CoH and CoV FOE v 1.0 Released!

[u]City of Heroes Forum Offline Editor v 1.0 Released![u]

and...

[u]City of Villains Forum Offline Editor v 1.0 Released![u]

same program, different skin

I made this program because of how long it always seems to take me to make long posts and make/edit my guides , and because as of this moment, we still have NO CLUE when or if we'll EVER move to the new forums. Out of that frustration and frustration with the built-in online editor, I have created a more elegant way to edit and make new posts.

What are the features?

<ul type="square">[*]The ability to save your posts with code as a text file. [*]Font Color Picker! (special thanks to GoldenAce for his color guide!) That's right, ALL 142 colors in one easy to use menu![*]Find and Replace[*]Smilies! [*]Bold, Italics, [u]Underline[u], and all of the other "code" tags[*]Restrict your input field automatically to the max "safe" length of a forum post and even the max length of your forum signature... that's right, never wonder how much space you have left in your signature again![/list]
But the best thing about FOE is that you can construct an entire post without even having an internet connection... no worrying about your window timing out while making your post! When you're done making your post, just click the Select All button, the Copy Button, and then you can paste it right into the forums!

I know what you're saying, "yeah, yeah, I can do almost all of that on Notepad". Sure you can, but this editor inserts code FOR you, it's mostly a time saver, especially for those that are long-winded, guide writers, and even those that just want to make their posts more interesting and colorful.

If you want to give it a try, there are two applications you need to install to run it. First, you must get the Visual Basic 5 runtime library. Then, you must install the actual application itself. That's it. Where can you get them? Right here.

Included in that web folder is also a screenshot so you can see what you're getting before you download it. In case you want a direct link to see what the program looks like, here is a direct link.

Give it a try, you might like it!

For those already familiar with the program, you should know that this will be the last "new features" version that I will make before we get the new forums. Any future versions will simply be bugfixes. This version basically cleaned up a lot of code, re-adjusted the interface and prepared the code-base for an easier migration to the new forums and a WYSIWYG editor sometime in the near future.

And a final word of thanks to Clorius for his Installer suggestion... I really do like that installer better!


This post made FABULOUS with CoH FOE![/b]

Any Vista users that are having an issue running the program, do the following steps:
<ul type="square">[*]Uninstall any copies of the program[*]Download the latest version[*]Right click and run the installation program As Administrator[*]Install the Program[*]Try to run it[*]If it still fails: Do this, that should fix it[/list]This isn't a problem with the program, it's a program with Vista's overly sensitive security.

I would love to hear about any problems or bugs that anyone might run up against. You can either e-mail me (see the About/Help screen) or message me here.

Sounds interesting... dunno how much I'd use it though. I tend to post rapidfire rather than elaborately. New smilies, though...

[ QUOTE ]
This isn't a problem with the program, it's a program with Vista's overly sensitive security.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not really. UAC isn't going anywhere in future versions of Windows, so if it doesn't work properly then there is a problem with your program.

At least recommend users right-click and "Run as Administrator" instead.

[ QUOTE ]
there is a problem with your program.

[/ QUOTE ]

Nope. No one has had issues RUNNING the program, just getting the MICROSOFT Visual Basic controls to register properly. The problem is with Microsoft, who won't even let its own files be installed without "permission". My application, meaning the program that *I* wrote, installs just fine.

Oh, if it's just a problem with installation, can't you just elevate the VB runtime installer (or register the runtimes from an elevated command prompt)?

I don't have a problem with your program, it's just a dangerous suggestion to permanently disable UAC when you can right-click a program and have it run with full privileges if needed.

If that's what people want to do, then so be it, it's a good suggestion. I prefer "lower security" myself on my own computers and find Microsoft's new security protocols to be extreme.

Then again, if my computer ever gets "into trouble" I know how to get it out of trouble again.

You're probably right for the average user though, so I have adjusted my recommendations for Vista users though, thanks.

The only thing buggin me is your new avatar. I much prefer your old one with the "crazy eyes".

[ QUOTE ]
The only thing buggin me is your new avatar. I much prefer your old one with the "crazy eyes".

[/ QUOTE ]

Do the googily eyes make you feel more comfortable around me?

This release is mostly a bug fix. In version 1.0, there would be an error when you tried to use the Code buttons to format something past the "Max limit". This would be most obvious when the setting was set to Signature size. This has now been resolved, the program will now NOT allow you to format past the Max input size selected, and will instead tell you how many characters you have to remove to be able to format with that code.

Also, the CoV version now finally has it's own icon and all forms are now colored correctly.

It is STRONGLY reccommended that anyone using 1.0 uninstall and redownload this new version, because you may lose data while editing if you try to format while moving past the Max input limit. Version 1.01 which is online now, fixes this problem.

This release is an optional bugfix. If FOE is working for you right now, you don't need to install this version unless you want to.

<ul type="square">[*]Included the Common Dialog control in the installer because for some reason Windows XP SP3 does not install it when you install the VB5 runtime files, so there it is. It will install automatically into your Windows\System folder along with the Richtext control file.[*]I have also made the sub-menus (the Code, Color, and Smilie Menus) "thinner and taller" by request. If you still want the "fatter and shorter" menus, then just keep using 1.01[/list]