Hi Oleg,
In another thread you asked me to provide feedback on the Flash and Media Capture which you offered to solve am Off-line Explorer down-load problem. I did want to use it a little more before saying anything.
Now that I've used it a bit, let me state the more I use it the the more I like it. I think this is a GREAT product. Because you asked for feedback, I am going to sound much more negative about the product than I feel. So....
First, I may be wrong about this. But I could have sworn I changed the default save path when setting it up. But it was back to the default the first time I used it. When I changed it in the program, then it definitely stuck.
This next one is probably my only real compliant. I found it confusing that when trying to down-load a video I had to start the video playing before it would appear in the list of available files. For example, try looking at at the page I was originally asking about http://www.lateformass.com/2010/01/is-this-the-worlds-most-dangerous-bridge/. If you just open that page and try to save the video before playing it, the program opens and shows the picture with the swf file selected. So it looks like you should be able to just hit save. But I found I had to start playing the video in the browser before the FLV would appear as a sub-branch below the SWF. If I don't start the video in the browser, I get an error when clicking on it in the save window. That all makes sense once you've done it. But it was not what I was expecting and a bit confusing.
And related to that, I also found it confusing that with various sites it seemed inconsistent whether I had to start the video in the save window or the browser window, or sometimes both.
I also find the floating save toolbar a bit clumbsy to use. When not paying close attention, it often got in the way and I would click it unintentionally. That happened most often when small pictures or thumbnails were involved. I switched to the top-left position setting which helped. But when it was near mouse pointer, it happened way too frequently. And check it on the link I referenced above. For some reason it show way above the video. Because it was way above the picture, you had to race to move the mouse to it or it would close before you got there.
I was also initially confused by the selection dialog. When you click it, it gives you a drop-down. I expected to go right into a selection dialog.
And the bottom menu option is filter. I was expecting that to allow me to limit the choices I saw in the file list box instead of something to help me to make multiple selections.
Along with that, I would like to see a feature at the main level to filter the listed files by extension. It would be helpful if I could enter *.flv or *.jpg to just see those files listed. And-or, it would be helpful to have sort by file type option.
Also on the selection menu, I seemed to me that rename, copy url, and convert the current file seemed out of place. They would probably fit better under a separate actions button.
I like location of the help link. Could a check for updates, about, and-or weblink be added there too?
Again, I don't mean to sound overly critical. This is a GREAT product. It is much better than the others I have used which try to do the same thing. The only feature I would like that I don't see is one that would allow me to drag a thumbnail for a video, like returned on a youtube search, to initiate a down-load.
But again, this is a GREAT product. Thanks.
In another thread you asked me to provide feedback on the Flash and Media Capture which you offered to solve am Off-line Explorer down-load problem. I did want to use it a little more before saying anything.
Now that I've used it a bit, let me state the more I use it the the more I like it. I think this is a GREAT product. Because you asked for feedback, I am going to sound much more negative about the product than I feel. So....
First, I may be wrong about this. But I could have sworn I changed the default save path when setting it up. But it was back to the default the first time I used it. When I changed it in the program, then it definitely stuck.
This next one is probably my only real compliant. I found it confusing that when trying to down-load a video I had to start the video playing before it would appear in the list of available files. For example, try looking at at the page I was originally asking about http://www.lateformass.com/2010/01/is-this-the-worlds-most-dangerous-bridge/. If you just open that page and try to save the video before playing it, the program opens and shows the picture with the swf file selected. So it looks like you should be able to just hit save. But I found I had to start playing the video in the browser before the FLV would appear as a sub-branch below the SWF. If I don't start the video in the browser, I get an error when clicking on it in the save window. That all makes sense once you've done it. But it was not what I was expecting and a bit confusing.
And related to that, I also found it confusing that with various sites it seemed inconsistent whether I had to start the video in the save window or the browser window, or sometimes both.
I also find the floating save toolbar a bit clumbsy to use. When not paying close attention, it often got in the way and I would click it unintentionally. That happened most often when small pictures or thumbnails were involved. I switched to the top-left position setting which helped. But when it was near mouse pointer, it happened way too frequently. And check it on the link I referenced above. For some reason it show way above the video. Because it was way above the picture, you had to race to move the mouse to it or it would close before you got there.
I was also initially confused by the selection dialog. When you click it, it gives you a drop-down. I expected to go right into a selection dialog.
And the bottom menu option is filter. I was expecting that to allow me to limit the choices I saw in the file list box instead of something to help me to make multiple selections.
Along with that, I would like to see a feature at the main level to filter the listed files by extension. It would be helpful if I could enter *.flv or *.jpg to just see those files listed. And-or, it would be helpful to have sort by file type option.
Also on the selection menu, I seemed to me that rename, copy url, and convert the current file seemed out of place. They would probably fit better under a separate actions button.
I like location of the help link. Could a check for updates, about, and-or weblink be added there too?
Again, I don't mean to sound overly critical. This is a GREAT product. It is much better than the others I have used which try to do the same thing. The only feature I would like that I don't see is one that would allow me to drag a thumbnail for a video, like returned on a youtube search, to initiate a down-load.
But again, this is a GREAT product. Thanks.
Jeff,
Thank you very much! We are making a complete redesign of the floating toolbar and the Save dialog. We have good ideas there and perhaps they will be the answer to most of these points. I will be interested in your feedback once we complete this.
Unfortunately, I cannot give any feedback on the drag-and-drop feature you are talking about. We will discuss this with the developers.
Thanks again!
Best regards,
Oleg Chernavin
MP Staff
Thank you very much! We are making a complete redesign of the floating toolbar and the Save dialog. We have good ideas there and perhaps they will be the answer to most of these points. I will be interested in your feedback once we complete this.
Unfortunately, I cannot give any feedback on the drag-and-drop feature you are talking about. We will discuss this with the developers.
Thanks again!
Best regards,
Oleg Chernavin
MP Staff