Download/HomepageAs I wander my way through the awesome labyrinth
that is the Internet, I have so often come across whole sites,
sometimes just multiple pages of sites, graphics, pictures and
even sounds that I wanted to revisit, save for future reference,
or just to add something to my own personal library. Maybe this
accounts for my very large collection of bookmarks. Well after a
period of time using MemoWeb, this program really does a fine job
of collecting whatever I tell it to, and storing it on my hard
drive so that I can view it at my leisure, without connecting to
the Internet.
Warning......Warning. Read the help file before sending MemoWeb
off to tunnel down through your favorite site. Fool that I can
sometimes be, I choose the Via Rail site here in Canada, started
at the home page, of course, and changing no settings told
MemoWeb to go forth and do it's thing. Well bless it's little
heart, it proceeded to do just that. Seventeen minutes later, as
it continued to dig deeper and deeper, just as I told it to, I
finally clued in to the fact that maybe I had bitten off more
than I wanted. I stopped the big dig and took a look at my
newfound wealth of information. True to the programs' promise, I
had a slew of HTML pages, images, sounds, and videos. I then got
smart ( better late than never ), went to a site that I knew was
fairly small, and sent MemoWeb off again on it's hunt. About
seven minutes later I had the whole site on my hard drive.
Like any program that performs complex functions, MemoWeb will
certainly require you to think about exactly what you want and
even how much of it you desire. The program is highly
configurable, and trust me, you will be glad you can restrict
it's frenzied digging.
When you first run MemoWeb you can begin a NEW capture, or if you
have already captured a site, click on File and the menu will
include sites you have captured previously. Let's talk about a
captured site for a moment. When you click on that menu choice
you are presented with a screen which allows you to begin to
explore the captured pages. I won't go into great detail ( seeing
is understanding ) but can view the Home page and then work your
way through, as you would if you were connected to the Internet,
or you can look HTML Pages, Images, URL's or Multimedia files.
If you are going to capture your first site, you click on New and
you will be presented with a screen from which you will set the
limits of the capture. This is the most important area because
MemoWeb allows you to do all manner of inclusions and exclusions.
You can click on Options and there for instance tell the program
the level of links you want captured, in other words, how far
into the mine do you want to go. This is critical unless you want
it digging for very long periods of time. You can then click File
and decide what exactly you want it to come back with. You can
choose All Types, HTML Only, Pictures Only, Sounds Only, or HTML
& Pictures. Here is where the program really shines. As you
can see, if you are a Jpeg addict, then simple go to the site,
tell MemoWeb to only capture Jpeg's, and in a short period of
time you will be in Jpeg heaven.
While I very much like what MemoWeb does, and I do highly
recommend it, I feel compelled to offer a couple of not so
glowing personal observations. I am not a huge fan of Help files
in HTML format. In the time it takes to load my browser, then
locate the area I need information on, I could have already found
it with a conventional help file and been back to work. When you
are online and click on Help the help file begins loading behind
the screen in which you are working, and on one occasion did not
load properly. My other negative comment centers around the whole
issue of "crippled" shareware. To their credit, the
company does call this a "Locked Trial Version", but
only as I explored the program did I realize that, depending on
what you are doing, you will get a "reminder every ten
pages" and the statement that the program will not capture
any image greater than "200x200 pixels". Blain's theory
is quite simply, if as an author you want to restrict how long I
can use the program, that's fair, just make it a decent period of
time like 30 days. If you want to have an unobtrusive reminder
always on screen, that's fair too. But please let me see the
complete program and all it can do. I know there are those out
there who, if they could, would never pay to register a program.
But for those of us who believe in the Shareware concept, let us
try the whole program, not just a part. If you build it, we will
come:)
Don't let my views put you off from trying MemoWeb, it is an
excellent program and I feel it is well worth the price. For
purchasing information see the MemoWeb site as the usual
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