2018/2019 and the Future of iMacros...

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chivracq
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2018/2019 and the Future of iMacros...

Post by chivracq » Thu Jan 03, 2019 6:34 am

Yeah, sorry, I'm "clever" but I have a pretty messy/mixed-up Mind, so I might need to re-organize the Content of this (Blog) Post...

OK, hum, 2018:
Pfff, retrospectively not a very good yeah for iMacros: I think it started with iMacros for CR that went Commercial with v10.0.1 (now v10.0.5 in Jan 2019), with a clear "Separation" between the 'Free' and the 'PE' Versions ('PE' = Personal Edition).
Easy to qualify is that any Local File Access like using a DataSource or saving Data locally using the 'SAVEAS' Command required the pay 'FIO' Module (about 100 any Currency, last time I checked that part of the Site was pretty buggy, pity the Italian Lira does not exist anymore, otherwise, iMacros would still be nearly Gratis.., never saw any Update about that, so I guess, simply find some "cheap" Currency and for 100x CUR, iMacros 'PE' is yours...!).

'Free' also means that Scripts are limited to 50x Lines of Codes and when looping to 100x Loops. (Oh...!, and only 3x Vars: '!VAR[1-3]')
Well, all those Limitations are very easy to bypass for Techy Users, took me less than 2min on FF.

Then iMacros for FF followed, using the same Framework like iMacros for CR, which was a "real disaster", because iMacros for CR was always the "very-buggy little brother of iMacros for FF", and suddenly iMacros for CR became the "leading" way-to-the-future...! :shock:

During the Summer 2018, TechSup/Ipswitch launched some Beta-Testing Phase for iMacros for FF v10.0.2 (to adopt FF57+ and WebExtensions). The Intention was very good, first time ever iOpus/Ipswitch involved Users in some Beta-Phase before launching some Version... :D
My Opinion, but to be honest, it didn't go very well, maybe 3 Bugs were solved during that Beta-Phase, and after those 3 Bugs, some Version got released that still contained Dozens of Bugs (from some very "superficial" Testing), I lost the Count, with still 2 or 3 very "Blocking" for me, but which 6 months later (Jan 2019) is still the Official Version, didn't see any Update since... :?

Some User had posted about 1 year ago some interesting Video in this Thread when the first Commercial Version of iMacros for CR had been released...

2019, and the Future...!?
I'm a bit somber to be honest, the "Top" Versions to use "at this moment" (= Jan 2019) are iMB v11.5 maybe v12.0 and/or v12.5, and iMacros for FF v8.9.7 (+FF v55.0.3).
... => While current Version of iMacros for FF is now v10.0.2, in 'Free' + 'PE' Versions, which don't support '.js' Scripts anymore... And iMacros for CR has always been some kind of a joke for me... Yeah, perfect for 3x easy Click-Click-Click Script, but that's about it...
(v9.0.3 works also until FF56 but was always a bit of buggy joke...)

And for the Records, I'm probably the most Advanced User on the Forum and my FCI is:
iMacros for FF 8.8.2 + PM v26.3.3 (=FF47) + Win10_x64. ("PM" = Pale Moon) + occasionally iMacros for FF v8.9.7 + FF v55.0.3 + Win10_x64.)

My "Feeling" is that until about 2 years ago, iMacros was the absolute WINNER for Web-Automation (and AI), but I don't know, "they" completely screw it...! I predicted 10 years ago that 'Web-Automation' and 'AI' were the "Future", within 2 years at that time I thought, oops, took another 8 years, 'AI' is now completely "hot", I've been maintaining some Thread for several years about Enhancement Requests for iMacros (but not a single one got implemented I think...)

About "AI", I had some "private" Conversation with TechSup a few months ago (after the Beta-Phase for v10.0.2 for FF) where I already "ventilated" my Opinion(s), saying I've already been doing Auto-Morphing Macros (in pure '.iim') for at least 5 years and that iMacros Macros should by now be able to adapt by themselves to Sites/Pages changing their HTML Structure, just like my Macros are, this should be Standard Functionality in iMacros now, you record stg and if anything changes on the Page, the Macro should be able to adapt and modify the Script to adapt to the Changes on the Page... I've been doing that for 5 or 6 years already...!! (And using only pure '.iim' Macros.)

