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Whilst my attention was distracted by my participation in NaNoWriMo this month, several software updates of note passed me by including Yojimbo 2.1, EagleFiler 1.4.11, Together 2.3, and MarsEdit 2.4. Yojimbo 2.1 has numerous improvements and fixes, particularly for users of 10.6. EagleFiler 1.4.10 and 1.4.11 also includes numerous bug fixes, but no new features. Together 2.3 adds the ability to open items in any application, along with many other fixes and improvements. MarsEdit 2.4 offers improved SquareSpace support, along with several bug fixes and crash prevention measures.

For more information, see the Yojimbo release notes, EagleFiler blog announcement, Together release notes, and MarsEdit blog announcement.

In a continued paroxysm of productivity, Fuel Collective has upgraded Snippet to version 1.2. This upgrade includes a completely revamped method for language support; languages are now bundles that you can download and install piecemeal to suit your particular usage. Additionally, several new languages are now supported, including ColdFusion, MSSQL, Flex, and others.

For full details, see the release notes.

Snippet, the snazzy new kid on the snippet management block, has been updated to version 1.1. This update includes improves on almost all of my original annoyances with the program: you can now access application functions like quitting, preferences, and so forth through the gear button (now a menu instead of just opening the preferences). Additionally you can have Snippet paste snippets directly into whatever app is frontmost rather than copying the snippet to your clipboard. And lastly you can navigate the list of snippets with simple arrow keys, and select a snippet by hitting return.

Unfortunately, there’s currently a bug that prevents you from using those two last features together, but regardless the program is much more useable now, and I highly recommend you take a look if you need to store code or text snippets. Full information about the release is available in the release notes.

Hazel, my absolutely favorite application when it comes to keeping my file system in order without needing much of my time, has been updated to version 2.3. Although this update does not contain any improvements that specifically will make tagging easier, it does contain numerous improvements to the core software such as syntax highlighting for shell scripts (and an overall improved script editor), the ability to move or copy items to the “enclosing folder” which moves them one level up in the file system, and numerous other fixes and updates. Additionally, the use of keywords has been phased out of the program, but you shouldn’t have been writing to keywords, anyway (way too likely to get wiped out by another program).

For the full story, see the Hazel release notes.

For those developers who want something with a little more dazzle and a little less cost than the venerable Code Collector Pro, the newly released Snippet may be just the thing. Snippet offers a very simple HUD-style menubar window, accessed by the shorcut control-S. When you want to copy a previous snippet, just type control-S and start typing to search for it. To create a new snippet, control-S and then command-N. The interface is universally slick, with windows popping in and out, flipping over, and generally providing eye candy, and the program has some great features, like synchronization via MobileMe. And of course the program provides easy search hinting and organization using tags.

Snippet definitely is a 1.0, though. There are no menus to speak of and some of the user interactions are anything but intuitive, so before you use it you’ll want to check out the Help documentation on the Snippet website to brush up on the keyboard shortcuts. Additionally, there is also no way yet to paste your snippet directly into the frontmost app; you’ll have to copy it to your clipboard and then paste it into the app. However, despite these downsides Snippet is certainly an interesting and polished-looking offering that’s worth trying out if you’ve ever had problems synchronizing frequently-used code between multiple computers.

Code Collector Pro, the centralized library for code snippets, has been updated to version 1.3.5. This minor bug fix release includes fixes for snippet drag and drop, switches bundle installation to use the new Textmate repository, and now remembers the sort order of groups between launches.

For more details, see the release notes. Unfortunately, it looks like a major version increase for Code Collector is unlikely to happen in the near future.

Bohemian Software yesterday released Fontcase, a font manager for OS X that features a beautiful interface, tagging, and most other standard font manager features (previewing, examining all the characters for a given font, comparing fonts, etc.). I’m pretty excited about Fontcase. A month or two ago I was looking for a font manager (as a frontend web developer I find myself accruing more and more fonts), but none of the offerings on the market were as simple and elegant as I was hoping. I ended up just sticking with Font Book and wishing that there were a font manager that supported tagging and smart groups. Lo and behold, my wish is granted in Fontcase.

Aside from its extremely pleasant interface, Fontcase offers a surprisingly wide spread of features for a 1.0 release, including importing smart groups and so forth from Linotype’s FontExplorer X, local network sharing of fonts, the ability to print font previews, and more. Although the lack of any sort of Adobe plugins for auto font activation may make the program less appealing for true power users, Fontcase is a very appealing option to those like myself who need a better tool than Font Book but aren’t interested in spending an arm and a leg. Fontcase is available for a 14 day trial, and costs €35 / $46, with family and business packs available as well.

EagleFiler and Default Folder X received minor updates in the past week or so. EagleFiler 1.4.3 includes numerous bug fixes, some new esoteric preferences, and other minor improvements. Default Folder X 4.1 removes the lag that normally existed for open and save dialogs, adds Open Office 3 support, and fixes other minor errors and bugs.

For more information about EagleFiler 1.4.3 see the release notes. Default Folder X includes information on what’s new on the Default Folder X download page.

MailTags has been updated to version 2.2.2 (or possibly 2.2.3; the release notes disagree with the rest of the site). This minor release mainly includes enhancements to improve efficiency when working with Mail Act-On and IMAP, but also includes numerous bug fixes and adds seven days to expired trial versions for those who want to try out the new features and fixes.

For full details, check out the release notes.

Several programs received minor updates in the tail end of October and the beginning of November. Hazel, a useful utility for automatically handling your files, was updated to version 2.2.3. This update includes minor interface changes, bug fixes, and the ability to use “match/does not match” with “Source URL/Address”. EagleFiler was updated to version 1.4.1, and then soon after to 1.4.2. 1.4.1 included numerous bug fixes and minor feature improvements and 1.4.2 fixed a couple issues that apparently slipped through the cracks. Lastly, PackRat was updated to version 1.7.5, a version which fixes two 10.5 specific problems with Applescript and the Synchronize with Backpack Automator option.

For more information, see the Hazel release notes, EagleFiler’s 1.4.1 and 1.4.2 blog posts, or PackRat’s 1.7.5 blog announcement.