SRP Utilities 1.2 has been released. It includes three new methods designed to make life easier for the OpenInsight developer: SRP_COM, SRP_Extract_XML, and SRP_Save_Screenshot.

SRP_COM was developed when a client of ours needed COM support within 7.0. If you find yourself in a similar situation, SRP_COM can make life much easier. This one method can instantiate COM objects, manipulate that object's properties and methods, and pass object references between one another.

SRP_Extract_XML uses the XPath query language to extract XML fragments or data from an XML document or larger fragment, all in a single line of code. We all know how well suited BASIC+ is for string manipulation, and creating XML files is easy. However, parsing them usually requires a lot of assumptions or a third party solution. Sometimes, we just want to point to some data and pull it out. SRP_Extract_XML does exactly that provided you are willing to learn how to use the XPath query language. As the name implies, it allows you to access XML data using a syntax similar to what we use for directory paths.

SRP_Save_Screenshot allows you to programmatically take screenshots of OpenInsight windows. This need came to our attention when one of our clients, whose employees like to send screenshots to each other on a daily basis, requested an easier way to do this. While the client had fancy tools such as SnagIt, they still wanted to be able to do it all in one motion. With the help of this handy little function, our clients simply use a keystroke to have a screenshot of a window automatically embedded within an email or sent directly to a printer.

All these functions are documented in the SRP_Utilities.chm included with the SRP Utilities installer, which you can download here. If you have any questions, comments, or feature suggestions regarding our free SRP Utilities, don't hesitate to call or email us.