body
Ignore only left and right padding specified on body, division, and paragraph blocks

- Added command line option -s for starting a scheduled conversion.

- Added command line sub-options p, s, and e for the -H option to selectively hide the progress dialog, successful conversion message, and error conversion message, respectively.

- For the source and destination properties, the Delete key can be used to delete items.


WOW!! How's that for just another new beta :D

I downloaded it, because I wanted immediately to test the scheduling component. It works fine and takes away what was for me the chief advantage of HandStory. I haven't yet tested the simplification of setting up sites for iSilo, but will report back as soon as I do. PDR

I just converted a map from Mapquest using the iSilo add-in to Internet Explorer. It works just as well and efficiently as does the HandStory add-in. Because I have been using HandStory as a web clipper only and because iSilo now does what HandStory does, I don't see a reason to use both. Or am I missing something? PDR

I scheduled conversions yesterday and they worked. Today I had a number scheduled, and not one of them worked. I have no idea what is going on. Alexander, what do I do other than follow the screen options? Must something be turned on that is not turned on? Thanks for any guidance. PDR

You don't have to answer my last post. I see that for this scheduler to work, either iSilo must be open or I must use Windows Task Scheduler. PDR

Alexander, how do you set the converter up to work with Windows Task Scheduler? I cannot get it to work. PDR

You will be surprised at how remarkably easy it actually is... I know I am! If you right-click and pull up the properties, you'll see a new "scheduling" tab. It's pretty self-explanatory (or at least I think it is).

Test it out this way:

Open your .ixl (iSiloX file)
Click on whatever link you want to test for scheduling
Right-click to bring up the menu
Click on 'properties'
Click on the 'scheduling' tab
Click 'add new schedule'
Click 'once'
and then set it up for a few minutes later
Click 'ok' and close both dialogue boxes to get back to your iSiloX file.

At this point it doesn't matter if you have it open or closed. The thing to remember, I saw, was that there's actually 30 seconds to a minute padded in there. If you keep your ixl open, you'll see a dialogue box pop-up with a countdown screen. This enables you to actually cancel the download if you want. Clever, eh?

Goodbye multiple iSiloX files! Hullo new version!


Has anyone tried the clipper? I wish they would make it work for Netscape/Mozilla! Interesting note: you can't set scheduling for the clip service. It's not a preference....

Sunshine, I am not a techie, but I quickly understood how to do scheduling. My understanding, however, is different from yours. Have you read the new specs? They state that the scheduling will work IF ISILO (the program) IS OPEN. Otherwise it must work through the Windows Task Scheduler. And that's where I am having trouble. I cannot get the scheduler to work with iSilo closed. Any tips?

I just used the clipper to clip a map and a cartoon: it works every bit as well as HandStory's.

Cheers, PDR

Maybe there should be an option included to minimize iSiloX to the tasktray or to load a helper app (like HandStory does) that sits in the tasktray. This way the iSiloX scheduler would always work...

Pretty much what I have done. I open it, and then minimize it. PDR

Radleyp: Just curious do you have iSiloXC installed?

And no, I don't know how to read, which is why it works for me and not for you. ;)



Alex: Yea, I know what you mean. It won't let you do anything else with your open browser page while you're clipping. That kinda stinks.

No, I don't have iSiloXC installed, and perhaps that's why it doesn't work for me. BTW, I assumed that you did know how to read, which is why I asked the question. PDR

Originally posted by radleyp
Have you read the new specs? They state that the scheduling will work IF ISILO (the program) IS OPEN. Otherwise it must work through the Windows Task Scheduler. And that's where I am having trouble. I cannot get the scheduler to work with iSilo closed. Any tips?
What new specs are you referring to? Where does it state that scheduling only works if iSiloX is open?

Scheduling works in both cases, whether you have the conversion list open in iSiloX or not and whether or not iSiloX is running or not.

Basically this is the way it works:

1. If you have the conversion list open in iSiloX, then scheduled conversions occur directly there. The Windows Task Scheduler is not involved in this case.
2. When you close a conversion list (e.g., no longer have it open in iSiloX), iSiloX automatically schedules itself with Windows Task Scheduler so that it is called to perform a scheduled conversion on the list at the appropriate time. If you are using Windows XP or Windows 2000, then your account must also have a password and you must specify your password within iSiloX using the Scheduled Conversion Account dialog through the Document menu.

Sunshine, look at Alexander's description, in his first post here, a description that is taken from the site where you can download the beta

" Added support for automatic scheduling of iSiloX using Windows Task Scheduler to perform scheduled conversions for document lists with entries having scheduled conversions set.

