wGetGUI

The infamous Graphical User Interface (GUI)
for the powerful webgrabber wGet

What is a webgrabber? A webgrabber downloads complete sites, including pictures and sounds (if you want) onto your harddisk. Just start it and when you come back from a short walk or whatever (You can also use your PC/Internet connection while the garbber works), chances are it already has downloaded what you wanted. You now can surf the site «offline», that’s why those programmes are called «offline browser»s sometimes. It is also very handy for doing backups and routine downloads. It is a lot easier to have a webgrabber download a site than doing it manually through a standard browser. Just fire it up and let it do everything. However, if you have to pay for every minute or transmitted Kilobyte, you might want to restrict what the webgrabber downloads. Also, please be considerate with your webgrabbing! Hosting costs are high and using a webgrabber mindlessly can cause many problems for people running the site you appreciate! Whom is wGetGUI for? Webgrabbers are a good idea for people who want to download complete sites, pages with inline objects, routine downloads. wget has long been a favourite among geeks. Coming from a Unix background, it has grown over the years with many options, partly interacting with one another. If you can memorize the options and use them to the fullest, wget is extremely powerful. But it took me quite some time to get accustomed to its purely command line interface. When I took a course at university where Visual Basic was a prerequisite, I had to teach myself VB. I decided to do a GUI for wget. It turned out better than I hoped, with me using it heavily, almost from the start. It is not a polished application, but I decided to release it for the public to use, keeping with the «free software» spirit of the GNU public license that wget is published under. So, wGetGUI is aimed at primarily me and secondarily computer-literate people who understand the way wget works but want something easier to handle in a Windows environment. At the end of 2006, it seemed as people who are not aware how wget operates where looking at wGetGUI and getting intimidated by the overloaded GUI screen. I never thought those users would look at wgetGUI, but apparently, they do/did. I therefore now include a «Simple» mode which gives you some simple choices while retaining much of the versatility of the standard mode, which still can be used. Screenshot wGetGUI main window, normal size, simple tab wGetGUI main window, normal size, standard tab wGetGUI main window, normal size, direct .bat access tab wGetGUI, small size, always on top. Downloads wgetgui: wgetgui.zip (46kB) wGetGui is released under the GPL, please read through the website, there is also a gpl.html included in the .zip file. So, as it is GPL, here is the source-code. wGetGUI needs wget 1.07 or later. wget 1.10.x adds useful features like proper «ave to custom directory» under windows, so I recommend 1.10.2 or newer. You can get the latest Windows binaries from: http://space.tin.it/computer/hherold/ and http://users.ugent.be/ bpuype/wget/. There may be different versions of the wGet Binaries. I would advise you to try the newest one first. If you choose to download a wget version with SSL enabled, make sure to download the SSL files, too. Depending on which Windows you run and how uptodate it is, you might need the Visual Basic runtime files. They can be downloaded directly from Microsoft: vbrun60sp5.exe (1MB) Includes ssycfilt.dll, comcat.dll, msvbvm60.dll, oleaut32.dll, olepro32.dll stdole2.tlbin! Installation Just put everything from the wGetGUI-zip, the wGet-zip file (including the SSL) in one directory and execute the MS VB runtime file. That’s it. At least it should be. If you get an error message like «Class not registered. You need the following to be installed on your maschine: msstdfmt.dll» you’ll need to do the following: MSSTDFMT.DLL (118kB) REGSVR32.EXE (40kB) How to install those: Put both in your windows/system folder, run from a DOS/Command box, where you replace the path so it is correct for your system. After that, run This registers the new .DLL with your Windows. If you already have an MSSTDFMT.DLL in your system folder, don’t download this one but run both commands nevertheless. I think that problem is pretty rare, but in case you encounter it, you now know what to do. But if you need any further dll/ocx files like the often necessary COMDLG32.OCX and COMDLG32.DLL, you can get them here: www.dll-files.com www.dll-download.net windowsxp.mvps.org/comdlg32.htm If you want to know what a certain dll/ocx/. file is, go here: www.iamnotageek.com/a/comdlg32.dll.php If you get an error like «Error #429 — ActiveX component can’t create object» you probably have Windows Scripting Host disabled or not installed. To remedy this, go to http://msdn.microsoft.com/downloads/list/webdev.asp ( 670kB) and download/install it. «Expert» hint: You could try re-registering scrrun.dll if you already have it in your Windows folder. Or install it from here: www.dll-files.com/dllindex/dll-files.shtml?scrrun During use, make sure to read the included tool-tips when running wGetGUI: Stay with your mouse arrow over the option/field you are interested in. After a second or so, a tool-tip will be displayed. Ryan has created a very comprehensive pdf-manual for wGetGUI 1.08. It will still be very helpful for the newer versions. For the Haters At the end of 2006, one GUI expert used wGetGUI as an example for a bad GUI. Of course I felt honoured. Not. I think it was kinda suboptimal to do this without telling me, without giving me a chance to improve the GUI and without #whoa here’s a thought# helping me. Well, he posted the GUI without saying which it is, but that was soon found out and I got some love mail. Not. The amount of bashing wGetGUI and me have received is a testament to the state of the internet «culture». There certainly were a few people who either liked the GUI or gave constructive criticism. But the rest was insultive bashing in mob mentality. And all this about a piece of free software that I have spent my time on — to bring it beyond what I need. To those who have supported me: Thanks, I really appreciate it. For the haters: Hate yourself, don’t spread the hate. I like to hear what non-haters think of wGetGUI, so send in comments, wishes, critique. External links worth visiting wget::gui Martin Achern has done a nice version of wGetGUI in Perl. Apart from the advantage of running on both Linux and Windows, he also added a few new features and streamlined the GUI. sunsite.dk/wget Main wget page, the mother of all wget stuff! www.ccp14.ac.uk Especially dealing with the use of wget to auto mirror pages. www.gnu.org Read all about the GPL and what free software means! Something important missing? Just send it in!

