Remover - user manual
Remover - user manual
3. Worth knowing
Information about your collection, as well as files constituting the collection, are saved by iStripper in several catalogs. By default, these directories are:
C:\Users\your_username\AppData\Local\vghd\data\
C:\Users\your_username\AppData\Local\vghd\models\
where your_username is your username in Windows.
In the first of the above-mentioned directories - data - images, descriptions and information about your collection are saved. The data directory is divided into many subfolders, most of which have names composed of one letter and four numbers, e.g. "e0123". Each of these subfolders contains images and information about a single show. This is the place where iStripper saves information about inactive clips of a given show and files indicating whether the show has been deactivated or deleted from iStripper. An example of the contents of such subfolder is shown in the picture below.
In the second directory - models - video clips of each show are saved, as well as free previews of shows you have not yet bought. Like the data directory, the models directory is divided into many subfolders with names composed of one letter and four numbers, e.g. "f0199". Each of these subfolders corresponds to a single show. Subfolders contain video clips with the extension .demo and .vghd. The .demo files are previews of the full show, and .vghd files are the actual show. Some files (both .demo and .vghd) have "it" letters in their name - they are so-called interactive clips (or transition clips), which are displayed only in small mode (eg. when the model changes position, pretends to be bored or when it is dragged by the user to other place on the screen). In addition to .demo and .vghd files, subfolders also contain .vhdshows files that store information about the full show resolution, .vhdtrailers files storing information about the resolution of the demo clips, as well as .vhdp2p files used in the peer-2-peer exchange. An example of the contents of such a subfolder is shown in the picture below.
iStripper allows you to define multiple directories to store your collections. You can do it using the settings panel in iStripper. Remover reads all these directories.
The paths to the data and models directories are stored in the Windows registry. When using the Remover script, you don't need to know these paths. Remover will read all the paths from the registry and find them for you. Remover works on files stored in subfolders of the data and models directory described above. It does not interfere with the contents of any other folder.
4. How to use Remover
All major operations in the Remover script take place in two steps:
- Selecting the set of files to be deleted
- Confirmation of the operation
You must close iStripper before running Remover. The script will not let you go to the second step if iStripper is running. Remover can not work simultaneously with iStripper because the changes made by the script could be incorrectly reflected in iStripper. If iStripper program is detected, the following information will be displayed:
The above information will also be displayed when iStripper is launched while the script is running.
Remover reads paths to the "data" and "models" directories from the values stored in the Windows registry keys. If the values are not found in the registry, Remover will report an error. If Remover does not find any of the directories to which the path was saved in the registry, an error will also be reported.
A more detailed description of each of the basic functions of the Remover script is provided below.
4.1. Removing previews of non purchased cards
iStripper automatically downloads previews of the shows (cards) to encourage you to buy their full versions. Over time, the number of previews is increasing and can take up to several gigabytes. If you don't want to store previews of the shows you don't intend to add to your collection, use option number 1:
[1] Remove previews of non purchased cards
While in the main menu of Remover, press the [1] key on the keyboard and confirm the selection with the [Enter] key. The script will display a request to confirm the operation, as in the picture below.
Select the Remove now option to confirm the operation. To do this, press the [1] key on the keyboard and confirm by pressing [Enter].
How does the function work:
Remover checks the content of each subfolder in the models directory. It looks for files with .vghd extension. If .vghd file is not found in the subfolder, the .demo, .vhdtrailers and .vhdp2p files will be deleted along with the folder containing those files. In other words: the folder and files associated with shows that are not in your collection or have not been downloaded yet will be deleted.
At this point, you can ask the question: why are you deleting shows that have not yet been downloaded despite the fact that they were bought and are in the collection? The contents of the folders associated with not purchased and not downloaded shows are the same. Remover is unable to distinguish them. Remover considers the show as part of the collection if there is at least one .vghd file. As the user is not able to play the previews of not downloaded cards until he downloads the entire show, this error was considered irrelevant and harmless. If you want to avoid deleting previews of purchased shows that have not yet been downloaded, simply download them to your computer.
4.2. Removing regular demo files
Each show consists of a set of clips, of which two or three clips are part of the preview (demo). These clips are short and contain nothing more than what you can see in the full version of the show. If you do not want to waste storage space on these types of clips or for any other reason you find them unnecessary, you can delete them using option number 2:
[2] Remove regular demo files
All demo clips saved on your hard disk will be deleted, both previews of the shows in your collection and those you have not bought.
While in the main menu of Remover, press the [2] key on the keyboard and confirm your choice with the [Enter] key. The script will display a request to confirm the operation, as in the picture below.
Select the Remove now option to confirm the operation. To do this, press the [1] key on the keyboard and confirm by pressing [Enter].
How does the function work:
Remover checks the content of each subfolder in the models directory. It looks for files with .demo extension. If .demo file is found in a subfolder, the script checks whether the file is an interactive clip - these files are not deleted. Only those .demo files that are not interactive will be deleted (they don't have the "it" string in the filename). In addition to the regular .demo clips, the .vhdtrailers and .vhdp2p files will also be removed. If after this operation the folder containing these files remains empty, it will also be deleted.
It is possible to delete regular .demo clips by the iStripper application, however, after removing the files, iStripper still leaves empty folders.
