iFeelPixel download: What's new for version 0.7?

Subtitle for this beta: "iFeelPixel ReSearch: the Search Reloaded (Copy, Search, Feel)"
Keywords: clipboard, copy, parse, search, find
Release Date: May 14, 2005 (Status: stable minor version released)

IDDN
(R) iFeelPixel is a legal trademark registered at

INPI

- Filter windows caption with keyword:
Send keyword to "Part of screen" (Warning: Only windows caption including keyword will be activated and detected)

- iFeelPixel software can search your local files. Please enter a keyword in the textbox, and click the "find now" button to start your search. To stop your search, please click "Stop Search" button. You can change search directory and files extension with Media Center window. After the search: please click "Play Media" button to test the highlighted file or double-click to select the file with Media Center. Note: by default, iFeelPixel selects files automatically; if you prefer the manual method, please uncheck "Auto-Select" and "Auto-update" checkboxes.

"Search the Web for Music and Sounds"
Search sounds with FindSounds.com and Music

- iFeelPixel software must access the internet to search your keywords, because it sends keywords to your browser. Please enable / allow / authorize iFeelPixel in your Firewall settings. Otherwise, the Web search does not work. Thanks.

Note: by default, web search is disabled, you must enable it if you want use this feature.

- Question: It opens an explorer window and the link. But it doesn't reuse the active internet
explorer window. I want it to reuse a previous browser window. What should I do?

Answer: In Internet Explorer, you can prevent this by checking "Reuse window for launching
shortcuts" in Tools >> Internet Options >> Advanced. Scroll down, and under the Browsing tab, check the box titled: "Reuse window for launching shortcuts" (Checked by default).

The help text says: "Specifies that when you click a Web link in an Internet-aware program, such as Outlook Express, and there is already an Internet Explorer window open, the Web page appears in the open browser window instead of opening a new window."

Constant Force

- Checkbox added: "Constant Force".
Magnitude range value: 500 (weakest) to 10000 (strongest)
Recommended value: 1000 (Default)

Benefits:
The force feedback mouse vibrates in relation to brightness and
is attracted in the direction opposite to the brightness gradient.

Crossing an edge in which the gray level increase correspond to moving
over a raised edge, and an oppositional force is applied (to the user this feel like moving
over an edge). Conversely, moving between two areas in which the gray level decrease
cause a force to be applied towards the lower area. This give a good sense of a range of
different heights with the mouse. This method is simplistic but work well for certain
types of objects:
• Objects with many varied textures
• Objects with strong, simple edges

Potential Benefits for Virtual Museums (Online Museums):
• Allow long distance visitors (remote users)
• Improve access for visually disabled people
• Increase the number of artefacts on display
• Allow rare, fragile or dangerous objects to be handled
• Allow the visual displays to be extended to make them more realistic, useful and engaging for visitors and scholars (provide better experiences)
• Less eye strain

Note: Edge Options can be edited even if corresponding checkboxes are not checked.

- Media center: the file extension is automatically set to "Immersion Force Resource", when IFR folder or Immersion Corporation folder are selected. (added beta 0.7.3)

- Timer interval set to 10 ms by default (previous value: 55 ms)

- Sounds optimized for Edge, line, corner, texture, iFeelSmiley, color (Musical Instruments replaced by Musical Notes) options.

- Internal PC speakers improved with speed rate in percent (Edge, line, corner, color options)
(sort of mini-piano with beeps)

- Question: What's a PC Speaker?

Answer: The PC has an internal speaker which is capable of generating beeps of different frequencies. You control the speaker by providing a frequency number which determines the pitch of the beep, then turning the speaker on for the duration of the beep.
The frequency number you provide is actually a counter value. The PC uses it to determine how long to wait between sending pulses to the speaker. A smaller frequency number will cause the pulses to be sent quicker, resulting in a higher pitch. The PC uses a base rate of 1,193,180 Hz (this frequency is generated by an oscillator chip). The frequency number tells the PC how many of these cycles to wait before sending another pulse. Thus, you can calculate the frequency number required to generate a specific frequency by a specific formula.

- media files extension selected by default in Media center (old value = "*.ifr")

- File >> Select >> Part of screen (updated beta 0.7.3)
. Recent class name list box (Add or Remove class)
. Recent window caption list box (Add or Remove caption)
Note: Those list box settings are not saved on exit.

