ClutterBuster - a tiny, useful program launcher

Message

garbanzo · #1 Post by **garbanzo** » Thu May 15, 2008 3:23 am

found this the other day. this is the description from the webpage:

ClutterBuster is an application that will hold most of the shortcuts, to software, that you have on your desktop.

Each button can be set by right clicking and selecting the .exe file you want to associate with it. The button will show the image, from the icon found in the .exe file. If it has no icon, the button will show blank.

When you close ClutterBuster it will store all of the info in an .ini file.

Once you set it, you can then delete all the clutter from your desktop and use ClutterBuster to access your programs instead.

get Clutter Buster here, along with a host of other tiny portable apps:

http://appsapps.info/clutterbuster.php

Drutt · #2 Post by **Drutt** » Thu May 15, 2008 3:45 am

Looks just right for a cute sub-launcher for all my games

Correct linkage is:
http://appsapps.info/clutterbuster.php

Download:
http://appsapps.info/downloads/ClutterBuster.zip

Screeny:

edit
Pedanticism or detail

garbanzo · #3 Post by **garbanzo** » Thu May 15, 2008 3:58 am

that was pedantic.

i don't like the idea of hotlinking directly to a download hosted on someone else's page. but if you feel it's necessary, then so be it...

edit - you even used the screenshot he is hosting. why? i re-upped it to imagevenue so i could let them take the bandwidth, meager though it might be.

grannyGeek · #4 Post by **grannyGeek** » Thu May 15, 2008 7:50 pm

Nice collection of tiny gadgets, thanks for the links.

Especially check his Links / Humor section.

How To Shoot Yourself In The Foot is PRICELESS!!!!
http://www-users.cs.york.ac.uk/~susan/joke/foot.htm

Best laugh I've had in weeks.

Ameri-CAIN · #5 Post by **Ameri-CAIN** » Thu May 15, 2008 9:22 pm

The Awesome part about this app is you can rename the executable to what ever you want and it will keep a seperate .ini file for it. For example you can rename it to Games and save the shortcuts to all of your Games, and have another copy of the app renamed to Admin tools for Administrative utilities. Its small and simple. I like it.

garbanzo · #6 Post by **garbanzo** » Thu May 15, 2008 11:15 pm

Ameri-CAIN wrote:The Awesome part about this app is you can rename the executable to what ever you want and it will keep a seperate .ini file for it. For example you can rename it to Games and save the shortcuts to all of your Games, and have another copy of the app renamed to Admin tools for Administrative utilities. Its small and simple. I like it.

great idea! i was concerned about how i would stuff all my apps into one window and still keep them organized...

it'd be nice if this were resizable, but alas... i saw a similar program the other day that was tabbed and had more features in general, but its memory footprint was far too large for me i didn't grab it. i can look around, i might be able to find it again...

Checker · #7 Post by **Checker** » Fri May 16, 2008 5:10 am

Ameri-CAIN wrote:The Awesome part about this app is you can rename the executable to what ever you want and it will keep a seperate .ini file for it.

Superb idea - I'll do so.

Ameri-CAIN · #8 Post by **Ameri-CAIN** » Fri May 16, 2008 9:16 pm

Hey garbanzo,

If you are looking for a really cool apps launcher, then this may cure what ails you.

http://www.portablefreeware.com/?id=692

I use ASuite on my portable drive, but I was looking for something more like clutter buster for my local PC. (Games, Programs etc.)

garbanzo · #9 Post by **garbanzo** » Fri May 16, 2008 9:54 pm

Ameri-CAIN wrote:Hey garbanzo,

If you are looking for a really cool apps launcher, then this may cure what ails you.

http://www.portablefreeware.com/?id=692

I use ASuite on my portable drive, but I was looking for something more like clutter buster for my local PC. (Games, Programs etc.)

just the kind of thing i was looking for

clutterbuster is slick, but i don't like the lack of labels, and i don't want to have to rename all my apps or make a bunch of shortcuts to make the tooltips clearer and more regular (yes, i'm compulsive).

i use a shell replacement so i have no start menu - i get to my apps with Launchy. i also use a different file browser than explorer. works great for me, but my wife prefers a more visual system. this will be just perfect. thanks!

Kea · #10 Post by **Kea** » Mon May 19, 2008 3:48 am

1. ClutterBuster doesn't work as expected. When I started Eggsucker from ClutterBuster, it saved the Eggsucker.cfg not in Eggsucker's folder as usual, but in ClutterBuster's folder. Then ClutterBuster refused to start!

2. I do miss a possibility to reduce the grid. With 15 games and a grid consisting of 100 squares the "clutter" is really bigger than before.

3. With no possibility to use an optional icon on exes that don't have an icon, I get a lot of "empty" squares despite the fact that they are not empty.