4.3. Removing regular and interactive demo files
Each show consists of a set of clips, of which two or three clips are part of the preview (demo). These clips are short and contain nothing more than what you can see in the full version of the show. iStripper and iStripper XXX collections, in addition to regular demo clips, have several additional clips with the same extension. These are so-called interactive clips (or transition clips), which are played only in small mode, eg. when the model changes position, goes bored or when it is dragged by the user to a different place on the screen. These clips do not contain nudity. If you don't want to waste the space on this type of clips or for any other reason you consider them unnecessary, you can delete them using option number 3:
[3] Remove regular and interactive demo files
While in the main menu of Remover, press the [3] key on the keyboard and confirm your choice with the [Enter] key. The script will display a request to confirm the operation, as in the picture below.
Select the Remove now option to confirm the operation. To do this, press the [1] key on the keyboard and confirm by pressing [Enter].
How does the function work:
Remover checks the content of each subfolder in the models directory. It looks for files with .demo extension. All files with the .demo extension will be removed, including interactive ones (with the "it" string in the filename). In addition to the .demo files, the .vhdtrailers and .vhdp2p files will also be deleted. If after this operation the folder containing these files remains empty, it will also be deleted.
4.4. Removing inactive clips
IStripper allows you to deactivate individual clips (for example, those you don't want to watch). You can delete inactive clips to free up space on your hard disk. The option to delete inactive clips exists in iStripper, but to delete all inactive clips for each show, you need to delete them in sequence one show after another - lots of clicks and wasted time. Remover allows you to delete all inactive clips at once in the entire collection. It is a much more convenient way.
To remove all inactive clips, use option number 4:
[4] Remove inactive clips
While in the main menu of Remover, press the [4] key on the keyboard and confirm your choice with the [Enter] key. The script will display a request to confirm the operation, as in the picture below.
Select the Remove now option to confirm the operation. To do this, press the [1] key on the keyboard and confirm by pressing [Enter].
How does the function work:
Remover checks the content of each subfolder in the data directory. It looks for "inactive.txt" file. This file, if exists, contains the names of deactivated .vghd and .demo clips. Remover reads the list and uses it to delete the appropriate files in the subfolders of the models directory. The name of the file "inactive.txt" is changed to "inactive.txt.backup" to be able to restore the list of deactivated clips if necessary.
4.5. Removing inactive cards
IStripper allows you to deactivate individual shows (for example, those you don't want to watch). You can delete the contents of inactive shows to free up space on your hard disk. It is possible to delete all inactive cards from the iStripper GUI (by setting the appropriate filters in the "My collection" tab, selecting all inactive cards and clicking the trash can icon), however, despite the deletion of files, iStripper still leaves empty folders.
To remove all inactive shows using the Remover script, use option number 5:
[5] Remove inactive cards
While in the main menu of Remover, press the [5] key on the keyboard and confirm your choice with the [Enter] key. The script will display a request to confirm the operation, as in the picture below.
Select the Remove now option to confirm the operation. To do this, press the [1] key on the keyboard and confirm by pressing [Enter].
How does the function work:
Remover checks the content of each subfolder in the data directory. It looks for a file with .vhddisabled extension. If the file exists, it means that the card is inactive. Based on this file, Remover finds the correct subfolder in the models directory and removes the subfolder with all its contents.
4.6. Removing deleted cards
IStripper allows you to delete individual shows one by one or multiple shows at once. Despite deleting files, iStripper still leaves empty folders, and iStripper does not delete files with the "Read-only" attribute. Remover will allow you to delete folders with all content as well as read-only files, leaving no empty folders. To remove all the remnants of the shows deleted by iStripper, use option number 6:
[6] Remove deleted cards
While in the main menu of Remover, press the [6] key on the keyboard and confirm your choice with the [Enter] key. The script will display a request to confirm the operation, as in the picture below.
Select the Remove now option to confirm the operation. To do this, press the [1] key on the keyboard and confirm by pressing [Enter].
How does the function work:
Remover checks the content of each subfolder in the data directory. It looks for a file with .vhddel extension. If the file exists, it means that the card has been deleted using the iStripper interface. Based on this file, Remover finds the correct subfolder in the models directory and deletes the subfolder with all its content.
4.7. Removing intermediate files
When downloading shows, iStripper saves the downloaded data to a temporary file called an intermediate file. Typically, these files are deleted when the download is complete. Sometimes, however, as a result of unspecified circumstances, the file remains on the hard disk. In the worst case, the intermediate file may be the reason for the error that occurs when downloading or updating the show. The occurrence of such error is indicated by the message "Cannot write intermediate file". For unknown reasons, iStripper can't read, write or delete the intermediate file. It can be done by Remover. To delete all intermediate files, use option number 7:
[7] Remove intermediate files
While in the main menu of Remover, press the [7] key on the keyboard and confirm your choice with the [Enter] key. The script will display a request to confirm the operation, as in the picture below.
Select the Remove now option to confirm the operation. To do this, press the [1] key on the keyboard and confirm by pressing [Enter].
How does the function work:
Remover checks the content of each subfolder in the data and models directory. It looks for files with .dlmcdf extension. All files with this extension are deleted. In addition, Remover reads the content of each subfolder in the data directory to check if there are any files with the .vhdaskshows extension - they are also deleted.