=> OK, I hope some Project Manager reads this, iMacros was the TOP-OF-THE-TOP for Web-Automation 2 years ago, is becoming a mini By-Product with the current v10.x Versions, I'm "lucky" I can still use v8.8.2 for FF for my Prod-Env and I have about 50,000 Lines of Code, (that I cannot convert in 1-2-3 min/hours) otherwise I would be moving to Kantu (sounds like the best Choice to me at this moment, I have the "Feeling"...) or any other Alternative... (or would even port my own Version of iMacros for the Browser I would choose...).

Pity to see that iMacros for FF which was for a very long time the "best" Flavour of iMacros (and still is with v8.9.7) is now such a "limited" little Brother compared to the other Versions for other Browsers, and I hope '.js' Scripts get supported again (even if I don't use that Functionality myself), but the 'EVENT' Mode also which is also not supported anymore in v10.0.x for FF...

Ipswitch apart from "moving" all Versions from Free Add-ons to Commercial Products (well, can't really blame them if they want to make some Money out of this (once) wonderful Piece of Software!) is actually not the only one to "blame" for this Evolution, Google Chrome with its (too) rapid Pace for new Releases is also a bit difficult to "follow", and Mozilla has stupidly been doing the same with Firefox and nearly each new Release breaking "stg" in the iMacros for FF Add-on (and many other Add-ons) + with then the "Killer Move" of adopting the WebExtensions Model which suddenly killed 1000's of "older" Add-ons...
(See this interesting Article + the Discussion in the Comments below the Article about Browser Development is also very interesting...)

My POST meant as a kind of a "Blog" and personal Opinion... => Comments/Feedback/Discussion welcome... 8)
- (F)CI(M) = (Full) Config Info (Missing): iMacros + Browser + OS (+ all 3 Versions + 'Free'/'PE'/'Trial').
- FCI not mentioned: I don't even read the Qt...! (or only to catch Spam!)
- Script & URL help a lot for more "educated" Help...
chivracq
Posts: 10301
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Location: Amsterdam (NL)

Re: 2018/2019 and the Future of iMacros...

Post by chivracq » Thu Jan 03, 2019 10:38 pm

Hum, and some other Functionality that is also not supported anymore in iMacros v10.0.x for both CR and FF is the 'Command Line' Syntax, which is very handy mainly when launching a Script from the OS Task Scheduler for example..., and I guess many ("serious") Users are really missing this Functionality... :shock:

There is some pretty cumbersome Workaround_1, + a bit better Workaround_2, by using an embedded Macro in some Local HTML Page, but pff..., it's pretty cumbersome I find, and only "usable" for fairly short '.iim' Scripts that then need to be converted to an on-the-fly '.iim' Macro, with complete "hassle" with 'EVAL()' Statements and (double/triple/etc...) escaping Backslashes for example...

Some "easier" Solution could be maybe if all paying Users with a 'PE' License would automatically get Access to 'Alertfox', that would be a good "Incentive" to motivate Users to take a 'PE' License, and that would "justify" a bit the Price for the 'PE' Version, which I find a bit overpriced, to be honest, especially for Home Users... OK, just an Idea, ah-ah...! :idea:

>>>

Hum, and stg else I wanted to "say", since now all Browsers have their respective 'Free' + 'PE' Versions, I understand the "Need" for several Limitations for the 'Free' Version to justify the Difference (and the Price) with the 'PE' Version, but I honestly find the '!VAR[1-3]' Limitation with only 3 Vars allowed a bit "stupid" and useless, sorry...!! :roll:

