HyperLaunch is similar in function to At Ease, but is quite a bit less expensive. It provides links to applications, and then creates a button for that link. If you would like to change the icon, see the instructions below. You can also add some of your own (if you know how) using ResEdit or some other program, or HyperCard’s built-in icon editor. By default, applications have a generic application icon, and documents have a generic document icon.
Creating a new LaunchButton is easy. All you have to do is click the button labeled Make LaunchButton. You can also make a new card by clicking on the button labeled Make LaunchCard. If you want to delete a LaunchButton, just hold down on the mouse button on that icon. A dialog box will come up asking if you want to delete this LaunchButton. If you click Yes, it will disappear. If you click No, HyperLaunch will assume that you just accidentally held down on the button too long and will launch the program. If you click Cancel, HyperLaunch will do nothing.
If you want to change the icon, before you press <Command>-<Tab>, press <Command>-I and use the arrows to select one. You can also design your own or paste in an icon-sized graphic from the clipboard.
The screen is divided into four sections. The top section, the Header Section contains the title of the program (in this case, HyperLaunch 1.11) and, to the left of the title is the number of this card and the total number of cards.
Directly below the Header Section is the LaunchButton Section. You can actually place LaunchButtons anywhere on the screen, but I recommend this area because it won't interfere with anything else and will always be visible. Buttons placed in the gray area may not be visible on a compact Mac's 9" screen (the 10" screen of the Color Classic will display the gray area, as will all monitors larger than 9", including PowerBook displays). You may never plan on using a compact Mac, but you never know. It’s up to you.
Beneath the LaunchButton Section is the InfoBar. The InfoBar displays today's date, time, the amount of free space on the disk HyperLaunch is running on, the version of System Software you are using, and the total amount of memory installed. If you know of a way to show the Finder’s Largest Unused block, please let me know.
Finally, at the bottom (maybe) of the screen, below the InfoBar, is the ControlBar. The buttons that allow you to make a new LaunchCard, make a new LaunchButton, go back to HyperCard’s Home stack, quit HyperLaunch and HyperCard, and navigate through the LaunchCards are in the ControlBar.
Please be aware that HyperLaunch is not free. If you like and use it, please send $15, United States currency only, check, money order, etc., please, to the address below. I go along with the United States Postal Service’s recommendation against mailing cash, but if it gets here, I’ll accept it as payment. Also, if you find a bug, think something would be better somewhere else, have a suggestion, etc., please tell me, via the Internet or regular mail. Also, feel free to tell me how to program the feature. I will mention your name as a contributor if you do and tell me who you are (I won't use your Internet address or the address off the envelope, so be sure to tell me your real name if you want to be mentioned).
A "supporters" feature similar to the one in HyperWorks 3.02 (and later versions) is planned, however, as I made this version, nobody had registered HyperLaunch, so I didn’t make it for this version. As soon as somebody registerers HyperLaunch, I’ll add it. I’ll also add your Internet address if you want me to.
VERSION HISTORY:
1.0 - First version of HyperLaunch. It was originally designed as a limited version for unregistered users. I decided not to bother, and it was never released.
1.01 - Full version for registered users of version 1.0. It was never released.
1.02 - First version designed with the intention of uploading. Added InfoBar. Never released, because before I got around to uploading it, I made updated it to version 1.03.
1.03 - Updated InfoBar to show available disk space in megabytes and available RAM in kilobytes. In 1.02, both were in bytes. First version uploaded.
1.1 - I changed the programming of the Make LaunchButton to match the updated version of the code I wrote for Launch Express 1.0. (Launch Express is not my program, I merely helped the programmer.)
1.11 - Changed memory free to total installed memory. Added Cancel button if you hold down on an LaunchButton for too long. Moved registration form to TeachText/SimpleText file.
