I’ve finally had a bit of time to fix a few annoying anomalies with CaseNotes that have been causing a few headaches for users.
This is an incremental release, so there isn’t any new functionality – just bug fixes. A list of the fixes is shown below:
Case file backups only made during explicit user initiated saves Backup copies now stored in a dedicated sub-folder Number of case file backups increased from 3 to 10 Greater assistance for the corrupt case file 'password' issue New menu item to reset screen position data to fix maximised windows Fix for Open File dialog not recognising .Notes files in Windows 7 New dedicated 32 & 64 bit versions
Case file backups only made during explicit user initiated saves
In previous versions, every time CaseNotes was closed, or whenever your case’s metadata changed, CaseNotes would save your case file. Hardcoded into the program if ‘make backups’ is selected, was the function to make a backup copy of your case file. If the case file had some level of corruption present, it means that after three saves, all of your backups would now be corrupt too. Not great, so I’ve removed this function and cut it back so that backups are only created when you explicitly click the save button (or select the save menu option).
Backup copies now stored in a dedicated sub-folder
This means backup files are easier to identify and can be themselves backed up nightly or whenever.
Number of case file backups increased from 3 to 10
To add more resilience to the backup process, there will be ten unique backup files stored in the backup folder, up from the existing three.
Greater assistance for the corrupt case file 'password' issue
This is the one problem that affected users more than any other. If the header becomes corrupt, CaseNotes assumes the file is encrypted – to explain:
What happens when CaseNotes opens a case file is that it reads the file sig (cnote or cnotr) – if the first five bytes are neither of these then CaseNotes assumes that the file is encrypted, as the file sig would be unreadable in this case. So it prompts you for the password. The usual reason that this problem occurs is if you open the case file from two separate instances of CaseNotes simultaneously. It’s very important that you only ever have one copy of each case file open at any one time. You can have as many copies of CaseNotes running as you like, but they must all be for different cases.
Anytime you have a problem, you should immediately close CaseNotes and make additional copies of the backup files before proceeding. I’ve implemented a change which prompts with the steps to follow whenever a password prompt is delivered, this should allow users to rescue the situation before all of the backup files are lost by save actions.
New menu item to reset screen position data to fix maximised windows
Occasionally, CaseNotes will loose its screen position settings and disappear off the screen unless in full screen or minimised mode. I’ve created a new menu item which allows the screen data to be reset, so that CaseNotes can be restored to a normal screen position.
Fix for Open File dialog not recognising .Notes files in Windows 7
This was pretty simple to fix and required a small code change to account for new syntax for the Windows 7 open file dialog.
New dedicated 32 & 64 bit versions
I’ve now created two distinct versions of the software, so if you’re running a 64 bit operating system, you’ve got a version of CaseNotes which will interact with your system correctly.
Future enhancements
There’s a lot more on the horizon for CaseNotes – the next version should include user customisable check lists and workflow templates allowing you to use CaseNotes as a prompt for major steps in your investigations dependant upon case type, and to provide boiler plate text for various note types. I’m hoping this should be released around August and will send an email out to those who have downloaded the app and indicated I can contact them. If you’ve indicated you’d be happy to beta test, then you may get an email a bit sooner!