Rolan - launcher - not portable, not free

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smaragdus
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Rolan - launcher - not portable, not free

#1 Post by smaragdus »

Synopsis
Rolan is a simple, tabbed launcher for programs, files, folders and websites. It comes in two versions- Rolan Lite, which is free, and Rolan Pro, which requires registration.

Features
  • Groups;
  • Different layouts- horizontal, vertical, single page;
  • Minimize to tray;
  • Stay on top;
  • Drag&Drop;
  • Search;
  • Convert to absolute path;
  • Convert to portable path;
  • Run as administrator;
  • Reset icon cache;
  • Sort items by name and by count;
  • Items name location- bottom, right, hidden;
  • Arguments;
  • Hot keys;
  • Themes;
  • Opacity;
  • Small and big icon size;
  • Lock the size and position of main window;
  • Lock the order of groups and items;
  • Copy full path;
  • Create desktop shortcut;
Limitations
Some features in Rolan Lite are disabled but they are not greyed out, selecting such a feature results in This feature requires Rolan Pro. Upgrade now? prompt:

Image

Unavailable features in Rolan Lite:
  • Lock;
  • Auto lock when main window is hidden;
  • New folder group;
  • Clean up duplicate items;
  • Alt + number keys to switch groups;
  • Shift + right mouse button to open Explorer menu;
  • Hold down Ctrl key to unlock the order of groups and items;
  • Hold down CTRL key to prevent automatic hiding;
  • Synchronous configuration;
Links
Website (in Chinese) - https://www.irolan.com/
Download Page (in Chinese) - https://www.irolan.com/download
Documentation (in Chinese) - https://www.irolan.com/docs
FAQ (in Chinese) - https://www.irolan.com/feedback
Pro (in Chinese) - https://www.irolan.com/pro
Softpedia - http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/Lau ... olan.shtml

Downloads
Direct download link for Rolan version 2.1.0 (released on 2017-07-20).

Images

Rolan - horizontal layout:

Image

Rolan - vertical layout:

Image

Rolan - selected item - context menu:

Image

Rolan - blank space - context menu:

Image

Rolan - group - context menu:

Image

Rolan - new item - system items:

Image

Rolan - new item - custom item:

Image

Rolan - search:

Image

Rolan - hamburger menu:

Image

Image

Rolan - hamburger menu - others:

Image

Rolan - settings - about:

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Rolan - settings - general:

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Rolan - settings - action:

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Rolan - settings - appearance:

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Rolan - settings - appearance:

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Rolan - settings - customize:

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Rolan - settings - auto-hide:

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Rolan - settings - search:

Image

Portability
Rolan is portable by design but since it is a .NET program it is not stealth- it writes a log file (Rolan.exe.log) to AppData (C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Local\Microsoft\CLR_v4.0\UsageLogs\Rolan.exe.log).

Instructions
Download the archive (rolan2.zip).
Extract the archive to a folder of your choice.
Run the executable (Rolan.exe).
Data and settings are saved inside program folser (Cache, Data, Lock, Session, Settings).

Requirements
Rolan requires .NET Framework 4.6.2.

License
Rolan Lite is freeware with limitations, Rolan Pro requires a license to be purchased.

Note
I prefer true freeware with no limitations but Rolan is a nice launcher (even with the limitations mentioned above) and I suppose some users may find it useful.
Rolan reminds me of FSL Launcher which is most likely abandoned.
According to Softpedia 1-year license of Rolan Pro costs 0.36 USD but I think they are wrong- it seems that Rolan Pro costs 40.00 CNY (Yuan)- 40.00 CNY = 5.92 USD.
It seems that Rolan Pro can only be purchased via the Chinese service Alipay.
I could not take good screen-shots because program main window seems to be non-standard.

