I've just done bug-fix updates to a couple of my Mac apps. Caboodle, my lean clean snippet machine, was updated (actually late last week) to version 1.3.5. And BlogAssist, my handy HTML markup tool, was updated to version 2.2.4.

Both of them included a fix for an issue with looking up licenses in certain situations. BlogAssist also enhanced the application icon to 512x512 size, for ideal viewing on Snow Leopard. (Caboodle's icon was updated to 512x512 in the previous update.)

• Download Caboodle 1.3.5 now
• Download BlogAssist 2.2.4 now

Two Dejal products are in separate bundles at the same time currently:

• Narrator, my fun application to read out stories and interviews in multiple voices, is in Mac Bundle Box, a collection of 6 handy apps for only $29.00.
• Caboodle, my lean clean snippet machine to help store and organize text and images, is in TheMacBundles, a collection of 12 useful apps for only $49.95.
• Also, Narrator is available separately as a weekly special for only $9.95 via TheMacBundles, for this week only.

20% of Mac Bundle Box purchases will be donated to the American Red Cross for Haiti disaster relief.

Check out the Mac Bundle Box and TheMacBundles websites for more information about the bundles, including the other applications included in each, or to take advantage of these great deals!

Caboodle, my lean clean snippet machine, has been updated to version 1.3.4. This has a number of improvements... and perhaps should have been called version 1.4, as it straddles the fine line between feature enhancements and bug fixes. This is a recommended update for everybody.

• To improve performance and reduce disk space, imported PDFs, files dragged to the Dock icon, or via the Save PDF to Caboodle print option are now copied to an Attachments folder within the Caboodle data folder, and aliased to the entries. This can be disabled via a hidden preference, by entering "defaults write com.dejal.caboodle ImportAsAlias NO" in Terminal, if destired.
• The entry icons for files dragged to the Dock icon and saved to Caboodle are now set to those files' icons.
• Fixed an issue where entries added by those means could be lost if Caboodle was quit without making further changes.
• Find text operations, e.g. Find Next (Cmd-G), Find Previous (Cmd-Shift-G), now work when the entries list is the active control; the entry text is made active then the operation performed.
• Removed ancient code to move pre-1.0 data, since nobody could still be using those versions.
• Improved the data loading to reduce the risk of using empty data if the existing data can't be loaded.
• Now includes a 512x512 application icon.

Download Caboodle 1.3.4 now!

Announcing maintenance updates for Dejal Simon, my essential server monitoring tool, Time Out, my break reminder tool, Caboodle, my lean clean snippet machine, and BlogAssist, my handy HTML markup assistant.

Each update includes improvements for Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6) compatibility. I'm not aware of any remaining compatibility issues with these products — please let me know ASAP if you do find anything.

Note: Narrator is still partially incompatible with Snow Leopard. It all works, except it can't open documents saved in its native format (but can still open other kinds of documents). I have a Developer Technical Support incident request in with Apple's engineers to help me solve this, but I'm sure they're swamped with queries at present, so who knows how long they'll take to come up with a solution. The last word I have is that it seems to be a bug in Snow Leopard... so we might have to wait for 10.6.2 or later, but I'm hoping that a workaround can be found. [Edit: 10.6.1 doesn't fix it, either.] I'll do a free update as soon as a fix is available. Sorry for any inconvenience in the meantime!

In addition to Snow Leopard compatibility, Simon also includes some other changes:

• Updated the iPhone Report Template to improve the behavior of the back button and other aspects.
• Added a hidden preference to output debug information from the E-mail plug-in. It can be activated by entering "defaults write com.dejal.simon2 EmailDebugMode YES" in Terminal.
• Also added a hidden E-mail plug-in preference to use the recipient's SMTP server instead of the sender's, via "defaults write com.dejal.simon2 EmailUseRecipientServer YES".
• Added Japanese localization, thanks to Koichi Matsumoto.

Download now:

• Download Simon
• Download Time Out
• Download Caboodle
• Download BlogAssist

Good news: most Dejal apps work fine on Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6).

One issue that you may find with Caboodle and BlogAssist is that the Services menu has been enhanced, and the items for those apps might be disabled by default. You can re-enable them via the Keyboard Shortcuts page of the Keyboard system preferences.

However, it's not all good news. Narrator seems to be broken on Snowy. Opening a document fails, whether it was saved on Leopard or Snow Leopard. The document opens, but no content is loaded. It still opens version 1 documents fine, but not version 2's, which is rather a problem.

I've spent several hours last night and this morning trying to figure out what the problem is, without any luck so far. I'll keep on it, but just wanted to warn anyone using Narrator.

