Lazy Launcher

Info:

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2.02 2006-08-17
  + added workaround for premature launch bug
  * clarified some text here and there

  
  TODO and CURRENT ISSUES:
    Update button needs to be hit twice to really work
    "working" graphic to indicate that widget is attempting a launch
    simplify graphics
    active/inactive button states
    full theme support 
    warn the user if it is working with too many files
    determine which edges should be "hot" for resizing

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LazyLauncher is a widget inspired by Quicksilver.
I've never actually used Quicksilver... but this is still inspired by
it. I don't intend on it ever being more than a program launcher,
although it certainly could with K's abilities.

== Description: ==

Let's face it. The Windows Start Bar hasn't really changed in over a
decade, and it sucks. And how often is it that you end up wasting
time hunting for a program when you know the name. I don't know
about you, but for some reason I have 700 entries in my Start Bar.
With Lazy Launcher, you can start any program with a few keystrokes.
That's right, don't even bother moving your hand a couple inches to
the mouse! No hunting through that cascading maze known as the Start
Bar, you've got the shortcut now.

What it Does: Launch any program found in the start bar or in five
definable locations with minimal effort.

== How to Use: ==

Show/Hide with Hotkey: control + space
Remember, the widget initially starts hidden, use control + space to
reveal it.

Then start typing the name of the program you want to use. up and
down arrow to select, enter to launch.

ESC will cancel your search, or if there is no search, will hide the
widget

I also prefer to use this widget at a window level of TOPMOST.
I also played with having it disappear when it loses focus. 

== Other Useful Directories to Launch Lazily ==

My Widgets - My Documents\My Widgets
Quickstart Bar - \Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch

== Problems? ==

I ENABLED SHOW ICONS AND IT CRASHES, USING Widget Engine 3.XX
start Lazy Launcher again, only don't activate it this time. you can get to
the preferences by clicking on the Gear icon in the system tray, and then:

  Widget Preferences -> Lazy Launcher
      

now you can turn off icons
      


INTERNATIONAL versions of WINDOWS
It queries the registry to get the start menu locations, and as I understand,
the registry isn't localized... so it SHOULD work. But if it doesn't, you can
manually add the start directory in the preferences.

It looks for the start menus by:

reg query "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders" /v "Programs"

and

reg query "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders" /v "Common Programs"

You can test this yourself to see what's wrong.

WIDGET ISN'T HILIGHTING THE APPLICATION MY MOUSE IS OVER (fixed)
I can't figure out why this is happening. My guess is the application
isn't updating the boxes correctly. Doing any keyboard or mouse action
will right it. (EX: right click)

WIDGET IS SLOW
it seems to be very sensitive to system load. a good indicator is to
check to see if the icon is rotating smoothly. if it isn't, then
that's bad.

WIDGET LAUNCHES A PROGRAM BEFORE I GET A CHANCE TO DO ANYTHING
This is a bug with Konfabulator.
Version 2.02 introduces a workaround for this.

CAN'T SET A HOTKEY
This is a bug with Konfabulator.
Work Around:
there seems to be a problem with setting hotkeys. If you get in a
situation where the hotkey is set wrong and you can't change it back,
  1. Right-click on the gear menu in the system tray
  2. Go to "Widget Preferences" and select Lazy Launcher
  3. In the "General" tab, uncheck "Override Default Hotkey?"
  4. Save preferences. The hotkey should now revert back to Control+Space

CAN'T CLEAR A DIRECTORY
This is a bug with Konfabulator.
Work Around:
if you set a directory, and change your mind, but everytime you clear
the field and save preferences, it comes back, you've encountered a
bug in Konfabulator.
To clear it, type a single period "." as the location. Now save
preferences. Open preferences and it should now be blank.

Changelog

2.0 alpha info:
  • OMFG a resizable window!!!!! First ever widget of its kind!
    Just click on an edge and drag!
  • New preference group to access new displays
  • New buttons to access new displays
  • Choose from 3 icon sizes
  • Choose from 4 display modes
    - Simple   : big icon and name
    - List     : the old way
    - Detailed : the old way + extra info
    - Table    : try cram in as much as possible 
  • testing graphic styles
  • better implementation of fetching icons in the background
alpha2
  • I think I fixed the mouse hover bug
  • some minor optimization
  • Added a pretty gradient to selection boxes
  • Fixed bug where selection box disappeared whilst typing
alpha3=preview3
  • general usability improvements
  • Went back to making "show icons" separate from "icon size"
  • Added context option: "Open Containing Folder"
  • Starting to add feedback for when the widget actually launches something
  • Fixed bug in the background gradient calculation
  • Changed file icon fetching to be more aggressive but simpler to fix bug
    Found out where the bug comes from - changing the canvas size before
    the widget has a chance to fill in the icons 
  • Rudimentary theme support added
  • New theme "White" added. If you pick through the source, you can see
    that you can actually make the "White" theme any color by using
      background.colorize = someColor;
  • "New" theme "default" added. It's the old 1.X look of the widget.
  • Changed lookup method AGAIN for the start menu
  • Added check for the start menu
preview4
  Added:
    • "add" and "refresh" working status improved
    • button spacing added to theme description lay.out
  Changed:
    • Icon loading broken up to increase response
  Bug Fixes:
    • Filters for additional locations weren't done right
    • Made changing icon size behavior better

2.0.1 preview
  Added: Konspose / Heads Up Display Only options.
         there are two checkboxes related to this new functionality
  Added: slashes (\ and /) now prevented from being entered (caused regexp problems)
  Added: testing limit of 10000 entries
     
1.5 beta - Konfabulator 3.0 maintenance release
  • object creation/destruction managed better
  • multiple bug fixes
  • icons now disabled by default (turn back on in preferences)
  • fixed launching shortcuts that contain single quotes
  • new context menu option: "permanently remove this" (will delete stuff!)*
  * - another way of doing this would be maintaining a black list... I think it's
      too complicated to do so.

Version 1.2:
 - uses completely different method of finding start menu
 - user now has to manually tell the widget when to update
 - now with preferences!
 - Added ability to launch anything, anywhere.
 - User configurable hotkey

Version 1.1:
 - initial public release

== Release Notes: ==

Props to MaskedCreater. I'm using his gears for now.
Many thanks to commenters in the widget gallery.

It has been suggested to scan the program files directory for exe files.
It is possible, but it's REALLY slow. Be careful with the new user
definable locations. That's the reason why I made it so you have to
manually update the list now, whereas it used to do it in the background.
Because it would take too long and get in the way of usability.

Launchy appears to be a clean and free
alternative to this widget if you're looking for something different.

Feedback? let me know