Plugins and Tools

Starting with version 1.107.01, LBC now has a way that users can share packs of 3d party commandline tools along with some pre-configured submenus, and use these as on-demand plugins.

Essentially, an .lbctool file tells LBC how to create new nodes or submenus -- typically ones that will invoke a 3d party tool that accompanies this file.

To share tool packs, simply zip up the commandline tool along with an accompanying .lbctool file and optionally a .txt menu definition file for other users.  They unpack the zip into their Tools subdirectory of LaunchBar Commander, and they can now add the tool nodes from the tree just like they add other node types.

An .lbctool file is a simple text file that tells LBC how to describe and configure a new node that the user will be able to create:

// Tool configuration for Launchbar Commander

// Format:

//  title =

//  app = precede with a < character if you want to run the app and grab contents for menu

//  params =

//  iconfile =

// Notes:

//  if title = - then it is a separator (no other values needed)

//   params and iconfile are optional

//  if iconfile is blank, the exe file icon will be used

//

// The following macros are available for exe and params

//  %THISDIR% - the directory this file is in

//  %APPDIR% - the directory where the program (Screenshot Captor) is run from

//  %APPDRIVE% - the drive (e.g. c:) where the program (Screenshot Captor) is run from

title = Most Recently Used Files

app = <%THISDIR%\MruCmd.exe

params = mrum

iconfile = %THISDIR%\MruCmd.ico

hint = Show various recently used documents

In this example, the MruCmd.exe commandline tool would be placed in the same subdirectory as this file, along with the MruCmd.ico icon file, for example:

C:\Program Files\LaunchBarCommander\Tools\Mru\

IMPORTANT:

The < character preceding the application name tells LBC that instead of a normal program to launch when a button is clicked, it should create a submenu whose contents are determined by the output of the commandline tool.

Your can also specify a .txt filename after the < instead of an executable filename, which tells LBC to create a submenu from the contents of a text file. See here for more info.