- Added support for automatic scheduled conversions within iSiloX when a document list is open and one or more entries have a scheduled conversion that is due."

You have iSiloXC installed from what I understand, which I think also means that you have already configured the Windows Task Scheduler. I have not done that, and I suspect that that is why it does not work. Then again it's quite probable that a non-computer person like me has either misunderstood or made a mistake somewhere.

Cheers, PDR

radleyp, I havent installed the new beta myself yet (still too busy finishing this new board here).

It seems from iSilo's last post, however, that the new iSiloX beta automatically configures the Windows Task Scheduler when you close a conversion list.

That is not happening. I did install iSiloXC and manually configured the Windows Task Scheduler, pursuant to the excellent instructions of Sunshine, and got it to work: so now I can convert a whole list at one time. But if I want to schedule different files at different times, I don't see how to do it. You have to set a time in Windows Task Scheduler: does that mean that each individual file must be scheduled in Windows? PDR

Originally posted by radleyp
I just used the clipper to clip a map and a cartoon: it works every bit as well as HandStory's.

If this is true, then it might be the answer to one of my problems.

I've downloaded a huge number of walking maps of England using HandStory. They work very well, but the problems come when you have to update the list of image files on the MS - it can take 15-20 minutes, and if you forget to turn off the backlight first you use a lot of battery life. I'd like to be able to swap memory sticks, but don't do it because of the time it would take to update the HandStory file lists every time.

Hopefully, this won't be a problem with the new iSiloX. I'll download it and give it a try.

Incidentally, I've always been cautious about using beta versions. Has anyone run into any problems with this one, or does it seem completely safe so far?

iSilo/X Betas are known (at least from my experience) to be very stable. Usually, the developer adds all new features of the upcoming final to the first Beta, and then waits for user comments and error reporting. Those are then fixed in the Final Release.

BasilC, don't forget that you can mount the memory stick on your desktop, and then simply drag the iSilo converted files into your PDA. I couldn't do this with HandStory, because when I went to find the files, which should have been in the installer, they would not appear. I have had no problems with the beta - of course, I have been using it for just 24 hours. PDR

I've installed the new beta and given it a whirl with a map. The image quality and file size are pretty much identical to HandStory, but the functionality is less good (unless I'm missing a trick or two):

a) In HS, you can right click within an image on a webpage to convert the image. In iSilo I had to save the image as a file on my computer, then drag the file from Windows Explorer into the iSilo window - more complicated.

b) In HS, you can crop the image and choose different zoom levels. Can you do the same in iSilo?

c) When you view the map in HS, it fills the entire screen and you can easily move backwards and forwards through your list of image files by using the arrows on the screen.

So, for the time being iSilo gets a thumbs down for clipping images, compared to HS.

Originally posted by radleyp
BasilC, don't forget that you can mount the memory stick on your desktop, and then simply drag the iSilo converted files into your PDA. I couldn't do this with HandStory, because when I went to find the files, which should have been in the installer, they would not appear.

I don't understand why this happens with you. My HS files go into the Install folder and I use MS Import to move them to the MS. The problem for me arises when I first want to view those files, it takes too long to update the file list (I think that this might be a T615/625 problem - I understand that the MS works much faster with the T665/675 and presumably the faster processor helps too)

Basil, I don't understand why you are having this problem. I don't think you realize that there is a webclipper icon in iSilo. All I do is find the image, click on the Tools menu, open up the iSilo web clipper and install. It's just as simple as HandStory.

Haven't tried zooming, but I don't think it's possible in iSilo.

As for your flipping through images, if there is one thing that annoys me in HS, it is the lousy scrolling. Images bigger than the screen cannot be accessed as they can in iSilo which allows for horizontal and vertical scrolling. In HS, you have to install a series of images. BTW, the map I installed in iSilo also fills the entire screen.

Nor did I spend any more wait time for files to open in iSilo than I did in HS - both took some time.

I really see no marked advantage to anything in HS.

Cheers, PDR

radleyp: I'm not sure what you're doing wrong in terms of the new scheduler, though I suspect that you may be thinking too hard about it...or thinking it's harder than it actually is. ;)

The developer has made it *extremely* easy to use. There's no more messing around with Windows Scheduler at all. You just work within iSiloX in the manner that I described.

Note that you can now set individual links with scheduling times, and you don't need to have the file open. It will auto-launch. I just picked through my two ixl files and set up individul scheduling times and it's working really well.

