Jump to content


My project, A-Z Freeware Launcher, finally released


16 replies to this topic

#1 OFFLINE   razz

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 460 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Ontario, Canada
  • Interests:Poker, other card games, chess and fidling with my computer.

Posted 19 November 2008 - 04:14 PM

Well, I finally completed my project - A-Z Freeware Launcher. Naturally this version is not written in stone and can never be changed, so if anyone who decides to take it for a run have any suggestions for improvement, then please let me know. Any comments you may have (positive or negative) will be greatly appreciated. Your positive comments will make me feel good that I have created something useful and your negative comments will help me improve the product in future versions.

It should be noted that this version includes detailed text to help the less experienced user. The text guides the user as to what I consider to be useful practices and also provides information on each application that A-Z Freeware Launcher supplies links to. In the near future I will issue a Pro version which will be the exact same program but without a lot of the text. In other words, some pages will be tidier due to not displaying text.

For anyone who is interested in more information or to download, please click the following URL: http://cash2u2.com/page3.html

I sincerely hope that some of you may find my program useful.

#2 OFFLINE   DennisD

    Just another volunteer

  • Moderators
  • 7,932 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:England: NE Coast

Posted 19 November 2008 - 04:20 PM

Razz, I'm well impressed with your first attempt at writing and putting a program together.

It downloaded and ran without a hitch, and has some good advice and reminders for anyone who doesn't carry out regular maintenance on their PC, as well as suggestions for useful software they may not be aware of.

Well done. :)

#3 OFFLINE   razz

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 460 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Ontario, Canada
  • Interests:Poker, other card games, chess and fidling with my computer.

Posted 19 November 2008 - 04:25 PM

View PostDennisD, on Nov 19 2008, 11:20 AM, said:

Razz, I'm well impressed with your first attempt at writing and putting a program together.

It downloaded and ran without a hitch, and has some good advice and reminders for anyone who doesn't carry out regular maintenance on their PC, as well as suggestions for useful software they may not be aware of.

Well done. :)
Well thank you very much DennisD for the positive review and your kind words, I really appreciate it! I hope others will find it equally as useful.

#4 OFFLINE   YoKenny

    Super Power User

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPipPip
  • 2,874 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Oshawa, Ont. Canada
  • Interests:Helping people get rid of malware on their systems then showing them how not to get re-infected again

Posted 19 November 2008 - 06:25 PM

It is quite impressive and I have a couple of requests.

1. The READ ME FIRST.txt is a bit wide unless I use Word Wrap which I don't like as I like to see the Ln and Col information in the Status Bar

2. For some reason I do not have "Send To" and then click on "Desktop" available on my XP Home system.

This might be a bit harder to implement:
3. Many of the utilities do not come with an install interface and are just .zip files that have to be un-zipped and usually they go into their own Folder with the name of the zip file.

I wish there was an easy way to get them to un-zip into C:\Program Files\Various Applications

I hope you understand what I mean.
"Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school." - Albert Einstein
IE7Pro user

#5 OFFLINE   hazelnut

    try to stay calm

  • Moderators
  • 9,461 posts
  • Gender:Female
  • Location:Huddersfield uk

Posted 19 November 2008 - 07:02 PM

Kenny if it's just the send to desktop bit you are missing line 348 on kelly's Korner

http://www.kellys-ko...m/xp_tweaks.htm

or Doug Knox under xp fixes
http://www.dougknox.com/
CCLEANER, RECUVA, DEFRAGGLER AND SPECCY DOCUMENTATION CAN BE FOUND HERE

http://www.piriform.com/docs

#6 OFFLINE   Talldog9

    Power Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPip
  • 546 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Newport, KY

Posted 19 November 2008 - 09:29 PM

View PostYoKenny, on Nov 19 2008, 01:25 PM, said:

3. Many of the utilities do not come with an install interface and are just .zip files that have to be un-zipped and usually they go into their own Folder with the name of the zip file.

I wish there was an easy way to get them to un-zip into C:\Program Files\Various Applications
With 7zip installed, you can save the following to a batch file and copy it to your c:\documents and settings\*\sendto\ folder.

"C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe" e %1 -o"C:\Program Files\Various Applications\"

EDIT: Oh, I believe you mean in the Launcher. Or do you?
The internet - Where men are men, women are men and children are FBI agents.

#7 OFFLINE   Andavari

    Captain Spectacular

  • Moderators
  • 13,330 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Shadow Moses

Posted 19 November 2008 - 10:07 PM

Or NirSoft ZipInstaller, but I don't know if it works with non-NirSoft software.
Complexity of incoherent design.

#8 OFFLINE   YoKenny

    Super Power User

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPipPip
  • 2,874 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Oshawa, Ont. Canada
  • Interests:Helping people get rid of malware on their systems then showing them how not to get re-infected again

Posted 19 November 2008 - 11:19 PM

View Posthazelnut, on Nov 19 2008, 02:02 PM, said:

Kenny if it's just the send to desktop bit you are missing line 348 on kelly's Korner

http://www.kellys-ko...m/xp_tweaks.htm

or Doug Knox under xp fixes
http://www.dougknox.com/
That was it but I could not remember where I got it from.

