Control Runner v4 - A sneak peek

Posted by admin on September 30, 2008 in launch

As I told on a previous post, we have finally decided to work on Control Runner 4. Truth is that Control Runner is showing its age in many aspects of the program.

In a series of posts starting with this one, I’d like to explain and discuss with our user base the ideas we have for the new version. We have always used input from existing users to enhance Control Runner, but this time we are going to do it in the open.

What is the problem with Control Runner?

In my opinion, the biggest problem of Control Runner is that the core is very old. There are some implementation details that were created more than 10 years ago for Windows 95. Over this core, I have added layers on top of layers, making the internal structure of the program too complex and prone to errors (solving an issue on layer 3 breaks layers 1 and 4).

The only solution is to rewrite from scratch the core of Control Runner. Users should not notice any difference, but the program will be easier to maintain and I will be able to implement many features that have been suggested by users.

In practical terms, I will be able to solve three pending issues that have caused most of the latest minor releases:

Management of the icons used by program buttons.
Loading the configuration files.
Drag and drop operations.

What are the main enhancements of v4

New user interface

As can be seen on the following screen shots the interface of Control Runner will remain very similar:

At first sight, you’ll notice the following four differences:

A toolbar has been added, containing the old utility button, some new buttons and an edit box.
The monitor panel is changed.
The general buttons have changed names, a new one (called Tools) has been added and the last one has a little arrow.
The button with the logo of Control Runner disappears. Note that this only happens because the monitor panel is too big to show the logo. It will still be present on the new version with a more important role.

On the next posts in this series, I will be commenting in detail all these differences.

New program button options

Program buttons will include three new options:

Select different colors for each button.
Include hotkeys to launch programs when Control Runner is not on the foreground.
Launch several programs with the same button.

Plug-ins

Control Runner will be modular. Some of its functionality is going to be implemented using plug-ins. I am creating a SDK for Control Runner which will make possible adding functionality through external plug-ins, without affecting the program itself.

Client/Server version

It will be possible to install Control Runner in a network so that a central Server application will control all Clients installed on the network.

New security options

For public or restricted environments, Control Runner will be able to disable potentially dangerous operations such as the desktop icons, the Start menu, access to explorer, the control panel or the tasks manager.

We want to hear from you

If there is something about Control Runner you do not quite like or you have a need that is not covered, this is the time to influence the new version of Control Runner.

14 Comments on Control Runner v4 - A sneak peek

By Andy McCraw on September 30, 2008 at 12:04 pm

Good Morning Manuel,

Based on our past notes to each other, you are definitely aware of how CR will lose its’ configuration files and revert back to the original “Buy Me” version. I’ve overcome this by backing the files every time I make changes to CR so that I don’t inadvertently lose them. The problem still exists for me and it has crashed at least twice in the last month, but by reloading my backups, I’m able to maintain both systems and mental stability.

The addition of a button that would allow me to do this directly from inside of CR would be a big help.

Good luck with your programming efforts and you can definitely count me in as a Beta Tester,

Cheers,

Andy

By admin on September 30, 2008 at 12:29 pm

Thank you for your comment Andy. Yes, I know that some users are losing their configuration files and this is something that should be corrected in the new version. Nevertheless, I will also add the backup configuration function, because I think it is an useful feature.

By Earl Adams on September 30, 2008 at 5:16 pm

- Please add a function to automatically reorder the buttons in
alphanumeric order.

- Add a function to hide the new toolbar.

By admin on October 1, 2008 at 3:12 am

Earl,

Thank you very much for your suggestions. Both are added to the wish list.

By Mladen Vladimirov on October 1, 2008 at 9:58 am

Hello from Sofia,

I love Control Runner, but something that I find cumbersome is importing new buttons. Are you thinking in improving the import system?

Thanks,

M. Vladimirov

By admin on October 1, 2008 at 10:13 am

Hey Mladen,

Yes, you are very right. In fact the import system is one of the issues that I am changing completely on the new version. My next post will explain what I have in mind. I hope you like it.

By Peter on October 2, 2008 at 2:53 pm

Hi Manuel, as a long time user of CR I am pleased to hear that a new version will soon be available.
The main thing that I would like to see is the ability to dock CR at any edge of the screen, auto-hide and activate by cursor positioning. Count me in for Beta testing.
Cheers, Peter.

By admin on October 2, 2008 at 3:48 pm

Hi Peter,

The “docking” feature of Control Runner existed in the past. I had to remove it on version 3 (when I implemented XP support) because, at that time, there was a conflict with the docking mechanism and programs using OpenGL.

I believe the problem was solved years ago but never re-introduced the feature. But, I will try to make it again for version 4.

By Control Runner 4 - New import features - monaSoftware on October 5, 2008 at 6:52 am

[...] is the second post of the Control Runner 4 Sneak Peek [...]

By Bob Harbeck on October 7, 2008 at 11:50 pm

Have functionality similar to PS Tray Factory where Control Runner is the only icon in the system tray. All the system tray icons are now within a tab in ControlRunner. This would greatly clean up all the icons in the system tray! When you mouseover the ControlRunner icon, perhaps it could be configured to either popup a menu of the system tray icons or display the entire ControlRunner program.

By admin on October 8, 2008 at 3:47 am

Bob,

Thank you very much for the tip. I’ll take a look at it. While I think that the functionality you describe would be useful, I don’t know if I might be able to implement it.

By Victor A Brock on October 14, 2008 at 4:55 am

As a user of Control Runner for some time now, I am lost without it. I have nothing to add to the previous comments. Keep up the good work.

By Control Runner 4 - New program button options - monaSoftware on October 23, 2008 at 12:33 pm

[...] A sneak peek of the new version of Control Runner [...]

By Control Runner 4 Beta 1 has been released - monaSoftware on October 27, 2008 at 6:05 pm

[...] Introduction [...]