Shorter Launcher ver. 0.31

§ Summary

Shorter Launcher is a simple, nonresident popup launcher for Windows. Its aim is to be fast and consume minimal memory (like a regular context menu it quits when done).

§ Basics

I Starting

Shorter.exe and shorter.ini need to be in the same folder, please execute Shorter.exe. Shorter.ini is the settings file, it holds contents of the menu. Attached with your download is the file which the author uses, _Shorter.ini. Rename to shorter.ini, then execute shorter to see an example.

By starting Shorter launcher with a parameter, you can tell Shorter to use a different .ini. Create a shortcut to Shorter, rightclick and go to its properties, in the ‘Target’ box make it read:

Shorter.exe example.ini

Shorter Launcher is a nonresident launcher, it doesn't run continuously, but when a shortcut is made on the desktop, you can define a keyboard combination to start it at its properties again.

II Operation

• Selection of item in menu → starts application, launcher ends;
• Holding CTRL while selecting → opens the folder in which application resides;
• Holding SHIFT while selecting → starts application, launcher continues.

However, with Win98/ME and alike, when holding the SHIFT key, it seems that at times launcher still ends (depending on the way a started application takes the focus).

§ Settings

The default shorter.ini which the author uses probably will not be useful to everybody. By writing your own .ini, following rules below, you can create your own menu(s). It might look difficult at first sight, but look at the example and it will make sense.

§ Setting rules

• Blank spaces before or after a line are ignored; blank lines are too;
• Each entry/command has to be on one line;
• Each entry/command can have multiple parts, always separated with a horizontal line - ‘|’;
• Parts have a designated place, can often be omitted, just always have the right amount of separators/lines in between, so Shorter knows what is meant:
  

  Title | Executable file path/name
  Title | Executable file path/name | Options
  Title | Executable file path/name | Options | (Starting) directory
  Title | Executable file path/name | Options | (Starting) directory | Icon path/name

  Examples, showing a link to notepad with custom icon, and a command prompt starting at A:\ (the ‘%0’ is explained below in ‘Macro’ paragraph):

  &Notes | C:\windows\notepad.exe ||| %0\pifmgr.dll,18

  &Disk prompt | %0\cmd.exe || A:\ | %0\shell32.dll,6

• When, instead of an executable file, a different filetype is stated, it's executed with the program you have attached to that filetype (as would happen when you click that file in explorer). Additionally, email links and URL's can be specified:

  &Shorter | http://hp.vector.co.jp/authors/VA037869/
  &Yhatley | mailto:t29y0582@hotmail.com

• For the icon part, you have to include path and name to the .ico file. You can, additionally, point to icon files inside .cpl, .exe, .dll files etc. For this, set path/name of the file. If it's the first icon inside, you're done, but you can add a comma, and then specify a number (taking into account the first icon inside = 0, the 19th icon inside pifmgr.dll should be specified as pifmgr.dll,18);
• In the ‘Title’ part, using an ‘ampersand’ - & - will make the character right after it be underlined and handled as the shortcutting key. So, when that character key is pushed on keyboard, the item is selected directly, and executed.
• If no starting directory is specified, but needed, the place of the Shorter executable file is used by default.
• You can't start a title with these characters: [ ] - = @ ; %

◊ Submenu’s

A submenu is started on a new line, with ‘[’. Directly after, you write the title of the menu, on new lines, menu items. Another new line, only reading ‘]’ ends the (sub)menu.

It's possible to nest menu’s, create a submenu within another menu.

◊ Separators

Add a new line ‘-----’ to create a horizontal separator;
Add a new line ‘=====’ to create a vertical separator.

Actually, if a new line’s first character is ‘-’ or ‘=’, Shorter stops reading anything else on that line.

◊ General options

Shorter launcher behavior can be defined more finely with some general settings. These lines are always started with ‘@’. Details in next section.

<Display position setting>

@x

@y

@mouse

@center

<Icon display option>

@icon

<Directory command setting>

@dircmd

@diropt

<Diamond cursor option>

@cursor

◊ Comments

Any line started with a semicolon - ‘;’ - is ignored by Shorter and (considered) a comment.

◊ Macro’s

You can set up lines starting with a percentage sign plus number as ‘Macro’ (%0 to %9). Add a space, then anything you repeatedly use in commands, so you can refer to with only ‘%#’, like:

%0 c:\windows\system32
%1 c:\windows
%2 c:\program files

&Notepad | %1\notepad.exe ||| %0\pifmgr.dll,18
&Wordpad | %2\Windows NT\Accessories\wordpad.exe

* When you need to use a percentage sign in any other way, like in the ‘Options’ part as part of a parameter, please substitute with ‘%%’ (to prevent it from being read as being a macro line).

§ General options details

I Display position setting

By default the menu is displayed in topleft corner. Use these lines to change position of display.

II Icon display option:

Adding the line ‘@icon’ makes Shorter display icons in front of entries. When content of .ini is first processed, or any changes to the .ini are made, display is a bit slow. A cash file (extension .si) is being made, to speed up display afterwards. However, setting with no icons is still a bit faster.

III Directory command setting

If you hold the CTRL key while selecting an item, you open the folder in which the (executable) file resides. By default it's being opened with explorer, but it's possible to set the program in which the folder is opened, by setting the option below.

@dircmd program path/name
@diropt options

This is executed like this: <The program> <Options> "<Folder path>"

IV Diamond cursor, or Emacs-like cursor

Adding the line ‘@cursor’ makes it possible to move selection within menu's with CTRL [^] + character keys. This mimics what is known as ‘diamond cursor’ within Emacs:

§ Uninstallation

Just delete the folder and files you extracted, additionally delete the .si file(s) created by the program. No use is being made of the registry.

§ Version history

Version 0.31

* Bugfix: keyboard movement corrected.

Version 0.30

* Macro function added;

* ‘Diamond cursor’ movement now optional;

* And, when using diamond cursor, in place of [^m], SPACE key is now made to act like ENTER key;

* Improvement in speed of taking focus;

* Changed programmatical method of application from SW_SHOW to SW_SHOWNORMAL;

* Bugfix regarding the ‘|’ and Chinese characters;

* Icon settings can now point to files with multiple icons.

Version 0.24

* Holding CTRL key while selecting an item will now open the folder which has the (executable) file;

* Icon display now optional.

Version 0.23

* Bugfix: opening of .lnk files corrected.

Version 0.21

the bug where vertical separator appointment immediately before 0.21 * sub menu does not operate just correction

Version 0.20

* Icon display added;

* Bugfix: 2byte character correction.

Version 0.15

* Holding the SHIFT key while selecting an entry will continue Shorter to be displayed;

* Bugfix: strange behavior when there's error(s) in .ini file corrected.

Version 0.1

* Initial release.