Tools Behind Maintaining The SwiftKit Project
It's been awhile since the last Dev Blog post so I've decided to write up another. This time however it won't be about an upcoming update or software release. Instead we'll have a look at the tools behind maintaining the SwiftKit project. The two main tools that will be shown are the Control Panel and the new Database Editor.
Database Editor
This is a new tool that has been developed to allow SwiftKit staff members to access, modify, add and delete data within the SwiftKit00x.skd files. The SwiftKitData00x.skd files are used for the calculators, quest center, atlas, achievement diary center etc. The tool was written in .NET and connects to a MySQL database on the SwiftKit server. Currently the changes made are not live, in order for the changes to take effect the data needs to be exported, packed and then uploaded. The main benefit of the tool is that it allows other staff members to manage the data instead of just myself.
SnagIMG Update 2.2 – Multi Upload
In this update we see the addition of a very handy new feature, the Multi Uploader. With the addition of this new feature you are now able upload images directly from Windows Explorer. This means no more having to open a browser, navigate to Imageshack, browse for the image and finally upload it. A previous update that wasn't posted included the Autosave option. If you plan on taking multiple screenshots you can automatically save them to a specified directory. To enable Autosave simply right click the SnagIMG system tray icon.
SnagIMG v2
SnagIMG has been updated to version 2. This update consists of mostly fixes and improvements but also a new screenshot option. Now when you press CTRL + PrintScreen you will be able to drag an area of the screen that you wish to screenshot.
A few other changes are you can pan screenshots in the Viewer, 'Check For Updates' menu added and an 'Open in Browser' button added to the Upload form. See full story for a complete list of changes. To update simply make sure SnagIMG is closed (right click > exit on Camera icon in system tray), download and install over the top of your existing installation.
Firefox Addon – Copy Link URL
Copy Link URL is a firefox addon that allows you to select multiple links and copy their URLs to clipboard. The main purpose was for copying multiple Rapidshare links but can really be used for anything.
If you use Firefox and are interested in this addon, head over to the Copy Link URL page.
Website Up
The Bluelight Dev website is now up and running. The content is a little lacking to begin with however that should change over time as we start more projects.
The forums are also up and running smoothly, we encourage everyone and anyone to register and post. Especially if you are interested in software and web development, it's a great place to start up or jump into an existing project.