The Portable Freeware Collection Forums

Famulus is a text based file and application launcher, similar in concept to several applications already in the database. It is open source freeware, written in AutoHotkey. I wrote it, with a great deal of help from several sources including guinness. I ask that you give it a try see if you deem it worthy of inclusion.
http://crzyinc.weebly.com/famulus.html

It gets my vote

Great name and beautiful icon.

Can it be configured not to use Numpad?

I am Baas wrote:Great name and beautiful icon.

Can it be configured not to use Numpad?

Thanks, and yes. It can be set to use almost any key or key combination.

dmg: Lovin' it! Great work!

I'm able to use relative file paths by simply entering "../APP NAME/APP.EXE" into "File Path". Nice!

Memory size is around 400-500k when idle and around 1-2MB when active. In comparison, Executor is currently running at around 8MB. (I'm using a skin so that might also affect the memory usage.)

I've got a feature request. Can we add hotkey support to commands? Executor does this.

One bug report I've found is I can't seem to use the space key as an activation key. I want to use Alt + Space.

I've got a feature request. Can we add hotkey support to commands? Executor does this.

I am sure it is possible, but it would be pretty far outside what I originally intended for Famulus. I will think about it.

One bug report I've found is I can't seem to use the space key as an activation key. I want to use Alt + Space.

This is actually a limitation of the hotkey gui control built into Windows. You can get around it by manually editing the ini file. You may need to look up the proper syntax here: http://www.autohotkey.com/docs/Hotkeys.htm

Thank you for the feedback.

Hi dmg, thanks for the tip for manually editing the settings.ini. That worked!

Hope you implement hotkeys for commands when you have some time.

In the meantime, I'm definitely going to use Famulus on my memory-challenged netbook. It's going to replace Hoekey.

Edit: Just added it to TPFC!
http://www.portablefreeware.com/index.php?id=2265

freakazoid wrote:I'm able to use relative file paths by simply entering "../APP NAME/APP.EXE" into "File Path". Nice!

Famulus also has a limited 'convert to relative' function. See the documentation.

freakazoid wrote:Edit: Just added it to TPFC!

Much obliged.

Famulus is at v1.00.1b. I have updated the database.

Hey dmg,

Nice to see the filesize go down!

I see that you've added Windows Run commands in this update, however I couldn't get any of them working.
I tested with "cmd" and "calc" but got this error:

Code does not match any known command. Please try again.

Any idea why? FYI, I'm on Windows XP if that helps at all.

Also, I'd like to request the ability to set the font size of the dialog prompt.
I'm using Famulus in the center position and would like it preferably a little larger.

I see that you've added Windows Run commands in this update, however I couldn't get any of them working.
I tested with "cmd" and "calc" but got this error:...Any idea why? FYI, I'm on Windows XP if that helps at all.

Famulus was always able to use the same commands as the Windows Run utility, but you have to prepend the command with the @ symbol ie @calc or @wmplayer. This is also how you run web addresses. The @ prefix just tells Famulus that what you are typing should be run directly and not compared to the command list. I described this in the readme and the features list on the website but I see I neglected to include it in the actual help file... Sorry.

I will make the necessary changes.

Also, I'd like to request the ability to set the font size of the dialog prompt.
I'm using Famulus in the center position and would like it preferably a little larger.

Sounds like an excellent idea. I will work on it.

A question: the current version automatically deletes or restores the sounds folder. Would it make more sense if it only restored, allowing the user to decide when and if they want to delete it?

The @ prefix just tells Famulus that what you are typing should be run directly and not compared to the command list.

That makes a whole lot of sense! My fault for not reading the readme.

A question: the current version automatically deletes or restores the sounds folder. Would it make more sense if it only restored, allowing the user to decide when and if they want to delete it?

You could do that if you want. I personally don't have any preference about this.

dmg wrote:A question: the current version automatically deletes or restores the sounds folder. Would it make more sense if it only restored, allowing the user to decide when and if they want to delete it?

I would say (from personal experience) that you should leave the preference of whether or not the sounds folder is present to the user. Of course you're the developer so you have the upper-hand on this decision, but there was one developer that kept restoring the Readme file after I deleted, because quite frankly the application was easy to use so therefore was pointless.

I saw freakazoid's comments about deleting unnecessary files to save space, and it occurred to me that if someone deleted the sound files and later wanted to turn on application sounds they would have to re-download Famulus. I thought that by storing the .wav files in the .exe and extracting them when and if sounds were turned back on it would be more convenient. But I went a step further and made it so the sounds folder would be automatically deleted if the app sounds were turned off. In retrospect I think this is both unnecessary and potentially annoying. I will most likely change this in the next version to restore only.

If anyone has any thoughts please chime in.