Sharp Utils

Update

2009-07-16T03:25:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

The last six months have just been so busy that I have not been able to do anything at all with the NZBFeeder. I apologize for this, but it's timeconsuming and I've had alot of different projects going on.

I was |--| <- this close to stopping development all together. BUT:

Seems like I'm getting more free time now, so you might be happy to hear that I'm well on my way with version 3.0 of NZBFeeder. I'm taking all your bugreports and feedback into consideration, and I assure you, this version will be more stable, less memoryconsuming and faster than ever :)

So, for the preliminary 'whats-new':

- Better error-handling to avoid unexplained crashes
- Better logging of downloads
- Fileorganizer will be faster and 'smarter', and easier to configure

- Option to get show-information from next-episode.net to automatically generate rules based on your watchlist
- "Grab" rule directly from the rss-result of the feeds you specify

I might also try to implement the show-selector again, but I hate depending on third parties, or something that might fail, so we'll see.

Anyway. If there are any features you want, please let me know!

I will also strip away alot of features that I don't think is very useful.. Statistics are a joke, so I wont be continuing with them :) (Although a download-list will of course be present)

Come on guys! Give me your feedback! :)

February Update

2009-02-02T00:00:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone!

I'm receiving a lot of feedback on my application, which I think is great! It's wonderful to see that so many are actually trying it out.

In a moment of delusion last year, I actually had plans to make some sort of subscription-based application, but I'm happy to announce that the application will stay free forever. The reason for this is basically that I hate finding applications I like, only to realize that they are gonna charge me a million$ after 30 days :)

Anyway, that said, I'm still having issues with my hosting, so the "Select TV-show" feature doesn't work. I'll move the hosting to a private location, in order to have full control over this. Stay tuned for updates on this (although the application should start working by itself once I move the site).

- The Fileorganizer is not working as it should, and I'm working on this as we speak.
- www.next-episode.net has a cool new rss-feed that contains your watchlist and next airdates. I will implement a "Synchronize with next-episode" feature, and try to have the app automatically generate rules based on the shows you have in your watchlist.
www.next-episode.net is a fantastic site for all tv-fanatics :)

I'm sorry for the amount of time between posts, but we've just finished up a huge project at work, which has taken up a lot of time. I hope you accept my apology :)

Keep that feedback coming!

rgds
Yngve

Merry X-Mas!

2008-12-19T02:51:00.001-08:00

I'm leaving for christmas vacation later this afternoon, so I wish you a merry christmas, and a happy new year! :)

/Y

Show-list when creating a rule doesn't work

2008-12-13T06:08:00.000-08:00

There seems to be an issue with the server that is hosting my service. This service is responsible for gathering information about shows. Unfortunatly, this returns an error, but I'm working on getting it resolved.

No action on your part will be necessary :)

/Y

Download

2008-12-08T16:03:00.000-08:00

Download, and a small reminder! Developing this kind of application takes time:

NZBFeeder v2.5b (Build 42016)

NZBFeeder Build 2.5.0.42016

2008-12-08T14:29:00.000-08:00

Here's a new updated build for you!
What's fixed in this one:

- Taken care of the duplicate download issue
- Enabled the last 5 downloads to be displayed in the stats-section (full list and more info will be available in next build)
- Rewrote parts of the organizer engine, since it had a tendency to delete nfo-files and such a little too soon. It will also now organize multiple files in a folder based on the filename as well as single files based on the folder-name if the folder only contains one single file.
- Added two new variables when playing with filenames in the organizer: %EPISODE2% and %SEASON2%. These will force season and episodes to be two-digit no matter what the filename is.
- A new setting is now available in the settings-tab. "Remember downloads for".. This is simply to keep the config-file to grow into infinity :)

If you want to keep the old settings (rules etc will not be affected by re-install), just to a search for your current build (e.g. 2.5.0.33344) on your systemdrive. This will show you a folder containing a user.config file. Copy this file, and after installing the new version, do a new search for 2.5.0.42016 (which is the new build), and overwrite the user.config inside that folder.
This will be easier in later versions, I promise but this is still beta :)

Now go enjoy your tv-shows! :)

/Y

Feedback and Bugs

2008-12-07T23:42:00.001-08:00

Thank you all for your feedback so far! There seems to be a couple of bugs (let me know if I'm missing something):

