WebCipher

After much deliberation, I have made the decision that I will no longer be developing WebCipher. My apologies to the supporters and fans of WebCipher who have offered their feedback and suggestions for the program over the past 3 or so years. Also, thanks to Anthony Carapetis who made the awesome WebCipher logo.

Why?

There were three main reasons why I decided to discontinue development of WebCipher:

1. With my other commitments (University, Time Sheet and my life in general), I no longer have the time to actively maintain this project.
2. Unfortunately, I received no donations for the work I put into WebCipher. The compensation received simply does not justify the work put in (which was a lot). This is especially important when you’ve got other work to do (see the aforementioned point).
3. A lack of active participation. There have been no blog comments and only a few topics created in the WebCipher Forums, and this is a giant signal that there is ailing support for this project.

I understand that there will be some annoyed and disappointed people, but I ask that you respect my decision and understand that this is not a decision I have made lightly. It has come after much consideration on my part, and it is a necessary step for me to take.

To those of you who may be asking, at this stage, I will not be open sourcing this project. I may at a later date and, if I do, information will be available here.

I will be taking down the forums and the rest of the website later today, leaving only this blog. All requests to the WebCipher website (excluding requests to the latest version below) will be redirected here.

If you still want to use the latest available version of WebCipher (Beta 2), you can download it from here. If you have any questions, please reply to this post below.

That’s a wrap. Again, thanks for the support over the years.

As promised, here’s another update from the scene of WebCipher 2010’s development. A new feature that will make its way into the new and improved WebCipher is a feature dubbed Sample Colour From Image and, well, the name pretty much says it all. It allows you to load in an image (for example, a mockup or photo) and pick colours from it, so you can use them when converting your sites from mere designs to creations. Here’s a snapshot of it in action.

WebCipher 2010 - Sample Colour From Image

It’s something that I’ve found myself needing for a while now, and I’m happy to announce that it is all ready for WebCipher 2010! It’s all fully functioning.

Stay tuned

Keep checking back here for the latest on WebCipher 2010’s development, and feel free to leave comments letting me know what you think of the latest progress - I’d love to hear it!

Happy Coding!

Steven

Well, WebCipher 2010’s development is coming along swimmingly; it’s been quite a long process so far, but what you can look forward to is a piece of software that is not only more stable, but more useful and powerful than ever before.

Out with the old, in with the new

One of the issues I have been forced to consider with this rebuild is the idea of taking out features that are simply cluttering up the program. WebCipher should be clean and streamlined to allow you to access what you want as easily as possible.

When I first set out to develop WebCipher (under it’s original name, CSSE), the idea of Common Elements (now snippets) was introduced, allowing you to insert small pieces of code at the double-click of a mouse or the click of a button (whichever you preferred). Being released to much fan-fare, this feature has become far more integrated into the WebCipher core since its initial inception. Therefore, I made the decision that it was time to reflect on how useful this feature has become.

Notice this menu in WebCipher 2009?

WebCipher 2009 HTML Headings and Definitions Menu

Well, this menu has been completely removed from WebCipher 2010 and is instead now part of the Snippets Panel, as seen on the right.

WebCipher 2010 Snippets Panel

By relegating these menu items to the Snippets Panel, the end user can more easily customise what shows up there, and remove anything they don’t want, allowing it to more clearly reflect their requirements.

(Oh, you may have noticed that Snippets now have folders, allowing you to categorise your Snippets and make them easier to find. Just another feature to look forward to )

Would you like Hex or RGB with that?

Another feature that I personally feel some will benefit from is the addition of a drop-down menu to the Colour icon on the main toolbar. This drop-down menu allows you to output your chosen colour as a hex or RGB value. Cool, eh?

Worth a mention

Also worth a mention, since this is the first development update I’ve posted, is the new FTP component in use by WebCipher 2010. Almost all of WebCipher’s FTP operations are performed asynchronously, meaning that you can perform other operations while the FTP panel is doin’ it’s thing.

Stay tuned

There are plenty more updates to come regarding WebCipher 2010’s development - so why not subscribe to the RSS feed below to stay in the loop?

Happy coding!

Steven

Well, I just finished my first year of University. The experience has been great, and as a result of my newly acquired knowledge, it has illustrated how much my skills in programming can be improved. After revisiting the WebCipher 2009 source code, I saw the shocking truth - the code was lacking modularity and it was very hard to ascertain what each piece of code was actually doing. So, I made the decision to start from the ground up; the entire application will be redeveloped with a clearer focus. Now, I know that some of you are probably thinking - why not just keep chipping away at the old WebCipher? Is the code really that bad? Well, the issue grounds itself in more than just the code. I have actually been using WebCipher less - this saddens me greatly, because I want WebCipher to be a program that I’ll keep using. So, what are the issues I have with it?

