New beta version iSiloX/XC 3.35b1 - Page 2

Alexander Turcic · 03-20-2003, 04:26 PM

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.

radleyp · 03-20-2003, 05:59 PM

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

BasilC · 03-20-2003, 06:09 PM

Quote:

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?

Alexander Turcic · 03-20-2003, 06:11 PM

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.

radleyp · 03-20-2003, 06:21 PM

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

BasilC · 03-20-2003, 06:47 PM

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.

Quote:

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)

radleyp · 03-20-2003, 07:04 PM

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

sUnShInE · 03-21-2003, 09:29 AM

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!

Alexander Turcic · 03-21-2003, 10:20 AM

Quote:

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

radleyp · 03-21-2003, 10:52 AM

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

iSilo · 03-21-2003, 11:51 AM

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?

radleyp · 03-21-2003, 11:58 AM

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

iSilo · 03-21-2003, 12:46 PM

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.

radleyp · 03-21-2003, 01:14 PM

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

iSilo · 03-21-2003, 01:43 PM

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.

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03-20-2003, 04:26 PM	#16
Alexander Turcic Fully Converged Posts: 18,163 Karma: 14021202 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Switzerland Device: Too many to count here.	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.

03-20-2003, 05:59 PM	#17
radleyp Evangelist Posts: 499 Karma: 20623 Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: North Salem & NYC, NY Device: Kindle Global, iphone4, ipad	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

03-20-2003, 06:11 PM	#19
Alexander Turcic Fully Converged Posts: 18,163 Karma: 14021202 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Switzerland Device: Too many to count here.	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.

03-20-2003, 06:21 PM	#20
radleyp Evangelist Posts: 499 Karma: 20623 Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: North Salem & NYC, NY Device: Kindle Global, iphone4, ipad	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

03-20-2003, 07:04 PM	#22
radleyp Evangelist Posts: 499 Karma: 20623 Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: North Salem & NYC, NY Device: Kindle Global, iphone4, ipad	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

03-21-2003, 09:29 AM	#23
sUnShInE Drama Queen Posts: 784 Karma: 11712 Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: United States Device: Palm Tungsten T\|T3	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!

03-21-2003, 10:52 AM	#25
radleyp Evangelist Posts: 499 Karma: 20623 Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: North Salem & NYC, NY Device: Kindle Global, iphone4, ipad	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

03-21-2003, 11:51 AM	#26
iSilo Developer Posts: 33 Karma: 2314 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: US	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?

03-21-2003, 11:58 AM	#27
radleyp Evangelist Posts: 499 Karma: 20623 Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: North Salem & NYC, NY Device: Kindle Global, iphone4, ipad	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

03-21-2003, 12:46 PM	#28
iSilo Developer Posts: 33 Karma: 2314 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: US	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.

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03-21-2003, 01:14 PM	#29
radleyp Evangelist Posts: 499 Karma: 20623 Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: North Salem & NYC, NY Device: Kindle Global, iphone4, ipad	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

03-21-2003, 01:43 PM	#30
iSilo Developer Posts: 33 Karma: 2314 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: US	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.