- Problems moving the NZB-file from temporary folder to actual download-folder
- It has some problems remembering previous downloads, and re-downloads shows/files
- The fileorganizer will sometimes delete the "Ignore these files" even if the folder contains rar-files and so on.
- Automatic startup with windows doesn't work

Feature-requests:
- Instead of simply downloading the nzb-file, option to open the file with the systemdefault nzb-application
- More information about previously downloaded files (this has actually been in the pipeline, so it's on its way :))

I'm currently working on releasing an updated version which takes care of the most critical bugs. Let me know in the meantime if I've left out anything in this post.

/Y

Your feedback

2008-12-03T06:35:00.000-08:00

Is the most important thing for me to be able to make NZBFeeder even better. Please comment on this post with your bug-reports, feature-request or general feedback. I just want to make this application better :)

Thanks!

/Y

Sorry!

2008-11-27T08:20:00.001-08:00

I accidentially named the file wrong when I uploaded the new working version on monday. The link should now be correct.. You'll know you have the latest version by looking at the build-number in the titlebar. It should read 2.5.0.33344.

Remember, you need to input your Settings over again, but your rules and feeds will still be as you configured them.

/Y

A minor bug :)

2008-11-25T09:34:00.001-08:00

Fixed a couple of bugs. The organizer didn't work due to a lame ass code-screw up. Would end up with an exception...

The download link next to the paypal icon (hint hint ;)) now points to the new and updated version.

Sorry!

/Y

Download!

2008-11-24T14:08:00.001-08:00

It's here! Yes! 2.5 beta! :)

I'll try to post some kind of user-manual or something, but since I haven't done that yet, ask me questions in the comment-section, or email me at yngve.nilsen@gmail.com!

To speed up development, don't forget:
Downloadlink:
Here!

Disclaimer: May be buggy

(Btw. Rightclick the white area on the lower part of the application to add RSS-feeds :))

Good luck!
/Y

Betatesting is going well

2008-11-24T02:31:00.000-08:00

I've uncovered a couple of minor bugs, but no showstoppers yet.
You might be happy to know that the file-organizer now supports variables for both directory-name and filename. This means you can get it to automatically get the showname, season & episode, AND title (yes, I said episode-title) in the organizer. Your tv-folder will look nicer than ever ;)

Counting down to release. I'll be working on a couple of bugs after work today (around 4pm GMT+1), and aim for a release a few hours later.

Regards
Yngve

Hang tight!

2008-11-23T06:32:00.001-08:00

I just sent a version over to a friend for a little pre-release beta.
I'll post the same version here tomorrow afternoon (GMT+1).

It might contain some bugs that I want to get rid of before the real beta-release. :)

Stay tuned.

/Y

Not dead

2008-10-20T09:16:00.000-07:00

Just a little busy, but it's coming... Using an early beta at home now, so atleast I'm testing it properly...

Sorry!

Regards,
Yngve

Short Update

2008-09-07T13:40:00.001-07:00

Hi guys!

I've been traveling alot with work lately, and will be the coming week aswell, so I'm sorry to announce that the next version will not be released before some of the shows starts up. It's alot of work writing a good application, especially when I have a full time job also :)

But I'll get there!

-Y

Vacation... :)

2008-07-08T13:37:00.000-07:00

Sorry guys, but this s.o.b. called 'Vacation' kinda showed up out of nowhere... :)

Here's the version without the trial... I'll be back after my time off with the new version, but till then:

Get it here!

Have a great summer (I'm only on vacation for a couple of weeks.....)

/Y

Alright guys

2008-06-17T10:41:00.000-07:00

I'm really sorry for the delay, and unfortunatly, it's still not ready.
Here's a little taste at what I'm currently working on:

- Central server support. This will be optional, but it will be the biggest feature-addition to the NZBFeeder. This will basically consist of a database keeping your feed-settings and so on. It will require a login (email) and password, but no more information. I also give you my word that I will not use this information for anything else than sending (optional) information about updates.
Main features of this online service:
The option to remotely browse your configured rss-feeds, and easily select items for download. NZBFeeder will then talk to the server and automatically start downloading the nzb-file. Look at it as some kind of online configuration and remote control tool. Also it will provide statistics, and will be an excellent way of sharing different sites providing RSS.
But as you can see, the development is taking longer than I thought. :)

- The fileorganizer will be fully functional and scheduled in the upcoming release
- Autounzip function will be functional (for unzipping zip-files containing nzb-files)
- A recent comment on my previous post stated that nzbindex.nl has included direct download-link in their feed using a RSS-standard (god I wish everyone would use standard features :)) in which the NZB-file appears as an attachment in the feed. This will be supported.