- File >> Stop Effects (only urgency)
New status bar message: "Tactile and sound effects are temporarily stopped".
(updated beta 0.7.3)

- Immersion Force resource: "notes.ifr" for color option "tactile symphony". (added beta 0.7.3)

- Added "Full screen disabled" on window caption to alert users if "Part of screen" is selected

- view >> clipboard viewer:
"A clipboard viewer is a small application that displays the current content of the Windows clipboard. The clipboard viewer window is a convenience for the user and does not affect the data-transaction functions of the clipboard. Using ClipBook Viewer, you can cut or copy information from another program and store it in a page that you can name, save, use again, and share with others."

- hotsamp.ifr updated (new tactile effects)
ramp, spring, slope, damper, inertia, friction, vector force, x-axis wall, y-axis wall; useful for Grid feature (Compound effects are recommended for acuity and realism)

- Quick note on random functions: if edge is uncheck, texture will have the correct filename selected; Edge have priority on Texture and Grid; Texture have priority on Grid

- Splash Screen updated with a new logo and alpha (transparent) feature,
click to minimize loading window and show loading window in taskbar (added beta 0.7.2)

- Messages box added and updated
(e.g. TouchWare gaming message alert, if not available on the local machine)

- Clipboards/web search window: "manual parse" increases iFeelPixel process (bug loop), because the parsed text is too large (More than 30000 characters). (fixed beta 0.7.3)

- Color detection: color sound is repeated, when "threshold on color " is applied, even if the color is still the same. (fixed beta 0.7.3)

- Force Feedback is disabled but tactile effects are still played. (fixed beta 0.7.3)
Problem description: Error with Immersion plugin and "OpenForceRessource" function.

Answer: Either get a DVD decoder that does not use overlay technology OR allows you to
not use overlay like

Nvidia DVD decoder (Free 30 days trial).

- If there is a failure with Immersion plugin for any reason (device problem, file problem,
etc.) you may not be able to see the contents of the IFR file.

Possible Error Messages in Media Center status bar:
"Error: No TouchSense device was found"
"Error: Cannot allocate the project"
"Error: Cannot find or open the URL/IFR"
"Error: Empty URL/IFR passed"

- Question: Sometimes iFeelPixel software works fine with my USB joystick/gamepad/mouse and sometimes it doesn't work at all. What's going on?

Answer: iFeelPixel software assumes there's only one TouchSense device connected to your system at a time. Thus, if you have multiple TouchSense device (e.g. game controllers) on your system, iFeelPixel software may not be able to find the right TouchSense device. The easiest way to get around this is to plug in only one TouchSense device at a time, regardless of whether the controller attaches via a game port or USB.
In Windows, you can change the game controller's ID via Start->Settings->Control Panel->Game Controllers->Advanced. Typically, iFeelPixel software only look for one controller and find the first controller with ID 1.

- File >> Settings >> 'Export Settings 2 (Alternative)' button added:
If you receive a message error when you Export Current Settings, please click 'Export Settings 2 (Alternative)'

"Cannot export \save\*.reg: Error opening the file. There may be a disk or file system error."

- Options >> Texture Generation >> 'Save Preset 2' button added:
If you receive a message error when you export Texture Settings, please click 'Save Preset 2'

"Cannot export \texture\*.reg: Error opening the file. There may be a disk or file system error"

If an error occurs, you see an error description on screen and you have 3 choices:
ABORT (Abrupt termination of iFeelPixel program execution and iFeelPixel process running)
RETRY (Performs the action of retrying the action whose failure posted the DialogBox)
IGNORE (Ignore last error generated by iFeelPixel software)

Please be sure to review the list of known issues before submitting a
bug. But if you do find a problem that isn't included on the known
issues list, please let us know by reporting the bug:
http://www.ifeelpixel.com/mail/bug.php

- Instant look-up clipboards: monitor, remember and parse private clipboards New!
- Automatic search for media files (copy, search & find) New!
- Local search New!
- Web search New!

- Optimize RAM
- Modify manually iFeelPixel CPU priority
- Internet time
- Saving/Exporting/Importing/Resetting Settings