About WebChange
WebChange is a support tool for website designers and maintainers, and is particularly suited to those who, like the program's author, prefer to hand edit their HTML rather than allow software to handle the markup.
The primary function of the software is to enable the site maintainer to effect repetitive changes to a local copy of the site quickly and easily - often in one fell swoop, rather than having to make the change on a page by page basis.
Features of WebChange for RISC OS include:
- Search and replace (wildcarded and contextual)
- Newline conversion
- Tag case conversion
- File datestamp insertion
- File size insertion
- File content insertion
- And much more.
The RISC OS version of WebChange has been undergoing a long and protracted rewrite for a number of years, to make it 32bit neutral and to remove its reliance on a third party WIMP development package, and the culmination of that work is now here.
Obtaining WebChange for RISC OS
Coinciding with Soft Rock Software's 21st birthday, the 32bit rewritten version of WebChange can now be downloaded from here, free of charge:
WebChange for RISC OS (61 kbytes)
Please note that this version of the software is still very new and as such is considered beta quality. However, in-house testing has shown it to be functioning without problems, and nor has anybody to whom it has been made available during the development process reported any problems.
Please also note that although the development phase of the software is all but complete, the user guide is yet to be written. Therefore, as a stopgap, the manual for the old 26bit version remains online here, and can also be downloaded:
26bit WebChange Manual (373 kbytes)
Many features of the front-end have changed significantly and therefore aren"t covered in the old manual, but it should hopefully explain enough that it"s possible to work out what's what in the software. Additional information can be found by looking back over the WebChange mailing list archives.
Support
The best channel for WebChange support is via the mailing list. This is the ideal place to report any problems you find, or ask how things work (while the new manual is being written) or to clarify how they work (once the manual is finished)! Discussing any problems or queries relating to the software on the list is practical for me and for you and other users.
What next..?
Over the coming weeks, the main goal is to write a new manual, and should any problems be reported with the software, investigate and rectify those. Once the manual is complete and I am satisfied that there are no significant outstanding issues with the software, the plan is to develop an enhanced version of WebChange, to be called WebChange Pro, which will be sold for an as yet undecided price (and which will be free to those who have purchased WebChange in the past). At some stage I will also devote some time to designing a new website to replace this temporary page.
Windows Version
There is also a very old Windows version of the software, which never progressed much beyond its original release version and therefore lags massively behind what the RISC OS version is capable of.
However, I have found it a useful tool on occasions, so it is presented here as a free download:
WebChange for Windows (27 kbytes)
Please note, though, that I do not have the full build system on the machine I currently use, so can't create a proper installation for the program (including the VB runtime). The necessary files are on a different machine, stored away in the loft. The file presented above, therefore, is just the .exe file for the program that currently runs on my laptop, and which should run on any modern machine running Windows XP and possibly, though untested, Vista and Windows 7.
To install it, copy the .exe file out of the zip file and put it somewhere suitable on your computer (for example, in C:\Program Files\WebChange) and create a shortcut to it on your desktop or in your Start Menu).
Unfortunately, the user manual is also on the machine in the loft, so as time permits I will try to put together a new one. Watch this space.
Features of WebChange for Windows include:
- Search and replace (single wildcard facility)
- Newline conversion
- Tag case conversion
- File datestamp insertion
- File size insertion
A better option than the Windows version of WebChange is to consider installing an emulator, such as VirtualRiscPC on your Windows PC which would enable you to run the much more fully featured RISC OS version of the software.