Attribute Changer 6.20 is now available in Simplified Chinese.

Many thanks to Yingwen Li for the Simplified Chinese translation.

A new version of Attribute Changer is currently in development and it will finally doing the transition in the Unicode world and include some cool new features, such as date and time synchronization.

Lot of work still has to be done, so don’t expect something public within the next few months...

Some people reported a very rare issue with the latest version of Attribute Changer that mostly occurs on Windows XP.

In fact, clicking the “Change attributes...” menu item can produce a black screen and therefore a restart of the computer. I’m currently investigating the issue and try to fix this problem as soon as possible.

As a workaround, you can revert back to version 6.10c which offers the same features as version 6.20, but does not include 64-bit support.

UPDATE :

There is a known issue with Microsoft Windows XP SP2 (File Manifest Corruption Vulnerability) when adding the trustinfo manifest for the Vista UAC to an application.

Please download the KB926255 security update for Windows XP SP2 and the black screen/blue screen problems are resolved.

Attribute Changer 6.20 French translation has been updated and included in the installer.

Many thanks to Sylvie Pierrard for the updates.

Attribute Changer 6.20 Turkish translation has been updated and included in the installer.

Many thanks to Kadir Demirel for the updates.

Almost a year passed since the last major update of Attribute Changer and I received many requests for a 64-support of Attribute Changer ... 64-bit support is now available in version 6.20.

This version builts on the latest 6.10c release and focuses mainly on providing 64-bit support for Windows XP, Vista and 7. It features a complete rewrite of the shell extension in C++, a new installer based on Innosetup and updated help files.

Support for Windows 95, 98, Me and NT4 has been dropped due to the usage of never API calls. Attribute Changer 6.20 requires Windows 2000, XP, Vista and 7.

Please take a look at the version history for changes and enhancements made into this release.

Version 6.20 is available in English, Brazilian-Portuguese, Dutch, German, Hungarian, Italian, Romanian and Spanish.

Some information on the 64-bit support : The shell extension (COM In-process server) is now written in C++ and compiled in 32 and 64-bit and handles the 'Change attributes...' context menu entry in Windows Explorer. The main application (acmain.exe) remains a 32-bit application.

A minor issue was reported for Attribute Changer 6.10b and this one is fixed in this maintenance release.

Bug fix

Wrong EXIF date/time read from header if picture was touched with some photo software

Important : DO NOT INSTALL this release if you are running Attribute Changer 6.20 BETA !

After some months of hard work, a new public BETA version is available for testing.

New features

COM In-Process server (shell extension) redeveloped in C++
64-bit shell extension now available for 64-bit Windows XP, Vista and 7
Inter-process communication now based on WM_CopyData and Windows Events
Folder Redirection mechanism implemented on x64
Dropped NSIS installer in favor of Innosetup
32-bit installer handles installation of 32-bit and 64-bit shell extension

Updates

Updated help files (not yet available in BETA)
Updated messages.ini file (please verify)
Dropped support for Windows 95/98/Me and NT 4.0

Important information

This version is available as a multi-language enabled installer and does not yet include an updated help file. The BETA release should be stable and usable in a production environment.

This version is only supported on Windows 2000/XP/Vista and 7.

Only Attribute Changer 6.x can be upgraded to 6.20. Any version prior v6.0 must be manually uninstalled from your system before installing the latest build.

Please test the new installer and the shell extension integration with 32-bit and 64-bit Windows. Don't forget to report any issue.

Attribute Changer goes 64-bit...

A 64-bit compatible version (ZIP archive) is available for experienced Windows users and there is currently no installer/uninstaller available. You need to download the ZIP archive, copy the contents to a location of choice and manually register the 64-bit shell extension (regsvr32 acshell.dll using 64-bit regsvr32.exe comamnd line tool. Please take a look at the Readme.txt file inside the archive !

IMPORTANT: I tested this on a 64-bit Windows XP / Windows 7 RC1 and it worked well, but I'm unable to test it on Windows Vista .... thus I need some experienced Windows users willing to test this stuff.

Please note that this is a BETA version and it may contain bugs and it's only available in English.

