10+ suggestions to make FARR the most interesting launcher

[electronixtar]

Hi everyone  I used to be a launchy 2.0 user now I am switching to FARR. FARR is one of the best & most customizable launch programs :-) I recommend it to lots of my friends   

Here's some of my suggestions. I quite n00b to FARR so if any of these were actually implemented by plug-ins, reply me. Thanks!

1. Simplify settings & options UI like launchy. In fact users do not care what a path's  score is. Just keep it simple and stupid.   It'll be never better if you could get hands on FARR without even reading the manual
2. Index registry "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths" so Launchy acts exactly as Win+R
3. Support indexing Google Bookmarks, Live bookmarks, Del.icio.us bookmarks
4. Support Opensearch like firefox do.(Something like Google Suggest) The AJAX drop down list is really cool.
5. I strongly recommand "launchy"-like two-column UI design. On the left you type command, the right display program name, the middle display an icon. The advantage of this is, you can type 1+1 on the left while display 2 on the right. Another example: Left for word input right for spell check or dictionay? LOL.
6. Now the most intersting part, if user's input matches a file, and a icon appears, display Explorer menu when right click the icon.  :-)
7. When a exact file/folder matches, support drag & drop operations compatible with Explorer. e.g. I type C:\Tools\Notepad.exe and then drag 1.txt from desktop to FARR so FARR launch 1.txt with  C:\Tools\Notepad.exe :-)
8. Index IE, Firefox, Opera history URL's & Webpage title
9. Options for store settings in Registry, .ini in %APPDATA% and in FARR directory to make FARR "portable"
10. An "Apply" & "Cancel" button in Options window so if a user tweak something wrong, he could just click Cancel.
11. i18n UI please :-)
12. Another i18n consideration. Suppose I am a Chinese user, I wanna match "你好.txt" typing "ni hao" or "ni h" or "n hao". You can launchy an i18n file/app without actually switching IME!
13. I strongly disagree using Ctrl+Space as the default FARR toggle hotkey cauz many CJK Windows use Ctrl+Space as default hotkey for IME switching
14. Something like weby in launchy, But provide more variables, %s for ANSI escaped keyword, %us for UTF-8 escaped keyword
15. Tab, Tab and Tab. Use the tab key more. e.g. "wikipedia TAB Donationcoder" opens http://en.wikipedia....g/wiki/Donationcoder. I think Tab is much better than space. Using space to separate parameters u have to worry the existing space in a parameter and use double quotes wrap a parameter, and Tab could avoid this

update:
16. How about store indexed file/folders in a SQLite database? So 3rd party tools could easily add entries to the list?
17. FARR UI will froze when doing network query. Hmm. May be display a "loading" and start a new background thread query will be nicer?
18. Support environment variables internally. Though a plugin could do this but envrionment is far too important.


That's as far as I could think of. FARR the coolest! Thank you Mouser & DonationCoder community!

[Armando]

Did you give farr some time ? most of your suggestions are already implemented in some ways.


[edit :  yes, it seems slightly impolite or defensive. Sorry about that.]


>1. Simplify settings & options UI like launchy. In fact users do not care what a path's  score is. So K.I.S.S ? LOL

There's already a beginner UI mode. I personally care about path score... Although the K.I.S.S. philopsophy is good at times, it's also good to be able to configure a software to your liking.

>2. Index registry "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths" so Launchy acts exactly as Win+R

farr already looks in all the right places so I wonder what positive change would that make. Could be interesting to implement... don,t know.

>3. Support indexing Google Bookmarks, Live bookmarks, Del.icio.us bookmarks

Did you look at the addons ? I don't use these , but Del.icio.us bookmarks are "supported"

>4. Support Opensearch like firefox do.(Something like Google Suggest)

There are already some plugins doing similar things.

>5. I strongly recommand "launchy"-like two-column UI design. On the left you type command, the right display program name, the middle display an icon. The advantage of this is, you can type 1+1 on the left while display 2 on the right. Another example: Left for word input right for spell check or dictionay? LOL.

I personally very much prefer farr's UI : you can see more info at once (creation date, path, etc.), not to mention, more results, if you wish. Much more precise. To browse directories, it's more convenient.

