Extractor Beta Test

[gstelmack]

I have a new version of Extractor that is MUCH faster than the old version (12 minutes to grab an entire draft class, less than a second to grab all coaches, etc). I finally figured out how to read the listboxes directly, so all the old OCR code is gone, no more issues with ClearType or fonts, no more mismatched ls for Is, no more spacing issues with Ws, no more caring if the screen is covered up (you can do other work while it is running), etc.

However, this means Extractor will no longer work on Win9x, and I've only been able to test on my Vista box. I'd like to get some other people to give it a whirl and let me know if it works, or what specific errors you get. If you are interested in helping to check it, grab:

http://www.gstelmack.com/utilitysuite/FOF2k7UtilitySuite1.5.5.zip

and install it. Then run one or more of the following tests:

- Extract a team roster
- Extract the entire FOF roster (for a Maddenator run, for example)
- Extract a draft class
- Extract all scouts
- Extract all coaches

Let me know:

- You operating system version, including service pack level
- Did it work?
- If it broke, did it crash, or did you get any error messages?

If you have problems, you can uninstall and go back to 1.5.4.

Thanks in advance to any brave enough to download and give it a spin.

I've got one other bit to add to the suite (Interrogator to better remember settings across runs), and when I get that done and have this stable I'll push out 1.6.0.

[primelord]

I wish I would have known you were still having trouble reading those. I could have probably helped out. The new version of change tracker I am almost done with reads the list boxes directly.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by primelord

I wish I would have known you were still having trouble reading those. I could have probably helped out. The new version of change tracker I am almost done with reads the list boxes directly.

I hadn't tried in a long, long time. Then while looking up something else I finally found the critical code in my "Programming Applications for Microsoft Windows" book that I owned for most of the time I've been working on Extractor. Was a nice "duh!" moment. Maddenator finally pushed me over the edge, as it can take quite a while to run with the old method.

Grabbing the data from the list boxes wasn't hard, but getting the data back to the Extractor app under Vista was, thanks to many of the standard IPC mechanisms being borked unless you are running a service in ring 0 (can't create a shared memory mapped file, for example). Finally got it working, though, using named pipes and an appropriate security attributes structure.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

I have a new version of Extractor that is MUCH faster than the old version (12 minutes to grab an entire draft class, less than a second to grab all coaches, etc). I finally figured out how to read the listboxes directly, so all the old OCR code is gone, no more issues with ClearType or fonts, no more mismatched ls for Is, no more spacing issues with Ws, no more caring if the screen is covered up (you can do other work while it is running), etc.

However, this means Extractor will no longer work on Win9x, and I've only been able to test on my Vista box. I'd like to get some other people to give it a whirl and let me know if it works, or what specific errors you get. If you are interested in helping to check it, grab:

http://www.gstelmack.com/utilitysuite/FOF2k7UtilitySuite1.5.5.zip

and install it. Then run one or more of the following tests:

- Extract a team roster
- Extract the entire FOF roster (for a Maddenator run, for example)
- Extract a draft class
- Extract all scouts
- Extract all coaches

Let me know:

- You operating system version, including service pack level
- Did it work?
- If it broke, did it crash, or did you get any error messages?

If you have problems, you can uninstall and go back to 1.5.4.

Thanks in advance to any brave enough to download and give it a spin.

I've got one other bit to add to the suite (Interrogator to better remember settings across runs), and when I get that done and have this stable I'll push out 1.6.0.

XP Pro, SP2
Extracted a draft class (with interviews already done) successfully, and loaded into Analyzer just fine. Extractor took 7 minutes to grab the class. It used to be in the 15-20 minute range on this machine.

[heardie]

Ran fine (XP Pro, SP2), except I can't find the FOFroster.csv output file now?

Usually it would just extract to /Program Files/Stel...etc, but I can't seem to locate it.

Edit: Ok I found it. All seems to be fine then. Took around 7-8 minutes as well, btw

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by heardie

Ran fine (XP Pro, SP2), except I can't find the FOFroster.csv output file now?

Usually it would just extract to /Program Files/Stel...etc, but I can't seem to locate it.

Edit: Ok I found it. All seems to be fine then. Took around 7-8 minutes as well, btw

Yeah, the location changed a few versions ago to be more XP/Vista friendly.

[Subby]

Three minutes and thirty seconds on a WinXP Core 2 Duo machine with 2 GB ram (work machine).

Yeah that's faster

[gstelmack]

Thanks guys, good to know no one is having issues.

[MalcPow]

Same here. No troubles, and done in just about three minutes. I made sure to cover the player cards with other programs as well (just for my own wonderment).

This development is slightly negative for me because it makes playing at work a lot more discreet (and hence, enticing), and I always used extractor time as a little break to do something "productive" at home (after which I would reward myself with more FOF). So basically this upgrade will get me fired and prevent me from doing anything of even minimal value with my life. Thanks Greg!

[Sweed]

Worked fine on my machine. xp media center edition 2005 with all windows updates.

[Rizon]

Extracted my team roster. Went fine. Did it in about 30 seconds.
XP Home2002 SP2

[Rizon]

Originally Posted by Rizon

Extracted my team roster. Went fine. Did it in about 30 seconds.
XP Home2002 SP2

Actually, I think it's reporting ratings of 100 as 0's (for roster export/FA export).

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by Rizon

Actually, I think it's reporting ratings of 100 as 0's (for roster export/FA export).

I'll check. I think I know what I did wrong there.

[rollaway]

i'm using vista and the extractor rips through on the coaches/scouts but when i try to use it on a draft file or a single roster it gets hung up. it just sits there flipping through the player cards but the extractor has a message on the top saying "not responding".

[gstelmack]

Does it get to the end? Extractor may well have a "Not Responding" as it is not in a message loop during this execution while it is flipping through player cards. What does it do when it is done flipping through player cards?

[rollaway]

i've never fotten that far. i've let it stay that way for a couple of hours and it flips through all the cards. i then have to close the extractor but there's no file.

[gstelmack]

You say "flips through all the cards". Does it ever stop, and then you wait a while, or are you shutting it down while it is still flipping? How long are the windows taking to flip?

[Scarecrow]

Bump.

I've started using the utility, and I'm having the same problem as rollaway at thread #14. Was this ever discussed, and a solution found?

[gstelmack]

Can't remember if the latest fixed that or not, it's been a long time.