TSW Blog

I'm happy to announce a new update for WebCoder 2007. This is the second update, once again including a number of minor fixes, as requested by the users. It also includes TSW Update, as described in the previous blog post about the SiteSync update. Here is a list of changes in WebCoder 2007, version 7.02:

• PHP AutoProposal can now suggest variables within PHP strings
• Database tables with a dash (-) in their name could not be shown
• When there is no selected text, WebCoder will no longer allow empty lines to be cut or copied to the clipboard
• Editor setting added to allow for automatic conversion of tabs to spaces
• WebCoder would sometimes not remember the last used directory in the File explorer properly
• The Extended search & replace could be come unstable with certain search/replace combinations
• The Extended search & replace will now use the same encoding as selected by the user in the Settings dialog, when writing to files

The update has been released to replace previous versions, so if you are bothered by any of these minor bugs, just re-download from the WebCoder product page and install on top of the previous version. There should be no conflicts with datafiles from the final version of WebCoder.

Note to registered users of WebCoder: This is of course a free upgrade for you :). If you are running WebCoder 2007, version 7.00, you should be aware of the following: The location of the product key has been moved, so that WebCoder can now be registered by users not having access to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE part of the registry. Instead, it will be installed in HKEY_CURRENT_USER. This means that you have to re-register the application. Simply use the same key if you still have it, or get a new one from the serial key system, as described in the e-mail you received upon purchasing WebCoder. If you have any problems, be sure to contact us.

As mentioned, this release includes TSW Update. It's simply a small application which will launch the first time you start WebCoder, showing you the latest news from TSW. It will start as often as you'd like (or never again), depending on the interval you select - the default is every 3 days. This will keep you updated on everything new from TSW by showing you the latest entries from this blog, which is really the best way to make sure that you get the latest updates to the applications and try the newest beta versions. Besides that, tips & tricks will be posted here now and then. Of course, you may turn off TSW Update if you're not interested.

Just like with WebCoder 2007, TSW SiteSync has now been updated a bit, to resolve a couple of minor bugs and annoyances. Here is a list of the things fixed in this release:

• FTP client was sometimes failing to re-connect after timeouts
• A "One level up" button was added to the toolbar of the FTP client
• A couple of keyboard shortcuts were added to the mini editor: Ctrl+F to search, F3 to find the next result and Ctrl+F3 to find the previous
• The mini editor was failing to set the modified status of the file to false when manually saving, causing the user to be prompted to save no matter what
• A couple of keyboard shortcuts were added to the FTP client: Enter to edit file/enter folder, F2 to rename file/folder, Del to delete file/folder
• .ascx added to the list of extensions using the HTML highlighter in the mini editor
• Information about files are now being refreshed before showing the "Overwrite file?" dialog, to ensure correct information

The update has been released to replace version 1.00, so if you are bothered by any of these minor bugs, just re-download from the SiteSync product page and install on top of the previous version. There should be no conflicts with datafiles from the final version of SiteSync.

Note to registered users of SiteSync: This is of course a free upgrade for you :). The location of the product key has been moved, so that SiteSync can now be registered by users not having access to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE part of the registry. Instead, it will be installed in HKEY_CURRENT_USER. This means that you have to re-register the application. Simply use the same key if you still have it, or get a new one from the serial key system, as described in the e-mail you received upon purchasing SiteSync. If you have any problems, be sure to contact us.

Besides those fixes, SiteSync 1.01 comes with another addition, called TSW Update. It's simply a small application which will launch the first time you start SiteSync, showing you the latest news from TSW. It will start as often as you'd like (or never again), depending on the interval you select - the default is every 3 days. This will keep you updated on everything new from TSW by showing you the latest entries from this blog, which is really the best way to make sure that you get the latest updates to the applications and try the newest beta versions. Besides that, tips & tricks will be posted here now and then. Of course, you may turn off TSW Update if you're not interested.

I hope to add TSW Update to the other TSW applications soon, but until then, please let me know if you have any suggestions or comments on it :)

One of my favorite features of WebCoder is the way it can be extended by the end-user, that is, you! The most powerful way of extending WebCoder is writing scripts for it. You already be doing so, or perhaps you have just noticed the Scripting menu item in WebCoder. The support for scripts allows you to extend WebCoder in almost any way you want to, which makes it so damn powerful that it's hard to actually describe. That's why I want to show you, but how?