>6. Now the most intersting part, if user's input matches a file, and a icon appears, display Explorer menu when right click the icon.  :-)

This is already the case & more. Have you tried it?

>7. When a exact file/folder matches, support drag & drop operations compatible with Explorer. e.g. I type C:\Tools\Notepad.exe and then drag 1.txt from desktop to FARR so FARR launch 1.txt with notepad.exe :-)

Some of that can be achieved. But can't you just double click on your txt file ????

>8. Index IE, Firefox, Opera history URL's & Webpage title

Much of that can already be achieved through addons, and just plain configuration.

>9. Options for store settings in Registry, .ini in %APPDATA% and in FARR directory to make FARR "portable"

Settings are already strore in an ini file in farr's directory.  I don't know how portable it is though as I've never tried it on different machines.

>13. I strongly disagree using Ctrl+Space as the default FARR toggle hotkey cauz many CJK Windows use Ctrl+Space as default hotkey for IME switching

All hotkeys are customizable. IIRC Ctrl+space is the default toggle hotkey in many launchers (like Quicksilver).

[steeladept]

>9. Options for store settings in Registry, .ini in %APPDATA% and in FARR directory to make FARR "portable"

Settings are already strore in an ini file in farr's directory.  I don't know how portable it is though as I've never tried it on different machines.

-Armando (May 26, 2008, 08:45 PM)

I agree with Armando on the parts I know about, but as far as portability is concerned, ALL of mouser's software (at least that I use) is 100% portable.  In fact, I can easily add all his apps to my PortableApps launcher by creating a folder and unzipping the file into it.  There is no need to install, using the installer is basically unzipping to a predefined area anyway from what I can tell, and there is no need to configure anything special.  The only issue I ran into (and fixed quickly) is to get the PortableFARR to recognize the files on the USB.

Before I go much further with this, you must understand my Portable setup.  I have a tiny part of my USB with TrueCrypt and some Alpha version AutoHotKey scripts that autoload my TrueCrypt containers into predefined drives.  One of the scripts asks me for my password, which then gets passed to TrueCrypt which loads my "favorites" and applies the password to them.  This way they automatically mount to (in my case) the I: and J: drives for different things.  This keeps all my files safely encrypted yet completely available.

Now to make FARR automatically find the files on the USB, I just define custom paths to I:\ and J:\.  These are guaranteed to be available as they need to be mounted before FARR is available, so it works as long as my AutoHotKey scripts work.

Unfortunately, the scripts are still in Alpha, as they don't always work as intended.  As I find time, I will put more work into them and pass them on to others through DC.

[sri]

electronixtar: Though not all, I've addressed some of your points in my blog post.

[mouser]

The first thing to say when reading a post like electronixtar's is: Thank You for taking the time to prepare such a list. 

Now we need to figure out which ideas are the best ones to put on the todo list.

[Josh]

I think the number one suggestion should be changed to "The name of the launcher itself"

But seriously, great list. There are some really good ideas. Let me scrub through it again and I will modify this post to include which ones I think should be added to the ToDo list so we can get a running tally from users going!

On that note, 1300 posts!

[Armando]

yes, you're right mouser. It's a nice list electronixtar.

[electronixtar]

I think the number one suggestion should be changed to "The name of the launcher itself"

-Josh (May 26, 2008, 10:41 PM)

haha. It's really reasonable to change such a geeky name to a more simple one.

yes, you're right mouser. It's a nice list electronixtar.

-Armando (May 26, 2008, 10:44 PM)

It's all right. I am indeed little arbitrary on my post. After some FAQ & Googled some tips around I found some of my problems are already solved.

It's really an active community to see so many replies. FARR the best

But still, it's pretty sorry that FARR do not index files. I mainly use FARR to launchy 100+ .chm .pdf ebooks, cheatsheets, manuals, etc. located on various volumes & samba servers.

But scanning is yet another problem, like launchy sometimes costs me 90MB memory & burn my CPU to 90°C

How about store indexed file/folders in a SQLite database? So 3rd party tools could easily add entries to the list?

