ritePen + nirCmd: Cracking the XML file
Due to my weekend activities, I had limited time to work on my ritePen + nirCmd mash-up (http://sumocat.blogspot.com/2008/07/ritepen-nircmd-killer-tab-app-mash-up.html). However, because I discovered the ritePen macros were stored in a plain old XML file, I am now able to enter and duplicate macros with tremendous speed.
From the 60 or so I entered manually, my list has grown to more than 200, encompassing shortcuts to all my applications, favorite URLs, folders, and common commands. This includes redundant macros for full names and abbreviations, so I have multiple ways to launch the same macro, such as "docs", "medocs", and "mydocuments" to open the My Documents folder. Thus, there is very little chance that I'd forget a trigger word, short of not knowing what I want to launch.
The XML file is located in the user's application data folder in the subfolder for whatever language you use. The XML itself is Plain Jane text without an associated schema. While it opens fine in Excel 2007, saving it from Excel won't work (or at least I don't know how to make it work). So what I'm doing is maintaining my macro list in a separate spreadsheet, converting to XML via a mail merge in Word, then pasting into the macro XML file. Takes a restart of ritePen to get it loaded, which I've enabled with a macro of course. Process is cumbersome for adding or editing one or two macros, but for one or two hundred, it rips.
Cracking ritePen's macro list was a major step in establishing my vision of Ink Command, a robust method of handwritten interface. More to come
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Labels: software testing, Tablet PC
ritePen + nirCmd: Cracking the XML file
posted by Sumocat at 7/07/2008 06:25:00 PM
6 Comments:
Thanks for this tip, Sumocat. I just returned to a tablet from a convertible, and this rocks. How long until you put out the macros?
By
Unknown, at 7/07/2008 10:54:00 PM
Thanks for all the info. More people need of this lovely information.The information is very
meaningful to whom needed. Interesting!!
By
Anonymous, at 7/08/2008 12:14:00 AM
Joe: I'm blogging the progress as it happens, so I'm still working on it. I've added more macros since my post, and now my list is approaching 300. I plan on releasing a generic list that anyone can use, including keyboard shortcuts, system apps and commands, and basic folder locations. That's pretty much set, but there are still a lot of options in nirCmd I haven't even touched yet. I'm torn between further research and stopping to properly share my data.
By
Sumocat, at 7/08/2008 08:55:00 AM
Please post the xml / macros soon. I am starting to love the mashup but lack the time to fully investigate nircmd so a few pointers would be appreciated.
By
The Author, at 7/09/2008 06:35:00 AM
bigyin: I trimmed down my list last night for public consumption. Working on directions today.
By
Sumocat, at 7/09/2008 07:30:00 AM
More refining in progress. Just looked up how to launch different Outlook types using the command line. See, this is why I can't get this stuff done.
By
Sumocat, at 7/09/2008 09:46:00 AM
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