Program Details

Do not use Subscriber in situations where life, limb, money or property would be lost or damaged by a malfunction. Subscriber is offered as-is. We are not aware of any bugs or other defects, but there are bound to be some and we shall not be responsible for any damage caused by any defect of any kind in Subscriber.

How do I install/un-install Subscriber?

Simply drag the Subscriber program into your Applications folder to install it. To remove it again, drag it from your Applications folder into the Trash. There is no installer or un-installer program.

I downloaded Subscriber on my Windows/Linux/Mac OS 9 computer, but I can't get it to run. What am I doing wrong?

Subscriber is currently designed to run only on Macintosh computers, running OS X.

I'm running Mac OS X, but when I downloaded Subscriber it decompressed as a strange folder with some stuff in it. What's going on?

Under OS 10.2 this is usually caused by a bug in Stuffit Expander. Upgrade to the latest version of Stuffit (Free download) and try downloading the program again. This shouldn't happen under OS 10.3 or higher since Stuffit isn't used to decompress zip files by default. If you experience the same problem under 10.3, make sure you have installed all the latest system updates (Select "Software Update..." in the Apple menu).

Will there be a version of Subscriber for Windows/Linux/Mac OS 9?

There are no plans to release Subscriber for any other platforms at this time. Subscriber's functionality relies on a number of Mac OS X-specific technologies that would make it difficult to port.

Does Subscriber run natively on Intel Macintoshes?

Yes, Subscriber is available as both a Universal Binary and as standalone Intel and PowerPC downloads (which are slightly smaller).

I tried to register Subscriber, but when I clicked "Buy Now" nothing happened...?

You need to be logged in as an administrator to register Subscriber using the integrated eSellerate interface. If you are unable to get the registration system working for any reason, please contact us and we can work out an alternative way for you to register.

Why does Subscriber try to connect to the Internet when launched?

Subscriber checks for an updated version when it is launched. This check is performed using an XMLRPC protocol call to the Charcoal Design web site. No personal details or sensitive data is transmitted. If you wish to disable this functionality, uncheck the "Check for updates" option in the preferences.

I found a bug, what should I do?

Please check our online bug tracker to see if it's a known problem. If it isn't then please add a new bug report and we will fix it as soon as possible.

I've got a great idea for a feature, how can I let you know about it?

Check the online bug tracker to see if anyone else has already suggested your feature. If they haven't then please add a new feature request - we're always glad to receive suggestions from our users.

Where can I find help with using Subscriber?

Subscriber has a built-in help system which you can access from the "Help" menu in the menu bar. Alternatively, feel free to contact us if you are struggling and need advice.

1.2b2

• [fix] Fixed Esellerate in-application registration system for Leopard compatibility.

1.2b1

• [new] The user can now limit the number of web pages that Subscriber is allowed to check simultaneously. (This is mainly for the benefit of users using slow internet connections - request id: R255555.)
• [fix] Fixed a bug that sometimes caused Subscriber to crash when rendering a web page.
• [fix] Rendered-web-page panel in criterion dialog now works.
• [new] Show Matches option in criterion dialog is now optional in the rendered-web-page panel.
• [fix] Fixed bug that made it reject some valid URLs when importing a URL from a file (bug id: R100512).
• [chg] Import URLs From File option has a new dialog with more options.
• [fix] Fixed bug where Subscriber could crash when a link was accessed while displaying an XML channel.
• [fix] Subscriber no longer mis-identifies XHTML web pages as XML feeds (bug id: R937969).
• [new] Subscriber now supports Keychain access to certain password-protected web pages: those that the default browser can access using information in the Keychain without the user having to click a 'Log In' button. Previously Subscriber was only able to access pages that did this using information in cookies.
• [fix] Fixed bug where Subscriber displayed HTML character codes in titles, instead of the Unicode characters.
• [fix] Subscriber now suppresses extraneous spaces in page titles, as browsers do (bug id: R603053).
• [fix] Fixed cosmetic glitch in display of selected cells.
• [fix] Fixed cosmetic glitch in display of buttons when running under Leopard.
• [fix] Highlighted subscriptions are now displayed in the system highlight colour again.

1.1

• [new] Added Growl support.
• [new] Universal Binary version available.
• [new] You can now enter an SMTP server of your choice to relay your e-mail notifications. The previous method of e-mail notification is still supported, but is now deprecated.
• [new] Added option to preferences to disable automatic update checking.
• [fix] Fixed bug that switched off Sound notifications under some circumstances.
• [new] Expanded the Help text.
• [new] Added options to the Help menu for submitting bug reports or feature requests.
• [fix] Some minor cosmetic changes and bug fixes.
• [new] New icon.

