[OBSOLETE] QuickEE - A Tool for Experts

Introduction

QuickEE (QEE) is a Windows application written by and for Experts to assist in answering questions on Experts Exchange (EE).

Background

Prior to February 2007, many Experts used QuickPost (QP), by ameba. With the release of the new UI after that time, QP stopped working and ameba decided not continue support. This left a huge hole and a group of Experts got together with the aim of creating a replacement which would work with the new EE.

I had previously written an application when I was first learning VB. It was basically a copy of QP and was only an exercise to see what I could do. So with this experience, I threw my offering in and over the next few months, got more and more requests from Experts for new features until it got to the point where it was a fully featured application.
 

The Latest Incarnation

The latest version (v2.*) was released in early May, 2010 and, while it is functionally the same, it has a new UI which I hope is easier to navigate.

It also uses a different method for displaying questions which allows much more functionality and a much cleaner view. More information on the Question Viewer is below.
 

Installation

QuickEE makes use of Microsoft’s ClickOnce technology, which allows for easy deployment of updates. Unfortunately, because it’s MS, it’s made a little harder than it should be. The below link will only work when clicked from Internet Explorer. It will not work with any other browser, unless an appropriate add-in is installed.
 
Because Experts Exchange is always changing, the HTML of the pages also changes and that can cause QuickEE's parsing routines to fail. The major advantage of using ClickOnce is I can regularly publish updates which fix regular problems caused by EE changes and the users do not need to do anything. QuickEE will check the server each time it starts up and if a new version is available, will alert the user who can then choose to update or not.
 

Using QuickEE

Before starting QuickEE, it is advised that you switch over to the "Expert Skin" on EE as QEE requires it for several pages. Note that if you cannot switch over to the Expert skin, it probably means that you do not have Premium Services, which are also required to utilise QuickEE.

When you first start QuickEE you will be shown a Start-up wizard, which will guide you through some important setup requirements.


 

Using QuickEE

The List Selector
The List Selector groups your lists by category. Double-click a category to view its child lists.
Double-click a list to view its questions in the Question List.
To open a list in a new tab, right-click the list and select "Open in New Tab".

The Question List
The Question List displays the latest 100 questions, with some important information, from the specified list. Clicking a question in the list will load it in the Question Viewer (see below).

If a list contains more than 100 questions, page selectors will display at the bottom of the list.

If the loaded list is either your "Participated" or "Monitored", checkboxes will be shown to the left of each question. These are there so you can remove them permanently to keep each of these lists maintainable. When one of these lists is shown, 2 new menu items will be added to the "Tools" menu – one for checking questions, another to remove the checked questions.

You can also remove selected questions from the question list by using the Tools > Clear Selected Questions item. Multiple questions can be selected by right-clicking the first question, then holding down the SHIFT or CTRL key and left-clicking further questions. Note that if you refresh this list, the questions you removed will re-appear.

You can also enable the automatic checking of new comments posted to individual question from the Question List. Simply right-click the appropriate question and select "Check for New Comments". You'll then see in the "info" column the status of the checking. QuickEE will then check the question every 5 seconds and if there are new comments, the back color of the question will change and a sound will be heard. To stop checking for new comments, right-click the question again and select "Stop Checking for New Comments". Note, you can only "monitor" 5 questions at a time with this method. Attempting to add more questions will remove older ones from the list (text on the Statusbar will inform you of which question was removed).

The following icons will also display which shows the status of the question…
 
These icons are the same as those found in the Experts Zone.

To view a question, click it.

The Question Viewer
The Question Viewer displays the selected question with most functions that are available on Experts Exchange, with several others that will be useful for many experts.

The following are the features available on Experts Exchange….
 
Other features not available on Experts Exchange are…
There are also checkboxes in each comment header, but at this time they do not have any function.

The Comment Area
The comment area located below all question comments is where you enter your reply to post a new comment. It allows you to apply basic formatting (bold, italic, underline and links), but it is not a Rich Text Editor. Any formatting you apply will be shown as raw HTML. Because raw HTML is posted to EE, if you need to post HTML code, it is recommended you use the Code Snippet feature, or escape the HTML by selecting it then clicking the "HTML" button.

The Comment area provides a built-in spell checker. Click the Spell Check button to initiate.

To add a code snippet to your comment, click the "Code" link below the Comment area. Note that there are also links for attaching files and images, but at this stage these functions are not available.

To make the Comment Area larger, click the "Expand" link, located at the bottom-right of the text area.

Once you are happy with your comment, you can click the "Preview" button to see how it looks with the rich text applied, or you can submit you comment immediately by clicking the "Submit" button.

The Question Viewer will also show you if there is a Close Request current on the question. This will be displayed directly below the question body. When a Close Request is current, an "Object" button will be available alongside the "Submit" button. Use this "Object" button when you have a valid objection to the intended closure.

 

Checking for new Questions

One of the main features of QuickEE, and the reason many experts use it, is it can notify you of new questions asked on Experts Exchange. There are two options available when checking for new questions – Favourites or All Zones. Favourites will notify you of any question asked in any of your favourite zones. All Zones will notify you off all questions asked, with the exception of those question posted in the Community Support zones.
To begin checking for new questions, double-click the "New Questions" category in the List Selector, then double-click the desired item (Favourites or All Zones). QuickEE will then return the last 100 questions which match the selected type. The icon of the selected type will change to a green clock icon and status messages will be shown in the status bar. From here on, QuickEE will check for new questions periodically (as set in Options) and give you notification when a question matches the specified criteria.

To end the checking process, simply double click the active node (with the green clock icon) in the list selector. Alternatively, you can double-click the status message in the status bar.
 

The Member Tab

The Member Tab displays your profile, along with your Member and Zone Ranks. You can use this tab to check up on your point totals and see how you compare with other experts.
 

Options

The following options are available in QuickEE…

Display

Lists

Misc

Proxy

Templates

Getting Help and Reporting Bugs

While the major features are described above, it is understood that you may need additional help in using QuickEE. When you do, the preferred place to go is the current "QuickEE" thread in the Expert Input zone. The current one is here. Please also post any bugs you come across so I can fix them.

Alternatively, you can email me at the address in my profile.