Feel free to PM me if you want and we can work through it. Glad to see that you got the Windows Scheduler working. That was actually much harder! :)

Originally posted by sUnShInE
Feel free to PM me if you want and we can work through it. Glad to see that you got the Windows Scheduler working. That was actually much harder! :)

Yeah - but please don't forget if you find a solution to radleyp's problem to post it here as well :)

Sunshine, thanks for your help. It is, after all, by following your excellent instructions, that I got Windows Scheduler to work. I don't know why the converter is not working with iSilo closed, but it's not. I am using Windows 98. Does it have anything to do with that? I have this need to get it working, even though it does not bother me to keep iSilo open. Cheers, PDR

iSiloX scheduling also works with Windows 98.

To verify that iSiloX creates a scheduled task with Windows Task Scheduler under Windows 98, do the following:

1. In iSiloX, set up a schedule for one of the entries in your conversion list. As a test schedule, set up an Hourly schedule that is three minutes from the current minute. So for example, if the current time is 9:15, set the minutes after the hour to 18 so that you have a few minutes before it should actually start.
2. Exit iSiloX. iSiloX should have set up a scheduled task using Windows Task Scheduler. In the case of the example above, it should be set to run at 9:18. So let's make sure.
3. On your Windows Desktop, double-click "My Computer".
4. In the "My Computer" window, double-click "Scheduled Tasks".
5. In the "Scheduled Tasks" window, there should be a line for iSiloX with a name of the form "iSiloX - filename", where filename is the filename of the conversion list. Is there?

iSilo, the answer is no, at least at the time the schedule is created. Once the scheduled time arrives, a task is placed in the scheduler, but it does not run. When I went to check the scheduled time in the scheduler, I noticed that the "Start in" line was blank. Obviously, nothing can happen if this line is blank. Any clues? PRadley

What you say sounds unusual. Are you saying that when you exit iSiloX, no task is created in Windows Task Scheduler? But then when the scheduled time arrives the task is created in Windows Task Scheduler even though iSiloX is running? That sounds very unusual because at the time that the task is created in the Windows Task Scheduler list, some program must have put it there. If iSiloX is not running, then that is unusual indeed.

Also, just to be clear, in step 2, where you should "Exit iSiloX", it means to go to the File menu and click Exit. Alternatively, you can open a new conversion list. iSiloX schedules itself with the Windows Task Scheduler only when you close the conversion list. If you have the conversion list open in iSiloX, then iSiloX will not create/update its scheduled task in the Windows Task Scheduler because the conversion happens in iSiloX in this case.

The "Start in" line can be blank. It is not necessary.

Right, I had not in fact exited properly. I just set a new time, exited, and found the scheduled task in Windows Scheduler. After the time had come and gone, I checked in the Scheduler, which indicated that the scheduled task had run - but nothing had happened in iSilo. This is the command line in the Scheduler:

"C:\PROGRAM FILES\ISILO\ISILOX\iSiloX.exe" -x C:\My Documents\iSiloX News Sites.ixl -s -u -Hse -z

Does it make sense? PRadley

Thanks for the additional information, which uncovers a bug in iSiloX. Since the .ixl file name path has spaces, iSiloX needs to add quotes around it in the command-line.

An updated beta, iSiloX 3.35b1b for Windows, has just been posted with a fix for this. Here's the URL to the download page:

<http://www.iSiloX.com/info/beta/iSiloXWindows.htm>

In the Windows Task Scheduler, delete the existing iSiloX task first to make sure that everything is in a good state before running the updated beta.

Presto, it works! Thanks. PRadley

I am EXTREMELY concerned that this scheduling feature is a step in the wrong direction. I suspect this will negatively impact any will to supply a conduit feature and I cannot stand using Windows Scheduler. It insists that I run my desktop in a way I don't want to run. Reliance on it is, in my opinion, a bad idea.

Agrajag, I think you have misunderstood how this works. You do not "use" Windows Scheduler at all. iSilo does. All you do is set the schedule in iSiloX and it does the rest. BTW, I don't agree with you about the conduit, at least not the one AvantGo has. AvantGo updates every site every time you hotsync: I want to update selectively. So what I want is a combination of these two features, the scheduler and the conduit. PRadley

I would have to believe that for iSiloX to use Windows Scheduler, that Windows Scheduler would have to be active and ready to go. I forget what my setup is but Scheduler doesn't run the way I'm setup (auto login perhaps?) and fails to schedule any event I set in it. When I do change to the mode it wants, I get annoyed by a few pesky items that also slip my mind right now (perhaps I need to log in each time?)