Thank you.

My brain hurts! I had a few wobbly pops yesterday.

I am copying the utilities I want over into the C:\Program Files\Various Applications Folder.
"Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school." - Albert Einstein
IE7Pro user

#9 OFFLINE   Tom AZ

    Power Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPip
  • 941 posts
  • Location:Scottsdale, AZ USA

Posted 19 November 2008 - 11:33 PM

View Posthazelnut, on Nov 19 2008, 07:02 PM, said:

send to desktop
How do you use (or access) "send to desktop"? Is that a right-click function?

#10 OFFLINE   Andavari

    Captain Spectacular

  • Moderators
  • 13,330 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Shadow Moses

Posted 20 November 2008 - 12:31 AM

View PostTom AZ, on Nov 19 2008, 05:33 PM, said:

How do you use (or access) "send to desktop"? Is that a right-click function?
Yes, it's in the right click menu as this: Send To->Desktop (create shortcut)
Complexity of incoherent design.

#11 OFFLINE   davey

    Keep it simple !

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPipPip
  • 2,235 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Maryland U.S.A.

Posted 20 November 2008 - 01:12 AM

View Postrazz, on Nov 19 2008, 11:14 AM, said:

Well, I finally completed my project - A-Z Freeware Launcher. Naturally this version is not written in stone and can never be changed, so if anyone who decides to take it for a run have any suggestions for improvement, then please let me know.
I sincerely hope that some of you may find my program useful.
Hi Razz,
Initial test results on my WinXP Pro SP3 with all .net Framework versions and service packs.
I can not exit any window other than what you call the Main Console without the program staying in memory.
I can only end the process with Task Manager.
Some windows will only show the upper half of the Main Console button. The lower half is covered by the Taskbar. My taskbar is set to always be on top.
Please don't delete too much of your text for the sake of "professional" tidiness.
Best wishes,
:) davey

#12 OFFLINE   Jamin4u

    Pirum Forma Volunteer

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPip
  • 539 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Michigan

Posted 20 November 2008 - 01:40 AM

Will this run on Vista?

#13 OFFLINE   DJpailo

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 308 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:United Kingdom

Posted 20 November 2008 - 05:15 PM

Very useful programme but I must say I don't like the UI but nonetheless this will come in handy :)

#14 OFFLINE   razz

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 460 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Ontario, Canada
  • Interests:Poker, other card games, chess and fidling with my computer.

Posted 20 November 2008 - 07:06 PM

View PostJamin4u, on Nov 19 2008, 08:40 PM, said:

Will this run on Vista?
Yes it will. Vista comes with .Net Framework 2.0 (which is required for AZFL to run) pre-installed.

#15 OFFLINE   razz

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 460 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Ontario, Canada
  • Interests:Poker, other card games, chess and fidling with my computer.

Posted 20 November 2008 - 07:12 PM

View PostYoKenny, on Nov 19 2008, 01:25 PM, said:

1. The READ ME FIRST.txt is a bit wide unless I use Word Wrap which I don't like as I like to see the Ln and Col information in the Status Bar
YoKenny, I believe you are referring to the "Info" page. I will try to narrow the table in a future version to be more accomodating for non-widescreen monitors. Thank you for your comments.

#16 OFFLINE   razz

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 460 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Ontario, Canada
  • Interests:Poker, other card games, chess and fidling with my computer.

Posted 20 November 2008 - 07:17 PM

View PostDJpailo, on Nov 20 2008, 12:15 PM, said:

Very useful programme but I must say I don't like the UI but nonetheless this will come in handy :)
I'm glad you will find it handy. That was my main reason for creating the program - I wanted all my handy programs to be controlled from one console. Sorry you don't like the GUI. Is it the color or layout you don't like?

#17 OFFLINE   razz

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 460 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Ontario, Canada
  • Interests:Poker, other card games, chess and fidling with my computer.

Posted 20 November 2008 - 07:37 PM

View Postdavey, on Nov 19 2008, 08:12 PM, said:

Hi Razz,
Initial test results on my WinXP Pro SP3 with all .net Framework versions and service packs.
I can not exit any window other than what you call the Main Console without the program staying in memory.
I can only end the process with Task Manager.
Hi Davey. I had not noticed what you mentioned about memory. I will look into that. Thank you for bringing it up.

Quote

Some windows will only show the upper half of the Main Console button. The lower half is covered by the Taskbar. My taskbar is set to always be on top.
I gather that you encounter this issue only on the "Info" page. I will deall with this in a future version.

Quote

Please don't delete too much of your text for the sake of "professional" tidiness.
You may have a point - I am not sure how other in-the-know users would feel about this issue. My thought was that perhaps users who are very familiar with computers and various applications would prefer to just have the bare bones of what AZFL does - i.e. link to programs without most of the text.

Thanks for your comments.