Also, hopefully, most bugs in the previous release will be resolved.

Hope you will have some patience.

Since I'm getting great feedback and amazing support, I will during the next couple of days release a time-limit-free edition of the previous version with a few minor bug-fixes.

Thank you for understanding :)

later
/Y

Here we go!

2008-03-10T16:29:00.001-07:00

I'm crossing my fingers:

Download it here!

Please please please give me feedback on things you like AND don't like!
I put up the link right below the PayPal-button also!

So, what's up with this release:

- It has a vastly improved rule/Rss-engine, and I think the GUI is more understandable than earlier.
- Option to automatically start Newsleecher or some other application (if it's not already running) when a file is downloaded.
- Keeps better track of already downloaded files, so no duplicates here.
- The fileorganizer-tab is still in Beta, but it should work pretty well..
Keep in mind though that if a avi-file (or other) is called, let's say ar-heroes.S01E13.avi, it WILL make a folder with the name ar-heroes in your designated folder. Still trying to work out the kinks on this one.
- The autounzip started bugging at the last minute, so I had to leave that disabled for this release. Coming up in 2.1b.

- Oh and remember to read the instructions for RSS-feeds carefully on NZBs.org if you're using that site. They did some changes, so you need to add some gibberish at the end of the rss-feed url.

The beta expires on June 9th by the way. It's a way for me to ensure that noone is running old crappy software, and also to put some pressure on myself :)

So what's in the pipeline you ask?
- Well, the downloader seems to work just fine, so not many changes on that. I'm implementing some statistics, but that's mostly just for kicks.

FileOrganizer
The fileorganizer will be tuned heavily.
- It will match downloaded shows with the foldernames already in your destination folder to see if it finds some matches
- The NZBFeeder will work as a bridge between the downloaded NZB and the usenet application of choice. Actually parsing the NZB-file, checking how many files are expected the filenames and so on. When it notices that the nzb is done downloading, and extracted, it will know where it ended up and then search a couple of NZB-sites to find the category it belongs to. You may guess the rest? Yes, move the content to the correct folder to keep your downloads neat and tidy :)

AutoUnZip
The AutoUnZip feature is a fairly small piece of the puzzle, so I wouldn't put a major release increment on that implementation, but still it's neat having that several NZB-sites offer their NZB-files in zips.

UseNet support?
I've been playing around with actually connecting to usenet servers and doing the downloading myself. Maybe this is where I'll end up.. But it's going to take alot of work, so in the meantime just stick with NewsLeecher or whatever you like :)

Questions, comments, feedback, bugs. All important for me to continue making a good application! :)

Good luck :)

Current Status

2008-03-10T15:03:00.001-07:00

We're right there.

Brushing up on the installation-package, and we're ready very soon :)

Wow!

2008-03-10T03:30:00.000-07:00

I know I'm making something worthwhile, when I get comments about delays and I see people actually waiting for this application.

Thank you!

Well, first of all, sorry for the one day delay. I'm currently at work, so no release for some hours still. Good news is, that I'm satisfied with the functionality currently in the upcoming release, so I've stopped developing more of that for now. I'm just brushing up on the GUI, making it possible for you guys to configure it. Be warned though; alot of GUI is still not in place, so parts of the application will not look the part, but I think it should do its job.

Also keep in mind, the release is a beta. No guarantees for it to be working in the long run (although I've had it running continously for a week without failure on my computer, so it looks promising).

I'm trying to label all beta/alpha-functionality as best as I can, so you know whats final and whats not. So give me just a little more time, and I'll be done.

I'm hoping for sometime this evening. My timezone is GMT+1 by the way.

