Author Topic: True Launch Bar v5.0 (Read 31,720 times)

Curt · « **on:** October 12, 2010, 07:26 AM »

Release date: 11 October 2010
True Launch Bar 5.0 can be installed on Windows™ XP/Vista/Windows 7

http://www.truelaunchbar.com/
http://www.tordex.com/

1 Personal License for 1 'home' PC is $19.90
but for 4 computers it is $49.
Once registered you will get all new versions for free.

http://www.truelaunchbar.com/screens.html

Quote from: Tordex

True Launch Bar v5.0 released.

New features since version 4.4:
* Color schemes for menu
* Improved performance and resource using
* Simple Transparency for menus for all Windows versions
* Redesigned TLB Settings dialog box
* Improved support for systems with large fonts
* In-place renaming
* Middle click to run the custom command or emulate the double click
* Combine text menu items with icons only items
* 13 buttons can be added on the menu caption to perform some
operation with menu or to open the context menus
* Improved skins format
* Search Box support for virtual folder (press CTRL+F)
* Changing the popup tips font
* Many other minor improvements

Download: http://download.truelaunchbar.com/install/truelaunchbar5.exe

Changes since version 4.4.13 RC5:

What's new:
* Scroll menu during drag&drop
* Improved support for systems with large fonts
* Some visual enhancements

Fixed:
* Delayed menus not working when the buttons are locked
* TLB hangs can hang on right-click on some systems
* Incorrect separator size
* Some minor bugs fixed

Curt · « **Reply #1 on:** October 12, 2010, 08:04 AM »

Be advised that after the necessary re-boot you will need to right-click the task bar and uncheck Windows quick-launch, and check True Launch Bar (TLB).

I should warn that I had to re-boot twice before things were okay.

Quote

Free Plugins for TLB:

Add or Remove Programs
Address Book
Batch Run
Battery Monitor
Calculator

Clipboard Manager
CD Control
Color Picker
Command Line
Device Manager

Display Mode
Drive Space
Key State
Make Screenshot
Mail Monitor

MotherBoard Monitor
Moon Monitor
Net Monitor
News Reader
Port Manager

Process Viewer
TLB Clock
ToDo List
Turn Off Computer
Service Manager

Slide Show
Spacer
Startup Manager
System Monitor
UpTime

Virtual Desktop
Voice Notes
Volume Control
Media Control
Weather Forecast

Weather Monitor
Windows List
Windows Messenger Control
Wireless Monitor

Language packs.

True Launch Bar Plugins Development Kit
Libraries for Visual C++ for writing custom plugins for True Launch Bar. This package contains some samples including Volume Control v.2.1 (376 KB)

MerleOne · « **Reply #2 on:** October 12, 2010, 01:00 PM »

Hi,

Is this a free or pay upgrade from V4 ?

Thanks.

Curt · « **Reply #3 on:** October 12, 2010, 01:13 PM »

Quote from: Curt on October 12, 2010, 07:26 AM

Once registered you will get all new versions for free.

MerleOne · « **Reply #4 on:** October 12, 2010, 01:14 PM »

Quote from: Curt on October 12, 2010, 01:13 PM

Quote from: Curt on October 12, 2010, 07:26 AM
Once registered you will get all new versions for free.

Thanks !

edbro · « **Reply #5 on:** October 12, 2010, 03:34 PM »

I own a copy but I've never been that impressed. I haven't loaded it in a long time. With the new version I thought I'd go to the site and see what the feature set is. On the features page I find:
"Window Vista Compatible - NEW"

Okay, if that is considered NEW then I think I'll continue to pass.

mouser · « **Reply #6 on:** October 12, 2010, 03:55 PM »

True Launch Bar is a top notch toolbar, definitely one of the best out there, and one of the inspirations for my own LaunchBar Commander.

Curt · « **Reply #7 on:** October 12, 2010, 04:08 PM »

Quote from: edbro on October 12, 2010, 03:34 PM

I own a copy but I've never been that impressed.