This Limitation can very easily be bypassed, as it is still possible with only 2 Vars to create some nearly infinite Number of Vars by defining the 1st Var as an Array, and using the 2nd Var to re-split the 1st Var into all Sub-Vars (using 'EVAL()' and 'split()'), I've been using that Technique already myself for several years to quickly save and retrieve some Data for very quick Access (and more Control on the Format of the Data than using the 'EXTRACT' and 'ADD !EXTRACT' Functionality + the limited Control offered by the '.CSV' Format), but I find it "stupid" because it encourages Users to write some "dirty" and obscure Code by forcing them to keep reusing over and over again the same 3 Vars, which I consider a very bad "Worst Practice", ah-ah...! Just saying...! :o

=> Would be "nice" if that Limitation could be removed in some future Releases, as it honestly has no Purpose in my Opinion, except annoying Users only for the Fun of it...!, and forcing them to write some ugly Code...! :shock:

[And in some very clever Move, 'Dev' decided to support the 'EVAL()' Command only in the 'PE' Versions, oops...!, ah-ah...! Well done...! OK, I could better have kept my big mouth shut, oops...! :oops: ]
Last edited by chivracq on Thu Mar 21, 2019 6:46 am, edited 1 time in total.
- (F)CI(M) = (Full) Config Info (Missing): iMacros + Browser + OS (+ all 3 Versions + 'Free'/'PE'/'Trial').
- FCI not mentioned: I don't even read the Qt...! (or only to catch Spam!)
- Script & URL help a lot for more "educated" Help...
Tom, Tech Support
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Joined: Mon May 31, 2010 4:59 pm

Re: 2018/2019 and the Future of iMacros...

Post by Tom, Tech Support » Wed Jan 09, 2019 10:37 am

Hi chivracq,
chivracq wrote:
Thu Jan 03, 2019 6:34 am
[And in some very clever Move, 'Dev' decided to support the 'EVAL()' Command only in the 'PE' Versions
I'm not sure what you mean by this, the EVAL command is available in all versions of iMacros, including the freeware.
chivracq wrote:
Thu Jan 03, 2019 10:38 pm
Some "easier" Solution could be maybe if all paying Users with a 'PE' License would automatically get Access to 'Alertfox'
You may want to reconsider this suggestion.
Regards,

Tom, iMacros Support
chivracq
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Re: 2018/2019 and the Future of iMacros...

Post by chivracq » Wed Jan 09, 2019 2:22 pm

Tom, Tech Support wrote:
Wed Jan 09, 2019 10:37 am
Hi chivracq,
chivracq wrote:
Thu Jan 03, 2019 6:34 am
[And in some very clever Move, 'Dev' decided to support the 'EVAL()' Command only in the 'PE' Versions
I'm not sure what you mean by this, the EVAL command is available in all versions of iMacros, including the freeware.
Yeah-yeah, I know... Meant as a "sarcastic"/"humouristic" Comment, "back from the Future"... (Hum, maybe that's French Humour..., ah-ah...! :wink: )

Tom, Tech Support wrote:
Wed Jan 09, 2019 10:37 am
chivracq wrote:
Thu Jan 03, 2019 10:38 pm
Some "easier" Solution could be maybe if all paying Users with a 'PE' License would automatically get Access to 'Alertfox'
You may want to reconsider this suggestion.
Ah...!, oops indeed, that's a Killer...! Too bad...!! :shock:

Hum, I didn't know about that obviously, (as I unsubscribed 1 or 2 months ago from the Ipswitch Newsletter about all those Blog Posts as the Tech/Marketing Employee sending that Newsletter was friendly but refused to "comply" with my "Request" to include "Ipswitch" in his Mail_Sender_ID or in the Subject Title and kept sending it from his personal Name + with some "obscure" Subject Title that I have already forgotten... [Hum, found it: "Defrag"... :roll: ])...

