Global MagicLaunch, MagicWords

[jack111]

Freeware called SlickRun is a global launch that can sit on top of the BrainStorm's top blue header bar and if you open FireFox it sits in the same area loaded with MagicWords which as soon as you enter enough unique keystrokes a MagicWord is autocompleted and launched. This is a work in process and has a similar forum to BrainStorm's

Bayden Systems - SlickRun
http://www.bayden.com/SlickRun/

Here's their description:

"SlickRun is a free floating command line utility for Windows. SlickRun gives you almost instant access to any program or website. SlickRun allows you to create command aliases (known as MagicWords), so C:\Program Files\Outlook Express\msimn.exe becomes MAIL.

Enter a web URL into SlickRun and it will launch your browser and navigate to the specified address. Run multiple programs in a few keystrokes, jot a note, look up a definition... SlickRun is the most natural way to interact with your computer....Goes on to explain how it is not a hotkey program......"

Also handles system commands, multiple launches, and more.

Of course, you will want to enter a magic word "BrainStorm" to quickly launch you back to your primary thinking pad if your clickstream starts to wander!

[david]

Thanks Jack.

I should mention that it needs the Delphi run-time library to work. (This is about 900k.)

[jack111]

I'm interested to see how PowerPro and SlickRun compare. I just posted the following out on their forum. As an aside, I'm not getting answers over there as fast as I do on this forum. BrainStorm support is top drawer!

"I did come across another program that may do global text strings inserts for consistent tagging.........

PowerPro
http://powerpro.webeddie.com/index.html

Does any one have a feel how SlickRun and PowerPro compare?

I was also pleased to find another one of my mainstay programs, ClipMate has a feature they call ShortCuts

From ClipMate's help file--

"ShortCuts are global "nicknames", (Mnemonics for you technical types) that you assign to clips that you need to access frequently. For years our users have been asking for the ability to assign "hotkeys" to individual clips. While we liked that idea (and did try it once), hotkeys are limited in number, are difficult to remember, and often conflict with keys used by other applications. The new ShortCut feature solves all of these problems as you can assign a shortcut to as many clips as you need to, they can be named and even structured to be easy to remember, and they won't cause conflicts or "steal keys" from other applications.""

[srdiamond]

I take it that SlickRun is to Active Words as Free Mind is to Mind Manager. (What's the term for this relationship?) If that's right, the program to compare it to is Active Words, which has a 30-day trial period. It sounds like Active Words provides a broader range of commands. It also lets you initiate them in any application--or in no application. That is, you don't have to use a special bar, although one's available.

This is a central enough kind of program that it might be worth getting the best version, even if it's commercial. I wonder whether Active Words is actually better, in that it uses a lot more resources, I think.

By the way, as far as choosing magic words or whatever--in using Active Words I've discovered that simply designating each command with the first letter of each of its syllables probably suffices to distinguish almost all of them. To get BrainStorm up with Active Words, I just type bs space space--anywhere.

[jack111]

Both Active Words and PowerPro look good. I've yet too get deeply into either one. I did find SlickRun quite intuitive, easy to set up, and non intrusive. SlickRun has a eye dropper tool which you click on any running program and it grabs the program's run sequence, for example, C:\Program Files\BrainStorm\Brain.exe.

There is apparently a way to get SlickRun to do tag strings as well; I just got this post on their support forum:

"You can save some very simple text strings into SlickRun MagicWords and have the Filename for those MagicWords point to cliptext.exe (from www.bayden.com/other). When the MagicWord executes, it puts the text string on the clipboard for easy pasting."

I've yet to try this. It does sound like two steps 1) entry MagicWord, 2) "Ctrl C" paste. I am thinking with MagicPaste turned on this may even be slicker. I'll test and get back.

On another related note, after just performing a "shift ctrl L" in BrainStorm and getting the date inserted in an entry, it crossed my mind WIBNI, if 6 or so "user defined tag tanks" could be set up in BrainStorm where character strings could be entered for later insertion using "shift ctrl 1 thru 6".