-you don't have to be impressed. Just use it, and soon it will be hard to imagine a life without. True Launch Bar is one of my absolute favourites.

Darwin · « **Reply #8 on:** October 12, 2010, 04:30 PM »

I find TrueLaunchBar to be indispensible under XP and Vista. Under Win 7 I no longer have any need of it as I have grown to love the new taskbar.

Anyone running Win 7 with TrueLaunchBar for any reason other than a dislike of the smart taskbar?

rssapphire · « **Reply #9 on:** October 12, 2010, 04:43 PM »

Quote from: Darwin on October 12, 2010, 04:30 PM

Anyone running Win 7 with TrueLaunchBar for any reason other than a dislike of the smart taskbar?

I run Win 7 and still use True Launch Bar. I like the Win 7 taskbar, but still like to organize menus for my applications, documents, folders, etc. that work my way. There isn't enough room on the taskbar for all of this and I don't really like the "turn a pinned item into a menu" programs I've tried. TLB just does this so much better for me.

edbro · « **Reply #10 on:** October 12, 2010, 04:55 PM »

Quote from: Curt on October 12, 2010, 04:08 PM

[-you don't have to be impressed. Just use it, and soon it will be hard to imagine a life without. True Launch Bar is one of my absolute favourites.

Maybe I'll give it another try. The problem is that I currently use a bar built with PowerPro and I have grown accustomed to its power and configurability.

Darwin · « **Reply #11 on:** October 12, 2010, 05:11 PM »

Hmm... thank you for sharing your experience/usage, rssapphire. Food for thought... I don't know, I'm so used to Win 7's taskbar "as is" that I don't know if I'll find TrueLaunchBar useful. Only one way to find out!

Curt · « **Reply #12 on:** October 12, 2010, 08:26 PM »

Quote from: edbro on October 12, 2010, 04:55 PM

... I currently use a bar built with PowerPro ...

haha. If you are a PowerPro-user, I can understand why TLB is not to your liking; they're from quite opposite worlds.

Darwin · « **Reply #13 on:** October 12, 2010, 09:05 PM »

For now, I've elected NOT to install under Win 7 (though I did update my XP install). I'm trying to go minimalist at the moment...

Curt · « **Reply #14 on:** October 12, 2010, 09:32 PM »

-so am I. Via tough decisions, I have reduced the number of installed programs, to 347... I really don't understand how you have managed to go below 200, Darwin. Do you still keep it below that limit? I am both impressed and puzzled. Maybe I just have too much spare-time.

Darwin · « **Reply #15 on:** October 14, 2010, 11:19 PM »

Ha! I'm down to 178, Curt WITH TrueLaunchBar installed (I broke down earlier today). It plays VERY nicely with Win 7 64-bit. However, I doubt that I'll keep it around - I've gotten very used to the smart taskbar.

How do I stay below 200 apps installed... I guess I'm just brutal! I have let go of a lot of "I paid for it so I must use it" thinking, which has helped. I try not to have duplicate functionality. Another thing I've done is gotten rid of apps I simply never use. Having said that, Art Rage 3 Pro and Xara Designer Pro are both still installed and I have NEVER used them

Ditto for Corel Paint Shop Pro X3, though I have used it, albeit rarely.

Curt · « **Reply #16 on:** October 15, 2010, 12:10 AM »

If you'll remove TLB, making it 177, I'll re-install 7 programs, making it double up :-)

BTW:
Carol is quite pleased with Xara Designer Pro 6, so it must be good for something!

Curt · « **Reply #17 on:** October 15, 2010, 12:36 AM »

I should inform that I have a problem with TLB 5:
I have two versions of the blue titlebar's right-click context menu!

Notice how the second one is missing "New... Shortcut" (and "Recent..."):

[attachimg=#] [attachimg=#]

Weird, I think.