Over the last few months, I worked hard to get Attribute Changer running on 64-bit Windows :

• I redeveloped the COM In-Process server (shell extension) in C++ and compiled the source code in 32 and 64-bit.
• Inter-Process communication between the shell extension and the main application is now based on WM_CopyData messages and Windows Events.
• Attribute Changer main application remains a 32-bit executable (Delphi is not yet available in 64-bit)
• Attribute Changer main application handles Folder Redirection mechanism on x64
• Dropped support for Windows 9x/Me and NT 4.0
• The installer will remain 32-bit, but automatically registers the 32/64-bit shell extension based on the detected platform.

The new 32/64-bit shell extension already works fine and inter-process communication is up and running. I need to fix an issue with 32-bit file and folder redirections (VirtualStore) on 64-bit Windows Vista and Windows 7.

Once this is done, a ZIP archive (no installer currently) will be made available for testing.

Some customers asked me if Attribute Changer will be supported on Windows 7.

As Microsoft recently published a first public Release Candidate of Windows 7, I grabbed a 32-bit copy and installed the latest Attribute Changer release.

Everything worked fine without any glitches and Attribute Changer 6.10b is supported on 32-bit Windows 7. Please be aware that a Release Candidate is not yet the final product, but there won't be big changes, except bug fixing.

If you are using a non English user interface of Attribute Changer 6.10b and downloaded it before 16 May 2009 at 22:30, then please re-download the setup and install this version on top of the old one.

There were some inconsistencies in the translated language files ... Sorry !

A minor issue was reported for Attribute Changer 6.10a and this one is fixed in this maintenance release. This version brings no new features but makes using the Simulation/Preview mode much more user friendly.

Updates

Simulation (Preview) mode now available on main page
Simulation mode now automatically triggers detailed logging
Added Donation link to the About tab

Bug fixes

Clicking Help button in About tab doesn't work on Windows XP SP3 for restricted users

Info: There seems to be a rare problem with Attribute Changer's shell extension after SP1 is applied on Windows Vista. I'm currently unable to reproduce this error on my Vista test system. In fact, the shell extension's menu entry doesn't appear in the context menu and there is currently no solution.

Since 10 years, Attribute Changer's popularity is growing constantly and the program is still free and will remain free in the future.

To be able to offer Attribute Changer, I spent lot of my free time in the last years. Beside this, I have to pay the webhosting including the download traffic that isn't very low due to the success of the program. Microsoft Windows licenses aren't free either, nor are new Delphi licences for the development environment.

If you like Attribute Changer or find it useful, I would be very happy if you consider donating to the project.

You can find the Donation button on the Download page.

Attribute Changer celebrates its 10 year birthday in 2009.

I still remember the development history of Attribute Changer. In fact, I needed a basic tool to change attributes on files and folders and I couldn’t find anything on the net, at least nothing suited for my problem.

I decided therefore to develop a tool myself and as soon it got finished, my friends told me it was worth to put on the Internet back in 1999. Not being developed in mind to be published, a help file was added, a minor bug fixed and a one-page website uploaded to a free web hosting company.

At the beginning, about 30 visitors per month were counted on my website and I was really proud. Over the years, more and more features were added to Attribute Changer and the tool was localized to other languages, making it more and more popular.

Currently, an average of 7000 visitors per month hit the website and I want to thank all the contributors and users worldwide for the ongoing success of Attribute Changer.

Attribute Changer 6.10a is now available in Portuguese (Brazilian) and Turkish.

Many thanks to Daniel Henrique Tsuha for the Portuguese (Brazilian) and Kadir Demirel for the Turkish updates.

More and more customers are asking for a 64-bit version of Attribute Changer. There are some points that I would like to share with the community :

The current build of Attribute Changer is based on Delphi 5 Professional, a commercial 32-bit development environment from Borland, now owned by Embarcadero Technologies. A 64-bit cross-compiler is on the road for mid 2009, but the latest Delphi versions are way too expensive, especially as the product is only used for Attribute Changer development.