[electronixtar]

>2. Index registry "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths" so Launchy acts exactly as Win+R

farr already looks in all the right places so I wonder what positive change would that make. Could be interesting to implement... don,t know.

-Armando (May 26, 2008, 08:45 PM)

e.g. Win+R could do things like:
winrar
winword
excel
mspaint/pbrush

etc.
The registry there was like a alias. Pbrush is alias for mspaint.exe

>3. Support indexing Google Bookmarks, Live bookmarks, Del.icio.us bookmarks

Did you look at the addons ? I don't use these , but Del.icio.us bookmarks are "supported"

You are right  The plugin is really cool!

>4. Support Opensearch like firefox do.(Something like Google Suggest)

There are already some plugins doing similar things.

But no plugin doing the exact thing  The C# version Google Suggest turned out an .NET error on my Server 2008+IE8beta PC. It's a .dll & difficult to modify. A js/python script would be  easier to MOD 

But FARR UI will froze when doing network query. Hmm. May be prompt a "loading" and start a new background thread query will be nicer?

>5. I strongly recommand "launchy"-like two-column UI design. On the left you type command, the right display program name, the middle display an icon. The advantage of this is, you can type 1+1 on the left while display 2 on the right. Another example: Left for word input right for spell check or dictionay? LOL.

I personally very much prefer farr's UI : you can see more info at once (creation date, path, etc.), not to mention, more results, if you wish. Much more precise. To browse directories, it's more convenient.

On a second thought, I agree with you 

>6. Now the most intersting part, if user's input matches a file, and a icon appears, display Explorer menu when right click the icon.  :-)

This is already the case & more. Have you tried it?

Sorry. but I learned this now.  FARR really rocks

>7. When a exact file/folder matches, support drag & drop operations compatible with Explorer. e.g. I type C:\Tools\Notepad.exe and then drag 1.txt from desktop to FARR so FARR launch 1.txt with notepad.exe :-)

Some of that can be achieved. But can't you just double click on your txt file ????

This is replacement for "Open With". I'd like FARR to replace most explorer usage 

>8. Index IE, Firefox, Opera history URL's & Webpage title

Much of that can already be achieved through addons, and just plain configuration.

Got it :-)

>9. Options for store settings in Registry, .ini in %APPDATA% and in FARR directory to make FARR "portable"

Settings are already strore in an ini file in farr's directory.  I don't know how portable it is though as I've never tried it on different machines.

OK. What's the .ini filename? I didn't find it

[Select]