Hum, pity in a way, even if I've never used AlertFox myself, as it was supposed to be Free in the beginning but it was already Commercial when I decided to give it a Try, when I recognized the great Potential this Functionality had... :(
(And I would have very probably "advertized" about it on the Forum if I had had a chance to try/test/use it..., meaning more Users/Customers to use it... A bit like 6 years ago, until about 2 years ago, I was the only one doing all my Conditional Logic in pure '.iim' for several years instead of the "Official" Way using '.js' Scripts (or the 'Scripting Interface' of course!) while "my" Method is now (Jan 2019) more or less the only (easy) Method left to achieve Conditional Behaviour in iMacros for all Browsers...)

'UpTrends' is only about monitoring Web-Sites, AlertFox had the Functionality to schedule and to run iMacros Macros Online, and maybe a "missed Opportunity", but giving all iMacros Users some (Free) Account to say, run 1 Macro per 24h, and 10 Macros for 'PE' Users, and 50 Macros for 'Professional' Users and Unlimited for 'Enterprise' Users would have given a wonderful "Insight" to Ipswitch and Dev on how Users "really" use iMacros (Version/Browser/Functionality/Web-Sites/etc... + Nb of "real" Users... (And a lot of Logins and Passwords, oops...! :P ))

If AlertFox "does not exist" anymore, any chance it becomes a bit Open-Source now and/or the "Software"/"Framework" needed can be downloaded to set up your own (Personal) (Web-)Server...? I would still be interested... :?:
Running a (Local) Personal Web-Server is also already a nice Alternative to all Local File Functionality, especially DataSource... + Scheduling Macros... + a lot of other "interesting" Functionality... :twisted:

:arrow: [Hum, and some ugly Dyslectico-Typo btw in that Blog Post (at the bottom): "cusomters"... :shock: ]

Any "Comments" @Tom about the "rest" of my Post, + maybe some "Insider"-Info about the Evolution of iMacros (planned) for 2019/2020, and about my "Remark" about the '!VAR[1-3]' Limitation for the 'Free' Versions...?
- (F)CI(M) = (Full) Config Info (Missing): iMacros + Browser + OS (+ all 3 Versions + 'Free'/'PE'/'Trial').
- FCI not mentioned: I don't even read the Qt...! (or only to catch Spam!)
- Script & URL help a lot for more "educated" Help...
zhedielj
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Re: 2018/2019 and the Future of iMacros...

Post by zhedielj » Wed Jan 16, 2019 2:57 am

I checked Kuntu that you have mentioned, and I found that's more powerful and cheaper than iMacros。
11P112222233333
chivracq
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Re: 2018/2019 and the Future of iMacros...

Post by chivracq » Wed Jan 16, 2019 3:21 am

zhedielj wrote:
Wed Jan 16, 2019 2:57 am
I checked Kuntu that you have mentioned, and I found that's more powerful and cheaper than iMacros。
11P112222233333
Yep indeed...! :wink:
(Correct Spelling is "Kantu" btw...)
(Not sure what your "11P112222233333" means btw... :? )

Some other Alternative is also 'Katalon' that I had tried a bit a few months ago and that also looked very powerful to me, even if it still looked very buggy at that time when I had tried it, but that's already a few months ago, it was still a very early Version I think, I guess/hope it has improved since... (I had posted some kind of quick Review (in this Thread) about that Product on our Forum...)
- (F)CI(M) = (Full) Config Info (Missing): iMacros + Browser + OS (+ all 3 Versions + 'Free'/'PE'/'Trial').
- FCI not mentioned: I don't even read the Qt...! (or only to catch Spam!)
- Script & URL help a lot for more "educated" Help...
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The iMacros Guru
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Re: 2018/2019 and the Future of iMacros...

Post by The iMacros Guru » Tue Feb 19, 2019 12:29 pm

I'm optimistic that things will eventually turn around. It's definitely a bit of a dark time for iMacros for Firefox, but I think it is more of a bump in the road (or perhaps more fittingly, an extended detour) rather than a permanent downward slide. It's most likely a combination of major changes in Firefox as well as perhaps shifting organizational and/or business priorities within Ipswitch (though I am only speculating on the latter) that have lead to the current situation. Whether future changes will exacerbate the problems further or start improving things is anyone's guess really, but I've been using various iMacros products long enough to have seen similar upheavals (like major software rewrites) eventually settle down and continue moving in a positive direction again.
chivracq
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Re: 2018/2019 and the Future of iMacros...