1. Slow startup

I’ll admit it, WebCipher is really slow to get started. It’s trying to do too much when it starts. So, the solution? The re-developed version will focus on these start-up times. It will work on being speedy to start, and allow you to get to coding faster.

2. Too many annoying, convoluted features

I found there was just way too much in there. A lot of the clutter ruined the end-user experience, creating, what I saw, as a first impression that would not sit well with many. Therefore, the re-developed version will focus on getting what should be in there, not just random stuff to fill in the blanks.

3. The code editing control is buggy.

The scrollbar issue and lack of word wrap are two things that really bugged me about the existing code editing control. Therefore, a new control is the way to go - something with better support for the aforementioned.

4. The program is messy.

What do I mean by messy? Well, WebCipher is trying to be what it isn’t. The list of programming languages available is too broad for what WebCipher really is - a web development application. Therefore, the focus needs to be narrowed to ensure a smooth, engaging experience that doesn’t frustrate the user.

What does this all equal? A brand new version - WebCipher 2010.

As a result of this new version, a brand new mini-site will be established at http://www.webcipher.org/2010. Feel free to check it out and voice your opinion on this brand new version - I want your input, so we can make this a free, awesome web development application that really gets you excited about coding!

Steven

P.S. Thanks to all of the loyal WebCipher followers who have stuck with the program through the tough times - you guys are amazing!

That’s right, WebCipher 2009 Beta 2 has arrived! Feel free to download it from the download page and submit any feedback you may have, either here, on the forum, or on the Neowin Forums.

Changelog:

FIXED: Improved exception handling for documents being opened that are currently in use by another process
FIXED: Magic Template Builder inherits editor font family and size
NEW: The last closed tab, regardless of whether its content was saved, can be reopened using the corresponding menu item or Ctrl + Shift + T
NEW: Special Characters dialog, where characters are inserted as HTML entities
NEW: HTML Entity encoding and decoding
NEW: Open Tabs dialog
NEW: New Window menu item
NEW: Snippet from selected text
UPDATED: When checking if a document to be opened is already open, WebCipher no longer unnecessarily changes between available tabs
UPDATED: Add/Edit Snippet dialog now uses a syntax highlighted control instead of a standard text box
UPDATED: Magic Template variables that are referenced but undeclared are now alerted during the build phase
UPDATED: Fixed PHP syntax definition to resolve conflicts when using <? and ?> tags inside PHP strings
UPDATED: Improved exception handling for magic templates
UPDATED: Icons for expand and collapse all in Code Folding menu
UPDATED: Added support for missing elements in CSS syntax definition file
FIXED: WebCipher may crash unexpectedly when an OpenFileDialog is opened
NEW: WebCipher can list functions found in a particular document for insertion into other documents
UPDATED: Improved Help and Support
FIXED: Active project would still remain active even if deleted
FIXED: Syntax highlighting updates based on file extension when a ‘Save As’ operation is successful
FIXED: When an attempt is made to open a file in the Projects Panel that no longer exists, a error message is now displayed
UPDATED: Added the ability to insert a magic template at the cursor position (applies to individual template instances)
UPDATED: Added icons for selected file types in the FTP browser
NEW: Text completion can be temporarily enabled or disabled by pressing Ctrl + Shift + A
NEW: Shortcuts Panel, allowing you to view chosen pages (e.g. phpMyAdmin) within WebCipher itself
UPDATED: Added ability to disable Shortcuts panel initialisation at startup
UPDATED: Existing magic templates can now be loaded in the Build Magic Template dialog
UPDATED: Close button to up-to-date and unsuccessful update attempt screens within WebCipher Update
NEW: Magic Templates library, where frequently accessed templates can be added to your template library
UPDATED: Syntax highlighting for files edited in WebCipher using Server Edit Mode is now automatically detected
UPDATED: The size of the editor area and the size of the side panel is remembered on program exit
FIXED: WebCipher previously failed to remember the panels you had visible and hidden between sessions
UPDATED: Added whitespace to the top and bottom of the FTP listing grid on the FTP panel

Thanks in advance for any feedback posted!

Steven

Thank you to everyone who has posted feedback, submitted feature suggestions, and everyone who has tried WebCipher at all! It is greatly appreciated, and your feedback and suggestions mean a lot.