Folder PATH listing for volume SOFT
Volume serial number is 006F0062 C82C:F87A
D:.
│  CloseApp.dll
│  CloseApp2.dll
│  DonationCoderPostReadme.txt
│  FindAndRunRobot.chm
│  FindAndRunRobot.dcupdate
│  FindAndRunRobot.dcupdateredirect
│  FindAndRunRobot.exe
│  quickdoclauncher.exe
│  Visit Homepage at DonationCoder.com.url
│  DonationCoder_findrunrobot_InstallInfo.dat
│  1.txt
│ 
├─AliasGroups
│  ├─Disabled
│  ├─Installed
│  │  └─Core_Aliases
│  │      │  Core-Farr.alias
│  │      │  Core-Farr.ico
│  │      │  Core-Helpers.alias
│  │      │  Core-Helpers.ico
│  │      │  Core-Internet.alias
│  │      │  Core-Internet.ico
│  │      │  Core-Linguistics.alias
│  │      │  Core-Linguistics.ico
│  │      │  Core-Misc.alias
│  │      │  Core-Misc.ico
│  │      │  Core-News.alias
│  │      │  Core-News.ico
│  │      │  Core-Search.alias
│  │      │  Core-Search.ico
│  │      │  Core-Shopping.alias
│  │      │  Core-Shopping.ico
│  │      │  Core-SysUtils.alias
│  │      │  Core-SysUtils.ico
│  │      │  Core-Websites.alias
│  │      │  Core-Websites.ico
│  │      │  myaliases.ico
│  │      │ 
│  │      └─icons
│  │          │  a9.ico
│  │          │  allmusic.ico
│  │          │  alltheweb.ico
│  │          │  altavista.ico
│  │          │  amazon.ico
│  │          │  answers.ico
│  │          │  artistdirect.ico
│  │          │  ask.ico
│  │          │  bartleby.ico
│  │          │  bbc.ico
│  │          │  betanews.ico
│  │          │  brainboost.ico
│  │          │  britannica.ico
│  │          │  bugmenot.ico
│  │          │  clusty.ico
│  │          │  creatas.ico
│  │          │  dict.ico
│  │          │  discogs.ico
│  │          │  donationcoder.ico
│  │          │  downloadcom.ico
│  │          │  ebay.ico
│  │          │  encarta.ico
│  │          │  encyclopedia.ico
│  │          │  filext.ico
│  │          │  file_ext_seeker.ico
│  │          │  flickr.ico
│  │          │  freefoto.ico
│  │          │  freethesaurus.ico
│  │          │  futef.ico
│  │          │  gemm.ico
│  │          │  google.ico
│  │          │  imdb.ico
│  │          │  m-w.ico
│  │          │  mininova.ico
│  │          │  msn.ico
│  │          │  nasa.ico
│  │          │  newegg.ico
│  │          │  omgili.ico
│  │          │  onelook.ico
│  │          │  oxford.ico
│  │          │  picsearch.ico
│  │          │  reference.ico
│  │          │  s9.ico
│  │          │  searchbittorrent.ico
│  │          │  snapfiles.ico
│  │          │  technorati.ico
│  │          │  thefreedictionary.ico
│  │          │  thepiratebay.ico
│  │          │  tigerdirect.ico
│  │          │  torrentspy.ico
│  │          │  torrentz.ico
│  │          │  ttyphoon.ico
│  │          │  tucows.ico
│  │          │  webshots.ico
│  │          │  wikipedia.ico
│  │          │  wikiseek.ico
│  │          │  wordnet.ico
│  │          │  wordweb.ico
│  │          │  yahoo.ico
│  │          │  yourdictionary.ico
│  │          │  youtube.ico
│  │          │  yubnub.ico
│  │          │ 
│  │          └─farr
│  │                  core-helpers_notes.ico
│  │                  core-internet_email.ico
│  │                  core-internet_www.ico
│  │                  core-misc_paste.ico
│  │                  core-sysutils_run.ico
│  │                 
│  └─MyCustom
├─BackupIni
│      README.txt
│     
├─Helpers
│      AddNote.exe
│      mynotes.txt.bak
│      mynotes.txt
│     
├─Plugins
│  ├─DataGenerator
│  │      DataGenerator.dcupdate
│  │      DataGenerator.ico
│  │     
│  ├─ExternalSearch
│  │      ExternalSearch.dcupdate
│  │      ExternalSearch.ico
│  │      readme.txt
│  │     
│  ├─FarrFox
│  │      FarrFox.dcupdate
│  │      firefox.ico
│  │     
│  ├─FarrLocate32
│  │      FarrLocate32.dcupdate