I managed to get proxy support to work, so I assume it works for others, too. Still, contact me if you find a problem.

wGetGUI has gotten some blog exposure during the last months. Through that I noticed that some people have rather different expectations for a wgetgui frontend. I have therefore done some changes to the design. wGetGUI now includes a «simple» mode and I integrated the «pro» mode into tabs.
Let me know what you think.

Hopefully fixed a bug for Proxy use.

The wgetGUI window is now fixed dialogue style and the dimensions were corrected. This is basically just a cosmetic fix from 1.08.

wGetGUI now comes with .wgetrc instead of wgetrc, as required by newer wGet versions. If you have a custom version of wgetrc, just delete the .wgetrc that comes with wGetGUI. wGetGUI will rename your wgetrc into .wgetrc the first time it runs. The change was necessary, as newer wget versions do no longer work with wgetrc.
The other change is that using a trailing \ in a custom dir no longer messes up the command line.

Previously forgot to include a file #duh# apologies to all and thanks to Bruce for telling me!

File accept and reject now work when nothing is selected. Save to custom dir now works correctly (at least within its limitations of not being able to change drives)- thanks to Jean-Francois for the bug report.

• Automatic quoting finally has been added to «save to custom dir»
• trailing and leading white spaces are now stripped from URLs and «save to custom dir»
• the «clear server cache» has been modified to work with the new wget versions Thanks to René for the hints.

Automatic quoting finally has been added to URLs, this makes downloading of (for example) g00gle search results possible — every URL is enclosed in >» ) stopped to support «no host look-up» I had to do something. Well, I took the opportunity to do the following:
-removed the now useless «no host look-up» option
-made wGetGUI widescreen
-this also brings with it that Pro Mode can be accessed while wGetGUI is small and on top.
-Pro Mode now resizes beautifully
-wget can now save into other folders than the one it’s in
(Thanks to Dennis for the suggestion.)
-added the possibility to reject certain hosts
Furthermore, wGetGUI now has an icon, I converted it from a picture I took: A vacuum cleaner, very good for «sucking» the web 😉
(Thanks to Sascha for the suggestion and the help in testing the new code on another OS.)
While I think that this version brings some needed enhancements, it was a real hassle to test. But now it should be 100% backwards compatible with old .ini files and run on OSs of every language. One of the versions I had created (0.97a) was actually only working on English Windows! And then, yesterday, the upload would not work.
Well, sorry for the rant, sit back and enjoy wGetGUI 0.97!

