Aignesberger Software GmbH

We have just uploaded WebSite-Watcher 2010 (10.2) Beta-1.

Main focus in that version is increased database stability, WebSite-Watcher also performs several integrity checks and auto corrections during runtime.

Should you have a corrupted database, WebSite-Watcher is now able to restore more data from damaged databases as in previous versions.

If you don’t have a working backup and your database has too many physical damages and is no longer repairable, then you can use the new feature “Re-Create database from cache folder“. This feature re-creates your database from scratch from files which are saved in the WebSite-Watcher cache folder. It’s an additional layer to restore data everything else goes wrong.

Now let’s hope that your database will never have physical damages and you will never need this new feature!

WebSite-Watcher 2010 (10.1 Beta-2) has a new Plugin to extract text content from proprietary file formats (eg. PDF, DOC, PPT, …) via the IFilter system. IFilter is the system used by Windows Search to search through files in proprietary formats. IFilters are usually installed by Office Suites, PDF readers, etc.

This plugin supports any file format for which you have an IFilter installed and can typically be used to extract text from PDF files, Powerpoint files, Word files, Open Document files, or even from Open Office files (*.sxw, *.sxc, …) if you have Open Office installed.

The IFilter plugin is not assigned automatically, you have to assign it manually in the bookmark properties (Advanced + Plugin).

Have you ever tried to find bookmarks with specific configurations, for example all bookmarks that have the “Send Mail” feature enabled? Or bookmarks that have a Watch filter defined? Ouch, it was always a pain because you had to check the properties of each bookmark manually to get this information.

WebSite-Watcher 2010 (10.1 Beta-1) introduces new columns that will help to show such an information in the main window.

1. New column “Added”
This column shows the bookmark creation date. It was often suggested by our customers and is now finally available.

2. Three new custom columns
More powerful are three custom columns that can be used to show selected bookmark properties. To configure these custom columns, simply open “Options + Columns” in the main menu, then click the tab “Custom columns”.

The button “…” allows you to select the bookmark property that should be displayed in the custom column. For example alternative e-mail addresses which are entered in the “Send Mail” bookmark action.

If a custom column contains text information, then the Find feature will also search these columns. If the content of a custom column is larger than 250 characters, then only the first 250 characters will be displayed.

If you add RSS feeds via the RSS button in the status bar, you never know the content of these RSS feeds until you add them as new bookmarks, run a check and open them.

WebSite-Watcher 2010 adds a Preview button

Clicking the “Add RSS feed” button as shown above still opens the “Add to Bookmarks” dialog, but this dialog has now a “Preview” button that lets you preview the content of an RSS feed before you finally add it as new bookmark.

Really. After 10 years, WebSite-Watcher finally got a Delete button in the main toolbar!

There is also a new way to customize your toolbars. Simply right click a toolbar in the main window and select “Customize”, you will then also be able to re-arrange toolbar buttons. Unfortunately it was not possible to import the old toolbar configuration, after installing the update you’ll see the default toolbar buttons.

Version 2010 (10.0 Beta-5) is now online. If you already use version 10.0 Beta-4, please try to install the new version via “Help + Check for new version” (this is a new feature that was introduced in Beta-4).

WebSite-Watcher 2010 has several improvements to check for and install new program versions.

Beside the optional automatic update check you can now also look for new Final or Beta versions in the Help menu (“Check for new version…”).

When a new version has been detected, you are asked if you want to install the new version automatically or if you only want to open the download page to download and install the setup manually.

If you select “Install Now”, then WebSite-Watcher will automatically download and install the new version with just a minimum of mouse clicks. Concretely, WebSite-Watcher downloads the setup package and calls the setup afterwards, no need to select the setup folder and other configurations during the setup, this is done automatically.

This new update functionality has been introduced in WebSite-Watcher 2010 (10.0 Beta-4). Beta-5 will be released in a couple of days, then you’ll be able to test this new feature.