Post by chivracq » Wed Feb 20, 2019 4:35 am

Gallman wrote:
Sat Feb 16, 2019 11:09 am
Is there anything that makes you optimistic about Firefox and iMacros for FF? Or do you think new releases will continue causing troubles?
=> Yes-yes-yes, of course, (for the first part of your QT), I agree a bit with the Reply from @Guru-Guru...:
The iMacros Guru wrote:
Tue Feb 19, 2019 12:29 pm
I'm optimistic that things will eventually turn around. It's definitely a bit of a dark time for iMacros for Firefox, but I think it is more of a bump in the road (or perhaps more fittingly, an extended detour) rather than a permanent downward slide. It's most likely a combination of major changes in Firefox as well as perhaps shifting organizational and/or business priorities within Ipswitch (though I am only speculating on the latter) that have lead to the current situation. Whether future changes will exacerbate the problems further or start improving things is anyone's guess really, but I've been using various iMacros products long enough to have seen similar upheavals (like major software rewrites) eventually settle down and continue moving in a positive direction again.
=> Yeah OK, I agree "a bit" with you @Guru-Guru, but I'm not completely convinced...! And I really hope to be wrong, ah-ah...!
But OK, we'll see, my Post was meant as a "Wake-up Call" for 'Product Management'... TechSup are really doing their best, and Dev a mini-little bit also I guess, but Prod-Mgt needs to give them some "clear" Instructions and some Road-Map... that could be shared with us... :idea:
Gallman wrote:
Sat Feb 16, 2019 11:09 am
Or do you think new releases will continue causing troubles?
Ah...!, that's the interesting part, oops...! And my direct Answer is "YES"...! Oops...!

I was very-very-very Happy with the Beta-Testing Phase for v10.02 for FF, that was the first time there was ever some Beta-Testing Phase (I had been asking/hammering for years), so I had "great" Expectations...
But tja, in my Testing, with some "Standard' 5000 Line ('.iim') Script, BLOCKING Issue at Line=80, took 2 weeks to solve/bypass it..., next one was BLOCKING Issue again at Line 130, took again 2 weeks to solve/bypass it, and one week later v10.0.2 was officially released... I had more than 100 "Findings" in that/those Beta Version(s), less than 10 got acknowledged and hopefully solved, hum "half" solved for most actually..., which probably was a good Move from Dev as nobody since ever complained about v10.0.2 for FF...
I don't know but I kind of "suspect" nobody inside Ipswitch uses iMacros in their "daily Life", and most Advanced Users are still using v8.9.7 for as long as it can, and none bothered to try or use v10.0.2, probably because '.js' Scripts were not supported, I'm probably the only Advanced User using (only) '.iim' Scripts, but tja...!, like I said, maybe 3 out of my 100 "Findings" were "handled"...

No Roadmap published about the further Evolution of iMacros (for FF), then I don't know... I already reacted 2 or 3 times to "We are making a Survey, please give us your Feedback" (oh...!, exactly 3 years old now today ah-ah...!, never got any Feedback, never saw any Results, never saw any EnhReq implemented...), "Report your Bugs" etc, hardly anything happened.... So I don't know what the Future will bring...

All I can say is that iMacros had 10 years Advance on Web-Automation + AI Technology until 2 or 3 years ago, and they've a bit stupidly lost 80% of that Technological Advance since, by not doing anything... :roll:
Well AI for sure, and I'm probably the only one doing some kind of "AI" with iMacros (for about 8 years, hum not sure about "8", since 'EVAL()' got implemented actually..., my "public" Postings about "Conditional Logic" were only one part of "everything" I was doing and experimenting with, with (yep x2) iMacros), ah-ah...! In pure '.iim' of course...! (Like 5 years ago, I was the only one for many years doing "Conditional Logic" in pure '.iim' again/already (and still)...)

