22/07/2012 Topic: Is SyMenu too complex? ineedh3lp	Hello, I would like to add my opinion to this thread. Although enabling advanced configuration pages for users who want to customize more settings sounds like a good idea and I stand by it, I think it is not worth investing time in it, nor for creating a wizard. I'm pretty sure that the average users don't just start with SyMenu, instead they go with dumb application launchers first (like the ones which you can stick to the bottom or sides of the screen) and then some of them evolve to using SyMenu because they want more control and become more serious, not caring for glittering zoomy items, but for practicality and functionality. I never used SyMenu as a portable applications launcher and I do not regard it that way, yet, in my opinion, it is undisputedly the best application launcher from all I have tried, free or commercial. Sometimes, some of the best solutions are simply not meant to be used by beginners because beginners do not have a formed opinion about what is best for themselves, instead they go for eye candy and really really basic solutions. Now, don't get me wrong, I like slick effects and smooth shiny interfaces, but I prefer functionality over that. So my point is that no matter how much you try to make SyMenu friendly to new users, they just won't stick to it because they will immediately discard it as soon as they start to be aware of the other point-and-click application launching solutions (and honestly, it is a big deal if a beginner even realizes the purposes of application launchers). People that chose SyMenu already know what they want and stick to it unless something better emerges, which I doubt. A better reason to concern about making SyMenu very easy to use would be if you'd plan to turn SyMenu into a commercial solution, which I, as a user, am completely supporting it as long as it keeps the existing features and gets better in time. <em>edited by ineedh3lp on 7/22/2012</em>
23/07/2012 Topic: Is SyMenu too complex? ineedh3lp	The new generations of users is the appstore generations, and thanks to Apple people are becoming dumber and dumber as time passes. People these days are used to accomplish tasks with one hand, either scrubbing their fingers over a phone/tablet display or moving the pointer and clicking around. This kind of people is the mass representing beginners or newbies- they have no idea of what hot-keys are, they don't even come close to requiring the needs SyMenu was designed for, which is portable applications launcher. You can be certain that if a user knows that he needs an application launcher to carry on a stick for launching portable applications, he is not one of the beginners we're talking about, and that user doesn't need wizards or separated configuration pages (between advanced/simple settings) because he knows how to make his way through it. Of course, wizards are good for configuring large sets of options, regardless of user knowledge level, I just don't think it is worth to invest time to do it for SyMenu since most of the stuff is easily configurable from the Options box. But if you were to design a wizard, I guess you would just have to create a sequence of boxes in which you would present the user with separate options and more or less detailed explanation of what would each do if it is activated. <em>edited by ineedh3lp on 7/23/2012</em>
06/08/2012 Topic: SyMenu Plugin system ineedh3lp	Versions are but numbers : D Can't wait to see the new features in the following release.
07/08/2012 Topic: SyMenu Plugin system ineedh3lp	I mainly deal with multimedia (especially video effects and editing), but I've been fancying programming for a long time. In the beginning I used AutoIt and other similar scripting languages to create some custom utilities for my own needs and recently I have dived into C# which I am very fond of because I'm very familiar with ActionScript, and ActionScript is extremely similar to C#. But I don't think I've got what it takes to create a plugin. Not even sure if .NET is a good framework for creating SyMenu plugins, though I am willing to see if I have any shot at such a plugin. So I am going to mail you and see what it is about and if I can contribute.
03/12/2012 Topic: SyMenu Backup ineedh3lp	SyMenu Backup v1.0.0.2 Hello, SyMenu users! Regardless of the displayed plugin version, this is actually the first public release of this plugin. DOWNLOAD LINK IMPORTANT: The executable actually contains the SyMenuBackup exe and several .dll files like the ICSharpCode.SharpZipLib, irrKlang.NET4, Ookii.Dialogs and ScrollingBox (that's why it is 2MB large) and because of that some anti-viruses may trigger false-positive alerts. The big problem is that I can not recompile the project to deliver an unpacked version because I already altered the shared source code files when I started experimenting with WPF, so now I have an invalid WinForms VisualStudio solution with missing and modified files that do not work anymore. The next release will be an improved WPF version and will be delivered both packed and unpacked. Description: - The purpose of this plugin is to allow the user to easily and selectively create backups of the SyMenu program files and settings. - It is not a particularly useful plugin as you may manually create archived backups of your SyMenu folder, but I have created it as a simple proof of concept model for the SyMenu v2 plugin implementation feature. - The plugin allows you to select what you want to backup (you can backup all the SyMenu files or just the ones you are interested in), how you want to backup (you can create single or separate archives), a compression method/level for the archive backup, an archive format (note that regardless of the format you choose, the used algorithm is always ZIP- the various formats are just for your convenience in case you want custom extensions), an optional password for the archive and the location to store the backups. Installation: - Download the archive and extract it to \SyMenu\Plugin\ - The extracted folder can be renamed any way you want and it should still work as long as it resides in the Plugin folder under SyMenu. - NOTE: The plugin is .NET dependent, so if you do not have Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0.30319 installed, chances are the plugin won't work (but give it a try anyway if you are willing). - It was tested on XP and Windows 7. Notes: - The posted version of the plugin is fully working, but it's far from being the final version of what I initially had in mind for it. It is made of WinForms for C#, but I intend to make it WPF and add a lot more features to it. I would've had it finished by now if I wasn't a prick that can't hold to commitments, so my apologies go to Gianluca (the SyMenu developer) and the community. - Most credits go to Gianluca as he has helped me a lot and I encourage everyone with a minimum programming skill set to have a try at creating plugins. It's a fun and interesting experience, and Gianluca is really supportive. Thank you. <em>edited by ineedh3lp on 12/4/2012</em>

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