Once again, Seth Dillingham is offering bundles as a fund-raiser for the Pan-Mass Challenge, which supports cancer research and treatment. A very worthy cause.

Unlike typical software bundles, where hundreds or thousands of people might get a fixed collection of apps at a discount, this one is a bit different: you can use his Bundle Builder site to make your personal ideal bundle of iPhone and/or Mac apps, and offer your own price for it.

I am happy to participate in this effort again this year. A Standard license is available for Dejal Simon, my essential server monitoring tool, along with licenses for Dejal Caboodle, my lean clean snippet machine, Dejal Narrator, my fun app to speak stories in multiple voices, and Dejal BlogAssist, my handy HTML markup tool. Plus hundreds of other great products from other developers.

Go ahead, take a look, and put together your ideal bundle of apps, and help fight cancer!

Last chance to get Caboodle and eight other apps for just $49.95!

This great bundle expires in just a couple of days, so if you've been thinking about it, wait no more!

Click here for more information.

Caboodle has been updated again... just a couple of weeks after the previous release. This version includes some improvements to adding entries by dragging text and documents to the Dock, and an important safety fix thanks to a helpful customer.

This is a recommended update for everybody, especially people with slower machines.

Changes in version 1.3.2 include:

• Dragging text to Caboodle's Dock icon now adds a new entry with that text (including rich text, e.g. from a word processing document or web page).
• Dragging any document to Caboodle's Dock icon also adds a new entry with that document as an attachment, and the document's name as the Subject. Even easier to add entries!
• Added a safety check to ensure the data has been fully loaded before handing a Services menu request, to avoid risk of data loss if Caboodle isn't running when adding an entry via the Services menu.

Download Caboodle 1.3.2 now!

Note, Caboodle is still available as part of the great bundle from TheMacBundles.com: 11 apps for just $49.95. Take advantage of this deal before it expires!

I'm pleased to announce that Dejal Caboodle, my "lean, clean snippet machine" is included in the second TheMacBundles collection.

Caboodle is a handy tool to help collect and organize various bits of text, images, PDFs, and other information. It includes support for custom fields and freeform rich text and other content, plus can encrypt your entries to keep them secure, and import and export several formats. It is simple and easy to use. A full license is included in the bundle, not some cut-down version.

You can see more of it on the Caboodle page, or download it now to give it a try.

This bundle also includes 10 other fine apps, for only $49.95. A bargain!

The included apps are:

• Caboodle (normally $19.95)
• IPNetMonitorX (normally $60.00)
• MailTags (normally $29.95)
• PrintMagic (normally $29.95)
• ShutterBug (normally $39.95)
• Trampoline (normally $19.95)
• Typinator (normally $28.00)
• Voila (normally $39.95)
• World Clock Deluxe (normally $19.95)

And for the next 14 days, these bonuses are also included:

• Dock Gone (normally $14.95)
• Smart Trash (normally $10.00)

11 apps for just $49.95 — a saving of over 80%!

Visit TheMacBundles.com to learn more, or to take advantage of this great deal.

Caboodle, my lean, clean snippet machine, has had a number of updates recently. This is a little bug-fix update to address some minor issues, but is a recommended update for everybody.

It includes:

• Improved the handling of imports to use multi-threading only when appropriate.
• Added exception handling and an alert when saving the data, in case something goes wrong, e.g. too much data being saved.
• Prices increased slightly.

Tip: Caboodle will be included in the next edition of The Mac Bundles, coming in just a few days. Subscribe to their mailing list to be notified when the bundle is available.

Download Caboodle 1.3.1 now!

As you may have read from the recent version 2.2.2 release of BlogAssist, I increased the price by $5 to $14.95 for an Individual license, to better reflect its value. As discussed, it really should be higher, but I felt a small increment was better at this stage. I will likely bump up the price a bit more with the next major upgrade (no date announced for that yet).

I also indicated that you can still get it at the old price for a limited time, only via the Dejal Store.

Today, I'd like to announce that the price of Caboodle, my handy snippet organizer, is also going up by $5 to $19.95 for an Individual license. At $14.95, it is significantly under-priced, when competing apps are often around $50.

You can also get Caboodle at the old price via the Dejal Store for now. This offer is only available for a short time, though, so if you're interested in Caboodle, I recommend buying soon.

I have big plans for both of these apps: both will see significant enhancements within the next year. For Caboodle, I'd like to add a companion iPhone app to view and (hopefully) edit entries remotely — with full syncing between iPhone and Mac apps, and between multiple Macs. Along with a refactoring of the UI and data models, and more.