2 "Things" that would need to happen (a bit "quickly", but v10.0.2 for FF already got released 1.5 years ago [EDIT: euh..., yep indeed, my Mistake: v10.0.2 for FF "only" got released about 6 months ago (July 2018) and not "1.5 years ago, oops...!], and nothing happened since, so it's already a bit late for the "quickly"), would be to re-implement the 'EVENT' Mode (which is implemented in v10.x for CR, so I don't understand why v10.x for FF doesn't support it), and running '.js' Scripts which is I'm afraid "chasing away" many (Advanced) Users towards Alternatives to iMacros when they have to stop using FF55 (and v8.9.7 for FF), as their '.js' Scripts won't work anymore in v10.0.2 and they have to completely rewrite their Scripts which I guess is not always possible or could be a bit "messy"...
But tja..., I've been asking for 1.5 years already now..., never got an Answer nor any Info if those 2 Functionalities will be implemented/supported (again) or not...? (And when...!?) :?:

Same with 'AlertFox', great Product, at least for the Functionality, I never had a chance to try/play with it as it was already Commercial when I wanted to give it a try, and now it's already decommissioned and doesn't exist anymore, "replaced" by what some other known Company does, for 20% of the Functionality that 'AlertFox' could do... Stupid Decision again, sorry...! :roll:
Hum, that gives me "an Idea" actually...! Oh-oh...! [OK,we'll see... :wink: ]
Hum, and Idea_1 gave me Idea_2...! Cool...! 8)

Hum, still about 'AlertFox', even if it's now decommissioned and Ipswitch don't want to run and maintain the "Service" themselves, they could still sell it as a Standalone Product (and/or included with the 'Professional' + 'Enterprise' Editions) for Users who want to run it on a Personal (Web-)Server, either for themselves or even for other Users... We had recently a Thread with a User asking about how to run Macros from the Cloud or from a Cloud "Service", this is exactly what 'AlertFox' could do... :idea:
And hum..., I like the Name personally, but the "Fox" part implies a bit that it was designed and works only with FF, which is not the Case I guess, so maybe the Name should be changed into "stg" a bit more "generic", I don't know... But hum, maybe it was developed based on iMacros for FF, so that could/would explain the Name..., then it was probably based on v8.8.x or v8.9.x for FF I reckon, but I don't understand why it didn't support '.js' Scripts... :o
Last edited by chivracq on Mon Mar 04, 2019 5:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- (F)CI(M) = (Full) Config Info (Missing): iMacros + Browser + OS (+ all 3 Versions + 'Free'/'PE'/'Trial').
- FCI not mentioned: I don't even read the Qt...! (or only to catch Spam!)
- Script & URL help a lot for more "educated" Help...
Tom, Tech Support
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Re: 2018/2019 and the Future of iMacros...

Post by Tom, Tech Support » Mon Mar 04, 2019 4:49 pm

chivracq wrote:
Wed Feb 20, 2019 4:35 am
but v10.0.2 for FF already got released 1.5 years ago, and nothing happened since, so it's already a bit late for the "quickly"
iMacros for Firefox 10.0.2 was released on July 9, 2018, which is 8 months ago from the time of writing this post, not 1.5 years. Maybe you meant iMacros for Chrome 10.0.2?
Regards,

Tom, iMacros Support
chivracq
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Re: 2018/2019 and the Future of iMacros...

Post by chivracq » Mon Mar 04, 2019 5:47 pm

Tom, Tech Support wrote:
Mon Mar 04, 2019 4:49 pm
chivracq wrote:
Wed Feb 20, 2019 4:35 am
but v10.0.2 for FF already got released 1.5 years ago, and nothing happened since, so it's already a bit late for the "quickly"
iMacros for Firefox 10.0.2 was released on July 9, 2018, which is 8 months ago from the time of writing this post, not 1.5 years. Maybe you meant iMacros for Chrome 10.0.2?
Euh, yep indeed, my Mistake... I've added an 'EDIT' to my Post... :oops:

