That’s right, whenever you see a dialog in Windows, like this:

A typical Windows error message dialog.

You can press CTRL+C to copy, and then open up Notepad, and press CTRL+V to paste:

The dialog title, contents, and even the button text are saved to the clipboard.

I had no idea this was possible until I read a Lifehacker article explaining it.  Since I’ve started using it, I’ve found it very useful in my every day work. Maybe you will too!

Just a note, though – it doesn’t seem to work everywhere. For example, JavaScript alert dialogs can’t be copied in Firefox, but they can in Internet Explorer.

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Despite Firefox dropping to #2 in my list, I still use it regularly for web development. They have plenty of extensions to keep me coming back: Firebug, Web Developer, ColorZilla, HTML Validator, and… well, NoScript. All of those extensions are excellent; however, NoScript sometimes irritates me.

NoScript Firefox extension provides extra protection for Firefox, Flock, Seamonkey and other mozilla-based browsers: this free, open source add-on allows JavaScript, Java and Flash and other plugins to be executed only by trusted web sites of your choice (e.g. your online bank), and provides the most powerful Anti-XSS protection available in a browser.

NoScript’s unique whitelist based pre-emptive script blocking approach prevents exploitation of security vulnerabilities (known and even not known yet!) with no loss of functionality…

Certainly sounds great – and it works very well too. I really get a sense of safety in knowing I can selectively enable specific elements on webpages, blocking everything else by default. The functionality they offer is great. The problem I have is more with the developers, not the extension. You see, here’s the problem: NoScript is regularly updated, so you’re very likely to see this on a regular basis:

Kind of annoying, but by itself, not a deal breaker. After an restarting Firefox due to the update, I’m immediately greeted by the following page:

Let me state this very clearly: Every time I update NoScript, I’m thrown to that page. Ugh.  Sure, they show me the change log, news, and more – but they also show me ads… a lot of them. Let’s start by looking at how much of the site is devoted to ads. I’ll highlight pure advertisements in red, affiliations in pink, and donation controls in orange:

That’s quite a lot of advertising on the main page… and it is above the fold of the page. It’s not the worst I’ve ever seen, but it is still a significant assault on my eyes. I won’t show you screenshots of what the rest of the page looks like, but trust me – it follows the same trend. If you’d like to see it all, you can visit it here. That said, I get the whole “we’re starving programmers and we need the money” thing, but I expect a certain amount of elegance in pursuing revenue. Considering their previous shady practices, though, I’m not entirely surprised.

Another aspect of their advertising that particularly bothers me is how they claim to be “your friendly web cop”, keeping you safe, and yet, they are suggesting software that they probably never even tried. I’m particularly referring to the “PC slowing you down? Free scan” and “Top tip! Click here to check if your drivers are up-to-date!” ads. I would never click on those things… but I know some people that might, especially if they are shown on a security-related site. At first glance, even I have to ask myself if it is an ad – it almost looks like it could be another software offering from the same company. Things like that really make me want to start using AdBlock Plus again… and that’s not cool, since I am a web developer myself.

Overall, if their site was more tastefully presented, and the ads were more respectful in number and placement, I’d have less of a problem with them showing me their page every time I update. In its current state, it is just so obvious to me that they are money-hungry – to the point where they put little thought behind the resulting user experience.  Even with that aspect improved,  a pretty page could still be an annoyance if you are automatically thrown to it once a week. Thankfully, the NoScript guys have a way for you to disable the feature. Hurrah!

Solution

With the latest version of NoScript installed (In my case, 1.9.9.15):

1) Right-click the NoScript icon, and select Options.

2) Click the “Notifications” tab.

3) Find the checkbox titled “Display the release notes on updates”, and uncheck it.

4) Click “OK”.

That’s it! The NoScript page should no longer be force-fed to you after every update. Take a moment to truly enjoy that fact.

If you’re ever wondering about what they added in a particular update, you can check the update-specific release notes from within Firefox itself. In the Add-ons Manager, click the “Updates” tab, select the NoScript update, and click the “Show Information” button at the bottom of the dialog. Once clicked, you’ll see additional information about the update:

Now… remind me, NoScript developers, why I need to see your homepage every time you release a new minor version? For the sake of your advertising revenue, perhaps?

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As for the “free” factor – in case you’re wondering: there aren’t any specific licenses associated with the images, but the front page clearly states that “generated gifs are totally free for use”. That said, enjoy.

