Media Launcher^TM

Introduction

Media Launcher Overview
Media Launcher lets you do all of the following:

• Launch programs quickly from a convenient button bar
• Easily raise or lower audio volume
• Play multimedia files without separate player applications

Media Launcher Controls
Media Launcher consists of several major components:
Control Menu Button: Shows Media Launcher's control menu, letting you close the program or specify that it should always be on top of other programs, for example.

Title Bar: Displays the current time and date.
Volume Control: Lets you adjust your PC's audio volume.

Button Bar: Holds programs that can be launched from Media Launcher. To launch a program, left click on its icon. To add or edit a program configuration, right click on its existing icon or the blank space where you want to add the program.

Configuration Button: Shows a configuration dialog box for user options.

Help Button: Shows an On-line User Guide in the form of a Help file.

Drag and Play Area: Media Launcher will play multimedia files dragged from File Manager and dropped onto this area, if your PC has the appropriate hardware and multimedia drivers.

Drag and Print Area: Media Launcher will have the appropriate application try to print files dragged from File Manager and dropped onto this area.

Using Media Launcher

Launching a Program
Media Launcher comes configured to let you control a variety of multimedia applications. To launch an application shown in the button bar, just click its the button once with you left mouse button.

Controlling System Audio Volume
Media Launcher's volume slider and mute button control your PC's overall volume level. To raise volume, move the slider up. To reduce volume, move the slider down. To temporarily shut off audio without moving the slider, click on the Mute button below the slider. Clicking on Mute again restores audio output.

Tip: You can move the volume slider using keyboard "hot keys", even if Media Launcher is minimized. Pressing the key combination [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[UpArrow] raises the volume slider. [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[DownArrow] lowers the volume slider. [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[Spacebar] toggles the Mute button on and off.
As you adjust the volume with hot keys, you see the slider move, even on the minimized program icon.

Playing Multimedia Files Using Drag and Drop
Media Launcher lets you quickly play files without having to use separate player applications.
Typical multimedia file types you can play include those with .WAV and .MID file extensions. If your system has Video for Windows runtime software installed, you can also play .AVI files.
To play a multimedia file, drag it from File Manager and drop it on the Drag and Play Area.
To stop a file that is playing, press the [Esc] key while Media Launcher is the foreground application. That is, make sure Media Launcher is "on top", perhaps by clicking on its title bar, and then press the [Esc] key.

Printing Files Using Drag and Drop
To print a Windows document, drag it from Windows' File Manager and drop it on the Drag and Print Area. Media Launcher will send a print command to the application that created the document.

Getting Multimedia Driver or Printer Information
To view a list of audio drivers installed in your PC, click with the left mouse button on the Drag and Play area.
To view information about the current printer, click with the left mouse button on the Drag and Print area.

Configuring Media Launcher

Adding, Deleting, or Changing a Program's Configuration
While Media Launcher comes configured to run a variety of applications, you can customize it further.
To change the location of an application in the button bar, just drag its icon to the desired location. If you drag an icon to an empty space, the icon will simply be moved. If you drag an icon and drop it on top of an existing icon in the button bar, the positions of the two programs will be switched.
To edit, delete, or add a program:
Click with the right mouse button on the program icon or blank space on the button bar to use the Application Options screen.

• To delete the program icon from the button bar, click on the Remove button.
• To change or add a program at a given location, browse to the desired application or enter the application's path in the File field. To specify command line parameters for that application (usually not required), enter them in the Parameters field. A typical Parameter is the name of a data file to be loaded automatically upon launching. To specify a working directory for the application (usually not required), enter the path to that directory in the Working Directory field.
• To change just the icon itself, click on the Change Icon button and locate the icon you want to use (usually located in a .EXE or .ICO file).
• You can use the Display area to indicate if you want the application to always run Minimized or Maximized.

Customizing Media Launcher
You can customize Media Launcher's shape and behavior by clicking on the Configuration Button and entering your preferences at the Launcher Options configuration box:

Button Rows and Columns values let you specify the overall size and shape (and the number of program launching icons).
Always on Top prevents Media Launcher from being hidden by other applications.
Show Volume Controls lets you choose whether to display the master volume slider and mute button at Media Launcher's left edge.
Show Date in Title lets you choose whether to have the current date and time appear in Media Launcher's title bar.

User Guide Contents

Media Launcher

Introduction
Media Rack Overview
Media Rack Controls

Using Media Launcher
Launching a Program
Controlling System Audio Volume
Playing Multimedia Files Using Drag and Drop
Printing Using Drag and Drop
Getting Multimedia Driver or Printer Information

Configuring Media Launcher
Adding, Deleting, or Changing a Program's Configuration Customizing Media Launcher
Media Launcher and Willow Pond are trademarks of Willow Pond Corporation. Microsoft, MS, and MS-DOS are registered trademarks, and Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Sound Blaster is a trademark of Creative Technology, Ltd. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective holders and are hereby acknowledged.
Media Launcher software and documentation are Copyright ( 1994-1995 Willow Pond Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Information in this manual is subject to change without notice.