I know there are other topics in the world than a new wGetGUI. I find it very hard to describe my feelings after these incredibly cowardly acts of terrorism that hit the US and the whole civilized world with them. My feelings are with those having lost hope for a good future, loved ones or their lives on that dark day.
Anyway, as probably most of you, I was trying to keep busy to stop thinking about that at least a bit. Version 0.9 brings:
1. auto-load of wGetGUI.ini — I found this very useful, I hope you like it as much as I did.
2. Always on top option — This small button on top not only makes wGetGUI always on top, it also makes it so small that you can easily put it above the title bar of your browser! It is great I think. To do this, I used a sniplet from Egg’s EZGet, which is also released under the GPL.

Nothing big. When loading/saving your .ini-files or importing a .bat in pro-mode, wgetgui.ini and wgetstart.bat are now default. Makes it a lot faster for everyone who stays with the default names. People using different filenames will have no problems by that change.

After 0.82, I had to find a way to fix that bug. Kinda hard, when you cannot reproduce it on your machine(s). The bug actually would kill wGetGUI if trying to load any settings-file! Strange. I thoroughly restructured the loading procedure. It now works for me and my friend, so I guess it is fixed 😉

Unpublished version, trying to fix a bug that would only occur on a friends PC running Win2k. Sadly, this first try was not successful.

Fixed a bug that when pressing «Cancel» while in the save dialog for the .ini, wGetGUI would be terminated. Thanks to Ajay for pointing that one out!

Fixed a bug that when loading an .ini file the Accept/Reject options were mixed up. To keep your old ini file, just load it twice and then save it under the same name. When «Identify as browser» is checked, the referer is now the URL wGet is invoked with. And last but most importantly the domain-acceptance was changed. Now you just drag a link into it and need not do anything. Well that is the theory. wGetGUI now recognizes the host and the directory structure of the dragged URL. So wGet will span the host but will only include directories starting like that of the dragged URL. Not enough? Just delete some dir levels. Just remember: directories must be ended with a «/»: http://www.host.com/dir1/dir2/ If you omit the last «/», wGetGui cannot recognize dir2 as a directory (it could be a file!) and just span www.host.com and including all directories starting with /dir1/, so /dir1/dir2/ but also /dir1/dirx/, ok?

Embarassing! I debugged some non-serious stuff yesterday. But today I realized I thereby created a fatal bug that would make the .bat file useless. This is now fixed. Sorry for that. I was so focused on that one thing I forgot about the other 🙁

You can now save your settings! You can even have multiple settings saved. For example one for ftp, one for https and one for mirroring. You can now also add command line parameters from wGetGUI directly. Pro Mode still exists for the bigger batch file operations. Added «-nh» (no host look up) option. User friendlier open/save dialogs. Many fixes, especially no more crashes if a non-existent file is addressed (hopefully).

Major bugfix: wGetGui would get messed up if you import a .bat file from another than the main directory! This now works for me, hopefully for everyone else, too.
I incorporated the GPL. Meaning General Public Licence. This makes wGetGui copyleft protected free software. Basically, you can give it away, modify the source code, sell it, but you must always include the source code if you distribute it. So, of course I have to do the same, download the source-code from the link above, if you are interested. And make sure to read the included gpl.htm and visit the GPL site of GNU.org!

Added: Pro Mode Window: Let’s you edit the .bat-file, even create new lines with all parameters wGet can use.
Fixed bug: wGetGUI would crash if you would try to run it without a wGetStart.bat created.
Fixed bug: wGetGUI was too large to fit on small screens or larger screens when in large fonts mode. wGetGUI is now less tall and should fit.

History of wGetGUI
Date	Version	Comment
07/oct/07	1.20
20/jun/01	0.45	Not published, some code restructured, commented, GPL introduced.
13/jun/01	0.4
12/jun/01	0.3	Full working version, first published version. Beta testing starts!
11/jun/01	0.2	Working version, only some options not implemented (for example accept/reject)
10/jun/01	0.1	Non-working version, User Interface mainly done

Copyright 2001..2007 by Jens Roesner . de
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