1.1b1

• [new] Feature request fulfilled: Subscriber can now act as a client for XML feeds such as RSS (RSS 0.9, RSS 1, RSS 2 and Atom 0.3 are supported).
• [new] Feature request fulfilled: Subscriber now supports secure HTTP communication (web pages whose URLs begin with 'https://' or which get redirected to such pages).
• [new] Feature request fulfilled: Subscriber can now extract all the URLs from any plain text file and subscribe to them.
• [new] New command 'Restore Title'. If you have edited a title, or if the title of the page has changed since you downloaded it, this restores the title to the one that a browser would display.
• [chg] Allowed tolerant free-form entry into the 'minutes' field (formerly the 'mins' field). For instance, you can now type things like "3 weeks, 2d, 5hr & 49mins", or "3h54'", and Subscriber will convert them to minutes.
• [chg] A single click on a suggestion in the Suggestions dialog now immediately tries the suggestion and highlights the matches.
• [chg] Expanded the documentation in the Help system.
• [chg] Improved the algorithm that suggests Regular-Expression criteria.
• [chg] In fields where you type Regular Expressions, special characters, such as *, now appear in red.
• [opt] Reduced processor usage when running in the background.
• [fix] Bug fixed: You can now drag and drop URLs to Subscriber's icon in the dock.
• [fix] Hyperlinks in non-Roman scripts didn't work. Fixed.
• [fix] Subscriber would reject URLs that contain an asterisk. Fixed.
• [fix] Fixed another bug which sometimes caused Subscriber to report that the 'from' and 'to' strings had not been found on a web page.
• [fix] Fixed a bug where the titles of some web pages in non-Roman scripts were not downloaded.
• [fix] Fixed a bug where some web pages not in proper HTTP format were seen as blank.
• [fix] Fixed a bug where Subscriber, when quitting, would sometimes ask more than once whether you want to save your subscriptions.
• [fix] Fixed bug where some help tags would appear in some windows even though they had been switched off in the Preferences-->Other pane.

1.0.5r2

• [fix] Fixed a bug where certain web pages containing scripting were only partially downloaded.
• [fix] Fixed a bug where the Test button would move off-screen when the Subscriber window was resized.
• [fix] Fixed a bug where the titles of certain web pages were downloaded incorrectly.

1.0.5r1

• [fix] Fixed bug where help tags would appear in the Subscriptions pane even though they had been switched off in the Preferences-->Other pane.
• [fix] Fixed bug where Subscriber reported that changes had been made when it had just started up.
• [fix] Fixed bug where Subscriber would quit on startup if there were more than 28 subscriptions whose intervals were a prime number of minutes (!).
• [fix] Fixed bug: the "Show Countdown" and "With Seconds" checkboxes in the Preferences-->Other pane had been interchanged.

1.0.5

• [new] By popular request, notification by e-mail is now supported.
• [fix] Fixed a bug which sometimes caused Subscriber to report that the 'from' and 'to' strings had not been found on a web page.

1.0.4

• [new] You can now designate any subscription as being 'Manual' instead of specifying the number of minutes between checks. Then it will be checked only when you manually invoke an Update command. (See the Help panel for details.)
• [opt] Improved performance, especially when there is a large number of subscriptions.
• [opt] Fixed sluggish response to typing in the Set Interval Between Checks dialog.
• [opt] Improved responsiveness to the Halt All Tasks (Command-period) command.
• [fix] Fixed bug where, after the Halt All Tasks command, Subscriber could erroneously report that one task was still under way.
• [chg] Improved the badge that is overlaid on Subscriber's dock icon to show the number of changed subscriptions.

1.0.3r2

• [fix] Fixed a bug where Subscriber 1.0.3 would erroneously report that it was unable to connect to the internet. Users of Subscriber 1.0.3 who have not been seeing "Unable to connect to internet" reports in the Log need not download this version.

1.0.3

• [new] When a new subscription is created, Subscriber now prompts you to specify the number of minutes between checks. (As before, you can change this number at any time subsequently: just click the disclosure triangle to the left of the subscription and edit it.)
• [fix] Fixed bug that could cause Subscriber to crash or use increasing amounts of memory if left running for long periods.
• [chg] Improved notification of new versions of Subscriber. (You'll only notice this when the next new version after this one is released.) Among other things, Subscriber now displays the release notes of the new version when it asks you whether you want to download it.
• [new] Subscriber now detects and logs cases where it had no access to the internet at the time of a scheduled check.
• [fix] Fixed bug where sounds could appear twice in the Sounds pop-up menu.

1.0.2

• [new] Added support for cookies when Mozilla is the default browser. (So cookies are now supported for Safari, Internet Explorer, Netscape and Mozilla.)
• [fix] Eliminated bug that caused false positives on certain web pages, especially when "report all changes" was in force.
• [chg] The term Subset has been replaced by Set.
• [new] New menu item: Redefine Set... (This supersedes the functionality of Redefine Last Chosen Subset.)
• [chg] Rewrote some help tags.
• [fix] Eliminated bug that sometimes caused the Suggestions dialog to report that a page had frames when it did not.
• [chg] Improved logging of errors.

1.0.1r2

• [chg] Feature request fulfilled: For the benefit of users who keep Subscriber running all the time, it now checks for a new update every 24 hours, rather than only at startup as it used to.
• [fix] URL-not-recognised bug still occurred when a URL was Pasted: Fixed.
• [fix] Criterion dialog could crash if Cancel or OK was pressed before the data had loaded: Fixed.
• [fix] Subscriber no longer regards a partial download as being successful. This will eliminate occasional false positives due to a previous download having been interrupted.
• [fix] Fixed bug that could cause a crash when the trial period expires.

1.0.1r1

• [fix] Reverted to older compiler to cure string handling bug that made the app not work at all.

1.0.1

• [fix] Subscriber refused to quit under some circumstances: Fixed.
• [chg] Improved text in some dialogs.
• [new] Added new menu item: Redefine Last Chosen Subset
• [chg] Selecting a Set now makes the document 'dirty'
• [new] Re-Register button in About box now changes its name to Unregister if the option key is down
• [chg] On unregistering, a new 30-day trial period now begins
• [fix] Removed graphical glitch that occurred when deleting many successive subscriptions starting at the bottom

1.0.0r1

• [chg] Selected item in main window: Improved display
• [fix] Selected sound and voice were not being Saved: Fixed
• [fix] Items in Delete Set dialog went blank when clicked: Fixed
• [fix] Edited fields sometimes got reset to their previous values: Fixed
• [opt] Consolidated some Auto-Save operations to reduce disk activity

1.0

• [new] Initial release