PUBLICSPACE  Hi,

If you're experiencing problems of any kind please contact me directly at reiff@publicspace.net, so that I can help you properly.

What you are reporting very much sounds like a bug. The cleaning up stage that you mention doesn't have a progress report because it usually only takes 1-2 seconds.

Anyway get in touch and we'll have a look.  
(Version 8.0.1)

PUBLICSPACE  Your not wrong.. it's a fairly lengthy name.

There is a good reason for using the full name however.. originally (this is in the 90s on Mac OS 9) I tried a couple of shorter names.. with the result that I got lots of emails about "I can't find the program!".

"A Better Finder Rename 8..." isn't short, but it's clear what is meant. Ultimately it's more important to be able to find the right item than it being short and sweet.

Now if I could go back in the time machine (not that one!) and call the program some shorter (Better Rename) I certainly would :-)  
(Version 8.0)

PUBLICSPACE  Fair enough. Only I'm a European developer and the steep decline in the dollar doesn't mean that bread (or fuel) get any cheaper over here in euros.. for me like for most European developers it has meant that a good 40% of our revenues have gone straight into the exchange rate black hole.

I tried for a disastrous week to charge in EUR everywhere in the world. It's just not practical in the US; a lot of credit cards can't be charged in "foreign" currencies and of course just because the exchange rate goes down doesn't mean that US Americans have suddenly become any richer.. quite on the contrary.

Besides it's only the dollar that has collapsed; almost all other currencies are roughly where they have been for ages compared to the euro. That means the software even though now charged for in euros has in fact not become any more expensive outside of the US than it was a few years ago, when the dollar was higher the euro. Back then everybody was quite happy to pay in euros ;-)

The US is a special case at the moment, because of the weak dollar. I could charge $35 but nobody would be able to afford it.

Exchange rates suck and I would gladly charge in euros (my local currency) everywhere; only I also need to make a living and it just isn't realistic to raise prices in a market in full recession. It's just the way the world works.

Let's hope that the dollar and the euro again reach some kind of equilibrium soon.. that would make us both much happier..  
(Version 8.0)

PUBLICSPACE  Version 8 requires Leopard because it uses its new capabilities extensively.

I do sympathize with users who do not to upgrade to Leopard. I don't really think there's that much in it for end users.

I too failed to see the attraction of Leopard until I realized that it's not about the stuff that comes with the operating system (Mail.app. the Finder, TimeMachine, etc.), but it's all about the programs that developers can build on top of it.

Leopard enables developers to write better programs; the primary benefit to customers is that they get better applications from third parties and of course from Apple as well. That's not an easy sell, but that doesn't make it any less true. They are going to try doing it again with Snow Leopard and we'll see how that will work out for them.

I've pushed version 7 pretty much as far is it will go; version 7 is IMHO a great file renamer (actually I think it's the best file renamer out there, but I'm biased). Being "stuck" with it, isn't such a bad thing ;-)

Version 8, I believe is however a whole lot better still (I'm still biased) and using Leopard's new features really helped a lot in getting the renaming engine and the new user interface done.

Usually I would have supported Tiger for longer, but it would have meant cutting features that require Leopard.. thus penalizing the people who have already upgraded (around half of the user base) and not really delivering that much improvement to Tiger users either.

If you do not want to upgrade to Leopard yet, there's no rush to do so. A Better Finder Rename 8 will wait for you; it will keep getting better and by the time you buy your new xMac with Snow Leopard pre-installed you will reap the benefits of continuous evolution and all those early adopters will have ironed out all the teething problems :-)

In the meantime version 7 will take care of your file renaming needs.  
(Version 8.0b1)