Thanks for waiting. I promise you it's not in vain! :)
Here's a little screenshot (Remember. GUI is not complete. :)):

Feature-requests etc

2008-02-26T04:12:00.000-08:00

As you might have noticed, I've added a static text on the right side of my blog stating that everything should be sent to my gmail-account.
Might as well announce that now, as the release of first beta of the second release, is iminent :)

Feel free to email me with suggestions to features that you would like to see, as soon as you get the idea.

With your help, I'll make this a great application!

Thanks for all the feedback I'm getting on this project! :)

Status

2008-02-25T01:25:00.000-08:00

Hi everybody!

Unfortunatly I was sent to Germany last week for work, and hence I didn't get to finish up the application.

It's getting seriously close to be ready for a beta-release, although some features might not make the first betarelease.

What will make the release is the basic functionality like RSS and rules, and also the auto-unzip part. When it comes to the folderorganizer I'm working on that to make it work like it should. New additions to this is that it searches www.nzbs.org for the name of the folder, and figures out what category the download belongs to, and then moves it to the appropriate folder.

Thank you all for being so patient! :)

Progress, Progress, Progress...

2008-02-11T10:35:00.000-08:00

So after starting basically from scratch on my NZB-feeder I have this progress to report:

- RSS engine now works way faster than the earlier model, and the memoryusage is considerably trimmed
- Rule engine is also more efficient, and less buggy. Episode-info supported is now both S##E## and #x## formats.
- Configuration is saved in a more accessible XML-format instead as binary in old version. This makes it easier to correct errors (if any), and also easier to use this configuration in other applications
- Downloading NZB's are close to finished. All I need to do is copy the old download-code into my new app, and it should be up and running. Will tweak this one as well, to make it a little smarter
- A bug I discovered in the last version was that if several episodes of one show was found in the same feed and the newest episode was added last, that was the only one that got downloaded. The RSS-engine now, turnes the feed around and starts parsing from the bottom up.
- Memoryusage is now around 25-30MB depending on the number of rules or RSS-feeds you have defined. That should be a little better than the 150MB in the old version
- Configuration files are now released and opened when needed instead of keeping them open and locked at all times. This leads to less corruption in the configuration files.

I also implemented a "clean-up" utility as a stand-alone feature in the app. Basically what it does is:

- Declare one or more folders you want to monitor.
- Tell the app where you store your TV-shows
- Tell it what kind of video-files you wish to "clean-up" (e.g. avi & mkv)
- Define file-extensions to ignore when deleting a folder (e.g. nfo, sfv, nzb, par etc)
- It will then go through the monitored folders and look for avi and mkv files, and see if they either:
- Contain episode info, or match one of the folder names in your TV shows folder
- Subsequentially it will parse the season and episode info, creating a Season # sub-folder in your TV-show folder, and move the video-file there.
- When it's done parsing all movie files, it will delete empty folders (ignoring the extensions from before).

So this is how my system is working right now (test-period):

My NZBFeeder is downloading the shows as usual, putting the nzb in my NewsLeecher import-folder. Newsleecher is set to autoimport, repair and extract to separate folder. My clean-up utility watches over the extract-to folder and automatically moves the downloaded and extracted TV-shows to the correct folder\season #

Sweet :)

All this will be yours in a short while. Hope you like it! :)

I haven't stopped working :)

2008-02-05T03:51:00.001-08:00

I just want to let you know, I'm still working on the next release... Unfortunately I don't have as much time as I used to, so it's not moving as fast ahead.

I will however keep you posted. Right now I don't have many exciting updates to report other than I've rewritten the entire engine that processes RSS-feeds and applies the rules.

Stay tuned!

AutoUnZip

2008-01-15T14:59:00.000-08:00

A wish from one of my friends led me to create this small tiny util :)
It's basically a simple tray-application that automatically unzips zip-files you put in a specified folder to another specified folder. A small balloon-tip is shown when the zip is finished.

I probably put like 45 minutes down in this one, so don't expect anything extreme.. But atleast there isn't much room for bugs (literally).

Download it here: Here, that is...

Notice: It wont minimize to tray if you close it, so remember to minimize it if you want to keep it running. Also, it doesn't create any shortcuts anywhere.

(Works great when downloading zipped nzb's from nzbs.org or merlins-portal)

This while we wait for the next-gen NZBFeeder :)