Hazel suggestions: View Log" in menu; update checking

[sjk]

• Include "View Log" (same as on Info tab) in menu bar menu for quick access

• Add "Last Checked" time to Info tab of Preference Pane, maybe under "Check for updates"

• Consider eliminating superfluous You're up to date! dialog after Check Now button is clicked when latest version is already installed

Thanks!

[Mr_Noodle]

• Include "View Log" (same as on Info tab) in menu bar menu for quick access

Added to the feature DB. My question is do you need to view the logs that often and is Growl not sufficient for getting alerts (if you want to keep close tabs on it)?

• Add "Last Checked" time to Info tab of Preference Pane, maybe under "Check for updates"

Problem here is that there is no single "Last Checked" time. It varies by folder. Also, for Leopard, I will switch to using fsevents which is a better mechanism for tracking the filesystem. This means that Hazel should be able to stay on top of every file change so you can basically assume that Hazel will be up to date (so less likely you will care when it last checked a folder).

• Consider eliminating superfluous You're up to date! dialog after Check Now button is clicked when latest version is already installed

Well, I don't consider it superfluous in that it is feedback to a specific user action. It at least let's you know that your request worked and wasn't ignored. If I took it out, I'd probably get requests to put it back since people won't know if the button is doing anything.

[sjk]

My question is do you need to view the logs that often and is Growl not sufficient for getting alerts (if you want to keep close tabs on it)?

Regardless of how often I do it whenever I open Hazel's Preference Pane from the menu bar just to run View Log it seems like it belongs in the menu, avoiding the extra steps to the prefpane. I'll enable more Growl notifications and see if that lessens the urge to use View Log.

Problem here is that there is no single "Last Checked" time. It varies by folder.

I meant when the last check for a Hazel update was run. Sorry that wasn't clear.

Well, I don't consider it superfluous in that it is feedback to a specific user action. It at least let's you know that your request worked and wasn't ignored. If I took it out, I'd probably get requests to put it back since people won't know if the button is doing anything.

Combine this with my previous "Last Checked" request and there'd be visual feedback by that time being updated. That method has always worked well for me with other apps that don't use a dialog, which the added advantage of knowing when the last check (automatically or manually) was made.

[Mr_Noodle]

Ah, I see. I'm still not convinced knowing the last time an update check happened is that important. If in doubt, it's not that hard to just click the "Check now" button to do another check. Plus if you really want to stay on top of new releases, I feel setting the update check frequency to "Daily" should be frequent enough.

[sjk]

Since I prefer to manually check for updates it can be helpful knowing when the last check was done and also serves the purpose of telling me there's no new version without a dialog.

FolderGlance, also a Preference Pane, has an Automaic Updates tab with an "Enable automatic version checking" checkbox with "Last check: <date/time>" info below it and a "Check for updates now" button. Clicking the button will update the Last check time and also bring up a sheet even when the installed version is up-to-date. Flip4Mac WMV's Update tab is similar.

How about a compromise like that with Hazel, using a sheet instead of a dialog (satisfying the explicit feedback requirement), and adding the Last check time (satisfying my interest in knowing that)?

[Mr_Noodle]

I think the information is clutter. It doesn't say definitively whether you are up to date, just that a check was done at some time. It really is too tweaky for something that can easily be done in a set-it-and-forget-it type manner. Clicking the button is not a big deal (and will give you a definitive answer as opposed to a date) and if you are doing it frequently enough that it becomes a burden, then you really should just set it to auto-check for you daily.

If you really want that much micro-management of updates, then check out AppFresh.

[sjk]

And I think the dialog is clutter.

Sigh.

[Mr_Noodle]

I still don't see what the real problem with the dialog is. It's bad UI design to have a button only part of the time bring up a dialog and the other time, be silent. Clicking the button indicates an active expectation of a result. It's not clutter in that it's in response to a specific user action and it is providing feedback and can be dismissed.

The last check time is not as useful as you think. If you are monitoring it all the time, you are doing something the computer can do for you (i.e. automatic update checks). Isn't that the whole point of using Hazel?

Instead of polling the updates manually (if you insist on doing it manually still), try adding Hazel's appcast to your RSS reader:

http://www.noodlesoft.com/Products/Hazel/appcast.php

No need to keep checking some display somewhere. It will pop up in your RSS reader when there's an update and you can go click the button then.