QuickLaunch Readme

QuickLaunch is a companion program for AppExec, although they can also both be used by themselves. The purpose of QuickLaunch should be quite obvious from the title: it allows you to launch applications quickly. VERY quickly. I can launch most of my applications within five seconds, and several within two seconds.

QuickLaunch sets up a shortcut in Windows so that every time you press CTRL-ALT-F12, the QuickLaunch dialog comes up. Once the dialog comes up, you can immediately begin to type in the name of the application you wish to launch. The listbox begins to scroll as you type, and will most likely stop on the application you want BEFORE you finish typing the name. You can either type out the entire name, or you can simply press enter once the correct application is highlighted. To launch my Buslink program, for instance, all I have to do is press CTRL-ALT-F12, type "bus" and press enter. And it takes all of one or two seconds to do. :-)

However, before you can use QuickLaunch, you must set up associations so that the program knows what to launch for every program that you type in. To do this, click "Associations..." on the main dialog. This takes you to the Associations dialog. You can add new associations (or shortcuts--the terms are rather synonymous in this context), remove associations that you no longer want, and edit the associations that you currently have.

If you have only downloaded QuickLaunch, you will have to manually add an association for each program you wish to open with QuickLaunch. However, if you have also downloaded AppExec, you don't have to. Simply set up the categories and shortcuts in AppExec the way you want, and then click "Import from AppExec" in the Associations dialog box. The program then auto-detects all of the AppExec shortcuts and lets you decide which ones to import. This makes setting up QuickLaunch very painless if you have already set up AppExec.

Here's a tip for faster launching of applications: use abbreviations. For instance, I have Paint Shop Pro on my system. Instead of making an association with the name "Paint Shop Pro" and have to type some or most of that out every time I wished to launch it, I could make the name "PSP." Then I would only ever have to type three letters to launch the application--very handy!

It is also HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you place a shortcut to QuickLaunch in your Startup folder so that QuickLaunch starts whenever you start your computer. To do this, open Windows Explorer and browse to wherever you unzipped QuickLaunch to (usually C:\AppExec). Right-click on QuickLaunch.exe and drag it to the Start menu under Programs->Startup.

One last note: if you would ever need to exit QuickLaunch for some reason (perhaps you are installing some new sofware and want to exit all of your other programs first), you can do this by pressing CTRL-ALT-SHIFT-F12.

QuickLaunch is freeware. In other words, it is free to anyone who desires to use it in their application, whether it be for personal or commercial usage. Any individual, organization or company who can afford to donate a small amount to compensate me for the time I spent on the project is certainly welcome to send any amount they deem appropriate, but payment is by no means required for the use of this program. In addition, QuickLaunch may be freely distributed. If you wish to put it on a disk or in a code library, though, I would appreciate a complimentary copy of your disk or library.

The Visual Basic source code is also freely and easily obtainable for further study or enhancement. If you do wish to modify the program and release the modified version, feel free to do so. You do not have to ask my permission, but it would be nice to notify me of your intentions beforehand. Note also that if you are planning to charge for your product, I would very much appreciate a complimentary copy of your product.

The only restriction on the use and distribution of this product is that you may not charge for an unmodified (or only marginally modified) version of this program or claim that you wrote it.

Enjoy!

Last modified: 01/04/04
Copyright (c) 2004 Michael Lam