From: daa7365@venus.tamu.edu (DIEGO ARANDA)
Subject: hDC Power Launcher 2.0 - Review
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: Texas A&M University, Academic Computing Services
Date: Sun, 26 Jul 1992 00:24:00 GMT


After downloading the hDC Power Toolbox microapp which hDC has made freely
available to the public (it is available via anonymous ftp from 129.79.20.84),
I knew I HAD to get Power Launcher 2.0 - the Power Toolbox positively oozes
power and it consists only one-fifth of the Power Launcher package.  I read
about the special offer hDC currently has in effect, and ordered Power Launcher
2.0 for $49.95, with hDC FileApps thrown in for free.  I requested UPS Blue
shipping, and was told by the exceptionally courteous and informed agent
that I would receive the package within 5 business days.  Due to extreme
demand however, I didn't receive it until 14 days later.  But after opening
and installing it I was no longer upset about the delay - Power Launcher is
easily worth twice the cost and twice the wait.

One of my pet peeves is software that provides little or no control over 
launching characteristics, and applications that make inefficient use of the
mouse and hotkeys.  Newer applications are providing more support for the right
mouse button, and greater customization control (Excel 4.0 is a superb example
of both - fully customizable toolbars and pop-up menus for the right mouse
button, etc.) but I had never seen a single Windows app that provided COMPLETE
control over application launching until Power Launcher 2.0.  With it you
can easily modify the starting size and position of an application, the initial
directory, what file specifications to be prompted for at startup, specific
startup documents, title bar caption and icon labels, the icons themselves,
DDE execution, special effects like windows zooming and shadows, prebuilt
scripts that are capable of myriad functions like hiding applications and
cascading windows while intelligently saving space at the bottom of the screen
for icons, and recording complex scripts for automatic execution.  It is
possible to map Enhanced Commands to any key or keystroke combination using
Power Keyboard (and to create application hotkeys as well), and map Enhanced
Commands or various other functions to any mouse button/key combination with
Power Mouse.  The Virtual Screen utility provides up to 64 virtual screens,
and Enhanced Commands can be preset to launch in any virtual quadrant (and
subsequently accessed automatically by the Virtual Desktop Map or by the
ALT-TAB switching function or Task Manager).  The Power Bar itself provides
a command-line for Windows with support for DOS commands like cd, copy, mv and
dir, and can launch any Windows application.  The command-line also provides
access to Enhanced Command functions, and can automatically "fill-in-the-blanks"
for you if you only type in part of an application's parameters.  A system
resource monitor is provided on the Power Bar, and there is room for 20 Enhanced
Command buttons on my 1024x768 screen (even more if I remove the File
Management, System Resource, and Virtual Desktop components from the Power Bar).
Enhanced Commands can be attached to a menu in the Control (System) Menu of any
application, to a free-floating hDC icon, or can be accessed from Program
or any other launching system.  Support for Windows 3.1 functions like drag/drop
and waveform/MIDI audip are present as well, and OLE support is included as
well.  The unique Action Editor makes it possible to embed Enhanced Commands
into documents for distribution.

I haven't found a single aspect of program-launching that is not customizable
yet - and frankly don't expect to find any weak spots in that area; hDC has
been remarkably thorough.  The only addition I would personally make to this
package would be support for aliases in the command-line, but I'm sure something
to that effect will be forthcoming from hDC in subsequent releases.  The online
help is not as comprehensive as I would like - I occasionally need to get out
the full manuals to figure out how to incorporate some special function, but 
the three printed manuals are very complete.  hDC provides telephone 
registration for their products, saving you from having to fill out and mail
a registration card.  Free technical support is provided for the first 90
days of ownership.  In addition, their technical support and sales staffs are
knowledgeable and extremely prompt in returning calls - the only other 
computer-industry staff that is as effective in my experience is Microsoft's.

Amazingly, with Power Bar configured as my shell, and launching both Power
Keyboard and Power Mouse at starup (the Virtual Desktop is always active) I
have more free resources available than with my previous shareware shell.  All
the microapps are extremely resource conscious, and I am of the opinon that
hDC's programmers must be some of the best in the industry to provide such
power, control, speed, and resource consciousness.  One caution: the program
does have a relatively steep learning curve.  If your idea of control is simply
providing a startup directory for an application then Program Manager will
probably suit you better.  If you demand control however, Power Launcher is
the only product capable of satisfying.

The other program which comes free in the special offer, FileApps, provides
Undelete functions (either basic or advanced methods) from within Windows,
and a useful utility for cleaning out full disks called Disk Viewer, which
graphically shows disk usage divided by directories and individual files. 
While FileApps is not as powerful, configurable, or useful as Power Launcher, 
it is nonetheless desirable.

To restate: Power Launcher 2.0 has taken the place of dozens of commercial,
shareware, and freeware products on my system, and provides more control than
I had believed possible over launching applications from within Windows.  At
the special-offer price of only $49.95 with FileApps (listed as a $129.00
value) included fee, this is one of the best deals I've ever encountered for
commercial Windows applications.  I recommend it to anyone and everyone who
uses Windows, and I again commend hDC for such a superb product.



DIEGO A. ARANDA - KEEPER OF THE WINDOWS 3.X SHAREWARE/FREEWARE LIST