People tend to get impressed by different things, so I would like your input here. Put in simple terms, I would like for you to think of something cool to do with WebCoder scripting, and then either do it your self, or make a suggestion for me or anyone else to do it for you. Simply make a post in the development forum about your idea, and throw in some code if you can - if not, it's open for anyone to give it a try and make a post. I will be following the debate, and help as much as possible. If you come up with something really cool, it will be posted here on the blog in a series of helpful posts. Personally, I will document the process of any scripts I make on the TSWiki - I would love for you to do the same :)

As promised, I would like to give away 5 commercial WebCoder 2007 licences to 5 active betatesters. I've had a very hard time choosing only 5, because so many did such a good job, but in the end, I had to make a decision :). Here they are, in no specific order, mentioned with their forum name:

• Kegu
• amews_aj
• Mobleman
• Toad
• KingSky

People on the list, please contact me if we haven't already talked about this, and I will make sure that you get your free license :). A big thank you goes out to everyone who participated in the beta test!

I'm very happy to inform you all that after a long period of betatesting, both TSW WebCoder 2007 and TSW SiteSync has been released. You may go and download a trial version of both, as well as check out the cool screenshots and video demos, in case you haven't already seen WebCoder 2007 and SiteSync in action. If you wish to purchase either one or perhaps even both of them, the order page is the place to go - we have created a nice discounted bundle where you get both WebCoder 2007 and SiteSync. In case you have previously purchased WebCoder 2005 or WebPad.NET, you will receive an e-mail with an upgrade discount within the next couple of days.

I wish to thank all the betatesters. You have done a great job, and especially WebCoder has been immensely improved over the last couple of months because of you. I will be going through all the forumposts and deciding on who will get one of the free licenses I promised. Once again, thank you very much :) 

Besides that, WebPad.NET has been updated to version 1.10, as mentioned earlier on this blog. There is lots of minor fixes and improvements, along with a couple of new features. If you have previously purchased WebPad.NET, this upgrade is of course free, but you will need a new license key. Please contact us for more information.

That's all for now. Go and check out the new software, and let us know what you think. Enjoy!

Another quick jump, because final beta 4 is here. Only a minimum of bugs have been fixed, and we seem to be getting very close. As you hopefully already know, we give away 5 free commercial WebCoder 2007 licenses  to the best betatesters, once the final version has been released!

Download TSW WebCoder 2007 final beta 4 - please provide feedback in the beta forum

I'm looking very much forward to getting your feedback, so keep up the good testing! :)

Please notice that TSW WebCoder 2007 requires the .NET framework to run. The installer will try to install it for you, if you do not already have it. For more information about the .NET framework, please see our .NET info page. Also, please be aware that this is beta software. It's meant for testing only, and if you don't feel comfortable using software with known bugs and quirks, you should wait for the final version.

I think WebCoder 2007 is ready for the next step, final beta. The first one is now released, and once again, it comes with a bunch of bugs fixed, as well as a couple of new features, including webmappings for FTP editing. The reason for the long wait between beta 4 and final beta 1 is partly due to the documentation, which is now included in an almost finished version. It can be reached from the Help menu. Comments and suggestions for the documentation will be appreciated as well. As you hopefully already know, we give away 5 free commercial WebCoder 2007 licenses  to the best betatesters, once the final version has been released!

Download TSW WebCoder 2007 final beta 1 - please provide feedback in the beta forum

I'm looking very much forward to getting your feedback, so keep up the good testing! :)

Please notice that TSW WebCoder 2007 requires the .NET framework to run. The installer will try to install it for you, if you do not already have it. For more information about the .NET framework, please see our .NET info page. Also, please be aware that this is beta software. It's meant for testing only, and if you don't feel comfortable using software with known bugs and quirks, you should wait for the final version.

Hopefully you have already discovered the cool CodeSnippet feature, found in both WebPad.NET and the new WebCoder 2007 beta. If not, you can see it in action in this WebPad.NET product demo. Now, I would really like to see what you can do with this feature, and besides, it would be cool to have some standard CodeSnippets to include with the final release of WebCoder 2007 and the WebPad.NET update. If you have already created a cool CodeSnippet, or if you simply have a good idea for one, send it to us and enter the competition to win a free WebPad.NET or WebCoder 2007 (which ever you prefer) commercial license. So, send us all your best stuff, make your fellow TSW users happy and you may even win a free license! Here is how you do it:

• Write an e-mail to codesnippets {at} tsware [dot] net
• Include your full name and your e-mail address
• A short description of the snippet and what it does, as well as the target language
• Attach the CodeSnippet(s) that you wish to enter into the contest, to the e-mail

Please notice that by sending us your CodeSnippet(s), you allow us to distribute it as a part of our software.

