SysExporter: extract infromation from any program or window, even when copying and pasting is not an option

SysExporter ScreenshotDescription: SysExporter is a small tool that allows you to extract information from any application or window and export it as text, HTML, or XML files. It is designed to retrieve information from programs that do not normally allow you to simply copy/paste info, such as the files list inside a folder or zip archive, list of emails and/or contacts in an email client, registry values in the right pane of the registry editor, error message prompts, etc.

What do you do when you have information being displayed right in front of you that you need but cannot simply copy/paste or export? Typically what I used to do in this situation is simply grab a screenshot and perform OCR (optical character recognition) using a program such as JOCR. With SysExporter, however, I could simply locate the application that I want to extract data from in the SysExporter interface, then simply scroll through all of the dialogs associated with that application until I find the information I seek. Simple and quick. Here are more notes on this program:

  • Information you can extract: everything, from a list of checkboxes used by a program or dialog to the list of files in a folder to the HTML of a web page.
  • The user interface: simple and straightforward. Scroll throught the different controls/elements in the top pane, and preview the available data in the bottom pane. Note that you could filter across the different controls (e.g. Listview, Listbox, Combobox, Treeview, etc), as the program allows you to activate/deactivate these at will. If you don’t quite know what this means forget about it: simply scroll through all the available dialogs of the program you seek and you will find your info.
  • Portable: installer setup as well as zip-only versions available.

Some examples of practical applications of this (aside from the first two these were lifted straight from the program home page):

  • The results for a windows file/folder search.
  • Error message prompts, in case you want to keep the error message or number for whatever reason.
  • The files list inside archive file (.zip, .rar, and so on) as displayed by WinZip or 7-Zip File Manager.
  • The files list inside a folder.
  • The event log of Windows.
  • The list of emails and contacts in Outlook Express (or any other email client)
  • The Registry values displayed in the right pane of the Registry Editor.
  • The data displayed by SysInternals utilities (Registry Monitor, File Monitor, Process Explorer, and others.)
  • The text inside a standard message-box of Windows.
  • The HTML inside any instance of Internet Explorer.

The verdict: a very nice program that you will certainly find extremely useful when you discover a need for it — and now that you know about it, you will sooner or later realize that yes, you do need it ;) . Simply stated another fantastic freeware release from NirSoft.

Version Tested: 1.39

Compatibility: WinAll; 64-bit version also available.

Go to the program page to download the latest version (approx 37K).

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9 Comments so far

  1. Alek Davis on May 12th, 2008

    Thanks Samer, this can be handy on certain occasions.

  2. Ranne on May 13th, 2008

    It’s a much better alternative to what I’ve been using for accessing “inaccessible” text. The only two problems I see offhand is some icon confusion (Word icon showed on unrelated apps) and that it doesn’t seem to notice some of the opened windows, particularly Firefox. Checking “Display items with invisible Parent Window” (enable it to see text from taskbar programs and such) didn’t help either… Regardless, I’m certainly keeping this one. Thanks again for a great tip.

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  4. DS on May 14th, 2008

    Have found this very handy when faced with error messages. Nir Sofer rules. Mighty grateful to programmers like Nir, Mark Russinovich, and Bryce Cogswell.

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  9. fr on June 29th, 2008

    Nice! The better I know your site Samer, the more I like it.

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