As far as the Conduit, I agree. I'm not saying to match AvantGo's conduit but to make a better one with these features in it. That way I can still know the conduit will do its job based on each independent item. Other conduits do this so I don't see why iSilo can't as well.

That's indeed annoying. So let's push for a conduit! That will take care of everyone's problem. RadleyP

As a macintosh user, can I assume that this scheduling feature in the new beta version will not apply to us "mac people"?

The new scheduling feature is also available in the beta of
"iSiloX for Mac OS". However, in "iSiloX for Mac OS" you need to leave the conversion list open for automatic scheduled conversions to occur.

Darren,

Does this effort take away from any possible chance of seeing a conduit with such features? The system I hot-sync on isn't on all that much. I turn it on for a short period and sync right before bed. A conduit would be a great improvement for my needs.

Originally posted by radleyp
Basil, I don't understand why you are having this problem. I don't think you realize that there is a webclipper icon in iSilo. All I do is find the image, click on the Tools menu, open up the iSilo web clipper and install. It's just as simple as HandStory.

Haven't tried zooming, but I don't think it's possible in iSilo.

As for your flipping through images, if there is one thing that annoys me in HS, it is the lousy scrolling. Images bigger than the screen cannot be accessed as they can in iSilo which allows for horizontal and vertical scrolling. In HS, you have to install a series of images. BTW, the map I installed in iSilo also fills the entire screen.

Nor did I spend any more wait time for files to open in iSilo than I did in HS - both took some time.

I really see no marked advantage to anything in HS.

Cheers, PDR

PDR, Sorry to take so long to respond to your points, but I'm afraid they still don't tally with my experience:

a) Webclipper Icon: I was aware of this and have tried it out. But I haven't found a way of using it to copy a single image from a web page. I either get the entire page or all the text minus the image. In HandStory I can just right click inside the image and save to Palm. To get the image in iSilo, I had first to save it as a separate file on my computer, open that file then use the iSilo webclipper icon.

b) Time taken to open files: I agree - pretty much the same

c) Flipping through images: I think you're confusing two issues. You're talking about scrolling an image, I was talking about moving from one image to the next on the pda. You can do the later easily with HandStory because of the arrows that show up on the screen. In iSilo you have to close the image and select the next one from the library.

d) It is possible to scroll images in HandStory and you can have any size of image, much bigger than the screen. You don't need any scroll bars, you just use the cursor to drag the image around (you can also do this in iSilo). The rate of redrawing seems to be very similar

So I still think that HandStory is better for images. Nevertheless, iSilo wins out in some other respects, and Plucker is best in other ways. So I still use all three (and AvantGo, but only for OnlineWeather - I haven't found a satisfactory way of accessing this using any other application).

If I'm missing a trick (or several tricks) with iSilo and images, I'd be glad to be enlightened.

Thanks for your comments.

Yes, I did misunderstand. You are right about the images in iSilo, you cannot just click inside an image and get only that image, you get the whole page. So, I must agree with you: HS is better for images. My question is then to determine if I need that kind of image conversion, since I am not thrilled at carrying around all those document/image converters. Maybe I'll use just iSilo and HS.

With HS and iSilo, why do you use Plucker? But please get rid of AvantGo (see below).

You may have seen some discussion here of iSilo and font changes: I find that I cannot use FontHack 123 with Piloc/Interpilot cyrillic localization. Have you tried? I would like to know your experience.

Weather: why don't you use Alexander's link to Wunderground weather? I use it, and it works fine.

PDR

I am finding that this beta adds enough features that I decided to test IsiloX. So far so good. The only disadvantage of IsiloX as compared to Plucker Desktop at this point, is that the file sizes are 33-50% larger with Isilo. My guess is that Isilo uses DOC format compression, while Plucker uses as default ZLIB compression (and in fact when I tried Plucker using DOC compression, the file sizes were only about 10% smaller than Isilo). Perhaps DOC fomat compression is necessary in Isilo to enable the feature that allows Isilo to read DOC files? Can anyone verify this?

Anyway, I am mostly posting to provided a helpful link.

For those who are using Windows XP, if your Windows User Login does not use a password, then Scheduled Tasks won't work. But there is a fix for this on "Kelly's Korner XP Tweaks" at http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm - but be sure to backup your registry (or set a manual Restore Point) whenever using anything on that page. The relevant tweak is "67. Run Scheduled Tasks w/o PW".

I've seen this problem come up for people using Windows XP, every time that Windows Scheduled Tasks is mentioned, so I thought this might be useful...

That link you provide is very useful - thanks!

