The “Menu appearance” tab contains the settings in charge of the menu appearance. To preview the changes you have made, click on the “Preview” link. True Launch Bar will display the preview window with the changes you are about to apply:
This window displays the sample appearance of the menu.
Hide/Show menu caption. The caption appears on the left of the menu. The caption comprises of the menu name, and it can be enhanced by adding the number of items on that menu.
If enabled, True Launch Bar will display the number of items on the menu caption:
That number will also include the hidden items count.
This option sets the program to display the large icons by default. Although you may edit the icon size for each menu individually, this option allows changing the size for all menus, which used to have the standard icon size.
This option is only available with Windows XP visual styles enabled; it defines the style for a selected menu item:
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"Flat menu items" is turned off |
"Flat menu items" is turned on |
This option toggles showing or hiding arrows on the menu buttons positioned on the toolbar:
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Buttons with arrows |
Buttons without arrows |
This option enables/disables showing keyboard shortcuts that launch menu items instantly. The keyboard shortcuts appear on the right of a menu item:
If this option is enabled, True Launch Bar will print caption text from top to bottom; the program will print the text from the bottom up otherwise:
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"Caption text to the top" is turned off |
"Caption text to the top" is turned on |
This option enables or disables cutting caption text. If the option is enabled, True Launch Bar will always show the menu caption in full, adding blanks on the menu where it is necessary:
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"Do not cut off caption" is turned off |
"Do not cut off caption" is turned on |
This option enables or disables dropping shadow from menu. The shadow will only appear under Windows 2000/XP operating systems. If you are using Windows XP, you will need to allow dropping shadow in your Windows settings before this option is enabled.
If the “Flat menu” option is disabled, menus will be displayed with the 3D border, just like the regular Windows 9x/2000 menus. In Windows XP, on top of all that, the menus stop using Windows XP visual styles.
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"Flat menu" is turned off |
"Flat menu" is turned on |
We recommend enabling this option if you are using Windows XP.
True Launch Bar allows creating collapsible groups of buttons between separators. This option allows managing the behavior of the collapsing or expanding. When this option is enabled, the groups will collapse or expand smoothly.
Sometimes you may see the noise effect on menus opened too quickly. This option allows removing this effect. However, it may cause some flicks to appear, especially with the animated groups.
When you click on a multiple-level menu, it usually opens (expands). If you enable this option, True Launch Bar will open the submenu folder in Windows Explorer when you click on the menu. You can still expand a nested menu in True Launch Bar by either placing the mouse pointer over the submenu button or by highlighting that button and then pressing the right arrow key on the keyboard.
When you hit ENTER on a multiple-level menu, it usually opens (expands). If you enable this option, True Launch Bar will open the submenu folder in Windows Explorer when you hit ENTER on it. You can still expand a nested menu in True Launch Bar by either setting the mouse pointer over the submenu button or by highlighting that button and then pressing the right arrow key on the keyboard.
This option defines alignment for titles. It may accept these values:
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Center |
Left |
Right |
This option sets the default number of columns on the menu.
Defines how the menu will scroll when its content does not fit in the screen area. The following scrolling types are available:
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Scrollers only |
Scrollbar only |
Scroller and Scrollbar |
To scroll the menu with the scroller, place the mouse pointer over the menu. The speed and the smoothness of the scrolling are defined by the “Scroll value” and “Scroll time” parameters.
The number of pixels the menu will scroll per step. The less this value is, the smoother the scrolling will be.
The pause in milliseconds between two scroll steps. The less this value is, the slower the menu will move, and the smoother the scrolling will be.
True Launch Bar usually shows ZIP files as menus if Windows Explorer also shows them as folders (Windows XP). The same way, some other files (usually compressed archives) may appear as menus. In the “Always show as file” option, define the list of extensions that are to be shown as files and not as menus. Separate the extensions with a semicolon and place a dot before the extension. Example: .zip;.cab