"Assembly Required"

I am pretty dependent on Enso for helping me navigate not only my file system, but links related to doing everyday tasks in my job (Bug Tracking, Time Reporting, Requirements, Design Documents, coding… and the list goes on). I recently received a new laptop(with all of the AD policies you could want)… and the build doesn’t seem to want to allow me to run Enso, so I wrote a replacement for it. Basically it is another launcher application.

What I don’t like about some of the other launcher applications is that you have do 2 or 3 steps before you can launch your application (plus their UI is out-dated). Windows 7 has some search capabilities similar to Vista ( but  better) in that you can use the Windows key to drop down the Start menu and begin typing for the application or file that you are looking for.  This works well… but I don’t like the fact that the list is indiscriment… in other words I didn’t ask for everything to be included in the search… I just wanted targeted thing I use all of the time. 

With Enso, launching applications was much easier… a matter of holding down the caps lock while you typed a key word… a little weird but it worked.  It pulled program files and short-cuts to websites and most importantly application or file short-cuts that you added.  It wasn’t a laundry list like we get in Windows.

I call my replacement for Enso… Instigator.  It uses shortcuts stored in folders you identify to launch your applications. It is a single portable executable that requires the 3.5 .NET Framework.  The UI is shown below:

Configuring Instigator

1. Download the application zip:
   

Sysknowlogy.Instigator.zip

2. Copy the contents to where you would like.
3. Edit the config file so Instigator knows where to find your short-cuts.  An example config file is shown below. Add a DiscoveryPath to the config of where you would like Instigator to look for short-cuts. Remove any DiscoveryPaths that you do not want Instigator to load.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>

<configuration>

  <configSections>

    <section name ="InstigatorSettings"

             type ="Sysknowlogy.Tool.OS.XmlSerializerSectionHandler, Sysknowlogy.Instigator"/>

  </configSections>

  <InstigatorSettings type ="Sysknowlogy.Tool.OS.InstigatorSettings , Sysknowlogy.Instigator">

    <DiscoveryPaths>

      <DiscoveryPath location=".\shortcuts\" />

      <DiscoveryPath location="C:\Documents and Settings\sbraun\Desktop\OpenCommands" />

    </DiscoveryPaths>

  </InstigatorSettings>

</configuration>

Using Instigator

1. Start the executable, after the splash screen disappears the application is loaded.
2. Use Ctl-Win to bring up the search window. Right now this is not configurable, it will be in later releases.
3. This should bring up the application with the list of short-cuts that you defined in your discovery paths.
4. Begin typing to limit the list of items to launch.  The search uses a contains to filter… as you type it will eliminate your options.
5. Once the items fore color you are looking for is highlighted, hit enter.

Known Issues

• Focus set to the filter textbox sometimes gets botched up… typically when Visual Studio is open. VS likes to steal focus a lot. This doesn’t happen a great deal, but does occasionally. To fix it, you will need to click in the filtering textbox with your mouse.
• If the application process cannot be started, Instigator does not notify you that if failed to launch the application.  It just won’t do anything.

Reporting errors / problems
While in the launch filter textbox, type in “report” which will result in a “report a problem or bug” in the drop down.  Select that item and hit enter.  This will launch the default mail client and allow you to mail be a bug.