μGiffer [graphic capture utility]

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vacherin
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Re: μGiffer [graphic capture utility]

#16 Post by vacherin »

0.9.7 is out, fixes a GDI handle leak in capture phase.

vacherin
Posts: 26
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Re: μGiffer [graphic capture utility]

#17 Post by vacherin »

0.9.9 is out

F1 now starts the capture after a 3 second countdown.
Ctrl-F1 starts it immediately.
There's also now an option of not deleting captured BMP frames after GIF is created (and do that immediately before the next capture instead).

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Midas
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Re: μGiffer [graphic capture utility]

#18 Post by Midas »

Just tested μGiffer latest release and I'm really impressed by how efficient it runs. 8)

A few niggles, though:

∙ If 'uGiffer.ini' is present in the program folder, it isn't automatically picked up. I know it should be passed as a parameter with '-c' command option but it would make uGiffer simpler to operate if it did automatically.
∙ Even using the '-c' option, μGiffer doesn't seem to support relative paths and throws an error if you try to use them (see below). If changing that, please add environment variables as well.
∙ IMHO, even some sort of minimal command toolbar -- with buttons like Go, Pause and Stop -- would be a great usability improvement.
∙ I'm getting some artifacts with video capture that I don't know how to get rid of. Truth be told, I get them in most other giffing tools and μGiffer is the best in this particular aspect.
∙ The Github 'readme.txt' should be part of the download, which should also be packaged into some kind of archive format. Naked executable downloads from the Internet tend not to fare very well.

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vacherin
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Re: μGiffer [graphic capture utility]

#19 Post by vacherin »

Hi Midas, thanks for the notes.
∙ If 'uGiffer.ini' is present in the program folder, it isn't automatically picked up. I know it should be passed as a parameter with '-c' command option but it would make uGiffer simpler to operate if it did automatically.
I'm not a big fan of keeping config data alongside with the binaries, but I can make the program check for .ini in the exe folder first (and if -c is not specified).
∙ Even using the '-c' option, μGiffer doesn't seem to support relative paths and throws an error if you try to use them (see below). If changing that, please add environment variables as well.
Supporting relative paths is a road to (support) hell, because different people would assume different things about what it is relative to. The lack of support for relative paths is by design, basically. Supporting envvars is not a bad idea, but they will need to expand into an absolute path. Let me see what I can do.
∙ IMHO, even some sort of minimal command toolbar -- with buttons like Go, Pause and Stop -- would be a great usability improvement.
Strongly disagree.

It is meant for rather specific type of use and it's trivial to learn how to use it that way. Aim, press F1, press F1 (or Esc), done. Once you know this, there's no need for a toolbar. It will be just an embellishment.

If you have a use case where a toolbar is a must, please describe it.
∙ I'm getting some artifacts with video capture that I don't know how to get rid of. Truth be told, I get them in most other giffing tools and μGiffer is the best in this particular aspect.
Can you elaborate?
∙ The Github 'readme.txt' should be part of the download, which should also be packaged into some kind of archive format. Naked executable downloads from the Internet tend not to fare too well.
The whole GH "page" is just a temporary hack. I've been meaning to put together a proper page, but haven't had time for that yet.

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webfork
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Re: μGiffer [graphic capture utility]

#20 Post by webfork »

vacherin wrote: Tue Jan 21, 2020 12:02 pm Supporting relative paths is a road to (support) hell, because different people would assume different things about what it is relative to.
You know better than we do about supporting a very popular software project, but keeping everything in the same folder is at the heart of portability. If you're running something off a removable drive, the absolute path is going to change and/or die as soon as you have another drive plugged in. This happened to me earlier today as I had to rename my backup process to point to E:\ after an attached SD card pushed my drive out of the D:\ slot. Relative paths in this way require less work/configuration. Storing these configuration changes to the local folder works similarly.

Many of the programs here on the site unsurprisingly disable those by default, but make them options either via config file or Preferences menu item. Of course, if your users aren't going to run things off an encrypted volume, cloud folder, or USB drive, you certainly don't need those tweaks.

vacherin
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Re: μGiffer [graphic capture utility]

#21 Post by vacherin »

0.9.10 is out
* Arrows, Ctrl-Arrows, Ctrl-Shift-Arrows now move window, bottom-right and top-left corners respectively. Useful for finer position/size adjustments.
* Window can no longer be resized to be less than 1 px tall.
* Both 32- and 64-bit binaries are now in a single zip file.

source

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Midas
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Re: μGiffer [graphic capture utility]

#22 Post by Midas »

Oops, sorry for a late reply, this must have slipped by me... :no_mouth:

vacherin wrote: I'm not a big fan of keeping config data alongside with the binaries, but I can make the program check for .ini in the exe folder first (and if -c is not specified).

Another time tested solution is to check for a 'portable' or 'conf' sub-folder, and place the INI there.

vacherin wrote: Supporting relative paths is a road to (support) hell, because different people would assume different things about what it is relative to. The lack of support for relative paths is by design, basically. Supporting envvars is not a bad idea, but they will need to expand into an absolute path. Let me see what I can do.

You could easily solve that by inserting YOUR definition of what a relative path is, in a comment in the INI, for instance... :relieved:

vacherin wrote: Strongly disagree.

It is meant for rather specific type of use and it's trivial to learn how to use it that way. Aim, press F1, press F1 (or Esc), done. Once you know this, there's no need for a toolbar. It will be just an embellishment.

If you have a use case where a toolbar is a must, please describe it.

Fair enough, it's your program after all.

It's just that, at my age, the hands are not that precise anymore; it gets easier to click a (preferably large) button to stop a process at a moments notice than to aim for a tiny key on your keyboard while keeping an eye on the screen...

vacherin wrote:
∙ I'm getting some artifacts with video capture that I don't know how to get rid of. Truth be told, I get them in most other giffing tools and μGiffer is the best in this particular aspect.
Can you elaborate?

I don't create GIFs all that often. When I do, I'll be sure to report back.

vacherin wrote: The whole GH "page" is just a temporary hack. I've been meaning to put together a proper page, but haven't had time for that yet.

I was laboring under the impression that Github creates the packages on its own, if you place the files in the right location.

But then again, thanks for making your excellent programs available for the Internet at large. :hugging:

vacherin
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Re: μGiffer [graphic capture utility]

#23 Post by vacherin »

Update's out:
  • F3 now takes a single screenshot - like Alt-PrtSc, but capturing the mouse cursor too
  • Ctrl - ~ (that's tilda, top-left key in the keyboard's main section) now stops the recording even if μGiffer doesn't have the focus
  • Few more key combos, documented in the brand new "User manual" accessible via window's system menu
  • It's now also possible to pin it to a specific CPU if needed
Finally, made it a proper homepage instead of the gist - https://iobureau.com/ugiffer/

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__philippe
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Re: μGiffer [graphic capture utility]

#24 Post by __philippe »

uGiffer v0.9.13.0 (link date 28-APR-21) handy right-click "User Manual" ... :wink:


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webfork
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Re: μGiffer [graphic capture utility]

#25 Post by webfork »

__philippe wrote: Sat Sep 11, 2021 3:50 am uGiffer v0.9.13.0 (link date 28-APR-21) handy right-click "User Manual" ... :wink:
Nice! I've seen so many screen recorders at this point it's almost reassuring that someone can still just keep upping the ante.

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