Beta 2 is currently in the works and on its way. This is a blog post to inform of some of the updates made to the WebCipher website, as well as some exciting changes coming in Beta 2.

WebCipher License Agreements are now available online for viewing. This means that if you want to refer to a license agreement you accepted during setup, you no longer have to re-run the setup application. You can simply go to webcipher.org/license and click on the relevant release.

WebCipher’s Functions Panel is a new feature coming in Beta 2. This new panel automatically gets a list of all functions in the active document, so you can easily double-click on them later for use in another document. You can have the editor automatically update the function list every 10 seconds, or you can manually update it yourself by clicking on a designated button. This is a feature that some other IDE’s appear to have had for quite some time, and I am pleased to say that it is coming in Beta 2. More about this feature can be found in this support article.

WebCipher Help and Support has had a revamp in-product - you can now access the WebCipher Support site within WebCipher itself, in a specially designed format that makes for easy reading. This is also coming in Beta 2.

Plus heaps of bug fixes, and new HTML specific features. I won’t give away too much more, so stick around for the release of Beta 2!

Steven

That’s right, WebCipher 2009 Beta 1 has arrived! Check out the details over at the forum, and download it now from the download page.

Steven

I’ve been very busy as of late, but the good news is that I’ve found a bit of time to dedicate to WebCipher! So, I’d love to hear any feature suggestions and suggestions for WebCipher 2009, so we can get to Beta 1, then seal development off for RC, followed by the final release! I’m looking forward to the final release of WebCipher 2009, so any and all feedback is appreciated. At the moment, the changelog is looking rather slim to be honest. :p

Steven

WebCipher 2009 Alpha 3 is here! As always, any feedback is appreciated.

Changelog:

CHANGED: Removed ’split view bevel’ from editor
ADDED: Context menu for document area
FIXED: Default port for the connection details dialog is now 21 instead of 0
FIXED: WebCipher would stop working when a blank document was opened
ADDED: Syntax highlighting detection based on file extension, when files are opened and untitled documents are saved
ADDED: Project Manager, allowing you to view a directory tree from a root directory at a glance, and double-click a document to edit it in WebCipher
UPDATED: Various icons added for menu items
FIXED: In the FTP connection dialog, WebCipher may not save the ’start folder’ specified to a profile when the save button is pressed
ADDED: Files and folders on an FTP server can be launched in your default browser by right-clicking on them and choosing ‘Open in Browser’ (the remote URL depends on the value specified in the FTP connection dialog)

FIXED: WebCipher would fail to clear the validator temporary storage document on close due to an incorrect file path
ADDED: Ability to enable or disable an ‘Edit with WebCipher…’ context menu item in Windows Explorer
ADDED: Pressing enter in the FTP window opens the selected folder or downloads the selected file
ADDED: ‘Find’ and ‘Replace’ places the caret at the top of the document, to enforce complete searching of the active document
UPDATED: Improved Code Count
ADDED: Setting to allow user to double-click on a file, select ‘Download’ or press enter to either download the file or edit it on the server

Steven

Well, after further development, WebCipher 2009 Alpha 2 is now available for download. This version of WebCipher 2009 must be downloaded and installed, as opposed to using WebCipher Update, as a critical update component wasn’t included in WebCipher 2009 Alpha 1 (my mistake!). After installing Alpha 2, the update process will be able to complete, and subsequent versions will be able to be updated using the update program.

If you have any feedback, feel free to post it in the WebCipher Forums. A full changelog for this version is included below.

• FIXED: Syntax Highlighting tab whitespace adjusted
• FIXED: File browser icons would previously overlap when they extended past one column
• FIXED: Selected options no longer require an application restart to apply
• UPDATED: Replaced editor tab control with one which includes an integrated close button to increase area available to editor
• ADDED: Middle-clicking on a tab closes that tab
• FIXED: Tooltips on buttons in Snippets panel
• FIXED: Connection Details dialog port now defaults to 21 and not 0
• FIXED: Attempts to perform actions on an FTP server without an established FTP connection will cause WebCipher to attempt to re-establish the last successful connection
• ADDED: ‘Views’ menu in the FTP context menu now has an icon
• FIXED: Tooltip for ‘up one level’ button in the Files panel
• ADDED: Untitled Uploading, which allows you to upload the active document to the active server directory, regardless of whether or not it has been saved
• ADDED: More templates (only available when downloading the WebCipher installer and re-installing WebCipher)
• ADDED: ‘Up one level’ button for the FTP panel