[release] Launcher

[nightcrawler1089]

Don't talk to the mods...talk to the newsposters! If your app is worthy, we (most likely me, although kgraphik might do it) will certainly post about it!

5. different positions on the screen? is it necessary to allow the app to be in any of the 4 corners, or even better any where along the border of the screen (centered)

A definite must, I think. I have my taskbar on the top of the screen, so using this app will cover the system tray.

Resizing the app would be nice, but isn't a must. Also, drag-n-drop, and icons are both features that would be nice, but not really necessary. It would sweeten the app, but it's already functional.

Hmm...the proof of concept didn't work on my machine. I get a small white bar in the upper corner, but it doesn't resize on rollover, and you can't click in it...it's just a white blob.

Looking forward to this!

-NC

[mmanson132]

white blob? does it show the pngs that are attached on the screen?

it should look like this:

and it should be able to be resized, if you put your mouse over the left portion of the app, the cursor should change, and you should be able to resize it...

and thanks for the quick response. good point with the task bar

[nightcrawler1089]

Whoops, silly me. It resizes fine, I just assumed that you would be able to click inside. So, no problems.

-NC

[DTOXX]

This is really nice! I can't believe I didn't see this before. Keep up the good work.

[mmanson132]

i swear i just put up a new post..... wtf...

o well

so the program is coming along nicely..

i was not happy with any of the controls that vb provides, so i created my own list box that supports icons!

if the rest of the program goes as nicely as it has so far, its going to be a killer app!

here are two screenies next to each other showing the list fully viewable, and scrollable.

the list's items can be sized to any size you want, from 16x16 to 32x32 (shown), 64x64. any size you want, except anything larger than 32 would look a bit obtrusive to the rest of the app.

the next few days will be devoted to working on some visual aspects of the program and user interaction. stay tuned for more in the days to come!

ill also probably release another beta test to make sure people can use it still...

in sad news, i do not know if i will be able to pull off the pngs and shadows like i had initially anticipated... but ill try my best.

[nightcrawler1089]

Very nice.... I'm trying to remember if this was in previous versions, but you should allow the font (size, color, actual font, etc...) to be customizable. Also, maybe have the horizontal line be skinnable (just a file in the Launcher folder, and the app "gets" that image and makes it into a sep, so you can easily change it).

Very promising preview!

-NC

P.S: The scroll bar in the image on the right--does it only look like that because you're using Win2k visual style?

[liquidplasmaflow]

Unfortunately, VB (assuming you're using .NET 2003) doesn't support visual styles without a manifest hack.

EDIT: Are you gonna share that icon-list-box with the rest of us .NET programmers?

[mmanson132]

nightcrawler1089: yeah, i plan on making as much of the app skinnable as possible (seeing as i have never actually made a skinnable app before). but definately the fonts and such will be able to be changed... the divider may not be skinnable till later releases, maybe color right away, but we will see... im running xp w/o the visual styles... it just runs smoother for me w/o themes...

liquidplasmaflow: once i get the control's bugs worked out, ill probably release it. maybe only to those who want it, but more than likely yes. do you have any idea how to do the manifest hack to get visual styles? i didnt even consider doing it with the windows inherited visual styles...

also, i need some input... initially i didnt want a horizontal scrollbar in the list, but now i dont know if it should be there... what do you think? im still leaning towards no horizontal scroll bar, looks cleaner

[mmanson132]

wow, things are going so smoothly... im just waiting for something to go wrong... maybe my hard drive will fail tonight... (backing files up to a flash drive now...) pheww.... ok

i have figured out a lot of the interaction aspect of the list box... its looking pretty cool.

of course this is not what its going to look like (although this might be the start of another program along the same lines...)

so check it out, make sure you can use it. i tried to pick more common programs as to not create exceptions with those of you who dont have editplus or ps.

enjoy, and like always, leave some feedback if there is any to give

* i do know about the problem when you resize the list to one smaller than the last item the horizontal bar shows... i looked at the code for a few hours and cant figure out why its happening... i think its one of those vb quirks... but ill get it eventually.

[nightcrawler1089]

Will you be able to resize this horizontally?

Will the rollover effects be skinnable?

Very nice preview though!

-NC

[mmanson132]

im thinking the horizontal size will be sized based upon something else like width of the form above it.

and if i can figure out how to make the app skinnable, then yes.. what do you want though? colors, or an image? its probably more realistic to have just colors at this point.