│  │      Locate32.ico
│  │     
│  ├─FarrUninstall
│  │      FarrUninstall.dcupdate
│  │      FarrUninstall.ico
│  │     
│  ├─FCalc
│  │      FCalc.dcupdate
│  │      FCalc.ico
│  │     
│  ├─KlipKeeper
│  │      KlipKeeper.dcupdate
│  │      KlipKeeperNormal.ico
│  │     
│  ├─NWConnect
│  │      nwconn.ico
│  │      NWConnect.dcupdate
│  │      NWConnectionPlugin.dll
│  │      ReadMe.txt
│  │      NWConnectionPlugin.cfi
│  │     
│  ├─PrinterList
│  │      printer.ico
│  │      PrinterList.dcupdate
│  │     
│  ├─ProcessKill
│  │      process.ico
│  │      ProcessKilllPlugin.dcupdate
│  │     
│  ├─SendMessage
│  │      SendMessage.dcupdate
│  │      SendMessage.ico
│  │     
│  ├─ServiceCtrl
│  │      ServiceCtrlPlugin.dcupdate
│  │      service_running.ico
│  │     
│  ├─FARREnviormentVariables
│  │      farrtunes.ico
│  │      FARREnviormentVariables.dcupdate
│  │      FARREnviormentVariables.dll
│  │      FARREnviormentVariables.pdb
│  │      FARREnviormentVariables.xml
│  │      FARREnviormentVariablesRCW.cfi
│  │      FARREnviormentVariablesRCW.dll
│  │     
│  ├─FScript
│  │      FScript.cfi
│  │      FScript.dll
│  │      FScript.ico
│  │      fscript.js
│  │      options.xml
│  │      the_fingers_in_the_nose_guide_to_build_javascript_plugin_for_farr.txt
│  │     
│  ├─FARRGoogleSuggest
│  │      FarrGoogleSuggest.dll
│  │      FarrGoogleSuggest.pdb
│  │      FARRGoogleSuggestRCW.cfi
│  │      FARRGoogleSuggestRCW.dll
│  │      google.ico
│  │     
│  ├─FCalc_v_d
│  │      FCalc.cfi
│  │      FCalc.dcupdate
│  │      FCalc.dll
│  │      FCalc.ico
│  │      README.txt
│  │     
│  ├─Timer
│  │      archive.txt
│  │      favicon.ico
│  │      form.htm
│  │      FScript.cfi
│  │      FScript.dll
│  │      fscript.js
│  │      presetalarams.txt
│  │      settings.json
│  │      Timer.dcupdate
│  │      timer.txt
│  │     
│  ├─Console
│  │      Console.dcupdate
│  │      favicon.ico
│  │      FScript.cfi
│  │      FScript.dll
│  │      fscript.js
│  │     
│  ├─nircmd
│  │  │  nircmd.alias
│  │  │  nircmd.alias.bak
│  │  │  nircmd.alias.bak~
│  │  │  nircmd.alias~
│  │  │  NirCmd.chm
│  │  │  nircmd.exe
│  │  │  nircmdc.exe
│  │  │ 
│  │  └─nircmd_icons
│  │          lock.ico
│  │          logoff.ico
│  │          monitor.ico
│  │          restart.ico
│  │          screensaver.ico
│  │          soundmute.ico
│  │          soundvol.ico
│  │          standby.ico
│  │          turnoff.ico
│  │         
│  ├─delicious
│  │      delicious.alias
│  │      delicious.dcupdate
│  │      Delicious.ico
│  │      FScript.cfi
│  │      FScript.dll
│  │      fscript.js
│  │      options.xml
│  │      posts.xml
│  │      readme.txt
│  │      tags.xml
│  │     
│  └─Gcal_quicadd
│          FScript.cfi
│          FScript.dll
│          fscript.js
│          Gcal_quicadd.dcupdate
│          icon.ico
│          options.xml
│         
├─Scripts
│  ├─Control Panel (cpanel)
│  │      Accessibility Options (cpanel).lnk
│  │      Add Hardware (cpanel).lnk
│  │      Add or Remove Programs (cpanel).lnk
│  │      Administrative Tools (cpanel).lnk
│  │      Automatic Updates (cpanel).lnk
│  │      Date and Time (cpanel).lnk
│  │      Display (cpanel).lnk
│  │      Folder Options (cpanel).lnk
│  │      Fonts (cpanel).lnk
│  │      Game Controllers (cpanel).lnk
│  │      Internet Options (cpanel).lnk
│  │      Keyboard (cpanel).lnk
│  │      Mouse (cpanel).lnk
│  │      Network Connections (cpanel).lnk
│  │      Network Setup Wizard (cpanel).lnk
│  │      Phone and Modem Options (cpanel).lnk
│  │      Portable Media Devices (cpanel).lnk
│  │      Power Options (cpanel).lnk
│  │      Printers and Faxes (cpanel).lnk
