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iSM - Internet Search Manager (alpha)


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jballi
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iSM (Internet Search Manager) is a small utility for managing and performing internet searches. Does it actually perform the search? Well, no. The program assembles all of the pieces of a search and calls your default browser to perform the search. Think of iSM as the interface that sits on top of an internet search. You determine what you want to find and where you want to look for it, click on the Search button, and away it goes.


Features
1) Editable data file. Create, modify, or delete (or disable) whatever URLs you desire. Currently the data file supports the following fields:
[*:178hpxhv]Description. aka "Search Type".
[*:178hpxhv]URL
[*:178hpxhv]Group. URLs can be categorized into one or more groups.
[*:178hpxhv]Delimiter. Default is "%20".
[*:178hpxhv]Hint. This information is displayed on the status bar.
[*:178hpxhv]Help. This information is displayed if F1 is entered.
[*:178hpxhv]Comment
[*:178hpxhv]EnabledThe data file is formatted in such a way that new fields can be added very easily. Of course the programs would need to be modified if new fields were added.


2) URL variables. In addition to the standard URL variable designation, i.e. %s, the YubNub extended variable designation is also suppored. See the Multiple Parameters and Default Values sections of the following web page for more information:
http://yubnub.org/do...advanced_syntaxSince the YubNub URL variable syntax is supported, most URLs from the YubNub web site can be used without any modifications. Most YubNub URLs that include advanced features (multiple commands for example) are also supported but processing for these advanced URLs must go through the YubNub parsing engine. A more detailed explanation and examples of this feature to follow.


3) Easy searching. Descriptions can be seached by name (Search Type) or by Group.


4) Multiple search requests. If more than one Search Type is selected at a time, you can decide how that information is displayed via the Split Type option. The following Split Type option values are available:
[*:178hpxhv]None. Display multiple search requests in separate browser windows or if using Firefox (or compatible browser), in separate tabs if the "Open links from other applications in a new tab in the most recent window" option is selected.

[*:178hpxhv]BestFit. Displays multiple search requests in a single browser window, arranged using a "Best Fit" formula.

[*:178hpxhv]Vertical. Display multiple search requests in a single window, arranged vertically.

[*:178hpxhv]Horizontal. Display multiple search requests in a single window, arranged horizontally. Note: This option doesn't seem to work with IE for some reason.5) Command-line parameters. The following command-line parameters are supported:
-s {Search Parameter}
-t {Search Type}
-g {Search Group}For example, the following command syntax will set the search parameter to "Billy Joel" and select "Audio" Search Group:
iSM.exe -s "Billy Joel" -g "Audio"Screenshots
Main Form - Single Search:
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Main Form - Multi-Search:
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Search Results (resized) - Split Type set to "BestFit":
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Main Form - URL Variables:
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Edit Form - ListVIew:
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Edit Form - Detail:
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The Code
The pertinent files are as follows:
Source code: Not quite ready for prime time. I'll release it when it's ready.
Package: iSM.zip
To install, just extract the contents of the zip file to a folder and create a shortcut to iSM.exe. For quick access to the program, assign a hotkey. I personally use F6 but I also like Ctrl+Alt+F6.


Future Stuff
To get this project out of the alpha/prototype phase, I'm working on the the following pieces:
[*:178hpxhv]Saved Searches. This feature will save the current Search Parameter, the current Search Type, and the current Search Group so that a previous search can be quickly retrieved and executed.

[*:178hpxhv]Help and documentation. For some reason, these are the last pieces of most projects.

[*:178hpxhv]????. I'm looking for ideas on what works and what doesn't and of course, anything that might make it better.Thanks in advance for your constructive feedback.

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Edit : There doesn't appear to be any interest in this project so I'm going to just let it float away. If you have any interest, make a post and I'll post updates (if any).

Chris
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Wow; very professional presentation. This looks like a great way for people to streamline and maintain their most frequent types of searches.

Thanks for posting it.