[jack111]

No cigar.

All the cliptext.exe program does with SlickRun is let you pass a text string to the system clipboard. You have to re-entry the string every time. I don't really understand why this is any better than just selecting text and doing a 'ctrl C' to get a string to the clipboard.

"What I'm look for is a feature that would be a SlickRun add on or it could be a similar stand alone program that would save text blocks or strings to be added the clipboard upon execution through a MagicWord.

Say you entered a MagicWord 's1' in SlickRun and then a previously entered string would be pasted to the clipboard. This would happen every time you enter s1. Additional strings could be called s2, s3, and so on.

Any thoughts?"

This could be a BrainStorm add on. The simple standalone program has the advantage of being system global for pegging tags any where text is sold.

[jack111]

My quickest free solution came from an email Graham posted out on the beta BrainStorm email list:

"Hello Jack,

......When I was looking for something to give me consistent namesakes, I
found this program

http://softvoile.com/flashpaste/

It doesn't do anything other than allow quick pasting of words from a
hierarchical list.

Several clipboard programs give similar capability such as ClipCache,
but none as neatly as FlashPaste."

Thanks Graham.

I found that their FlashPasteLite does every thing I need at the moment. Besides their Pro version they also offer to free tools that might be of interest to BrainStorm users. One is called ClipDiary and the other is called FlashNote.

ClipDiary is like a plain vanilla program that just keeps logging everything that went into the system clipboard. This could be my ClipMate tandem backup! Or maybe a MagicPaste preview tank!

FlashNote is a system resident quick and dirty note pad which could also front end BrainStorm.

I haven't check the system overhead of these tools yet.

By the way, David where is the beta discussion and BrainStorm model about tools that every one uses with BrainStorm? It's probably starring me in the face but haven't found it after a couple tries.

[david]

I've added a couple of sidebar links in thinkerlog - Web-published models and Screencasts.

http://www.brainstormsw.com/weblog/

[alx]

Thanks for the heads-up on SlickRun; I think it's brilliant, especially since I prefer to work with the keyboard but don't want to remember shortcut keys. In addition, the way SlickRun works means that I can easily replicate my MagicWord definitions to all computers I work with.

alx
________
Medical cannabis seeds

[alx]

Jack,

How's it going with FlashPaste? Have you (or any one else) taken a look at TypePilot?
http://www.colorpilot.com/typepilot.html

It seems to do what FlashPaste does, but the advantage is that you can summon folders or entries directly with a keyword.

alx

[jack111]

FlashPaste does an excellent job on imbeding standardized tags into my BrainStorm models. It's about 1 key stroke away and they have fixed some bugs so that it can be made quite small and float over my BrainStorm models. Another big plus, of course, is that it's free.

My latest lobbying with David is to make such tags at a meta level within BrainStorm entries. As per the following:

"Essentially searchable and sortable tags which could be added to any entry at any level. These tags might only be displayed if a user option was so indicated. I think this also ties into a "find all" option which would open a screen and list every occurrence of a search string or tag.

There is little doubt that BrainStorm is a freeform database. I think the above WIBNI would further enhance this strength. As I'm rambling the generated new screen might utilize namesaking to allow changes to the source entries."

At any rate, good to hear from you.

[alx]

I don't know how easy it would be to implement this kind of tags, but I've already got a name for them: "Magic Tags"!

alx
________
Marijuana vaporizers

[jack111]

I like it!!!

[david]

Hey Marck, another for the wibni

[jack111]

Download Flashpaste v3.5 Lite from:

http://softvoile.com/download/flashpastelite.exe (380 Kb)

Softvoile recently updated both their free Lite version and Pro versions of Flashpaste. The new versions allows for system wide pasting of predefined strings or tags into any text type program simply through an icon in the notification area of the Window's Task Bar.

Just right click on the Flashpaste icon and your list of defined text strings is displayed, select, click, and bingo it's pasted to your last BrainStorm cursor position.

Wow, just flashed through my mind this would be a neat place to stash major categories for quick namesaking.