The first major hurdle is jumped, as filewrangler now at least launches on Mavericks. Some things have clearly broken with the new OS (drag and drop is completely broken; UI isn’t drawing properly) and I’m currently focused on those. Once filewrangler behaves like its old self, the previously known bugs will be addressed and we’ll be ready for testing and release.
A very happy new year to everyone. Here’s a quick rundown of what’s happening with filewrangler and the Mavericks update.
Clearly the update was not ready in time for end-of-2013 as I had hoped. I apologize for the continuing delays, but in going through and auditing the codebase, the necessary modifications are surprisingly numerous. Changes to Objective-C, the OS X libraries, and compiler efficiencies have rendered a lot of old code redundant. As such, I’m streamlining things and reducing the amount of code in the application, while also transitioning away from recently deprecated method calls.
Simply put, updating filewrangler is a big project that I want to do right. I’ve always taken a lot of pride in how few bug reports I’ve received from users over the years, and intend to keep the update just as stable. As well, there are two long-standing bugs that I want to make sure are addressed in this update:
- Case Setter bug. If case is the only change to a filename, the result is that nothing is changed when files are renamed. Time to squish this once and for all.
- Sorting bug. File names in the file list should sort exactly like the Finder. They currently do not, as can be seen in file names that include a numeric sequence.
So, Mavericks compatibility + bug fixes = filewrangler 2.1.
As many of you have realized by now, filewrangler is not compatible with Apple’s latest OS release, Mavericks (née OS X 10.9). The delay in getting filewrangler updated comes down to a few things:
- Mavericks coming out for free has resulted in atypically swift adoption by my user base. I was simply unprepared for this.
- I work in the game industry… in Japan. Either fact alone would typically mean a lot of overtime work, but together it has proven to be a complete drain on my free time.
- I have been full-time on the hunt for a new job before my contract runs out.
So, I don’t want these to sound like excuses, but rather to let everyone know what is happening and why filewrangler development has been nill for some time.
My current job ends on Christmas Day (Christmas Day in Japan is basically “just another work day”). The new job starts January 13. During that interim, I feel I can finally devote myself again to the most patient customers I’ve ever been privileged to serve. As well, the new job is not in the game industry and is run in a non-typical-Japanese fashion, so I have high hopes of regaining my free time and settling in to a work/life balance again. I very intentionally sought out such a job so I can return to my independent projects once more. It has been too long now, and I humbly apologize for the dearth of updates.
Just wanted to give a quick status update on how things are going with filewrangler. My plans to work on a dot update we’re thrown under a bus, almost literally. I was recently struck from behind by a bus and had to go to the hospital. I’m recovering well right now, but I can’t say programming has been of such importance to me during my healing time.
Now that I’m feeling more like myself, I have given some thought about how to address certain challenges filewrangler’s unique interface poses to certain renaming needs. I’m starting to hash out how to handle the UI needs and make filewrangler even more useful and valuable to the steadily increasing user base.
I would like to point out that the Mac App Store has provided great support for the future longevity of filewrangler. My competition, one priced higher and one with less history than filewrangler, both seem to be consistently outselling filewrangler. If you enjoy the program and want to support its future growth, I humbly urge you to leave a review on your blog, on the Mac App Store, or just spread the word. I understand the interface is such that some may not want to invest in the learning curve, but I wouldn’t have built it if I didn’t truly think it represents a large, logical step forward in the tools it provides.
I hope you feel the same, and I hope that at $6.99 you find it to be of sufficient value and utility to spread a little grassroots love around the Macintosh user community, wherever your influence may lie.
Lion was officially released, and while it is not an endorsement per-se, I’m happy to see filewrangler’s orange gears used throughout Apple’s promotional materials. They look good on the dark blue backdrop used to demonstrate Launchpad, don’t you think? I attended WWDC this year and was pleased as punch to see filewrangler’s icon in basically every presentation. One session had a slide on screen that suggested developers “Design a beautiful icon”. There, front and center, was the filewrangler icon. Just couldn’t stop smiling that day!
Oddly enough, the new icon also has received at least one hate mail, begging for a return to the original icon. But, let’s try to ride Apple’s coattails for a little while for the time being.
I was most happy to see that in the Mac App Store screenshots for Lion the filewrangler name is legible. As such, I’m trying to draw a bit more attention to the relationship between the icon and the application and the fact that filewrangler is now the lowest priced file renaming utility of the “Big Three” (other two being Rename 8 and Name Mangler).
But, really I just want to lower the price of entry into filewrangler’s way of doing things. So, the new, permanent price is $6.99. My competition runs at $9.99 and (the frankly unbelievable) $19.99. I see how Apple is pricing things, and with Lion at $30 it is hard to justify a utility like mine at $9.99. Hard to say if I will drop the price again, but I will not go any higher than the current $6.99.
So, thank you to everyone who has supported filewrangler over the past year, and I look forward to welcoming lots of new users over the coming months.