Finding your CodeSnippets

Your CodeSnippets are saved in the WebCoder or WebPad.NET settings directory as simple XML files. You can find them by navigating to the following path or by selecting Start -> Run in Windows and copy/paste the path:

XP: C:\Documents and Settings\[Your username]\Local Settings\Application Data\TSW\WebCoder 2007\settings\codesnippets\

Vista: C:\Users\[Your username]\AppData\Local\TSW\WebCoder 2007\settings\codesnippets\

You should replace the [Your username] part with the username of your Windows user. If you're using WebPad.NET instead of WebCoder 2007, you should replace the WebCoder 2007 part with WebPad.NET.

In this folder, you will find a bunch of folders, corresponding to the languages for which you have created CodeSnippets. You will find your CodeSnippets inside of these folders, as simple XML files. 

The contest will be running right up until the final version of WebCoder 2007 will be released. We can't wait to see your best snippets!

TSW Webcoder: Color Management Feature

Hello, friends and fellow TSW Software fanatics!

Come in. Find a seat and get out your pencils and paper... and open TSW WebCoder 2005 while you're at it!
Let's take a moment to learn another cool, unique feature of TSW Webcoder 2005. For the web-standards evangelists in the audience, you may want to turn-off the iPods and listen-up as this might interest you especially.

Step #1:

With your current project, or active document loaded in Web Coder 2005, open the CSS Panel. Ensure that your global CSS Selectors are visible. For example, if you are using a Web Coder Project, you might tick the "View
for active project" radio button and follow any prompts for loading your main CSS file, or if you're simply using a single file, be sure to hit the "update" button in the CSS Panel.

Step #2:

Open the Web Coder 2005 Projects Panel. Locate the top-most icon of your current project. Directly beneath the Project folder-name-- above the file folders belonging to that project, there are a few default Web Coder
icons which indicate any Database associated with the project, the FTP location, the Project Template(s) and the "Project Colors".

Step #3:

Using the secondary mouse-button (i.e. right-click), select the Project Colors icon, revealing the Project Colors context menu. Select "Add Colors from Project Stylesheet". Webcoder will ask if you want to add the colors. Select "Yes".

Violla!

All of your current Project colors, as declared in your CSS, should now be conveniently summarized and accessible at the click of a button.

If you tend to design with a limited set of colors, or what we might call a "color scheme" ( as in something like this:
http://wellstyled.com/tools/colorscheme2/index-en.html ), you will definitely find this Web Coder 2005 feature to be of value.

ATTN: TSW Software Users and Advocates:

Big Deal...

I'm excited to have the opportunity to author some tips for you right here in the TSW Blog-- it's a great honor. I urge any other avid WebCoder and WebPad.NET users to become more involved in sharing your own thoughts, tips, success stories, and anything else you want to share with the community. Show the folks at TSW that you know how to put together a few sentences into a meaningful paragraph, and perhaps you'll be authoring text here on the TSW Blog too!

Best wishes, and Good Luck!

One thing that I always felt could use some improvement in WebCoder, is the project to FTP synchronization feature. With the latest version it became pretty good, but I was never fully satisfied. When I started to work with ASP.NET besides PHP, I really missed an application for doing complete site synchronization, beyond what I ever imagined implementing in WebCoder. I started working on "TSW SiteSync" a couple of months after I began creating WebCoder 2007, and it quickly reached a point where I saw some real potential in it. The idea of an external application, which could be used with or without WebCoder, seemed like a really good idea, so that's what I did. TSW SiteSync will be an individual product, with the possibility of synchronizing WebCoder projects very easily. It will be a cheap product, with a price somewhere near the current price of WebPad.NET, with a substantial discount for people purchasing both WebCoder 2007 and SiteSync.

So, what do you think? Have you ever needed a good application for synchronizing your websites? Did you ever think that the built-in sync options in WebCoder needed a bit more features? Feedback is more than welcome, as are questions. If you're interested, I'll be happy to post some more information about SiteSync, along with the first screenshots of it :)