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I’m happy to say that these inconveniences are now no longer an issue. The solution lies in a site called Instant Domain Search. The webpage aims to facilitate the process of searching for a domain, and to do so, it:

• searches automatically as you type
• lists different rates from leading registrars
• lists domains names that are for sale

Check it out:

Personally, I’m never going back to the old method.

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I found a tool a while ago that allowed me to do just that; it was, essentially, a virtual ruler. Called Pixel Ruler, this free application makes a ruler appear on your screen. You can place it anywhere you want, horizontally or vertically, and use it to measure pretty much anything. It is a little buggy at times, but I still recommend you give it a try.

Pixel Ruler in action

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Why don’t our products have web-based help?

Example of web-based help

I came up with numerous advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages:

• Help content can be updated at any time, regardless of product and version.
• Help articles can be easily referenced via URL.
  • Whenever I’m doing support, it often occurs that the solution to the customer’s problem is found in the help system – they either missed it, or they didn’t look. Rather than just tell them to read the help, I usually include the help content as an attachment. I figure it is more convenient for the client, and that improves the support experience. I also make sure to mention that it can be found in the help, and I tell them what to search for. This is all well and good; except that copying help content from a CHM (my company’s typical help format) isn’t perfect. When I paste it into Wordpad, the images are not preserved – so I often have to copy them myself, one by one, to the Wordpad document. This requires manual work on my end, and that’s not ideal. If we had an online help system – I could simply link them to the article, and they’d be a click away. Plus, if that help content needs to be updated, I’m sure they will have access to the latest version. On the other hand, if they were to re-visit the attachment months after I originally provided it, it may be out of date.
  • URLs are lightweight, unlike attachments –  they are easy to share.
• Search engines will see much more related content
  • Not only will the ranking improve, but other message boards and sites may link to the help content, which should also help.
  • Could potentially increase the number of web site visitors
• Better features, potentially. Some widely-used offline help formats are now considered obsolete.
  • Some help files are no longer supported, like WinHelp:

  Ever since Windows 3.1, Microsoft included the Windows Help program (WinHlp32.exe) with new releases. WinHlp32.exe is used to view 32-bit Help files that have the .hlp file name extension. Starting with the release of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, Microsoft has decided to no longer include in WinHlp32.exe as a component of the Windows operating system. Microsoft made this decision because WinHlp32.exe has not had a major update for many years, and it does not meet our standards for all new Microsoft programs. Microsoft realizes that this may cause some problems for customers who want to upgrade to Windows Vista or to Windows Server 2008 but still rely on 32-bit .hlp files. Therefore, Microsoft is making WinHlp32.exe available as a download from the Microsoft Download Center.

  

  Vista's Help starts off with offline data, and is updated in the background, via the web

  • The CHM format is old – it was originally created for Windows 98. Though they updated it through the years, I would not be surprised if Microsoft eventually started discouraging it as well, in favor of the newer Help 2 format (HXS extension).
• Possibility of embedding rich content.
  • A good example would be demo videos. Personally, I usually prefer watching how a feature works, rather than reading about it.

Disadvantages:

• Internet connection required
  • A local copy may be a necessity. Personally, I like a flavor of that idea – start them off with an offline cache, and enhance that with the ability to update the help content on the fly. I really like Vista’s help – they offer that mechanism.
• Both offline and online help systems have be maintained
  • If applicable. see previous point.
• Some users are annoyed when they are thrown to a web help system
  • I’ve felt this personally, and it usually occurs when I am within the context of a Windows application – say, Paint.NET. When I click “Help Topics” in the Help menu,  it launches a browser window. It is definitely not what I would expect to happen when I’m using  a Windows application. I don’t expect to need a browser; therefore, the behavior usually frustrates me. It’s not very quick, either – the browser needs to initialize, and then load the webpage. Not all browsers are very good at loading quickly, so this is normally a pain. Eventually, I get over the initial frustration, and realize that the online help system proves to be pretty good. The funny thing is – I’ll get frustrated all over again if I temporarily forget that the applicaiton will launch a web browser, which is common the first few times.
    
    

    Paint.NET will throw you to an online help system when you click this menu option.

• Competitors have access to detailed help content
  • If your product is available for evaluation, then your help files are already out there; however, if it is of limited availability, and security is a concern, then maybe this point is valid.

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