Darwin · « **Reply #18 on:** October 22, 2010, 02:24 PM »

[OT] hey Curt, I'm down to 159 programs installed

[/OT]

Regarding the issue you report with TLB 5 above, does the context menu that appears change depending on WHERE you right click on the TrueLaunchBar? Just curious.

Josh · « **Reply #19 on:** October 22, 2010, 02:33 PM »

Am I the only who, since Windows 7, has found themselves not really needing this tool anymore? I used to have this installed with XP and Vista, but Win7 makes things so much easier I find myself rarely using this despite owning two licenses.

Darwin · « **Reply #20 on:** October 22, 2010, 03:09 PM »

Quote from: Josh on October 22, 2010, 02:33 PM

Am I the only who, since Windows 7, has found themselves not really needing this tool anymore? I used to have this installed with XP and Vista, but Win7 makes things so much easier I find myself rarely using this despite owning two licenses.

Nope, you're not alone, Josh. I actually installed TLB 5 under Win 7 to see if I had any need of it, and I still don't, so I uninstalled it again. Between Vista and Win 7, many of the third party applications that I used to run to "tweak" mu UI experience in windows have been made redundant. I no longer use a file/application launcher, Konfabulator/Yahoo widgets, TrueLaunchBar, or PSTray Factory, to name but a few, have all been relegated to either electronic archiving or to my wife's XP machine.

In some ways, this reminds me of the sea-change that occurred with I made the move from Windows 3.x to Win95/98 and beyond: I used a LOT of shareware to extend Windows (long file names, shell extensions, etc.) that I simply had no use for when Win95 came out. Funny, I tend to celebrate MS for incorporating good ideas from the shareware world into new versions of Windows, but excoriate Apple for doing it (e.g. I thought is was NOT cricket when Apple incorporated widgets into Tiger and left Konfabulator high and dry)

How embarrassing to be exposed as a hypocrite... but then, in the past MS has actually bought the company/technology where Apple tends to reverse engineer the idea and stiff the original developer (or is that my bias coming to the fore again?).

Curt · « **Reply #21 on:** January 07, 2011, 11:25 PM »

True Launch Bar 5.2, January 07, 2011

http://www.truelaunchbar.com/
http://majorgeeks.com/True_Launch_Bar_d224.html

J-Mac · « **Reply #22 on:** January 10, 2011, 03:44 AM »

Quote from: Darwin on October 12, 2010, 04:30 PM

I find TrueLaunchBar to be indispensible under XP and Vista. Under Win 7 I no longer have any need of it as I have grown to love the new taskbar.

How does the Win 7 taskbar take the place of TLB, which is commonly used as a launcher? I have a few programs pinned on my taskbar in Win 7 but not nearly enough to be that useful. For launching I mostly use FARR and Launchbar Commander.

Thanks!

Jim

Curt · « **Reply #23 on:** June 03, 2011, 06:47 AM »

Today, Friday 3'rd of June 2011, for another 22 hours: $9.95 instead of $19.90:
True Launch Bar PC Software with a 50% off Discount Coupon Code - A Better Launch Bar

http://www.bitsdujour.com/software/true-launch-bar/

Darwin · « **Reply #24 on:** June 04, 2011, 01:27 PM »

Quote from: J-Mac on January 10, 2011, 03:44 AM

Quote from: Darwin on October 12, 2010, 04:30 PM
I find TrueLaunchBar to be indispensible under XP and Vista. Under Win 7 I no longer have any need of it as I have grown to love the new taskbar.

How does the Win 7 taskbar take the place of TLB, which is commonly used as a launcher? I have a few programs pinned on my taskbar in Win 7 but not nearly enough to be that useful. For launching I mostly use FARR and Launchbar Commander.

Thanks!

Jim

Sorry, Jim - I've been visiting DC infrequently (work and other committments) for the past year and missed your reply and question. To answer it, I just use the start menu's search field as a launcher - I hit the windows key and start typing and what I want shows up.