And nope, I was meaning v10.0.2 for FF, as v10.0.1 for CR that was indeed released 1 year before did get a few Updates since that first v10.0.x Version, now at v10.0.5, and some new (v10.0.6 (?)) Version seems to be in the make for quite soon, I understood...
But my "comment" about "quickly" still applies, as all later Versions for CR were released after v10.0.2 for FF, and only for CR, there could also have been some "parallel" Version for FF each time..., which didn't happen... OK, maybe/hopefully for v10.0.6 then... (=> for CR + FF...!), fingers crossed...! :wink:
- (F)CI(M) = (Full) Config Info (Missing): iMacros + Browser + OS (+ all 3 Versions + 'Free'/'PE'/'Trial').
- FCI not mentioned: I don't even read the Qt...! (or only to catch Spam!)
- Script & URL help a lot for more "educated" Help...
chivracq
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Re: 2018/2019 and the Future of iMacros...

Post by chivracq » Thu Mar 21, 2019 7:09 am

chivracq wrote:
Thu Jan 03, 2019 10:38 pm
... but I honestly find the '!VAR[1-3]' Limitation with only 3 Vars allowed a bit "stupid" and useless, sorry...!! :roll:

This Limitation can very easily be bypassed, as it is still possible with only 2 Vars to create some nearly infinite Number of Vars by defining the 1st Var as an Array, and using the 2nd Var to re-split the 1st Var into all Sub-Vars (using 'EVAL()' and 'split()'), I've been using that Technique already myself for several years to quickly save and retrieve some Data for very quick Access (and more Control on the Format of the Data than using the 'EXTRACT' and 'ADD !EXTRACT' Functionality + the limited Control offered by the '.CSV' Format), but I find it "stupid" because it encourages Users to write some "dirty" and obscure Code by forcing them to keep reusing over and over again the same 3 Vars, which I consider a very bad "Worst Practice", ah-ah...! Just saying...! :o

=> Would be "nice" if that Limitation could be removed in some future Releases, as it honestly has no Purpose in my Opinion, except annoying Users only for the Fun of it...!, and forcing them to write some ugly Code...! :shock:
Hum, like I had already mentioned, I find the '!VAR[1-3]' Limitation for the 'Free' Edition(s) very stupid as it can easily be bypassed, and I don't think in 50 Lines of Code that anybody will use more than maybe 5 Vars, so that Limitation is only nagging Users "for some sick pleasure", and only chasing Users away from iMacros, like this User on SOF for example who was looking for some Alternative to iMacros only because of the 3x Var Limitation... :roll:

I provided a Solution "for the time being" for them to keep using iMacros and their Script with v10.0.x 'Free' (that they happily accepted :D ) with some very little Edit, but some other User also provided some Basic Conversion Tool from iMacros Scripts to Kantu Scripts... (And I gave them a '+1', tja...! :P )
And to be honest, I think the only "Result" of this Limitation is that Users are/will be going away from iMacros, looking for some Alternative(s)...

I have about half a dozen of Workarounds to be able to use as many Vars as we want in Scripts without using even one single '!VARn' Var, and a few more with 3x '!VARn'..., that Limitation is completely useless...!! :roll:
- (F)CI(M) = (Full) Config Info (Missing): iMacros + Browser + OS (+ all 3 Versions + 'Free'/'PE'/'Trial').
- FCI not mentioned: I don't even read the Qt...! (or only to catch Spam!)
- Script & URL help a lot for more "educated" Help...
Tom, Tech Support
Posts: 3834
Joined: Mon May 31, 2010 4:59 pm

Re: 2018/2019 and the Future of iMacros...

