This is a beta release. Please send any bug reports to the address listed below. When sending bug reports, please try to reproduce the bug more than twice and send the list of steps you followed to reproduce the bug.
What is _Launch?
_Launch is a small, "MultiFinder Aware" program which allows users to start applications, same as MultiFinder, and/or switch to other running applications, like the Apple menu in MultiFinder. _Launch is not an INIT or cdev, rather it is a separate program using in its own window. _Launch doesn't take up much screen space and it is compatible with all well written applications.
Why use _Launch?
On large hard drives, many applications can be nested two or more levels deep in the hierarchy. Rather than double clicking a bunch of folders, _Launch puts the application at the desktop level in its own window. Double clicking any of the icons in this window will immediately start the requested application or switch to it if it is already running. _Launch also allows you to install Desk Accessories in its dock, so you don't have to pull down the Apple menu every time you need the Control Panel.
How to use _Launch:
- _Launch was written as a MultiFinder application, but it can be run under Finder as long as you use at least System 6.0 or newer. _Launch requires only 74K to run, so it is not a burden on 1meg machines. The idea for _Launch is based on having a large hierarchy of files, so most users will have a hard drive, although this isn't necessary.
- Double click on the _Launch icon from MultiFinder. If this is the first time you are running _Launch, it will make a new _L_data file. After about 3-5 seconds, an window will appear with 24 empty slots. (NOTE: Data files from older versions of _Launch are not compatible with _Launch qc)
- The empty slots are represented by plain gray icons. Double click any empty slot to install an application. You will get the standard dialog box for choosing files. Only applications, Finder, and the Desktop file will appear in the dialog (the Desktop file is an anomaly, don't install it in the dock). After selecting an application, _Launch then gets the application's icon and displays it in that slot.
- Single clicking any slot selects that slot. Select an empty slot, choose Install Desk Accessory from the _Launch menu. A dialog box appear asking you to choose a desk accessory. While this dialog appears, you cannot do anything except choose a desk accessory from the Apple menu. The desk accessory you choose will be installed in that slot. Some of the standard DA's will have special icons. The rest of the DA's will be represented by the generic Font/DA suitcase icon. See Advanced features to change the icon.
- Select a slot which contains an application icon. You can "attach" any document to that application by choosing Attach Document from the _Launch menu. If possible, this file will be opened when the application is started. To "detach" the file, select the application icon then choose Detach Document from the _Launch menu.
- To move an application to a different slot, simply drag it over. (NOTE: empty slots can't be dragged around)
- To delete an icon, select the icon then choose Delete Item from the _Launch menu.
- If you forget what an icon stands for, select the icon then choose Get Info from the _Launch menu. A dialog box will display whether the icon stands for a desk accessory or application, and the name of the attached file, if there is one.
- Double clicking an icon starts or switches to the application or DA that the icon stands for. If the application has a file attached to it, that file will be opened, if it is the right type, when the application is started.
- If you hold down both the option and command (curly thing) keys when double clicking an application icon, if that application has a document attached, it will be not be opened.
- Command-Q or Quit in the File menu quits _Launch.
Advanced features:
- Use the number keys, 1-9 and 0, as an equivalent to double clicking the first ten icons, and 1-9 and 0 with the shift key depressed to double click the next ten icons. The icons will always be counted row by row, starting with 1 in the upper left corner.
- Holding down the option key when using 0-9 & shift keys can be used to select the icons. Note: selecting an item twice using the option key is not equivalent to a double click. Hit the same number key without the option key for double clicks.
- Drag the window around using its "Title Bar". To move the window back to the lower left corner of the screen, use the "Default Window Position" item in the _Launch menu.
- The _Launch window can be made to be any size which fits on the screen. There is an invisible "size box" 4 pixels by 4 pixels in the lower right corner of the _Launch window. You can resize the window by dragging from this size box to the desired size. The window size is automatically calculated to an integral number of icons. You can also change the size by using the Resize Window option in the Window menu.
- The _Launch window's position and size will be saved in the _L_data upon quitting _Launch or choose Save Settings from the File menu to immediately save the data.
- There is a maximum of 32 icons which _Launch can handle. If you make the window so that more than 32 icons are selected, the remaining slots will be filled by plain black boxes. These are just taking space, they are not like empty slots, you cannot select them.