│  │      Regional and Language Options (cpanel).lnk
│  │      Scanners and Cameras (cpanel).lnk
│  │      Scheduled Tasks (cpanel).lnk
│  │      Security Center (cpanel).lnk
│  │      Sounds and Audio Devices (cpanel).lnk
│  │      Speech (cpanel).lnk
│  │      System (cpanel).lnk
│  │      Taskbar and Start Menu (cpanel).lnk
│  │      User Accounts (cpanel).lnk
│  │      Windows Firewall (cpanel).lnk
│  │      Wireless Network Setup Wizard (cpanel).lnk
│  │     
│  └─Special Folders (goto)
│          Control Panel (goto).lnk
│          My Computer (goto).lnk
│          My Documents (goto).lnk
│          My Music (goto).lnk
│          My Network Places (goto).lnk
│          My Pictures (goto).lnk
│          Recycle Bin (goto).lnk
│         
├─Skins
│      ClearLooks-BLUE.skn
│      ClearLooks-HUMAN.skn
│      hamradio03b.skn
│      hamradio04.skn
│      iTunes.skn
│      LE4-BLACKC.skn
│      LE4-DEFAULT.skn
│      Longhorn Slate-Plex-SLATE.skn
│      Luna (Longhorn Revolution)-BLUE.skn
│      Luna (Longhorn Revolution)-HOMESTEAD.skn
│      Luna (Longhorn Revolution)-METALLIC.skn
│      Luna (Longhorn Revolution)-NEON.skn
│      luna-BLUE.skn
│      luna-HOMESTEAD.skn
│      luna-METALLIC.skn
│      Mollis-BLUE.skn
│      MSN.skn
│      mxp05.skn
│      mxp2.skn
│      mxskin03.skn
│      mxskin10.skn
│      mxskin11.skn
│      mxskin13.skn
│      mxskin14.skn
│      mxskin18.skn
│      mxskin19.skn
│      mxskin22.skn
│      mxskin25.skn
│      mxskin26.skn
│      mxskin27.skn
│      mxskin31.skn
│      mxskin33.skn
│      mxskin36.skn
│      mxskin42.skn
│      mxskin47.skn
│      mxskin53.skn
│      mxskin55.skn
│      mxskin65.skn
│      mxskin9.skn
│      ONatural-BLUE.skn
│      OpusOS-BLUEB2.skn
│      OpusOS-DEEP2.skn
│      OpusOS-OLIVE.skn
│      RoueGrey-SLIM.skn
│      RoueOlive-SLIM.skn
│      RoueSteel-SLIM.skn
│      Royale1-BLUE.skn
│      Royale1-HOMESTEAD.skn
│      Royale1-METALLIC.skn
│      SkinnyTunes.skn
│      slenderFARR.skn
│      Sustenance-BLUE.skn
│      Sustenance-ERGO.skn
│      Sustenance-METALLIC.skn
│      Sustenance-OLIVE.skn
│      Sustenance-SLATE.skn
│      System4-BLACK2.skn
│      System4-BLUE.skn
│      TD 4-PANTHER.skn
│      Tiger-WINDOWB.skn
│      VistaXP-VISTAXPB2.skn
│      VistaXP-VISTAXPS2.skn
│      Watercolor-BLUE.skn
│      wmpx-XMP2.skn
│     
├─Sounds
│      22305_zeuss_CLUBkong_off_bss.wav
│      22306_zeuss_CLUBkong_off_bssPT2.wav
│      fping.wav
│     
└─DcUpdater
    │  CloseApp.dll
    │  CloseApp2.dll
    │  DcUpdater.chm
    │  dcupdater.dcupdate
    │  dcupdaterinvokecode.txt
    │  DcUppdater.exe
    │  libcurl.dll
    │  unzipinstall.exe
    │  DonationCoder_dcupdater_InstallInfo.dat
    │ 
    ├─Animations
    │      AniChecking1.gif
    │      AniInstalling1.gif
    │      Blank.gif
    │      ButtonCancel1.bmp
    │      ButtonExit1.bmp
    │      ButtonGo1.bmp
    │      ButtonInstall1.bmp
    │      ButtonInstallNew1.bmp
    │      InstallIcon.ico
    │     
    ├─Installables
    │      ClipboardHelpAndSpell.dcupdate
    │      ClipboardHelpAndSpell.ico
    │      FindAndRunRobot.dcupdate
    │      FindAndRunRobot.ico
    │      FlipbookPrinter.dcupdate
    │      FlipbookPrinter.ico
    │      LaunchBarCommander.dcupdate
    │      LaunchBarCommander.ico
    │      ProcessTamer.dcupdate
    │      ProcessTamer.ico
    │      README.txt
    │      ScreenshotCaptor.dcupdate
    │      ScreenshotCaptor.ico
    │      TheFormLetterMachine.dcupdate
    │      TheFormLetterMachine.ico
    │      UnicodeImageMaker.dcupdate
    │      UnicodeImageMaker.ico
    │      URLSnooper.dcupdate
    │      URLSnooper.ico
    │     
    └─LibLicenseInfo
            unziplicense.txt
           