4. I can't edit the labels. How do I remember what pgmj, map, dms and other such names stand for, especially if I really fill the grid with 100 apps?

amitri · #11 Post by **amitri** » Mon May 19, 2008 2:45 pm

Kea, you need something like TurboLaunch. However it's not free or portable.
http://www.savardsoftware.com/turbolaunch/

grannyGeek · #12 Post by **grannyGeek** » Mon May 19, 2008 7:37 pm

@ Kea --
Two other launchers you might want to try

Qsel, but it won't be a tidy little grid, it lays your shortcut icons out looking like a mini Explorer window.
A little bit of configuration work to set it up, but really tiny - under 200 KB -- and easy to use
http://www.portablefreeware.com/?id=1133#comments

Toolbox can give you boxes of any size that hold "toolbuttons" to link to your apps, and you can edit the "tooltip" text to your liking.
Looks really slick, but is a much larger app _ 2 MB _ and takes more work to configure.
http://www.portablefreeware.com/?id=200#comments

Kea · #13 Post by **Kea** » Tue May 20, 2008 12:46 am

Thanks for the suggestions. For portable apps I have Pstart. For installed apps I simply use a very organized folder called Menu, with nested folders containing the (more than 800) shortcuts, which means that I haven't had a "cluttered" desktop since 1998

I only have two icons on the desktop: My Computer and the waste basket (I don't know what it is called in English). The Menu is sitting in the quick launch field...

My first objection to Clutter Buster was this:

1. ClutterBuster doesn't work as expected. When I started Eggsucker from ClutterBuster, it saved the Eggsucker.cfg not in Eggsucker's folder as usual, but in ClutterBuster's folder. Then ClutterBuster refused to start!

And that's why I won't recommend other to use it.

app103 · #14 Post by **app103** » Sat May 24, 2008 5:11 pm

Hi, I am the developer of ClutterBuster and the other applications found on appsapps.info.

Not all my apps are portable, some do use the registry to store user settings.

I will be updating my site at some point to supply information on which ones are portable, which ones are not, why they are not, and in some cases how to make them portable.

In the meant time, this is the short list of ones that are NOT portable:

AnotherOneDone
Instant Boss
DClock 2 (however, DClock 1 is portable)

Now, about ClutterBuster...

@Kea I have no idea what an "Eggsucker" is or why it would be misbehaving when launched from ClutterBuster, or cause ClutterBuster to fail. It should be no different than launching from a shortcut on your quicklaunch.

I really wish I could improve ClutterBuster in ways that would make everyone happier but the truth of the matter is, I can't. Most of the functionality in that program relies on a 3rd party component that was not written by me, including the creation of the .ini files. I usually save settings to the registry or in the case of the applications that are portable, there isn't any settings to mess with. This 3rd party component is the reason why this application is an exception to that rule.

I am a self taught programmer that doesn't have a lot of knowledge and experience. I still have a lot to learn. This is why I am not very good with adding user requested features to my applications. I can only add what I know how to add.

To be perfectly honest, up until about a few months ago, when everyone started paying attention to it, I had plans on pulling ClutterBuster and a few other applications off my website. It is a quite old project that has gone as far as it will go and wasn't very popular for a very long time. There is a reason for this...it's crap.

ClutterBuster was originally something I threw together to get my daughter to stop yelling at me. At the time we shared a very old computer with a single user account and she was upset that my applications were taking over the quicklaunch. Later on, I put it on my site because I didn't have much else to offer visitors.

Then someone over at ShellCity.net picked my worst two applications to spotlight. The next thing I know, much to my horror, everyone is going nuts over ClutterBuster.

I am sorry to disappoint everyone. I have no plans on developing this application any further at all. For all sakes and purposes, you can consider it abandonware. If you decide to use it, you will do so with the understanding that there will not be any bug fixes or new features added. If you like it, as is, and it works well for you...enjoy it.

If you would rather have an appplication launcher that is still being actively developed and is portable, can I suggest LaunchBarCommander from Donationcoder.com? http://www.donationcoder.com/Software/M ... index.html

I know the developer, personally, and I can assure you he is a hard working, dedicated, brilliant, experienced coder, who is obsessed with his projects. You would probably be much happier with his launcher than with mine, in the long run.

All of his software is donationware, meaning you decide on the price, from $0 to whatever you think it is worth and can afford to pay...so it could be freeware, if that is what you decide.

Checker · #15 Post by **Checker** » Mon May 26, 2008 11:07 am

app103 wrote: ... @Kea I have no idea what an "Eggsucker" is or why it would be misbehaving when launched from ClutterBuster, or cause ClutterBuster to fail. It should be no different than launching from a shortcut on your quicklaunch.

Eggsucker is a "Bust-A-Move"-like game.
See screenshot: http://www.brothersoft.com/games/tetris ... _2514.html