/notify /silent mode

[timteka]

It's very convenient to use such modes with Task Scheduler. Though notification alerts pop up so quickly that they are totally useless. i'm sure no one is sitting several minutes watching these popups following one by one with high rate. Could you add feature to keep tray icon upon completion and clicking on it would show us the report? (e.g. 'my_application: update successfull"...)

[floele]

So in other words, you'd like to see the Ketarin main window?

[timteka]

Maybe not even the main window...the Report 'd be just enough :-)

[Phil]

The same happens to me, it´s hard to read the info in all the fast popups.

 

Maybe, if I understood right what timteka means, a new window from the tray icon that reports the updated packages after the update could do it.

 

Another idea could be to check all the packages silently and then display a window with all the avaliable updates and prompt to choose / select the ones to update.

[appyface]

Not sure this will give you exactly what you're looking for, but here's what I do:

 

1. I created a batch file for Ketarin to run in silent mode (without /notify) and specify my database

 

2. I also specify the /log= command line option to put the output logfile where I save them (with date/time stamp on it via batch variables)

 

3. I then created a shortcut (*.lnk) to the batch file -- the shortcut can be configured to launch the batch file minimized. I like this because all I will get is a CMD window button on my taskbar that goes away on its own, it doesn't pop up over other windows while I'm working and disrupt me.

 

4. I used to have my text editor open the saved logfile after Ketarin was done, I don't anymore as I just go look at it when ready. But that would give you a text listing of the Ketarin log file when Ketarin is finished.

 

Hope this helps, perhaps you can revise it to get what you need...

 

--appyface

[Phil]

Thanks. That´s a pretty good idea, though I still like more the idea of a tiny popup or windows report, rather than having to check the whole log (something less disrupting - at a glance). Anyway right now it´s the best thing to do.

 

btw If you don´t like the black window you can use HiddenStart in the shortcut

[appyface]

Yeah it's the best method I've come up with so far. If you use something like the free tool TextCrawler

(httx://www.digitalvolcano.co.uk/content/textcrawler/tcdownload)

 

you can even run against an entire directory of log files and display just the error messages or other parts you'd like to see out of each of them. It supports regex but it's rudimentary, and there's probably a superior tool out there, but I've used TC for so long and for all sorts of tasks, that I just haven't bothered looking for anything else.

 

Perhaps Flo could be persuaded to add another command line switch, that would just output the error lines which appear in the Ketarin pop-up window...

 

Thanks for mentioning the HiddenStart shortcut function. Yes I do know about that one. When I wrote that I like to see the taskbar button, I should have also mentioned it's because I can see at a glance if Ketarin is running at that moment without disrupting my work.

 

I don't usually care to know if Ketarin is running or not, except when I'd like to do some maintenance. IIRC Flo stated it's not a problem to have two Ketarin instances open against the same database, but I'd just as soon let an update run finish before I start changing the database.

 

Kind regards,

--appyface

[Phil]

I heard somewhere about TextCrawler but never tried it, I will now, thanks for pointing it

Also yeah it would be great if Flo gets persuaded to include another switch (crossed fingers)

Thanks again Appyface for the good ideas

 

 

Cheers,

Phil D.

(my apologies for posting almost one week later...)

[floele]

Output the error lines where actually? As file?

[appyface]

Yes, into a file.

 

I was originally thinking of a 'log level' parameter to the log switch -- one that restricts the output log to just the errors that would have been listed in the pop-up if running Ketarin interactively.

 

But now I'm thinking a separate switch and file for this option, one could output the detailed log via the /log= switch, and another switch and file could catch the messages that would have been in the pop-up?

 

Best of all worlds... specify one or the other or both switches?

[Phil]

At first I thought of a temporal popup window from the system tray, which could display the info of the actual popup that shows up at the end of the update (in the interactive mode), to see at a glance if there is anything to check / fix. If there is, I may check then the detailed log.

 

A log with the error lines of the actual Ketarin´s pop-up, it´s not exactly the same, but it still may make it easier since it can be displayed right after Ketarin has finished (in the silent mode).

 

 

specify one or the other or both switches?

 

Not sure if I got that right, if it´s works as a separate switch you can specify one, the other or both.

 

Cheers,

Phil D.

[K3tchup]

Hi timteka! This was exactly what I was thinking too. I was going to make a new thread for this myself. But then I noticed this one. Appyface's workaround has to do it for me now I guess.

 

Yes. And I would only need a report if there were any errors when Ketarin completes the task. Otherwise it could just remain /silent.

Edited March 7, 2010 by K3tchup

[appyface]

So another cmd line switch, to output only errors to another file, would help those of us who still want to output a full detailed log too.

 

My preference is to write a single line in the error file, it's a placeholder that represents ANY error Ketarin encountered while processing an app. The line would contain the date/time, app name, and app guid (in case of duplicate names). For me no other detail is necessary, as I'd be going to the Ketarin GUI to check it out anyway (or I'd look at my detailed log file).

 

Sure, an error caused by a website temporarily down wouldn't require going to the Ketarin GUI if we knew that's what it was, but I'm hoping to make this idea very quick and easy for Flo to implement :-) and still make it worthwhile to us.

 

Oh, and if there are no errors, I've no preference whether the error file is not created, or is created but empty. Anyone have a preference when there are no errors?

 

Other thoughts and ideas about this one? If its simple enough maybe Flo could be persuaded to slip it in next time he has a break from his other work :-)

 

--appyface

[CybTekSol]

My preference is to write a single line in the error file, it's a placeholder that represents ANY error Ketarin encountered while processing an app. The line would contain the date/time, app name, and app guid (in case of duplicate names). For me no other detail is necessary, as I'd be going to the Ketarin GUI to check it out anyway (or I'd look at my detailed log file).

I second this appyface... this would work well for me As a matter of fact, along these same lines, I was considering asking Flo to add a button to the GUI error popup window to 'Copy only failed download app names to clipboard' to reduce info overload when entire web page code is copied to the clipboard.

 

Oh, and if there are no errors, I've no preference whether the error file is not created, or is created but empty. Anyone have a preference when there are no errors?

My preference on this one would be a log stating something to the effect of 'All apps updated successfully' just to know that the logging function didn't fail.

[K3tchup]

Thanks for mentioning TextCrawler appyface! It feels like a really useful tool.

 

I use it to match this regex from Ketarin log file and replace it with an empty line:

 

(.* Checking if update is required.*)\n|(.* Determined target file name: .*)\n|(.* Replacing .*)\n|(.* Server source file: .*)\n|(.* Update not required.*)\n|(.* Using referer: .*)\n

 

The log file is so much more readable now!

 

Now that I think it... Could Ketarin have a "minimal logging" -option that would leave these lines out?

Edited March 27, 2010 by K3tchup

[floele]

Hm, doesn't "sort by status" actually do the trick as well?