slimCODE

I just started evaluating slimKeys and like what I see so far.  Some questions and suggestions after playing with it for a bit:

slimSize: does it provide a way to minimize and maximize/restore the active window?

slimSearch:

1) need more than 3 search options (at least 5)

2) an 'open in new window' checkbox would be useful (implemented by looking up the associated exe for .html and invoking it with the search url as a parameter, which works with most browsers).

3) Esc in Select search... dialog doesn't dismiss it.

slimLaunch:

1) A context (right-click) menu for the various actions would be handy

2) Dismissing a secondary dialog (those displayed via Alt+Enter, Ctrl+T, Ctrl+Enter) should not also dismiss the slimLaunch window

3) A 'launch or activate' capability (in slimLaunchThis too) would be very useful.  For instance, the default launch (Enter) would activate an existing top-level window associated with the selected item's shortcut/executable (if found) or launch if not found, but Shift+Enter would always launch.

slimPasswords/slimFileSystem: is there any documentation on how these are used?

Thanks.

Thank you for the great comments!

slimSIZE:

Minimize/maximize/restore operations aren't supported, but could easily be implemented. I personally use Alt-Space, then either N, X or R. I try to avoid creating "yet another shortcut". The minimum I should add to slimSIZE is a "Maximize" checkbox that overrides the width and height. Currently, if you move a window that is maximized without changing its size, it stays maximized.

slimSEARCH:

1) Hehe. I knew this was coming soon or later, I'd need more than 3 myself. How would you like this to work? Adding Ctrl-Alt-Enter and Win-Enter to the supported keys? How do you feel about other similar tools that require you to type a word before the search, like "g slimkeys" for searching on Google? I personally don't like those.

2) Noted! But I'm always configuring my browser to open a new tab by default. Do you want a new tab or really a new window?

3) Dogh! Noted!

slimLAUNCH:

1) Noted, but lower in my priorities. Makes sense with the "Context menu" key, but not with the mouse. slimLAUNCH is, after all, a tool to avoid using the mouse.

2) You're right. Noted, but it may not be feasible with the plug-in design.

3) Hmmm, tricky one, but I'll juggle with this a little.

As for slimLAUNCH.Passwords and slimLAUNCH.FileSystems, they are plug-ins for the slimLAUNCH plug-in (confusing isn't it?). In short, slimKEYS exposes a public interface for other plug-ins to register hotkeys and perform actions when those hotkeys are pressed. Then, the slimLAUNCH plug-in exposes a public interface of its own for other plug-ins to expose a list of named items to browse. That's what slimLAUNCH.Passwords and slimLAUNCH.FileSystem do. They are both a slimKEYS and slimLAUNCH plug-in, though only the first one also allows a hotkey to be assigned to it. When adding or editing a slimLAUNCH hotkey, you can add a new item source with the Add button. This will prompt you for the type of source (FileSystem or Passwords) you wish to add to this slimLAUNCH hotkey. You can mix both. You could use a single Win-Z hotkey to browse files and passwords at the same time. I personally prefer distinct hotkeys. That's why Win-Z is mapped to files and Ctrl-Win-B is mapped to passwords by default. Until I complete the help section and make a screencast, the screenshots can help demystify the whole story.

slimcode:

slimSIZE:

Minimize/maximize/restore operations aren't supported, but could easily be implemented. I personally use Alt-Space, then either N, X or R.

That's two keystrokes (one too many for my tastes).  Good defaults for this are Win+Left or Win+Down to minimize and Win+Up to maximize/restore.

slimcode:

slimSEARCH:

1) Hehe. I knew this was coming soon or later, I'd need more than 3 myself. How would you like this to work? Adding Ctrl-Alt-Enter and Win-Enter to the supported keys? How do you feel about other similar tools that require you to type a word before the search, like "g slimkeys" for searching on Google? I personally don't like those.

2) Noted! But I'm always configuring my browser to open a new tab by default. Do you want a new tab or really a new window?

1) Another place where a context menu (supporting mnemnics for each entry) would arguably be simpler than a different shortcut for each choice.  Other options would be a group of radio buttons or drop-down combo that (optionally) remembers the last choice (for instance http://www.kinook.com/blog/?p=31).  Or a combination (allow a shortcut to be defined for each choice, but also show each one with a mnemonic to one-key selection).

2) In my case, a new window (I'm not a fan of tabbed browsing -- http://www.kinook.com/blog/?p=32).  But I don't always want a new window.

slimcode:

slimLAUNCH:

1) Noted, but lower in my priorities. Makes sense with the "Context menu" key, but not with the mouse. slimLAUNCH is, after all, a tool to avoid using the mouse.

