About Launcher6:

Launcher6 is a simple interface for launching programs, a simple electronic speech aid, or a multimedia game spinner! And, best of all, it's freeware. Launcher6 can run as a portable application requiring no installation! Launcher6 covers the screen providing users with a restricted environment, allowing choices, but reducing the probability that the user will access the usual, and perhaps troublesome, Windows interface. It supports access using single switch, two switch, Intellikeys, touch screen and mouse methods. Launcher6 can be run from a CD or Flash drive on almost any version of Windows without installation.

Facilitators can configure the six cells on the launcher6 screen using the built-in editor. Launcher6 continually saves this 'setup' as changes occur in a text file that ends with a '.ls6' extention. Each cell within a setup can be assigned the following:

1. A graphic element of types: '.bmp', '.jpg', '.gif' (animation is ok), or '.png'.

2. A cue either as a sound file or as text to be spoken via a clipboard text to speech utility.

3. A message in the same way as the cue.

4. A registered file type or a program to open.

5. A link to another launcher6 page.

6. An action: hide me, show all, quit, or none.

When launcher6 starts it always loads the settings saved in the page file "main.ls6". From the "main" page you can link to other pages. The "main.ls6" setup must be in the same directory as the "launcher6.exe" program file.

Launcher6 will run on almost any Windows PC from Win 95 on, and like myMediaPlayer does not require installation. It will run right off a CD-ROM or from a flash drive. (Quicktime should be installed on the intended computer, but is not always necessary.)

Launcher6 has support for the following access methods:

Mouse or touchscreen

Don Johsnton (or equivalent) switch interface

keyboard devices (like Intellikeys)

Launcher6 responds to the following keys:

@ = Disable/Enable the following keyboard commands, enabled by default.

0 = Start/Stop autoscan

1 = Highlight the next cell for 2 switch scan

2 = Select highlighted item for 2 switch scan

3 = Spin selects a random cell

q = quit launcher6

e = edit

z = resize screen smaller

f = resize screen to full screen dimensions

t,y,u,i,o,p = direct access to cells 1,2,3,4,5,6 respectively in left to right, top to bottom order.

h = help

m = Go to the "main.ls6" setup

If Use Mouse Scan is set to true in the editor Launcher6 will use left mouse click to start and stop scanning.

The Clipboard Text-to-Speech feature requires a helper program like the freeware"Deskbot" for speech output.

Tips for using launcher6 with myMediaPlayer (or other applications:)

1. Plan ahead. Have all your pictures, sound files and media files organized in easy to find folders before creating setups.
2. As a general rule launcher6 and the setup files laucher6 creates should all go in one folder. All resource files like pictures and other applications you plan to have launcher6 open should be in subfolders of the launcher6 folder. Avoid using the space character in file or folder names.
   
3. Use BoardMaker or some other tool to create pictures for cells. Copy from BoardMaker, paste into Paint or Irfanview and save them in a pictures folders.
4. If your user likes music or other media elements, create subfolders in the Launcher6 folder named for each song, put a copy of the MMP.exe along with the music file and any other media file into each folder. Then, open each MMP.exe and set it to open the song associated with that folder. Now you can link a Launcher6 cell to a particular song. Make sure that each MMP is set to respond consistently with the access method that your user prefers.

   Making a Launcher6 and MMP into an auto-starting CD:

5. Create Launcher6 setups in a folder at the root level of the C: drive (e.g. C:\mySetups). Put MMP, or other applications like those from Priory Woods and related resource files (pictures, music, movies etc..) in named sub-folders of the Launcher6 folder as is described in item 4 above.
6. Test all the Launcher6 setups clicking every cell to make sure it all works.
7. Exit Launcher6.
   
8. Use Notebook to create a file that has the following text in it: OPEN="launcher6.exe" Save the file as "autorun.inf"
9. Create a new CD-ROM by copying all the files and folders inside the Launcher6 folder to the CD root level. Also copy the autorun.inf as described in the previous step to the root level of the CD-ROM. Burn the CD and test it.