>13. I strongly disagree using Ctrl+Space as the default FARR toggle hotkey cauz many CJK Windows use Ctrl+Space as default hotkey for IME switching

All hotkeys are customizable. IIRC Ctrl+space is the default toggle hotkey in many launchers (like Quicksilver).

Quicksilver is for Mac & on Mac the switching IME combination is Mac+Space 

[lanux128]

@electronixtar: also, be sure to read this thread as it will give you a nice insight of Farr's ability.

• Find And Run Robot (FARR) - Features You Should Know About

[electronixtar]

@electronixtar: also, be sure to read this thread as it will give you a nice insight of Farr's ability.

• Find And Run Robot (FARR) - Features You Should Know About

-lanux128 (May 26, 2008, 11:26 PM)

Thanks. I've already see that & modified my posts. It's really nice to see such an active community   

[lanux128]

OK. What's the .ini filename? I didn't find it

-electronixtar (May 26, 2008, 11:26 PM)

it's in the Farr's root folder: FindAndRunRobot.ini

@electronixtar: also, be sure to read this thread as it will give you a nice insight of Farr's ability.

• Find And Run Robot (FARR) - Features You Should Know About

-lanux128 (May 26, 2008, 11:26 PM)

Thanks. I've already see that & modified my posts. It's really nice to see such an active community   

-electronixtar (May 26, 2008, 11:35 PM)

you're welcome.. it's the least we can do.

[cranioscopical]

Welcome aboard, electronixtar.
I have had FARR (great name in my opinion) lurking in my system tray off and on for months: I've been too lazy or unconcerned to explore it.
You have already found out more about it than I. To be honest, I think it takes some detective work to discover how best to exploit FARR (not that I would say so if I thought mouser were listening ).

[electronixtar]

Welcome aboard, electronixtar.
I have had FARR (great name in my opinion) lurking in my system tray off and on for months: I've been too lazy or unconcerned to explore it.
You have already found out more about it than I. To be honest, I think it takes some detective work to discover how best to exploit FARR (not that I would say so if I thought mouser were listening ).

-cranioscopical (May 26, 2008, 11:53 PM)

I feel the same  Sometimes it's tiring learning new things. Is it humanity to be LAZY? LOL

OK. What's the .ini filename? I didn't find it

-electronixtar (May 26, 2008, 11:26 PM)

it's in the Farr's root folder: FindAndRunRobot.ini

-lanux128 (May 26, 2008, 11:43 PM)

But still I could not find it :-( I posted my file+directory list on my previous reply

Tried create a new FindAndRunRobot.ini on FARR root folder, exit & run FARR again, FindAndRunRobot.ini remains empty.

Is it cauz I UniExtracted FARR instead of actually install it? Where else could FindAndRunRobot.ini be?

[lanux128]

Tried create a new FindAndRunRobot.ini on FARR root folder, exit & run FARR again, FindAndRunRobot.ini remains empty.

Is it cauz I UniExtracted FARR instead of actually install it? Where else could FindAndRunRobot.ini be?

-electronixtar (May 27, 2008, 12:02 AM)

now it's really baffling me because i also extract manually as not to overwrite my settings unless the recent versions of Farr doesn't come with the INI file. btw, you can open the Farr setup file with WinZip or WinRAR to see if the INI file already exists or not.

[mouser]

If you are using VISTA, all settings will be underneath your documents subdirectory by default (and in main program files\findandrunrobot subdir by default if using win xp or lower).

you can change this by editing the configdir.ini file in the program files\findandrunrobot directory.

[electronixtar]

electronixtar: Though not all, I've addressed some of your points in my blog post.