On your compression observation:

No, iSilo doesn't use DOC compression for its own documents, but a proprietary compression algorithm. It is usually very efficient. What I think you can try (if you haven't done so yet), is to turn on image compression. You find it in iSiloX when you click on the channel properties (tab image).

That was my problem. My setup doesn't use a password and this forced it to.

Originally posted by radleyp
With HS and iSilo, why do you use Plucker?



I use Plucker for several reasons:

a) I have problems setting the correct fonts in iSilo, but no problems in Plucker (could just be my incompetence)

b) I like the ability to mark a regular clip as launchable from the PDA's launcher application

c) iSilo keeps defaulting to showing icons and scroll bars, while I normally prefer full screen view

d) Plucker will show me which links I've already visited

e) The HandStory viewer seems to be less configurable than either Plucker or iSilo. I set mine up so that I can go back by depressing the jog wheel, with HandStory I think you can only configure the buttons, and I prefer to leave them for launching particular applications

Originally posted by radleyp
Weather: why don't you use Alexander's link to Wunderground weather? I use it, and it works fine.

I'll have a look at this. For weather I mostly use the BBC 5-day forecast for my own locality and the forecasts on WorldMate. But I occasionally look at the OnlineWeather forecasts. The thing is that the AvantGo download from OnlineWeather gives me forecasts for a very large number of British towns and cities, and sometimes I don't know where I might be interested in before I leave home in the morning.

Originally posted by radleyp
I find that I cannot use FontHack 123 with Piloc/Interpilot cyrillic localization. Have you tried? I would like to know your experience.

I haven't tried any alternative fonts on my Clie, but I used them a lot on my Visor. The default fonts on the Clie are rather too skinny for my liking, but I get round that by having Interpilot Czech or Russian activated all the time, including when I'm reading stuff in English. If you do that, the default font changes to one which is nicer to look at and more legible. The only problem is that words with French or German accents on get mangled - Interpilot converts the letters with accents/diacritics into Russian or Czech characters. I haven't tried Piloc. Does it have the same effect?

Is FontHack 123 generally worth using? Which fonts would you recommend?

Originally posted by BasilC
The default fonts on the Clie are rather too skinny for my liking... While this is only a tiny part of your post, thought I'd chime in with a solution. I hate the thin fonts of the natural Clie fonts as well, and found a little program that fattens them up without involving new fonts. In fact, I'm happy enough with the results that I don't use extra fonts.

I have found, however, on my SJ30 that I have some trouble with it if I check the "Autofix after reset" option (which means I have to reenable ThinFontFix after reset to work). This is not a hack, just a little utility program.

Thin Font Fix (http://www.palmgear.com/software/showsoftware.cfm?sid=79320994-E6F2-4BCB-BEA78CA9ED0CE213&prodID=39453)

Cheers,
Gary

Basil: I use WorldMate as well. It is true that in Wunderground, you have to set up city by city, so I'm not sure if that would suit you.

Your comments make me think that you should use iSilo or Plucker, but that you do not need both. I've never looked into the launcher possibilities of Plucker. I'll try it.

Interpilot no longer exists (FYI, I was Serge Menshikov's first customer), and instead has been folded into Piloc. So what holds for one holds for the other. I always have Piloc cyrillic on, and must turn it off, as you point out, when reading French or German or any script with different accents or marks. The post after yours mentions Thin Font Fix: try it, I've used it for some time now.

There are so many fonts around that I'm not sure which to recommend. Utah (PalmReaderPro) is nice, as is OS5 (recommended by Alex, which I tried only yesterday). But I must warn you that when you want to use them, you will have to turn off Interpilot and then turn on FontHack. That is certainly annoying.

Cheers, RadleyP

a) I have problems setting the correct fonts in iSilo, but no problems in Plucker (could just be my incompetence)
Can you tell us more specifically what problems you have, maybe someone can help you in this respect.

c) iSilo keeps defaulting to showing icons and scroll bars, while I normally prefer full screen view
Open a document in iSilo, go to Menu -> Options -> Interface -> Set Title bar: hide, Scroll bar: none, Tool bar: hide AND click on "Also set as defaults"

Is FontHack 123 generally worth using? Which fonts would you recommend?
See Here (http://www.turcic.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=456)

Cheers!
Alex

Basil, Alexander has answered you on fonts.

One thing I forgot to mention: I use LauncherX, and you can launch any iSilo file from there. The file will open to wherever you left off.

