Enhancement request for 'check no download'

[appyface]

I have been experimenting with the 'check no download' feature and a Change Indicator Variable (CIV) scrape, so Ketarin can visually alert me on those apps which may have new versions, that I must go download manually (because I do not yet have a valid download URL to use in Ketarin).

 

There is a small obstacle to using Ketarin to provide 'alert only' in this way. The URL field is required in Ketarin, but in these cases I don't have a download URL...

 

Ketarin can be 'tricked' with a download URL to some irrelevant file, such as a small GIF from some website. Ketarin must download this file once. Thereafter, assuming the download file is available and unchanged, the server vs. disk file comparison is essentially taken out of the equation, leaving just the CIV scrape for Ketarin to monitor for this app.

 

But instead of using a 'trick', would it be possible to have the following enhancement?

 

1. If the app is marked 'check no download' AND a CIV is provided, the download URL may be left blank if desired

 

2. When update is issued against the app, and download URL is blank, Ketarin skips the file checking portion, using only the CIV processing to alert to possible new version

 

Thoughts? Thanks as always for consideration.

 

Best Regards,

--appyface

Edited July 3, 2009 by appyface

[krislin]

That is a great idea and I would love to have that in Ketarin!

It's amazing how no one has replied to this post yet!

Brilliant idea!

[appyface]

I am using this 'trick' quite a bit, various sites are using redirect links to CNET etc. for several of my apps. Many of them don't change that often, it's just easier to use Ketarin to monitor only, and go download them manually whenever they do change.

 

Making this enhancement to Ketarin would make monitoring very straightforward and simple.

 

Thanks krislin for adding your vote! I believe Flo is busy on other projects ATM but perhaps he'll come back to considering this one for us sometime soon.

 

--appyface

[CybTekSol]

What if Flo could add a 'Add application monitor' or 'Monitor only' that would 'gray-out' those portions of the add app GUI that do not apply and all you would need is a 'version scrape' from the app's home page? These entries could possibly be displayed in their own section or sorted to group them? Would this accomplish your needs appyface? That way one could be notified of a 'version change' without a file downloaded. I don't know how hard this would be to code but it would work for the Linux and BSD distros that I monitor.

[appyface]

Yes, he could do that, and it would serve to provide a montoring-only function.

 

It's a bit of a departure from the current interface, though -- which is why I made my suggestion the way I did. The intent of my suggested enhancement is to leave the interface nearly as it is now. All I'm asking is to make specifying and checking for a URL optional, if a CIV is specified when 'check, no download' is enabled.

 

That means I can keep the app entry in Ketarin intact including variable scrapes, download file/pathname, etc., from when it was actually downloading the file for me. If I can ever download that file again, all I might have to do is plug the URL and disable 'check, no download'.

 

But I'm in favor of a monitoring function, regardless, that doesn't require checking a file on a server as part of the monitoring.

 

--appyface

[CybTekSol]

Maybe Flo can allow something as simple as putting {monitor} in the download url position to alter the app entry to monitor the 'version scrape' only which would allow you to leave all the other entries intact while monitoring only? This would work for my needs as well...

[floele]

I'll add some possibility to the next release.

[appyface]

Thanks for your consideration Flo! Very helpful :-)

[CybTekSol]

Nice Flo... THANKS!

[krislin]

Thanks Flo!

This will be very useful to me!