I checked the market for alternatives and there is Lazarus, a free Delphi clone. After an extensive evaluation, it’s not yet ready for Attribute Changer development as large parts of the COM API are not yet implemented and their focus is cross-platform development for Windows, Linux and Mac. While this is great, I don’t have access to all the necessary Win32 controls needed for Attribute Changer, such as a native DateTimePicker control.

As Attribute Changer is and should stay free, I am unable to invest +-400 EUR in a Delphi upgrade license (without support). Add to this a 64-bit Windows license for Vista x64 Professional, because the cheaper Home editions cannot be virtualized.

Another solution is to completely rewrite Attribute Changer in a free development environment based on the .Net framework, as many of them are free (Visual Studio Express or SharpDevelop). This would cost me lot of time to recode everything in VB.NET or C#, but anything else is free. All of above development environments have powerful GUI builders.

As managed code cannot be used to develop shell extensions, they have to be rewritten in C and recompiled in 32 and 64-bit versions. This is possible with the free Visual Studio C++ Express edition. Rewriting everything, the shell extension and Attribute Changer GUI in C/C++ is out of scope for me.

A possibility would be to add a “PayPal Donate” button to the website, but +-600 EUR is a big deal.

Feel free to contact me if you have some ideas or suggestions !

Some issues were reported for Attribute Changer 6.10 and they are now fixed in this maintenance release.

Updates

Picture date and time checkboxes now unchecked by default

Bug fixes

JPEG Error 52 while modifying EXIF data
'Failed to set calendar date or time' error on Windows Vista
Copy buttons fail on Windows Vista for DateTimePicker operations

Microsoft decided to change the way the DateTimePicker common control behaves for Windows Vista and this broke Attribute Changer. The only way to work around this problem is to use native Win32 API calls instead of Delphi class methods .... but it took me a long time to figure out what broke.

Attribute Changer 6.10 is finally available and can be downloaded free of charge.

The top most requested feature request now finally got implemented : a easy way to change and synchronize the Exif date and time stamps of digital pictures. The redesign of the graphical user interface is now complete and it simplifies again the usability of the tool.

Please take a look at the version history for changes and enhancements made into the latest release of Attribute Changer.

Version 6.10 is completely localized in Dutch, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Romanian and Spanish.

Attribute Changer 6.10 BETA has been downloaded more than 7000 times since its release and only minor issues were reported by the beta testers.

Attribute Changer 6.10 is now completely localized in Dutch, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Romanian and Spanish and the final rollout is planned for the next week.

After some months of coding, a new public BETA version is available for testing.

New features

Hovering the selected files in the ‘File’ tab displays the total file size
EXIF date can now be changed

Updates

Finished the GUI rework
Restructured registry key

Bug fixes

Saved settings incorrectly restored at program launch

Important information

This version is only available in English and does not yet include an updated help file. Please be aware that this BETA release has only undergone very limited testing.

Don’t use this release on your production files and I highly recommend to install it in a test environment ! Don’t forget to report any issue.

The petges.lu website has a new home. Please update your bookmarks if you were referring the old webplaza.pt.lu/rpetges location.

Attribute Changer news : Attribute Changer 6.10 development progresses well and a first preview version has been sent out to the translators to get some feedback. There is still some work to do but most of the new features already work .... and no, there is still no 64-bit support for Attribute Changer for the same reasons I explained in an earlier blog entry :

• Borland Delphi, the used development environment doesn't exist in a 64-bit version.
• Lazarus, a Delphi clone is not yet ready for Attribute Changer development ... some key functions are still missing.
• I don't own a 64-bit machine, my 20" Apple iMac is only 2 years old and I'm not ready to spend 1.500 EUR for a new machine.

Once a year, I try to redesign my website and the result of my efforts are now put online. The site is created and managed with Rapidweaver, a web design software exclusively made for the Mac.

The Blocks and Carousel plugins from Yourhead software are used on the new site for better visual appearance and navigation experience.

Attribute Changer news : A new version is currently in development and finally delivers a long requested feature ... changing the date and time stamp of pictures (DateTime EXIF field). There were some design changes in the GUI planned for version 6.0, but due to the massive changes, I decided to postphone them until this release.

Attribute Changer 6.0a is now available in Hungarian and Romanian. Many thanks to László Balázs for the updates.