RadleyP

i can heartly recommend the swiz fonts by Erich Kupferschmid. you wont switch back ever...

i included everything neccessary for using the fonts. first install x-master, then fonthack, then the fonts (read the docs how to set up it properly).

have fun (and less stress on your eyes..)

p_

Thanks to everyone for their advice on fonts. So far I've tried ThinFonts, but am unimpressed. My solution of leaving Interpilot activated all the time produces far more elegant and legible fonts. That's why I haven't switched to Piloc - I don't know whether the same thing would occur, and in any case Interpilot fully covers my requirements.

In slower time I'll try some or all of the other suggestions. I did once try Lubak's Clie fonts, but couldn't get them to work at all.

Originally posted by radleyp
One thing I forgot to mention: I use LauncherX, and you can launch any iSilo file from there. The file will open to wherever you left off.

You're quite right, I hadn't noticed them lurking behind the "Docs" tab (I use LauncherX too). So that demolishes one of my arguments in favour of Plucker.

Originally posted by Alexander

Open a document in iSilo, go to Menu -> Options -> Interface -> Set Title bar: hide, Scroll bar: none, Tool bar: hide AND click on "Also set as defaults"

Alex, I remember now that I did this when I first installed iSilo, but disabled it because there was no way of closing the document without the toolbar (no menu or graffiti shortcut). However, I now realise I can set one of the buttons to do this, or just go to LauncherX and launch another iSilo file.

There is a trick though:

When you are in full screen mode (that is title bar, scroll bar, tool bar all hidden), you can still get back the tool bar when you click in the lower right corner of your screen. This way you can easily close documents, do search operations, bookmarks, etc.

Greets

Basil, Alexander has answered you on fonts.

See thread in this Forum "Different Font with iSilo" for why the current iSilo Font solution does not work properly.

After using iSilo for a few days, I am compiling a list of Plucker and iSilo pros and cons, but I'm not sure whether this thread is the appropriate place for it...

This list of yours sounds very useful.

Would you mind sharing it with me before posting it? I've been using iSilo for a long time and - from what I can tell - you are a long-time Plucker user also experimenting with iSilo now.

I would definitely appreciate such a list. It could even be extended to other browsers such as HandStory (Gary, do you hear me?).

Alex

Originally posted by Alexander
I would definitely appreciate such a list. It could even be extended to other browsers such as HandStory (Gary, do you hear me?).

Unfortunately, yes... :(

Have thought for some time that it would be nice to develop a matrix of iSilo/HandStory/Plucker/etc. to keep updated that listed common features and not-so-common features of each (not a subjective-based matrix, but an objective-based one...a comparison chart, if you will). After the current list of forum "to dos" might try tackling that....

Originally posted by kstuart
See thread in this Forum "Different Font with iSilo" for why the current iSilo Font solution does not work properly.

After using iSilo for a few days, I am compiling a list of Plucker and iSilo pros and cons, but I'm not sure whether this thread is the appropriate place for it...

When I said that I had font problems with iSilo, I wasn't referring to using alternative fonts. My problem was with the size of fonts jumping around between too large and too small between different pages of the same clip. But I think I've now found the solution: I've set the default fault as Standard and Absolute, and that seems to have done the trick. Maybe I should stop being lazy and actually read the iSilo manual all the way through - all the answers are probably there.

Re the comparative tables for iSilo, HandStory and Plucker, I look forward to it. I assume it will be a collaborative effort. Step 1 would deciding what features need to be compared - I expect there'll turn out to be rather a lot of them.

Originally posted by p_starpower
i can heartly recommend the swiz fonts by Erich Kupferschmid. you wont switch back ever...

i included everything neccessary for using the fonts. first install x-master, then fonthack, then the fonts (read the docs how to set up it properly).

have fun (and less stress on your eyes..)

p_

I tried these fonts, but the same thing happened as a while ago, when I installed the Lubak fonts. My Clie either crashes or the screen goes weird, with irregular dark patches. I wonder if there is a conflict between FontHack and some other application or hack on my pda?

When I said that I had font problems with iSilo, I wasn't referring to using alternative fonts. My problem was with the size of fonts jumping around between too large and too small between different pages of the same clip.

I was referring to my attempt to use alternative fonts to deal with the same problem you had - the size of fonts being alternately too large and too small.

Having to set the font to "Absolute" is just saying that the normal, ie "Relative" font scheme doesn't work in a way that is practical for reading web sites.