-sri (May 26, 2008, 10:08 PM)

OMG you made a terribe mistake in your package.

PMed you! Please check ASAP

[czb]

15. Tab, Tab and Tab. Use the tab key more. e.g. "wikipedia TAB Donationcoder" opens http://en.wikipedia....g/wiki/Donationcoder. I think Tab is much better than space. Using space to separate parameters u have to worry the existing space in a parameter and use double quotes wrap a parameter, and Tab could avoid this

-electronixtar (May 26, 2008, 08:29 PM)

It will be soon possible, when new version of FARR is out (at least I hope so ) Then plugin coder will be able to use any key he wishes in any way 

EDIT: What I would probably like to see is some special letters like " | " which would act as one letter (similar to Launchy behavior). So " | " could be used for separation of parameters in the query .

[rjbull]

I think the number one suggestion should be changed to "The name of the launcher itself"

-Josh (May 26, 2008, 10:41 PM)

I think it's too late for that    But FWIW:

• LaunchPad Plus
• Power Launcher
• Houston

Houston?  Well, that's where launches are controlled from, isn't it? 

[rjbull]

launchy sometimes costs me 90MB memory

-electronixtar (May 26, 2008, 11:03 PM)

Install another of Mouser's programs - Process Tamer   

[Grorgy]

This name business wont go away will it, my suggestion is call it FARR, just FARR, not find and run robot.  Seems to me that the name FARR is probably becoming known, so keep it, and have a little note in the about box or in the help as to its derivation. 

[tomos]

This name business wont go away will it, my suggestion is call it FARR, just FARR, not find and run robot.  Seems to me that the name FARR is probably becoming known, so keep it, and have a little note in the about box or in the help as to its derivation. 

-Grorgy (May 27, 2008, 05:47 AM)

agreed (here)

[nitrix-ud]

This name business wont go away will it, my suggestion is call it FARR, just FARR, not find and run robot.  Seems to me that the name FARR is probably becoming known, so keep it, and have a little note in the about box or in the help as to its derivation.

very good suggestion
FARR is short and effective, you can even make joke out of it 

[vitalyb]

Good ideas overall. Some insights:

2. Index registry "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths" so Launchy acts exactly as Win+R

-electronixtar (May 26, 2008, 08:29 PM)

You are very correct. it is really illogical that even though FARR is installed you STILL have to use Win+R. The basic idea should be that FARR by default does everything Win+R does and builds over it. Why force someone to use 2 different utilities? Here is a simple list of the things I can't just write in FARR (without extensive aliasing, which is obviously not an option):

• winword
• notepad c:\file.txt
• com/comexp.msc
• odbcad32
• cmd

You can argue that instead of "winword" I could write "word" in FARR in just let it search my Start Menu but for many people it became a common practice to type exactly that. Beside that, "winword" will work on any (windows) computer, FARR or not and it always best to work with the standards.

The author idea are sure to solve some of these issues (if fixed) but more needs to be done. FARR should work just as if is Win+R. I thought to write a plugin like that but it would be a lot better if it was in the core of FARR.

7. When a exact file/folder matches, support drag & drop operations compatible with Explorer. e.g. I type

Well, as you know there is such an option (and thus the striking). However, I wish there was a hotkey to access the explorer shell (e.g shift+right click).

Another issue that wasn't mentioned is the search-as-you-type. The problem occurs especially with the Locate32 plugin - FARR sends what you write immediately to all the plugins. While this can be solved on the plugin level, it might be better if FARR didn't "send as you type" but instead give it a few milliseconds for you to finish the search query (or even better, make the delay customizable).

[nitrix-ud]

You are very correct. it is really illogical that even though FARR is installed you STILL have to use Win+R. The basic idea should be that FARR by default does everything Win+R does and builds over it. Why force someone to use 2 different utilities? Here is a simple list of the things I can't just write in FARR (without extensive aliasing, which is obviously not an option):

not saying it solves anything, but i just want to make sure that you are aware of the run alias ?

run $$1 | $$1 /ICON=icons\farr\core-sysutils_run.ico

you can type :
run winword
run cmd
etc.

instead of using win+R