foo_whatsnew, Detects added or removed features Options

[foosion]

What does this component do?

Let's start with what it does not do: It does not check for new versions of foobar2000 or any components. It is also not a change log reader. It merely detects available features and reports if some were added or removed compared to the last time you ran foobar2000. The types of features we are talking about here are main and context menu commands, preferences pages, Columns UI panels, advanced settings, and more.

Why would I use it?

You don't want to spend time looking for new features after updating foobar2000 or installing or updating one of your components, and the change log is vague or not available, or you are just not the kind of person who reads these things. Perhaps you are new to foobar2000 and don't have the first clue where to go looking for new features.

So how does it work?

Every time you start foobar2000, the component scans the available features. When it detects that some features have been added or removed, it will display a notification icon on the taskbar to make you aware of that. If you click the balloon tooltip or double-click the icon, the component will open a window with a list of the changes. You can also access this window from the main menu (Help/What's New?).

What are the restrictions?

The component only knows about certain types of features, so it may not recognize everything. Since "feature type" is one of the types of feature it does recognize, you will be informed by the component, if its feature recognition ability is enhanced.
It cannot detect changes in the implementation of a feature, and currently it cannot detect if a feature is renamed.

I want to try it. Where do I get it?

The component can be downloaded from my components page. To install it, unpack the content of the ZIP archive into your foobar2000 folder. Note that you will need Windows XP or better to use it.

Ideas for future improvements

A feature browser that can display all installed features and allows filtering by name and feature type.

On the first run, the component displays all detected features. While this gives an immediate impression of what it does, the displayed list can be a bit overwhelming even on a bare-bones foobar2000 installation. A better idea would be to launch the feature browser on the first run (and change the text on the notification icon accordingly).

Easier access to features.log which is created in the foobar2000 profile directory.

This post has been edited by foosion: Jan 22 2007, 17:52

[q-stankovic]

Very nice and useful! Thanks!

[musicmusic]

It was interesting...

Suggestion: Escape should close the "What's new" window.

[molnart]

Note that you will need Windows XP or better to use it.

It seems to work under Win2000 too.
Thanks for this plugin, im sure it will save a lot of time (and posts ) for many users.

[fabiospark]

Maybe, an option to have the list in the log file sorted (or have it sorted with no options) could be useful...

[mazy]

you can always surprise me, foosion . thanx for this ...

[foosion]

Version 1.0.1 is out. This release fixes the following issues:

• Entries are sorted before being appended to features.log.
• Escape key closes the "What's new?" window
• Fixed typo in tooltip on notification icon.

Thanks to everyone who provided feedback.

[fabiospark]

Thanks

[mazy]

foosion, i have one issue with foo_dockable_panels. foo_whatsnew reports dockable panels' main and context menu commands ('activate' and 'collapse' for each dockable panel) as added or removed on random between subsequent starts. seems to me like some kind of timing issue.

[fabiospark]

foosion, i have one issue with foo_dockable_panels. foo_whatsnew reports dockable panels' main and context menu commands ('activate' and 'collapse' for each dockable panel) as added or removed on random between subsequent starts. seems to me like some kind of timing issue.

Seems foo_scheduler too.

[foosion]

I finally found time to put up version 1.0.2. There should be less erroneous reports about fluctuating configuration dependent features. Still, configuration changes that results in new or removed menu commands will lead to feature change notifications. The only way I see to avoid this is to add some kind of ignore list.

[fabiospark]

Thanks.

[metal_termite]

I like this plugin but I had to uninstall it. I frequently change ColumnUI "layouts" to switch between playlist and eye-candy modes. This plugin would trigger every time I was in a different mode from the previous start-up mode.

[LouC]

outstanding plugin.

only comment would be to have the feature browser integrate the features.log. you could make this an optional checkbox that would add history for the component to the display. my guess is you'd add a filter entry box to type in the text to filter on and it would display the current entries that contain that text. You could then check the history checkbox and it would re-filter the output, adding the history of adds/deletes for that feature.

only thing i can think of adding to it would be to list the foo_*.dll that the functioanlity is derived from, if that's possible. you could then filter features based on the plugin. just a thought...

and the big list at first run isn't a problem.

edit: thought of another enhancement request: in the report that pops up when you click the balloon, hot-link the preferences text so you can click it and go right to it; rather than having to dismiss the report and then go into preferences and hunt it down manually...

This post has been edited by LouC: Mar 15 2007, 01:49

[foosion]

only thing i can think of adding to it would be to list the foo_*.dll that the functioanlity is derived from, if that's possible. you could then filter features based on the plugin. just a thought...

If that was possible without problems, I would have added it for the very first version.

[LouC]

only thing i can think of adding to it would be to list the foo_*.dll that the functioanlity is derived from, if that's possible. you could then filter features based on the plugin. just a thought...

If that was possible without problems, I would have added it for the very first version.

yeah, figured as much but thought i'd ask. while i have you, i have a q about the pq_viewer. i finally upgraded to 9.2 from 8.3 this week and can't figure out what this playback queue thing is. i don't remember it from 8.3. how is this different from the regular playlist - is it some sort of temporary queue priority override or somesuch?

[foosion]

Yes, the playback queue is a new feature in foobar2000 0.9, but discussion about that doesn't really belong in here.

[foosion]

foo_whatsnew 1.0.4
Requires foobar2000 0.9.5 and Windows XP.

Changes:

• Added detection of UI Elements.

foo_whatsnew 1.0.3 should have contained the changes in 1.0.4 already, but due to a mistake it did not. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Download

This post has been edited by foosion: Oct 22 2007, 08:44

[metal_termite]

foo_whatsnew 1.0.4
Requires foobar2000 0.9.5 and Windows XP.

Changes:

• Added detection of UI Elements.

foo_whatsnew 1.0.3 should have contained the changes in 1.0.4 already, but due to a mistake it did not. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Download

You made a typo in the hyperlink "http://htttp://foosion.foobar200/0.9.5/"

[Sounds Blast]

thanks for this plugin. Its nice to see what components have tried/used, too bad it doesn't tell you what version the plugins were. This plugin works fine in the latest release in case anyone was curious.

[_oao]

I just noticed that this plugin has been updated to version 1.0.6!
Thanks! :-)

I didn't find any changelog in the components page. So, just out of curiosity, what are the changes?
:-P

This post has been edited by _oao: Sep 30 2008, 23:33

[gamering]

With new foobar seems don't work. It's a pity, is a very nice plugin. It doesn't show any change.

This post has been edited by gamering: Apr 19 2009, 18:07

[Yirkha]

Which version specifically do you mean by "new foobar", what kind of changes don't seem to be reported and are you using the latest version of foo_whatsnew?

[gamering]

Which version specifically do you mean by "new foobar"
foobar2000 v0.9.6.5

what kind of changes don't seem to be reported and are you using the latest version of foo_whatsnew?

change in configuration; add or remove playlists and the other things that i saw in the windows

and are you using the latest version of foo_whatsnew?

of course

thanks for your replay

[novembre]

add or remove playlists

These aren't "events" reported by foo_whatsnew.
But I know foo_menu_addons creates menu commands playlist-depending and these changes are shown by foo_whatsnew simply because a menu has been changed.
As you see it's working for me.