3) Hmmm, tricky one, but I'll juggle with this a little.

1) Context menus can also be shown via the App key.  Too many shortcuts to remember quickly becomes overwhelming.

3) This is one feature that adds significant convenience (bridging the gap between task switching and launching) but most launchers don't provide.  And it really wouldn't be that difficult to implement (it's fairly straightforward to map .lnk -> .exe -> top-level window; if more than one match, just use the one first in z-order).

slimcode:

As for slimLAUNCH.Passwords and slimLAUNCH.FileSystems, they are plug-ins for the slimLAUNCH plug-in (confusing isn't it?). In short, slimKEYS exposes a public interface for other plug-ins to register hotkeys and perform actions when those hotkeys are pressed. Then, the slimLAUNCH plug-in exposes a public interface of its own for other plug-ins to expose a list of named items to browse. That's what slimLAUNCH.Passwords and slimLAUNCH.FileSystem do. They are both a slimKEYS and slimLAUNCH plug-in, though only the first one also allows a hotkey to be assigned to it. When adding or editing a slimLAUNCH hotkey, you can add a new item source with the Add button. This will prompt you for the type of source (FileSystem or Passwords) you wish to add to this slimLAUNCH hotkey. You can mix both. You could use a single Win-Z hotkey to browse files and passwords at the same time. I personally prefer distinct hotkeys. That's why Win-Z is mapped to files and Ctrl-Win-B is mapped to passwords by default. Until I complete the help section and make a screencast, the screenshots can help demystify the whole story.

I still don't get how you actually use them.  Can FileSystem be used to quickly browse folders/files?  Can Passwords be used to quickly fill several fields on a web form?

kalons:

I still don't get how you actually use them.  Can FileSystem be used to quickly browse folders/files?  Can Passwords be used to quickly fill several fields on a web form?

Here is how I personally use them each day. I have added a few folders to watch to the default Win-Z slimLAUNCH hotkey, as you can see here. I use Win-Z only for FileSystem sources.

• When I want to run Paint.NET, I press Win-Z, type "pnet", then press Enter.
• When I want to run Outlook, I press Win-Z, type "moo", then press Enter.
• When I want to open the slimKEYS forums in my browser, I press Win-Z, type "scf", then press Enter.
• When I want to open a PayPal guide document located in "My Documents", I press Win-Z, type "ppg", then press Enter.

That's slimLAUNCH in action, using filenames provided by slimLAUNCH.FileSystem sources. As for slimLAUNCH.Passwords, here is how I use it.

• The first time I ran slimKEYS after installation, I was prompted for a main password for the "Default" password store, which I did. This is the only password I'll have to remember by myself.
• When I need to create a new password entry for my newly created DotNetNuke account, I press Ctrl-Win-P to open the Password Stores edition form. If this is the first time I'm accessing this store since I started slimKEYS, I'll be asked to enter the main password. In the edition form, I press the "Add" button, and fill the information, including the URL address. Since I need a web-safe password, I press the "!" button to generate a new password. I close the password entry form by pressing "OK". This first time only, I select the new entry in the password list and press Ctrl-C to copy the password in the clipboard, and complete the DotNetNuke web form.
• A few days later, I press Ctrl-Win-B to invoke the default slimLAUNCH hotkey which is bound to the "Default" password store provided by a slimLAUNCH.Passwords source. I type "dnn" to select my "DotNetNuke" entry and press Ctrl-A to open my browser to the DotNetNuke web address. The slimLAUNCH window does not close. I can Alt-Tab back to it and press Ctrl-U to copy the username in the clipboard and paste it in the web form. I can Alt-Tab again and press Enter to copy the password in the clipboard (which closes the slimLAUNCH window) and paste it in the web form.

I can see two questions coming to your mind: First wouldn't it be cool if pressing Ctrl-A would open the web address and automatically fill in the username and password? Yes, it would be awesome, and I keep juggling about how this can be done. Suggestions are welcomes. Second: Why not use the browser's password saving capabilities? I do use them, but like anything else, I like to have a unique central password repository where all my passwords are available in case I reset my browser's settings, or switch between FireFox, IE7 and Opera for my tests. Better, I have placed my "default.skps" password store file in a folder that is synchronized automatically between all my computers using FolderShare. Passwords I create on one machine are always available on the others.

I hope this sheds some light on how slimLAUNCH.FileSystem and slimLAUNCH.Passwords are used with slimLAUNCH. As always, your suggestions are more than welcomed.