I don't plan on adjusting the prices of other apps at this stage; Simon and Narrator both seem priced about right.

As always, I welcome feedback about these changes, either via comments here or private feedback.

Caboodle version 1.3 is now in general release:

• Added an optional Save PDF to Caboodle item in the printing workflows (i.e. the menu in the PDF button in print panels), making it really easy to save any document to a new entry just by (effectively) printing it to Caboodle.
• Added a menu command to the Caboodle menu to Install PDF Workflow..., so you can install it later if desired.
• Added a PDF... option to the Import sub-menu. PDFs are imported as attachments in new entries.
• The folder hierarchy is now preserved when importing; folders are imported as entries with a folder icon and no text content.
• Added Web Archive and HTML options to the Export sub-menu. The Web Archive format is nice and tidy, and can be displayed in any modern web browser. The HTML export outputs the entries as folders of HTML files and images.
• Improved the handling of exports to use multi-threading only when appropriate.
• Added General Preferences to include or exclude the creation and modification dates, Subject, and/or custom fields when printing and exporting. They are all included by default.
• Changed the format of the printed/exported dates to be the same as displayed in the window, and fixed a bug where it was outputting the creation date instead of the modification one.
• Fixed a cosmetic bug where having an entry selected, doing a search and not selecting anything, then clearing the search would leave the selection without displaying the corresponding entry content.
• Fixed an issue that could prevent finding licenses in very rare circumstances.
• Updated the French and German localizations.
• Added Dutch localization.

Download Caboodle 1.3 now!

Note that Caboodle will be featured on MacUpdate Promo tomorrow (Wednesday). A great opportunity to get it at a big discount, but for one day only!

Thanks to a Caboodle forum post, this release fixes a issue with the new exports:

• Fixed an issue with the new HTML and Web Archive exports, where it could have an exception due to performing it on a secondary thread.
• Updated the French, German and Dutch localizations again.

If all is well, this should be about ready for general release.

Download 1.3b3 now!

Caboodle version 1.3b2 now asks before adding the PDF workflow, just in case someone doesn't want this very handy feature. If you install it and don't want it, you can simply delete the alias file from the PDF Services folder; see the Caboodle FAQ for more information.

• Added an alert panel to ask if you want to install the print PDF workflow, since some people might not want it (e.g. if only trying Caboodle). Only appears once.
• Added a menu command to the Caboodle menu to Install PDF Workflow..., so you can install it later if desired.
• Updated the French, German and Dutch localizations.

Download Caboodle 1.3b2 now!

Just a quick note to say that I've updated the online Caboodle User Guide for the version 1.3 release.

Updated pages include:

• Getting Stuff Into Caboodle: Added a paragraph describing the new Save PDF to Caboodle print workflow.
• File Menu: Mentioned the new General preferences when printing.
• Import Menu: Updated to list the new PDF import format.
• Export Menu: Updated to describe the new Web Archive and HTML export options.
• General Preferences: Updated to describe the new preferences to include/exclude the date, Subject and custom field headers when printing and exporting.

I also updated the main Caboodle product page, too.

Caboodle, my handy snippet keeper, has a beta release of version 1.3.

Version 1.3b1 includes a number of much-requested improvements to importing, exporting and printing:

• Added a Save PDF to Caboodle option to the printing workflows (i.e. the menu in the PDF button in print panels), making it really easy to save any document to a new entry just by (effectively) printing it to Caboodle.
• Added a PDF... option to the Import sub-menu. PDFs are imported as attachments in new entries.
• The folder hierarchy is now preserved when importing; folders are imported as entries with a folder icon and no text content.
• Added Web Archive and HTML options to the Export sub-menu. The Web Archive format is nice and tidy, and can be displayed in any modern web browser. The HTML export outputs the entries as folders of HTML files and images.
• Added General Preferences to include or exclude the creation and modification dates, Subject, and/or custom fields when printing and exporting. They are all included by default.
• Changed the format of the printed/exported dates to be the same as displayed in the window, and fixed a bug where it was outputting the creation date instead of the modification one.
• Fixed a cosmetic bug where having an entry selected, doing a search and not selecting anything, then clearing the search would leave the selection without displaying the corresponding entry content.
• Fixed an issue that could prevent finding licenses in very rare circumstances.

Download Caboodle 1.3b1 now!

If you haven't been living under a rock, you've probably heard of Twitter, the service where you can post updates on what you are doing in 140 characters or less, and follow "tweets" from whomever interests you.

If you've been following this blog for a while, you probably also know that Dejal is on Twitter — I post tweets about company topics, product releases, and personal events — pretty much any topic, though typically not very often.

