ClipMate Support Forum

I don't foresee any filtering, but you can certainly run the XML through any other programs or filters.

As for RTF, HTML, etc., the problem here is that I don't want to allow any unprotected <> symbols in the file. That would break it. The current encoding schemes protect the file from corrupting itself with stray <> symbols.
But, I'm open to options if there are good reasons.
You can, of course, run the XML through another program to convert it to whatever you need.

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I'm the ClipMate Guy!

Hi Chris, I came to the forum to post and I now have a bookmark prominently on the desktop but thanks for the email support.

RE: the current topic (XML etc.) believe it or not, Chris, it's about a twenty-hour effort to figure out from scratch.

First I have to say that you have clearly got an industrial strength product here -- I think I've said that before , and I appreciate what you do is what you do and that's the benefit and main difficulty of being self-employed. I have tried to convey the benefit of tweaking for large collections that would fix some feature implementations that cannot handle them (without at least coffee break), and I have gone so far as to twist your arm on a couple of them which you made optional.

Well, here is another unadvertized or underutilized or certainly underappreciated feature. Compared to what it actually is, I think you see it "ClipMate centrically" and I see it from the perspective of an open-standard for moving data into common formats -- namely RTF or html -- where any search engine can find it and display it properly. That's because you really need to be a serious tweaker to mess with XML -- I know because with all my knowledge I don't work with it engineering wise and have avoided low-value custom implementations and can't do it without, like I said, 20 hours going into it.

Now that I finally see what you have implemented, and that it really is an industrial strength solution (thanks especially for the show-all child clips feature) I know it will be the solution to unstoppering a lot of information that I have in an inaccessible DB bottle.

So I'm off to take care of it and this is my SECOND stop in that 20-hour journey to see what you can recommend.

Just FYI here is how it has gone so far:

Hour 1: OOPS! Small problem! The output is 99% pure unadulterated garbage.

Hours 2-5: Nothing in my $40,000+ worth of software (over the years) works to display the data or convert it to useable format even though it goes through supposed motions -- they don't work.

Hours 5-8: The first specialized tools I download that are convincing me by their websites they can convert or edit XML manage to cut the garbage down to maybe 79%. It's still unusable BLOB.

Hour 9-10: Go talk to Chris, see what he can recommend. Twist his arm if he's just being lazy.

One final thought from a master information hacker who hates 20-hour learning cycles: Import it back into ClipMate? Nice! Probably a must feature, but I can't think of why I actually would, with my "uber IM kludge machine." 99 times out of 100 I would find the information on the real file system or URL and capture it again. In other words if it's an open cycle like ocean-clouds-rain-stream-river-ocean, where you can tap in at any point -- that's perfect. Ocean-tank-ocean-tank-ocean is just a start.

You gave us a handle now I recommend: finish it! (Meanwhile a third party recommendation would be good. Anybody?)

John,
I'm sorry if I mislead you somehow, but where did you get the impression that the XML was useful to other programs?
It's merely a convenient way to transfer clips to other instances of ClipMate.
If some sort of standard format of encoding RTF, HTML, etc., as XML comes about, which is going to be useful to other programs, I'll probably adopt it. Until then, the XML that ClipMate outputs is useful only to ClipMate, or cutomized programs to import/export with other programs. The benefit of using XML is that now anyone CAN write these interfaces, using standard tools instead of having to purchase the DBISAM libraries and understand the underlying database structure.

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I'm the ClipMate Guy!

Exactomundo! And there's a runner on first.
Hi Chris,
You understood perfectly your situation -- but there are two more bases plus home plate to go.

So, why don't you write an XSL filter and transform it?

_________________
I'm the ClipMate Guy!

I'm back and I had to open a new account. Maybe you were mad at me, maybe I just forgot the PW.
I'd like to reference Social Network, the Facebook story.
I've been begging you to hook up to open standards. It's your job to write the XSL transform to unlock the data. I know what you're thinking, and that it's hopeless and all that. You want buy-in, dammit. But you're missing the volume boat. Could have believed me three years ago. Your forum registrations are off, what? 90% from their peak in 2006? Please Chris, get it done. What have you got to lose? I'm telling you it's a key selling point - even good enough by itself for an 8.x version. You know I'd pay for it and sell your product if I could. Maybe I still will, but I'm still in development hell - and I need my data unlocked. I'm really an expert at this, Chris. I've done Facebook class stuff IN 1975 (!) that I've never gotten paid more than a wage for as a designer. True story. I'm working on raw Neo-Matrix Newtonian-class stuff now. It has its applications.