Basil, as I wrote earlier, I don't think you can install both Interpilot and FontHack123. I know you can't have both Piloc and FontHack123 together. And as I mentioned before, Interpilot has now been folded into Piloc, so I assume what is true for one is true for the other. RadleyP

Originally posted by Unregistered
Basil, as I wrote earlier, I don't think you can install both Interpilot and FontHack123. I know you can't have both Piloc and FontHack123 together. And as I mentioned before, Interpilot has now been folded into Piloc, so I assume what is true for one is true for the other. RadleyP

Do you mean you can't have them both installed or that you can't have them both activated at the same time?

I'm delighted by the new scheduling feature - while I have scheduling working with Windows Scheduler and ISiloXC, this is a lot more "elegant."
My question: my .ixl contains 10 sites, 1 that gets updated every 2 hours, and the rest once a day. What is the recommended approach to scheduling this? I could manually schedule the 9 for daily (since I can't use "always" because of the 2 hour refresh site) or I could put the 2 hour in a separate .ixl and schedule 1 of the 9 then mark the rest "always." I'm particularly looking for the developer's take on this
Thanks,

The recommended way to do this is to just have a single .ixl file containing all 10 sites. Set the schedules for the nine that you want updated daily to daily schedules and set the schedule for the one that you want updated every two hours to every two hours. There is no need to use "always" or to separate the sites into different .ixl files since each of the sites in the .ixl file can have different schedules. iSiloX already has the necessary logic to intelligently schedule and re-schedule conversion of the .ixl file correctly according to the individual schedules in the list.

OK - I understood that I could have them all in one file, but I was trying to get around having to schedule all of them individually for daily (lazy, I know <g>). I realize now that's just as easy as setting them to "always"
On another note, I just ran into a bit f trouble on scheduler which I had set to run (on my XP Pro machine) even when I wasn't logged in. My son was logged in playing a game, and this background activity caused the screen to go black. Not a serious problem for me to rectify, and I've now set iSilo to only run when I'm logged in. Question: With XP I can be logged in, but have another account "active" through Fast User Switching - does iSilo look at whether I'm "active" or just logged in.
Thanks for your response.

The determination of whether you are logged in or not is determined by Windows or Windows Task Scheduler. iSiloX does not make that determination. When iSiloX schedules itself with the Windows Task Scheduler it just sets the setting through Windows Task Scheduler. So I don't know whether Windows considers you as logged in if you have fast user switching. Maybe you can give it a try and report on the results.

Thanks - I understood iSilo's role relative to Task Scheduler; I was trying to get at intended use, and what might have caused my problem. I think the game crash occurred because iSilo attempted to put up an onscreen window - is there a way around this.
FYI, I did test and in this context an XP user who is "inactive" is not considered logged in.
Finally, any thought of adding the Task Scheduler options for running tasks on computer startup and/or login?

Basil C: sorry I did not answer your last post here. You can have both installed, but you can activate only one, either Piloc or FontHack 123. Such usage, however, is a pain: you have to deactivate, then reactivate; one is a hack, one is not. So I don't use FontHack. RadleyP

Originally posted by captainao
I think the game crash occurred because iSilo attempted to put up an onscreen window - is there a way around this.
...
Finally, any thought of adding the Task Scheduler options for running tasks on computer startup and/or login?

The latest beta, iSiloX 3.35b3 adds an option for hiding the progress window during scheduled conversions. To set this up, install the latest beta, start iSiloX, open your .ixl file, go to the Tools menu, click Options, click the Scheduling tab, and check the option labeled "Hide progress dialog during scheduled conversions". Please give it a try.

Additional options for scheduling are under consideration for future updates. But the current scheduling options are the only ones that will make it into the 3.35 update.

Tried this out yesterday and today. Yesterday it worked out fine, and it was kind of cool to see that when I synced, my files had downloaded without me really knowing about it. :) My one scheduling time this morning did not run, but I'll see how it works later this afternoon.

I've been meaning to report that the general scheduling function with the new beta sometimes runs and sometimes doesn't. If I notice that it didn't run, I open up the ixl file and it pops up the countdown alert telling me that it knew it had a scheduled conversion and it will do it in x seconds. I don't know if anyone else is experiencing this fickle behavior. I am using ME.

At the time that the scheduled conversion was supposed to run but didn't, was the computer on? Or was it off? If it was off, that would explain it. If the computer is off when a scheduled task is supposed to run, Windows Task Scheduler does not run the task when the computer is turned back on. Hence, iSiloX does not get a chance to run the scheduled conversion or to reschedule itself. Because of this issue, the implementation of how iSiloX schedules itself with Windows Task Scheduler may need to be reworked.

