Windows Touch Utility (Touch for Windows)

By wrack
in Software created by our members

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Grand Master

wrack

Posted
Posted

Hey Guyz,

I have made a little utility. When I was in search for a utility to change a file's Accessed, Created and Modified dates in Windows, I couldn't find something I was looking for and given that I like to code, I decided to make one myself.

This utility basically allows you to change a given file or directory's accessed, created, modified dates based on your selection.

http://www.codelake.com/windowstouch.html

What do you think?

I have posted here before to get some feedback and it was great so much appreciated if someone can spare few minutes to test this utility too.

https://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=639009

Cheers :)

Grand Master

wrack

Posted
  • Author
Posted
the name sounds like it's a program to do something with touch interface...

There was a utility in linux called "Touch" so the name is based upon that.

does this change them indefinately, or as soon as you modify them again it goes back to the current date?

No it will change them when you perform the touch operation. Once you modify the file again it will have new dates. This is controlled by Windows, I am just trying to provide a way to change that if needed.

I will add command line features when I have some more time and then off to do shell integration.

Veteran

iamwhoiam

Posted
Posted (edited)

31% CPU usage and 56 megs of RAM to modify the dates and times of 5,000 files? Maybe you should learn pure Win32 API for such utilities.

EDIT:

The program also freezes when selecting all the Date checkboxes and processing a folder structure with 10,000+ files.

Edited by iamwhoiam
Grand Master

wrack

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks, this is the kind of feedback I am looking for.

I am using standard windows calls which are APIs behind the scene anyways. I did come across a thread somewhere which mentioned a work around to make it quicker! I need to find that now.

How about a word from usability point of view? Is it simple enough to use?

Cheers, much appreciated.

Veteran

iamwhoiam

Posted
Posted
Thanks, this is the kind of feedback I am looking for.

No problem.

I am using standard windows calls which are APIs behind the scene anyways. I did come across a thread somewhere which mentioned a work around to make it quicker! I need to find that now.

Passing structures and pointers also provide slower access in NET languages.

How about a word from usability point of view? Is it simple enough to use?

Not a bad program. Maybe get rid of the menu and the toolbar and have buttons for undoing and applying the changes elsewhere on the form. Another usability option would a shell extension that allowed a group of files to be selected from explorer and processed with a right-click menu option.

The speed and memory usage for such a simple program really does need to be worked on. Have you tried to impliment a worker thread for the processing?

Grand Master

wrack

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Passing structures and pointers also provide slower access in NET languages.

I don't think I am passing any structures or pointers anywhere.

Not a bad program. Maybe get rid of the menu and the toolbar and have buttons for undoing and applying the changes elsewhere on the form. Another usability option would a shell extension that allowed a group of files to be selected from explorer and processed with a right-click menu option.

The speed and memory usage for such a simple program really does need to be worked on. Have you tried to impliment a worker thread for the processing?

Ok I can get rid of the toolbar and menu, honestly I was making that a general view theme among all my apps. Basically using visual inheritance for getting the base form working. Now that I notice it does use 15MB of RAM when just sitting idle. Never actually noticed that, thought it was all taken care of .NET Framework. However I am able to keep the program size to resonably small.

Change the name, please consider this as serious feedback

What would you suggest?

Grand Master

wrack

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks. I will see if I can make the user interface a little more clean and make it performing better.

iamwhoiam mentioned about an undo operation. That is kinda hard, I mean I can do it by remembering each and every change I make but then things start to get piled up real quick in terms of memory usage. Imagine doing this for 10000 files and then remembering each file's dates!

Grand Master

fhpuqrgrpgvirzhpujbj

Posted
Posted

Uhm.. not to ruin your fun, but:

1. I've already posted a file properties editor here

2. The name is... misleading

3. This is pretty much pointless anyway

Also:

It uses a lot of memory while idle simply because of the .Net framework, that has nothing to do with your app. It's pretty much a minor, but unavoidable problem unless you move up to a lower level language.

Grand Master

wrack

Posted
  • Author
Posted

That is ok with me mate. I actually made the first version of this app a long time ago while helping my brother submitting his assignments past due dates. Since then I decided to keep it and keep changing it a little here and there.

Yes I know the .NET Framework has it's overheads but at the moment it is the choice of my programming language.

The name is not misleading even though few here seems to think so, since the original name came from Unix/Linux the Windows variants have kept the name similar.

http://www.codeproject.com/KB/applications/touch_win.aspx

http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/File-M...r-Windows.shtml

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/downloads/index...amp;itemID=5058

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/downloads/index...amp;itemID=5058

And besides I code to learn something new so not giving up.

Veteran

iamwhoiam

Posted
Posted
Thanks. I will see if I can make the user interface a little more clean and make it performing better.

iamwhoiam mentioned about an undo operation. That is kinda hard, I mean I can do it by remembering each and every change I make but then things start to get piled up real quick in terms of memory usage. Imagine doing this for 10000 files and then remembering each file's dates!

Not an undo option to revert files back to their original dates and/or times. More like you set set some settings but don't want to manually undo them so you click revert changes or something similar just to clear all the options on the form.

I hope that touch code I sent you can help. In plain C with FindFirstFile/FindNextFile and that routine in a loop, it's reasonably fast.

Grand Master

wrack

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Oh ok.. I already have Clear button which clears the changes to the form if that is what you meant?

Yeah I am looking at your code with a face that I can't explain. Thanks though :) I have found a recursive code to get the file list faster so need to implement that. Shall see how that goes. I need to stop time to get everything finished.

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