Details
File details for Rolan version 2.1.0 (released on 2017-07-20).
Name: rolan2.zip
File Size: 487865 Byte(s) (476.43 KB)
Modified Date: 2017-07-20 17:03
MD5: b5bdd8d892f3a9fc2e3635db71458de9
SHA1: 9c060381c9a89f55b63ad5ad86312cf6f417ecf0
SHA256: 06617a97d0344152e8b7a90a0b08e4e5001c60ce2ab38312094b8b6e543a2bec
SHA512: b23d92b732f85e7e6e9aa254b58ec1dd76bef3b19e7a898e584b538908518e57b5ff6d583acede4188e30ebb1452c26047fa983480be53ad137b7ff572b6cf4d

VirusTotal analysis
SHA256: 06617a97d0344152e8b7a90a0b08e4e5001c60ce2ab38312094b8b6e543a2bec
File name: rolan2.zip
Detection ratio: 3 / 61
Analysis date: 2017-07-26 03:17:12 UTC
False positives by Baidu, Cylance, TrendMicro-HouseCall.

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Midas
Posts: 6705
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Location: Sol3

Re: Rolan

#2 Post by Midas »

smaragdus wrote:Rolan is a nice launcher (even with the limitations mentioned above) and I suppose some users may find it useful.
Indeed, I find Rolan quite good, almost on par with my beloved (and departed) FastLauncher. 8)

FYI, it might be detecting the presence of DotNET v4.6x for running, but Process Explorer tells me needed framework is v4.0.

Now, Rolan would be perfect if an option to hide the title bar (marked in red in my screencap) was available -- or if it wasn't dependent on DotNET, but that is asking too much nowadays.

IMHO, one feature it really shows the developer's concern for portability is that path conversion present in "hamburger menu - others".

Image
Last edited by Midas on Sat Apr 28, 2018 4:08 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Midas
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Location: Sol3

Re: Rolan

#3 Post by Midas »

Topic update: Rolan v2.1.5 released, dated 2017-11-07 (Chinese changelog and download at https://www.getrolan.com/download).

Google translation of latest changelog entry...
  • [url]https://www.getrolan.com/download[/url] author wrote:2.1.5 # 2017-11-07
    [*]Support hot key binding
    [*]Support monitoring speed information
    [*]Support custom themes
    [*]New growth cycle update channel
    [*]Optimize interface animation
    [*]Optimize a large number of functional logic
    [*]Optimize performance under low-profile machines
    [*]Improve the key verification failed
    [*]Some Pro features are open for free
    [*]Solve problems that can not be called out
    [*]A lot of improvement and repair

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webfork
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Re: Rolan

#4 Post by webfork »

I didn't give much time to this when smaragdus posted about it initially as I was happy with my current launcher setup but I've really been enjoying XVA so I took a closer look to see if this could do something similar.

> Some Pro features are open for free

Any guess which features opened up?

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Midas
Posts: 6705
Joined: Mon Dec 07, 2009 7:09 am
Location: Sol3

Re: Rolan

#5 Post by Midas »

webfork wrote:Any guess which features opened up?
  • Sorry, no clue. But I'm testing it currently and am pretty satisfied with the results. And apparently it isn't DotNET dependent anymore... :shock:

    The issue I have with XVA, which I also like very much, is the inability to remove the bottom dock space, which lays empty and wasted in my usage...

    BTW, do you happen to know whatever happened to smaragdus?

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smaragdus
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Location: Aeaea

Re: Rolan - not portable, not free

#6 Post by smaragdus »

I am sorry I submitted this to the forum- the developer is greedy and evil and his program does not deserve publicity:
  • Rolan versions are set to expire:
    Image
  • Auto-update cannot be disabled, when an older version is started without asking it creates 2 files- "Rolan.download" & "Update.1046258867.bat" and it downloads the latest version. I couldn't block it via Windows firewall.
  • Rolan is not portable since version 2.3.0, it automatically moves configuration files from program folder to AppData:

    Code: Select all

    C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Roaming\Rolan
  • Rollan is subscription-based ($1.49 / mo).
I am sorry if users have wasted time testing this program.

@moderators
Please move this thread to another sub-forum, perhaps to Chit-Chat.

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webfork
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Re: Rolan - not portable, not free

#7 Post by webfork »

smaragdus wrote: Fri Apr 27, 2018 2:01 pm I am sorry I submitted this to the forum- the developer is greedy and evil and his program does not deserve publicity
I've moved forums. You can also modify your first post to add this same disclaimer if you'd like.

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