I would like to second an earlier request that the iSilo scheduler allow for running the converter the moment the computer is turned on. Is this difficult to do? Radleyp

Originally posted by iSilo
At the time that the scheduled conversion was supposed to run but didn't, was the computer on? Or was it off? If it was off, that would explain it. If the computer is off when a scheduled task is supposed to run, Windows Task Scheduler does not run the task when the computer is turned back on. Hence, iSiloX does not get a chance to run the scheduled conversion or to reschedule itself. Because of this issue, the implementation of how iSiloX schedules itself with Windows Task Scheduler may need to be reworked.

It was on and connected to the inet.

Ok, I did my morning experiment. I let the scheduled download go on in the background.

And it didn't happen.

I'm using Windows ME. Let me know what other info will be helpful to you.

iSilo - I am experiencing the same thing as sUnShInE; while my scheduled tasks seem to be running fine, about 20-30 seconds after I open up iSiloX it will pop-up the scheduled task run box - even if it has just run, and it is nowhere near a scheduled activity. This happens only if the .ixl that is opened originally contains scheduled tasks.
Also, if I open with an .ixl with scheduled tasks, then switch to a new .ixl, it will still put up the box, but the task won't actually run.
Hope this helps.

radleyp - for now, you can run a task at login by creating a simple batch file that uses isiloxc and putting a shortcut to it in your startup folder. I've had this for awhile, and it works well - I only asked about adding to iSiloX as it would allow for centralized scheduling control, but the batch file really isn't very difficult.

General comment - since I imagine we're all using the latest beta, perhaps we should start a new scheduling thread, rather than continuing to post here - or Alexander can move the appropriate messages to a new thread (not that I'm trying to give him more work <g>)

Originally posted by radleyp
I would like to second an earlier request that the iSilo scheduler allow for running the converter the moment the computer is turned on. Is this difficult to do? Radleyp

This will be taken under consideration for a future version. The existing scheduling options are frozen for this version's release.

Originally posted by sUnShInE
Ok, I did my morning experiment. I let the scheduled download go on in the background.

And it didn't happen.

I'm using Windows ME. Let me know what other info will be helpful to you.

There is a preliminary new update to the beta that changes the way iSiloX schedules itself with the Windows Task Scheduler. I have been unable to determine why Windows Task Scheduler seems to sometimes miss running a scheduled task that is scheduled once even though the computer is on. So in this preliminary new update to the beta, iSiloX sets up a schedule that is set to run every minute from the next scheduled conversion time. This way, if the scheduled time was missed by Windows Task Scheduler for whatever reason, even if the computer was off, the Windows Task Scheduler will still run the task at the next available minute.

Please give it a try if you can and report if you still seem to encounter the missed scheduled conversions. The download URL is:

<http://www.iSiloX.com/info/beta/dl/iSiloX335b3bSetup.exe>

Originally posted by captainao
iSilo - I am experiencing the same thing as sUnShInE; while my scheduled tasks seem to be running fine, about 20-30 seconds after I open up iSiloX it will pop-up the scheduled task run box - even if it has just run, and it is nowhere near a scheduled activity. This happens only if the .ixl that is opened originally contains scheduled tasks.
Also, if I open with an .ixl with scheduled tasks, then switch to a new .ixl, it will still put up the box, but the task won't actually run.
Hope this helps.

The only reason why this might happen is if the scheduled task was still running. At the end of the scheduled task, iSiloX updates the last conversion times of the .ixl file and saves it. If you open up iSiloX with that .ixl file before the save completes, then the last conversion times in the .ixl file will be the old ones and iSiloX will think that the conversions did not happen, and thus popup the box.

Thanks Darren. I'll let you know how it goes. :)

Well, I guess it was inevitable, but I'm finally getting the pop-up message reminding me that the beta version ceases to work on May 15, 2003. That's fine - I already knew that - but the problem is that I have my files scheduled for conversion in the middle of the night, and the conversion won't start until I press the Okay button on this new warning/message. Therefore, when I turned on my computer this morning, waiting to import all my new converted files, I had to click Okay then wait another 20 minutes or so while the conversion took place. Aargh.

Any ideas for a workaround?

The beta expiration message only displays the first two times you start iSiloX. After that, it no longer displays.

Ah! That explains it. I just upgraded to a new computer yesterday. Okay, that's cool. Thank you so much!

iSilo, there are no scheduled tasks running when the scheduled task box pops up - it consistently launches 20-30 seconds after I open the .ixl that contains a scheduled item. I have only 1 item scheduled (every hour at :05) and it just launched when I opened the file, despite having run 10 min. ago