[mmanson132]

just a quick post...

here are some screenshots and a link to get the the latest on Launcher 2.

some notes:

when the list is showing, if you want to add items to the list, press shift once and the app will lock where it is. you can then go to wherever the file/folder is and drag that to the list. when your done adding, press shift again and the app will unlock.

right now customizing an items icon can only be done using a png or ico unless the program is an executable and then it looks for its own icon. eventually it will be that a file will get its associated system icon (not anything associalted in Launcher (at least not yet)) and use that.

i know about the bugs with moving items around when the list is scrollable... im working on it.. dont worry...

the screenshots:

All

Searching

Item property

right now no programs will launch. i have decided not to implelement that feature till its further developed (cuz i also havent decided if i wish to make this shareware, freeware, etc)... obviously everyone would like it to be freeware, but i have spent a lot of time coding this.. maybe a suggested donation (strongly)

[GameBoyzGB]

I like how this is going so far mmanson. Great work. If I may suggest regarding shareware... While still in the process of creating and modifying this program, use an expiration date for every release and before the expiry date is reached, release a new version with of course a different expiry date.

[mmanson132]

here is the first functional preview release of Launcher 2! (meaning it will actually launch programs)

there are a few things to mention with this release:

to lock the list when it is showing, press shift, to unlock, press shift again

config.xml

layout (1 or 2)

1 - top of screen

2 - bottom of screen

x - location of app horizontally

width - width of app

height - height of item list

animation (0 or 1)

0 - disable animations

1 - enable animations (only if your gfx card doesnt suck)

item_animation (there will be several animations for when items are moved around in the list

item_type (1 or 2)

1 - dynamic listing (experimental at most right now, it will only find .txt files to test functionality)

2 - defined list (you add items manually)

icon_size - size of icons in the list

Dynamic_Item_Locations - when using item_type 1

Items - when using item_type 2

if you want to add items when using item_type 2, you should be able to drag and drop items over the list. sometimes when you drag off of the list the item will disappear, sometimes it wont.... dont know about that one.

to get to the properties panel, right click on the top portion of the app

to rename programs and have then save, you HAVE to change it using the properties panel. i didnt realize i didnt code it save when changing it in the main item list. oops.

to change the apps icon, get the items properties window showing using the properties panel and drag the ico or png to the active icon in the properties window.

known problems:

renaming items in the main list

when adding items:

they dont always add

they dont always remove when drag leaves app

they dont always add to the right location on the list

there is no way to remove items (didnt think about this one until i needed to)

there are several other problems that are both known and unknown... if you come across any, post them here with a good description of whats happening... vague discriptions are of no use to me!

other than that, enjoy it.

while im developing it, instead of having an expire date, i have added a small but annoying message box that will show when you launch an app... this is just to make it so that people are annoyed to the point where they will test out the program, but dont really want to use it on a day to day basis.. and i have left out features like the hot key and hidding the main form of the program to add to the annoyance!

[nightcrawler1089]

Well, it doesn't work for me. It ran the first time, but when I quit, after that, it didn't work. I keep getting a .NET error.

-NC

[Hyral]

it work a bit for me... it seems very buggy...

like the list wont show, you can't remove or click "OK"...

but i like where the program is going so continue developing it...

[mmanson132]

whats the error?

[Guest Jesus Franco]

Very nice small program. I do have on favor to ask, can u please add the most recent version to your sig. because searching thru the thread for the most recent version isn't cool. :confused:

[nightcrawler1089]

Ah, it seems to be fixed now. There are some problems with Launcher staying on top though-- after you minimize a few windows, Launcher is no longer on top of the taskbar. This significantly affects the usability of the program.

-NC

[Infinity]

wow, dude, this is a sweet app. Its really useful for filling in that gap between frequesntly used apps that are in my dock and ones I use occasionally which I search through my folders for, like AveIconifier. Its really good that someone has tackeld an idea like this. Nice one my friend.

PS: the last d/l link doesn't work

[mmanson132]

wtf are you talking about... works for me... which link are you talking about? in my sig? on the site? where

all you iconists out there... i need an icon for Launcher!

im actually thinking about a name change... maybe gopher Launch (kind of like go for launch). anyways, the icon i was ultimately thinking of was a gopher with flying goggles on and something else, either in a plane, or a rocket, or something... be creative... thanks!

[mmanson132]

Ah, it seems to be fixed now. There are some problems with Launcher staying on top though-- after you minimize a few windows, Launcher is no longer on top of the taskbar. This significantly affects the usability of the program.

-NC

where are you using launcher? at the top or bottom? it shouldnt be over the taskbar... it should figure out the viewable area of your screen and base it upon that... are you using the default task bar? or something fancy like objectbar (cuz i havent tested it at all with that, dont want to install it).

[nightcrawler1089]

Nope, default taskbar, located at the top. It shows once I launch it for the first time, but after minimizing everything (windows key + D), it moves below the taskbar, and I have a difficult time getting it up again.

-NC

[Infinity]

wtf are you talking about... works for me... which link are you talking about? in my sig? on the site? where

Ok dude, chill. I just noticed that one, well done me. Just don't snap next time, k?

[mmanson132]

just joking... no worries