launcher

Launcher

A portable program launcher designed for the Seanox Virtual Environment. It provides a full-screen, tile-based interface and can also be used independently.

The launcher is optimized for keyboard-based operation. Programs can be started with a small number of key presses, including via a global hotkey when the launcher is not visible.

Features

• Full-screen overlay interface
  Displayed on the primary screen.
• Tile-based user interface
  Up to 40 configurable tiles.
• Global hotkey
  Shows or hides the launcher.
• Hotkeys for tiles and programs
  Keyboard-optimized access, including support for international keyboard layouts.
• Automatic settings reload
  Configuration changes are applied immediately.
• Environment variable support
  Text-based configuration values can reference environment variables.
• Configurable visual appearance
  Colors, opacity, background image, and grid appearance can be adjusted.
• No taskbar or system tray integration
  The launcher runs in the background without adding icons to the shell.
  Termination can be configured via a tile.
• Portable application
  No installation required.

System Requirement

• Microsoft Windows 10 or higher
• Microsoft .NET 4.8.x or higher (for runtime)
• Microsoft .NET 4.8.x Developer Pack or higher (for development only)

Download

The launcher is part of the virtual environment but can also be downloaded and used separately.

https://github.com/seanox/virtual-environment/releases

Settings

Configuration is stored in a file named launcher.xml (based on the application name) in the working directory. If the file is missing or invalid, the launcher terminates with an error message.

Example configuration:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<settings>
    <!--
        General Information
        - Text values (not numeric / boolean) supported environment variables
        - Invalid or unset values use a defined default value
    -->

    <!-- Hot-key to show the launcher (decimal modifiers:virtual key code) -->
    <hotKey>1 + 27</hotKey>

    <!-- Cell size in pixels (height and width) -->
    <gridSize>99</gridSize>
    <!-- Distance between cells in pixels -->
    <gridGap>25</gridGap>
    <!-- Distance from the border in the cells in pixels -->
    <gridPadding>10</gridPadding>
    <!-- Radius for rounding the corners from the grid in pixels -->
    <gridCornerRadius>4</gridCornerRadius>

    <!-- Opacity of background in percents (100 - 0) -->
    <opacity>95</opacity>

    <!--
        BackgroundImage is optionally a path relative to the working directory.
        The image is centered and scaled to fit. If the image does not exist or
        it uses an unsupported format, the image will be ignored.
    -->
    <backgroundImage></backgroundImage>

    <!-- General background color -->
    <backgroundColor>#000000</backgroundColor>
    <!-- General foreground color -->
    <foregroundColor>#C8C8C8</foregroundColor>
    <!-- Border color from grid -->
    <borderColor>#313131</borderColor>
    <!-- Color for highlighting (e.g. navigation) -->
    <highlightColor>#FAB400</highlightColor>

    <!-- Font size in the tiles -->
    <fontSize>9.75</fontSize>

    <tiles>
        <tile>
            <!-- Number of the tile (1 - 40) -->
            <index>40</index>
            <!-- Application name and tile title -->
            <title>Detach</title>
            <!--
                Icon file, optionally with index separated by colon.
                Supports many image formats and icons in exe, dll, ... files.
            -->
            <icon>%WINDIR%\system32\shell32.dll:27</icon>
            <action>
              <!-- Path of the application file or `exit` to exit the launcher -->
              <destination>%PLATFORM_APP%</destination>
              <!-- Arguments for the program start -->
              <arguments>%HOMEDRIVE% detach</arguments>
              <!-- Working directory in which the application is executed -->
              <workingDirectory>%PLATFORM_HOME%</workingDirectory>
              <!-- 
                  Optionally, environment variables can be added for the action of
                  the tile. These also support the syntax of other environment
                  variables.
              -->
              <!--
              <environment>
                  <variable>
                      <name>USERPROFILE</name>
                      <value>%APPSSETTINGS%</value>
                  </variable>
                  <variable>
                      <name>PATH</name>
                      <value>%APPSPATH%\example;%PATH%</value>
                  </variable>
              </environment>
              -->
            </action>
        </tile>
        ...
    </tiles>
</settings>

Changes

1.3.0 20251230

BF: Launcher: Optimization and correction of system event handling
CR: Platform: Switch from cmd.exe to wt.exe (Windows Terminal)
CR: Launcher: Inversion of navigation with Shift has been removed
CR: Launcher: Refactoring for logical separation of tile and action

Read more