WebSite-Watcher 2010 has a new statistic feature that shows lots of advanced information about your bookmarks. You can call it in the main menu with “View + Statistic“.

The initial view shows a very simple report that gives an overview of the attention you’re spending on each of your bookmarks.

You can either show statistics of the current month or over the whole collection period. WebSite-Watcher already collects these statistics since version 5.1.0.

Clicking the “Show details” button in the toolbar displays many advanced information, for example:

- Avg. time how long a page was opened
- How many links were clicked in a page
- How often a page was opened
- How many data was transferred

The status line shows either the summery or the average of fields. Clicking onto one of these cells swaps between summary and average.

By default, you have to create a separate bookmark for each page you want to monitor. If a whole site instead of single pages should be monitored, you can use the Follow-Links functionality that will automatically insert all links of a page as new bookmarks.

This feature is already available for many years now, but WebSite-Watcher never kept an eye on no longer linked pages and saved them “forever”.

WebSite-Watcher 2010 introduces the new bookmark option “Delete no longer linked pages every NN days” that allows you to automatically detect and delete these no longer linked pages from your list.

Since the execution of this operation can take some time, it is not performed in real time with every check and you have to configure how often it should be executed. Default value is to perform it once a week.

If you right click a master bookmark in your bookmark list, you can also run this procedure manually via the context menu.

Finally, we’d like to wish each and every one of you a peaceful Christmas and a happy, healthy and successful 2010!

The next major update of WebSite-Watcher (version 2010) will come with a new filter assistant. This new assistant helps you to select the filter type and classify the selected text (in previous versions you had to select all these characteristics from menus and sub menus).

Looks like just another way to do the same as before. However really new is that you can now create filters directly within the internal browser, you no longer have to open the bookmark properties and start the Filter-Assistant there.

There are two ways how a filter can be created in the internal browser:

1. Using the “Page” menu

Select the text you want to filter, then click “Page” and “Create new filter”

2. The quick way

Select the text you want to filter and hold the ALT key pressed when releasing the left mouse button.

This will open the Filter Assistant and you can select the filter type and classify the selected text. Simply follow the steps in the assistant.

A first beta version of WebSite-Watcher 2010 (10.0) is now online and can be downloaded from the beta section.

Starting with the next major update of WebSite-Watcher we’ll change the version number philosophy what will also influence the update policy a bit. Starting with the next major update, the year will be used as major version number, concretely WebSite-Watcher 2010 (10.0). It’s planned to release one major update per year, but also minor versions will introduce new features and improvements.

Here’s the new/changed update policy for WebSite-Watcher 2010 (10.0) and higher:

1. One year of free major updates

The initial purchase of WebSite-Watcher includes one year of free major updates. Major updates are indicated by a change in the first version number, for example an update from version 2010 (10.0) to 2011 (11.0). The life cycle (and reference date) of a major version always starts with the date of the first beta version, for example 2010 (10.0 Beta-1). That means that you usually get one major update for free.

2. Free minor updates and bug fixes

If you buy a copy of WebSite-Watcher, you will get all minor updates and bug fix releases (within the same major version that was released within your update subscription) for free. Minor updates are updates where the first version number is not changed. For example an update from version 2010 (10.0) to 2010 (10.1).

3. Update price

Once your update subscription has expired, you can buy a new major version inclusive 1 year of free major updates. The price is only 50% of the full version.

4. Bought versions will never expire

If you decide not to renew your update subscription, then only the ability to update to new major versions expires. Your license doesn’t expire and you can work as long as you want with a version that was released before or within your update subscription.

5. Buy an update whenever you want

You can renew your subscription at any time, also months or many major versions later to get access to recent versions. You are not forced to prolong your update subscription on the same day it expires.

How is this new update policy different to the old one that was announced in 2008?

1. Longer period to get free updates, customers usually get one major update for free
2. Customers who already bought an update subscription in 2009 will of course get version 2010 for free