Post by Tom, Tech Support » Wed Apr 17, 2019 2:51 pm

chivracq wrote:
Thu Mar 21, 2019 7:09 am
Hum, like I had already mentioned, I find the '!VAR[1-3]' Limitation for the 'Free' Edition(s) very stupid as it can easily be bypassed, and I don't think in 50 Lines of Code that anybody will use more than maybe 5 Vars, so that Limitation is only nagging Users "for some sick pleasure", and only chasing Users away from iMacros, like this User on SOF for example who was looking for some Alternative to iMacros only because of the 3x Var Limitation... :roll:
There was never any 3-VAR limit due to licensing restriction. iMacros for Chrome always only supported !VAR1-3, and once iMacros for Firefox adopted the same code base, it also became limited to just !VAR1-3. I do not know the reason for the limit in the first place, but it was most likely technical and not related to any business decision. I will revisit this and see if we can make !VAR4-9 available in both freeware versions.
Regards,

Tom, iMacros Support
chivracq
Posts: 10301
Joined: Sat Apr 13, 2013 1:07 pm
Location: Amsterdam (NL)

Re: 2018/2019 and the Future of iMacros...

Post by chivracq » Wed Apr 17, 2019 5:10 pm

Tom, Tech Support wrote:
Wed Apr 17, 2019 2:51 pm
chivracq wrote:
Thu Mar 21, 2019 7:09 am
Hum, like I had already mentioned, I find the '!VAR[1-3]' Limitation for the 'Free' Edition(s) very stupid as it can easily be bypassed, and I don't think in 50 Lines of Code that anybody will use more than maybe 5 Vars, so that Limitation is only nagging Users "for some sick pleasure", and only chasing Users away from iMacros, like this User on SOF for example who was looking for some Alternative to iMacros only because of the 3x Var Limitation... :roll:
There was never any 3-VAR limit due to licensing restriction. iMacros for Chrome always only supported !VAR1-3, and once iMacros for Firefox adopted the same code base, it also became limited to just !VAR1-3. I do not know the reason for the limit in the first place, but it was most likely technical and not related to any business decision. I will revisit this and see if we can make !VAR4-9 available in both freeware versions.
Yep it's hard-coded in: :wink:

Code: Select all

'bg.js' => 'getLimits()' => 'defaultLimits()' => "maxVariables: 3,"
Only having 3 pre-defined Vars is not such "a bad thing" actually, if User-defined Vars were not also disabled in the 'Free' Versions.
I've always "encouraged" Users to use User-defined Vars (with a "meaningful" Name) rather than using and reusing the same '!VAR[1-n]' Vars over and over again in a same Script which makes such Scripts a bit difficult to follow and to debug (mentally)...

Users considering to update to some v10.0.x Version, will also "logically" probably first want to "check" quickly in the 'Free' Version if their existing Script(s) still work(s) (at least the first 50 Lines, and commenting out any Use of a DataSource or 'SAVEAS' of course) before considering to buy the 'PE' License, but they'll also have to review and thoroughly dig again into the Logic of their Script(s) to (temporarily) rename all their Vars to some generic '!VARn', which will probably discourage quite a few to continue using iMacros and will only push them to some other Alternative... :idea:
And again, in 50 Lines of Code, you cannot squeeze that many Vars, so I don't really see the Purpose of those 2 Limitations..., which are only forcing Users to write "Not Best Practice" Code..., and both can easily be bypassed, I did a mini-bit of "Thinking" at the time of that Thread on SOF and found more than 10 Workarounds, and a few even without using any single '!VARn' Var, while still being able to use a nearly infinite Nb of Vars...

>>>

Stg "else" is that I find the Pricing for the 'PE' Version (for Personal Users at least) too high... I'm pretty sure if the Price was, say Max $40-50, many more (Home) Users would take a 'PE' License, and the more Users (happily) use iMacros at home for their personal Use, the more they will be inclined to use and promote it at their Workplace also..., which would "generate" a lot more of 'PE' Licenses for Ipswitch... :idea:

>>>

+ Some interesting (and related) Thread:
- Interested to learn how people are using iMacros!
- (F)CI(M) = (Full) Config Info (Missing): iMacros + Browser + OS (+ all 3 Versions + 'Free'/'PE'/'Trial').
- FCI not mentioned: I don't even read the Qt...! (or only to catch Spam!)
- Script & URL help a lot for more "educated" Help...
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