- If you don't like an icon, (or have two copies of an icon which you wish to distinguish) you can change it. Get Different B/W Icon in the _Launch menu brings up the standard dialog box asking for a file. Choose a file with at least one ICN# resource (the normal resource used for Finder icons). You cannot open a file without a resource fork or the System file. An alert box will tell you if you try to do this. If you pick a file which contains some icons, another dialog box will appear with a choice of all the ICN# resources in the selected file. This process is also not undoable. (NOTE: In release b1, only black & white icons can be changed using this menu item).
- To save some space on the desktop, the _Launch window can be closed using either the "close box" in the title bar or the Close Window item in the File menu. The window will reappear when the Open Window item in the File menu is selected.
- The _L_data file contains all the information about the installed applications, DA's, files, window location, etc. Therefore make sure it is on a read-write disk. WARNING: don't run multiple copies of _Launch off the same _L_data file. If you do this, there is a good chance that the _L_data file will get corrupted.
- If _Launch loses track of the _L_data file, i.e. you open it under a program like ResEdit or another _Launch program, all the icons will be displayed as big question marks. Don't worry! As soon as _Launch finds the file, all the icons will return to normal.
- If 32 icons are not enough, then run multiple copies of _Launch, making sure they are in different folders, neither of which can be the System Folder. If you run only one copy of _Launch, it can be run in the System Folder.
- To speed up the window updating, whenever an icon is read in from the _L_data file, it is "cached," remembered, by _Launch. Under most circumstances, this is great. However, the cache's contents might become corrupted so I have included a Clear Icon Cache option in the _Launch menu to totally clear all icons in the icon cache. After clearing the cache, the next window update will reload the cache.
HINT:
- I highly advise creating a copy of the _L_data file. If there is a lingering bug in _Launch, it may corrupt the _L_data file. By using the backup you won't have to reinstall all your applications, DA's, and files.
About the Author:
Lunarmobiscuit, affectionately "Luni" for short, is currently a Senior Math/CS major at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania waiting for the semester to end...
About the Shareware System:
No one would seriously go to a computer store, pick up the latest copy of _Launch, look at the $49.99 price tag, and buy the program (at least not too many). There is also no way that I would put up with a publisher, distributor, etc. Therefore, to make promote the greatest happiness I am offering _Launch through the Shareware, a.k.a. honor, system. Make as many copies as you wish and please distribute _Launch to all your friends. If you use the program, please write a check for $10 made out to Michael Libes and send it to: (NOTE: This is a different address than past versions)
Michael Libes
8 Gregory Drive
Montville, NJ 07045
Users groups are encouraged to distribute _Launch, as well as hard drive suppliers who usually include PD/Shareware with their drives. Any person or company has the right to distribute _Launch as long as they do not receive payment beyond duplication costs. All distribution must include this documentation unchanged.
Other software by Lunarmobiscuit:
My other MultiFinder is called Darkness. It is the first distributed MultiFinder screen saver. It is not an INIT, and it does no patching of ROM routines. Darkness is a very small faceless background task which watches the user's input, and darkens the screen if there is no input in a given time.
The standard "Blackout" program Darkness uses to darken the screen simply turns the screen black. If that is too boring, a friend of mine at Apple has written some others including Moire, Raindrops, Clock, and BounceBox. If you like to do things yourself, Darkness comes with THINK C and MPW source code to write your own "Blackout."
If you are interested in Darkness, send an additional $10 Shareware fee and I'll mail you out a disk with Darkness, the latest version of _Launch, and whatever other Shareware I like.
Changes in v3.0:
- _Launch now runs on IIci's and IIfx's, and in UniFinder.
- Many cosmetic changes were made in the menu items.
- There is now a menu item Launch/Install Application... which is equivalent to double-clicking.
- _Launch now works correctly with DA's in its heap zone.
- The "empty" slot icon has been changed.
- Install Desk Accessory works correctly.
- The Get Info dialog box is bigger in oder to show larger file names.
- _Launch now has new icons which better characterize the program.
- You can now start applications which have documents attached without opening those documents.
Changes in qc b1:
- The data base code has been rewritten. It is now 2-10x faster than v3.0
- Supports icl4 & icl8 color icons was added
- Icon editing has been removed
Changes in qc b2-5:
- Bugs were removed which seemed to stop all the random crashing.
Acknowledgments:
Many thanks to Andrew Welch, author of Black Box, for his idea of a Macintosh application dock. Also to Fred Reed, author of OnCue™ (OnCue™ is a trademark of IMI SoftWare), and whoever wrote QuicKeys™ (QuicKeys is a trademark of CE Software) since they opened the frontier to sublaunching.
I must also thank all the users of previous versions of _Launch for their support and comments which ultimately forced me to release qc.