Attribute Changer 6.0a is now available in Dutch. Many thanks to Pierre MFH Tans for the updates.

Attribute Changer 6.0a is now available in German. Many thanks to Kai-Uwe Herbing for the updates.

Some minor issues were reported for Attribute Changer 6.0 and are fixed in this maintenance release. Please refer to the Attribute Changer Version History section for more information about the updates and bug fixes.

I'm proud to announce the availability of Attribute Changer 6.0 after a really long Beta period.

This release features many new and most requested features. Check out the Version history section for changes and enhancements made into Attribute Changer 6.

To reduce the number of support requests, I would like to share some information about 64-bit support :

Attribute Changer is NOT compatible with 64-bit Windows versions due to :

• Borland Delphi, the used development environment doesn't exist in a 64-bit version.
• Lazarus, a Delphi clone is not yet ready for Attribute Changer development ... some key functions are still missing.
• I don't own a 64-bit machine, my 20" Apple iMac is only 1,5 years old and I'm not ready to spend 1.500 EUR for a new machine.

Download and enjoy Attribute Changer 6 now.

I also added an RSS-Feed to the News section .... maybe it can be useful to stay up to date.

Attribute Changer 5.30 is now available in Spanish.

Many thanks to Dr. Angel Herraez for the great work !

After more than 3 years of silence, a new release of Attribute Changer is finally available and it's still free !

This version features the following updates :

Completely redesigned graphical user interface
Completely rewritten translation engine (no DLL's anymore)
Uses updated NSIS installer
Updated help files

If you like to translate Attribute Changer in your language, feel free to contact me to get the instructions.

Feel free to download Attribute Changer 5.30

I decided to not abandon Attribute Changer and to put some limited resources resulting in a first Beta release of the upcoming 5.30 version. The graphical user interface has been completely reworked to make it easier to use, but no new features are implemented. Another change, planned for Beta 2, is a translation engine based on text files.

Roadmap

Beta 1 - Redesigned graphical user interface
Beta 2 - Translation system based on text files, updated help file

Installation instructions

The Beta 1 is ONLY available in ENGLISH ! The downloadable ZIP package contains two files, acmain.exe and aclang.dll you need to copy to the existing Attribute Changer's program directory. I run it on my production machine and didn't notice any showstoppers.

Known issues

If you want to change date and time stamps, ensure to check at least ONE date/time mask property, otherwise nothing gets changed and no warning or error shows up.

During some maintenance tasks, I made a really big mistake and lost all my source code changes of Attribute Changer since version 5.23. I still try to recover the data but it seems hopeless.

Needless to say that this means no new version and I'm not really motivated at the moment to put big resources into Attribute Changer development for some reasons I would like to share :

I really hate to say this, but many Windows users don't know how to respect the other's work. Since two years, the number of irreverent mails increased in that way that I'm thinking about Attribute Changer's future. Most of these 'users' even don't know what a filesystem is, but have the cheek to accuse you in case of damage (it's never their fault).

Attribute Changer is a tool I developed for personal use and shared for free with the Internet community. I never touched a cent for the application and supported it in my free time, replying to EVERY message. Development and support took a large amount of my free time and cost me money (Windows license, Delphi license etc.)

Due to lack of time, I decided to stop development of the ambitious version 6 of Attribute Changer. Some most requested features will be implemented in version 5, such as datetime overflow and a more easier to use graphical user interface.

This version is currently in development and seems to work not bad so far in internal testing. There are still some major bugs, but a beta release shouldn't be that far once all known problems are resolved.

One of the most asked questions in emails is if there will ever be a new release and the answer is : YES, but ...

Sometimes, you are obligated to review your priorities, especially if one of your family members needs help due to health problems. After months of big frustrations, I developed another small application (LuxDSL Volume) to raise the morale.

Since a week, I restarted Attribute Changer development and here are some news :

As already mentioned in December, the GUI is feature complete and I'm currently implementing GUI event handling. Everything looks quite good and I would like to release a preview version to test the GUI, but no processing code will be activated. The reason for this is, that the new version is a 95% rewrite of the application.

So, please be patient and sorry for the months of silence.