Well, it seems that three Dejal products have developed some personality of their own, and have snuck onto Twitter! You can follow them to learn about releases, usage tips, and whatever else they have to say. Probably best not to ask them for support (the Dejal Forums remain the best avenue for that), but hopefully they'll be worth a follow. You never know, they might just drop hints about updates and future ideas on occasion.

• Dejal Simon (@dejalsimon)
• Dejal Time Out (@dejaltimeout)
• Dejal Caboodle (@dejalcaboodle)

There are a couple of other Twitter accounts, too:

• Dejal general (@dejal) — the aforementioned miscellaneous tweets from me
• Simon Bot (@simonbot) — automated updates from Simon's Twitter notifier

I'm pleased to be able to participate in macZOT's New Year's Bundle. I'm including Dejal Caboodle, my handy app to store snippets of text, images, PDFs, and other documents in an organized way. Read the product page for more information about it.

This bundle includes several great apps, perfect for those who just got a Mac for Christmas, and for long-time Mac owners. It is also a responsible bundle: $5 from each sale is donated to Heifer International to help people around the world feed themselves. This is a great charity organization that I personally support too.

Check it out:

Completing the series on Caboodle 1.2, here's information from the updated Caboodle User Guide, describing the new Security preferences:

The Preferences window is displayed via the CaboodlePreferences... menu item. This is the Security page. It includes options for the encryption features.

Default password: This password is one that can be offered in the encryption and decryption sheets, if there isn't a password in the keychain for the entry, or a previously-entered password. It is therefore mainly useful when you launch Caboodle, if you don't store passwords in the keychain. This default password is also stored in the keychain, to keep it safe. There is no default password initially.

The following checkboxes are grouped by encrypting and decrypting, so you can have different behaviors for each if you prefer. These are evaluated in this order, so a keychain password takes priority over a previously entered one or the default password:

Offer the password saved in the keychain for this entry, if any: If this checkbox is selected, Caboodle will look in the keychain for a password previously used for this entry. If there is one, it will be offered in the encryption/decryption sheet. This is on by default.

Offer the password previously entered for any entry, if any: If selected, Caboodle will offer whatever password you most recently used for any entry. For example, if you encrypt an entry then select another entry and ask to encrypt it too, Caboodle will offer the same password as a suggestion. You can of course type another one if you wish. This defaults to on.

Offer the default password: This checkbox indicates that you want to be offered the default password, as entered above, if there isn't a password in the keychain or a previously entered password. This defaults to on.

Continuing the theme of using Caboodle User Guide pages as blog posts, here's the updated info about the encryption feature, which was significantly enhanced in version 1.2:

The Encrypt Entry sheet. This sheet slides out from the main editor window when you choose the FileEncrypt Entry... menu item, or the Encrypt toolbar button. This operation is only available when one entry is selected.

Enter a password or phrase to use to encrypt the entry, and enter it again to confirm that you typed it correctly. The password will not be shown. Make sure that you remember the password — there is no way to access your entry if you forget it!

You can check the Remember this password in my keychain box to have Caboodle store the entered password in your keychain. If it is in the keychain, and the keychain is unlocked, the password will be offered automatically when you come to view or decrypt the entry.

A default password can be offered from one of three sources: an existing keychain item (e.g. from when this entry was previously encrypted; from the most recently entered password for any entry (so you can easily use the same password for several entries); or a default password, as set in the Security preferences. If none of those is available, the fields are blank. Regardless, you can of course type a new password whenever desired.

Once an entry is encrypted, it displays with a lock instead of the content, and the menu item and toolbar button change to Decrypt:

When you choose the FileDecrypt Entry... menu item or the Decrypt toolbar button, the following sheet is displayed:

Here you have two options:

• You can click View to temporarily decrypt the entry for read-only viewing, while leaving it encrypted on disk. It will remain visible until you quit Caboodle.
• Or you can click Decrypt to fully decrypt it, so it can be edited. If you decrypt it, you'll have to encrypt it again after editing if you want to keep it encrypted on disk.

Simply enter the correct password (again it won't be shown), click View or Decrypt, and the entry will be re-displayed as it was before encryption. If you don't enter the correct password, it will give you three more attempts, though you can always cancel and re-try if necessary.

As with the encryption sheet, you can save the entered password in the keychain, and it offers a password from one of the three sources: keychain, previous entry, or default password. It only offers a password if it is correct, so you can just click a button without entering anything if one is offered.

If just viewing the entry, the icon will remain as a lock, the fields will be disabled, and a reminder will appear on the dates line: