News
8 May 2007.
A dangerous
vulnerability has been detected in DynamicPAD 1.02. We strongly
suggest that you
upgrade to the latest
version as soon as possible!
|
28 Apr 2006.
Version 1.02 released. From now on
DynamicPAD should install and work smoothly on Windows+IIS servers.
Also several bugfixes has been made. |
30 Mar 2006.
DynamicPAD officially released! |
06 Mar 2006. We
planned to release the server-side script package today.
Unfortunately, we have yet to fix a few bugs. We'll upload the package
ASAP. |
06 Mar 2006. The DynamicPAD web
site is now on-line. |
05 Mar 2006.
From the build 546 of
RoboSoft, it has a built-in
DynamicPAD support. |
03 Mar 2006.
PADmanager v.1.0.26 has been released. Form now on, PADManager
fully supports DynamicPAD. |
1 Feb 2006.
Submit-Everywhere.com, a Software Submission Service for shareware
developers, starts accepting DynamicPAD. |
The DynamicPAD technology extends the Portable Application Description
(PAD) standard by allowing shareware vendors to provide customized PAD XML
files to each download site or any other PAD-enabled resource.
Why do you need this?
There are a lot of reasons to customize your PAD files. Here are the most
important benefits:
- Download sites may have different requirements for text formatting.
Some allow HTML tags in descriptions, others don't. Some sites prohibit
carriage returns, others allow them. Some sites limit screenshot size,
some don't. By using DynamicPAD, you can utilize the best formatting
possible on each site.
- While you can put multilingual product descriptions into the same PAD
file, you may also want to alter other PAD fields according to the site's
language. For example, you may want to provide different download links
for different language groups, alter the price and more. DynamicPAD allows
you to alter any of the PAD fields.
- DynamicPAD is the most effective way of gathering statistical info
about downloads. Since each site receives a set of unique links, you
always know how many times your downloadables and your PAD file were
requested from a certain site.
- Some sites may have a specific audience. DynamicPAD allows you to
customize your product descriptions to the site's target audience.
- Google and other search engines regularly index product listings on
download sites. By using the same set of descriptiosn for all download
sites, you will get most of your product listings filtered from the search
results pages. Moreover, your own site may get penalized by Google. Using
DynamicPAD, you can create as many alternative descriptions as you like
and have them chosen randomly.
- DynamicPAD simplifies PAD file management. For example, from now on,
you don't have to use an FTP utility to upload your PAD files.
How does it work?
The idea is as simple as a PAD itself. Instead of publishing a static PAD
XML file on your web server, you use a PHP script that generates a PAD file
on-the-fly. When submitting your product to download sites, you generate
custom URLs that contain a unique download site ID and other marks that
reflect the site's language, etc. The URLs look as if they were pointing to
static XML files on your server. Yet, on receipt of such a URL, your server
starts the DynamicPAD script that generates a PAD file customized according
to the conditions contained in the URL.
Is it compatible with the classic ASP PAD specification?
Yes, it is fully compatible. It works transparently for download sites.
Each download site receives a normal link and a valid PAD XML file. There is
absolutely no difference from the download site's point of view.
What about the sites that do not accept PAD files?
There is a software submission utility (RoboSoft) that allows you to use
your DynamicPAD data when submitting your product (either automatically or
manually) to both PAD-enabled and non-PAD-enabled sites. On the sites that
do not support PAD, RoboSoft fills out online forms with your DynamicPAD
data.
How much does it cost?
Nothing. The DynamicPAD is a free, open-source project. The code is
distributed under the GPL license. There is also a freeware DynamicPAD
editor for Windows. Why is it free? The project is supported by
Submit-Everywhere.com, a software
submission service for shareware developers. |