Hosts Manager

Hosts Manager 2.1 is a program to manage the Windows Hosts file. Screenshot

Features:

  • Import/Export of Windows Hosts file (Note: there seems to be a bug with the latest version where duplicate records crashes the program. Unfortunately, I have no plans on updating this program. Access users may be able to open the MDB file and change the relevant query to enable the ‘Distinct’ option to fix this.)
  • Creates backup of hosts file “hosts.bak” before exporting
  • Two levels of grouping hosts: groups and categories
  • Auto-grouping of imported hosts
  • View statistics about the number of hosts and groups in the database
  • Enable/disable Hosts individually or by group
  • Switch between using localhost IP addresses 127.0.0.1 or 0.0.0.0 easily (other IP addresses in the Hosts list will not be affected)

Requirements:

Pre-Win2k/XP users should make sure they have the MS scripting engine and at least version 2.5 of MDAC + Jet 4 service pack

Instructions:

  • If the button icons are confusing you, put the mouse over one and wait for the tool-tip to appear to see the description.
  • The screen is split into three grids.
  • The largest grid on the right is the Hosts grid. It contains all the hosts imported into the database. This is where you can add new hosts, edit or delete existing hosts.
  • The grid on the top-left is the Groups grid. It contains all the groups of hosts in the database. The number of hosts in a particular group and their status is shown here, You can edit or delete groups of hosts from here. Group names are automatically given to newly imported hosts, however, you can retype over the group names of existing hosts (in the Hosts grid).
  • The grid on the lower-left is the Categories grid. You can add, edit or delete categories here. Categories allow you to group your hosts further than Grouping alone. Entries here will
    show up as a drop down list of categories in the Hosts grid. Removing the check mark in the show column hides the hosts of the affected category from view. Deleting a category clears the category column for any hosts with that category.
  • The toolbar above the grids allow easy access to the most common operations.
  • The first group of buttons are for importing and exporting hosts files. When importing, you get the option of deleting hosts in the database that are not in the file to be imported. This would be the same as clearing the whole database and importing the new hosts file, but at least you don’t lose the grouping and category settings for the hosts that will stay behind. Exported files are sorted in the following order: Localhost, Category, Group then Host
  • The second group of buttons are for exporting into the hosts file and enabling/disabling the hosts file.
  • The next group of buttons work on the selected rows of the most recently used grid. The first icon toggles the check box, The second and third icons deal with applying and removing categories, the last icon deletes the selected rows.
  • The fourth group of buttons are for searching, filtering and removing of the filter. There is only one level of filtering. If you run the filter a second time, it will clear the previous filter first.
  • The next set of buttons are for collapsing and expanding the grouped view from the Hosts grid. You can try this special view by dragging a column header in the Hosts grid to the dark-grey area just above it.
  • The last button is the Refresh grids button. Certain operations on the Hosts grid will not immediately update the Groups grid. You can use this button to refresh all grids so they are synchronised once more.
  • Above the toolbars is the menu bar. Almost all the operations on the toolbar can also be accessed through the menus in the menu bar. You can also see some keyboard shortcuts here that you can use for some operations.

To decrease the database size

  • When you delete data in a database, space is not automatically given back until you “compact” it. The database size can grow very quickly. If you import a large hosts file, many small ones, or if you clear the whole database, you can reclaim some disk space by compacting the database. You can find the command to compact the database in Start|Programs|Mike Bliv Tools|Compact Hosts database. Performance of the database also improves with compaction.

Note:

Only PC-formatted text files are supported (i.e. each line contains a carriage return and linefeed). You may also encounter Hosts files that are part PC and part UNIX-formatted. Use a text editor that will let you open the Hosts file and resave it in PC format, before importing it into Hosts Manager.

To Do:

  • Allow management of domains listed in Microsoft Internet Explorer’s Restricted Zone.

Upgrading instructions:

Due to a change in database structure from 1.x versions, it will not be possible for them to share the same database. Export your hosts file from the previous version and re-import it with this version.

History:

Version 2.1

  • Fixed bug in “Apply Category” function. The wrong category was being put in, making affected rows disappear from the grids.
  • Fixed the “Hosts” criteria in the Open and Save dialogs to actually just show the file with the name of “Hosts”.

Version 2.0

  • VB version created.

Version 1.x

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