ProgramMenu/ProgramMenuPlus

Published Oct 31, 2000/Last Updated Jan 30, 2007

ProgramMenu/ProgramMenuPlus

When Microsoft released Windows CE 2.0, I felt happy with the new cascading Start Menu. Until then, I felt uncomfortable with the monolithic menu, and I used to use Cascading Menus which was included in the Power Toys for Windows CE 1.0.

A few years later, Microsoft introduced new Windows CE 3.0 based Pocket PC. I was disappointed to see the old-fashioned Start Menu which I saw in Windows CE 1.0. Program launcher was moved to a full screen window with Palm style. It is not so bad however I felt really comfortable with the Start Menu of Palm-size PC.

Thus I created this software. This just shows the program items in the same fashion as the Palm-size PC did. The menu items are taken from a specific folder (that is, \Windows\Start Menu\Programs. The folder location varies according to the device locale setting. ProgramMenu follows the setting automatically).

If you put the ProgramMenu at your Start Menu, you can invoke it from the Start Menu. When ProgramMenu is invoked instead of `Programs', Start Menu disappears but ProgramMenu appears instead as the above figure.

By default, ProgramMenu lists the same content as `Programs' shows. The difference includes ProgramMenu lists them as menu items. If subfolders are included in the `Programs' items, ProgramMenu will show cascading menu for listing the sub-contents of them.

You can create your own menu which is independent from the `Programs' content. So that you can have another launching path for your applications than the built-in `Programs'.

Creating your own menu is quite easy. It is much like creating your Start Menu using file explorer. The only thing you have to do with ProgramMenu is to specify the folder you want to use to put your menu items.

ProgramMenuPlus

ProgramMenuPlus is an upper version of ProgramMenu. ProgramMenuPlus can display a small window on the far left side of navigation bar on which you can tap to bring up a cascading program menus. You can replace the Start Menu with ProgramMenuPlus with this function. You are able to raise the Start Menu by tapping right area of the Start Button window, even if you use this function.

Tips for collaborating with the Start Menu

The author recommend that the alternative folder for your own menu would be located below the Start Menu folder, that is, below the `\Windows\Start Menu' (Note that the folder location varies according to the device locale setting), and it would be, for example, `\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Program Menu'. This enables ProgramMenu to add the icons of launched programs on the top of the standard Start Menu.

Nominated in the "System and Registry" category for a Best Software Award 2005.	ProgramMenu is the best of its category and platform for the year 2006 as a result of the test experience of the experts in the field of handheld software of the editorial staff of "ITM praktiker" (Austria).	Nominated in the "System and Registry" category for a Smartphone & Pocket PC Best Software Award 2006.

Downloads(Approx. 90KB)

ProgramMenu is compatible with tGetFile.dll. Please do not forget to install tGetFile.dll for easier file and folder selection in ProgramMenu Settings dialog.

ProgramMenu is a free software. While ProgramMenuPlus is a shareware. License condition is written in a distributed file. Read the condition before using the ProgramMenu/ProgramMenuPlus.

Purchase ProgramMenuPlus

Shareware fee for ProgramMenuPlus is now $5.00 (note that ProgramMenu without "Plus" is a free software). The fee will change according to its added features. That is, the fee may increase in the future. Once you purchased the software, you can update with free for minor updates (the updates of only "y" is changing in ver "x.y"). I intend to make the major updates (the updates of "x" is changing in ver "x.y") free, but it may sometimes charge an update fee if the update brought a lot of new features.

Please visit the following site for purchasing ProgramMenuPlus:

Changes

3.14 2004.9.27 Improved compatibility with Windows Mobile 2003 SE

• ProgramMenu improved compatibility with Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition Pocket PC, including VGA screen.

3.10 2003.9.12 Systemwide settings for menus added

• Systemwide settings for menus have been added.

3.9 2003.8.11 Start button refreshes when the theme changes, etc

• ProgramMenuPlus' start button refreshes automatically when the theme changes.
• Detecting method of device power on has been changed. Because of this change, the Storage Card problem is no longer meaningful. So that, warning message will no longer be displayed even when one attempts to install ProgramMenu to a Storage Card.
• ProgramMenuPlus 3.6, 3.7 and 3.8 hid start button when Password or Information Screen is displayed. Now it is configurable. Hiding the button is performed by an additional thread, so that, you can turn off a thread by turning "Hide the button" option off.

3.8 2003.5.26 Miscellaneous problems fixed.

• Transparent start button problem observed on iPAQ 3955 has been fixed. The problem was introduced in ver 3.5.
• Creating shortcuts which points to upper folder sometimes made ProgramMenu create infinite program menu tree. This problem has been fixed.
• Installing ProgramMenu on a Storage Card might have caused a problem. An error message stating "Cannot execute pmenu.exe" when Pocket PC device was turned on. This problem has been worked around. Installing ProgramMenu on a Storage Card is still not recommended.
• A few other minor fixes have been made.

3.7 2003.3.25 WIS Bar related degradation fixed

• WIS Bar related degradation has been fixed. ProgramMenuPlus 3.6 could not raise its menu when it was executed and its start button was pushed while WIS Bar was running.
• Safeguard has been added. In the case a reset operation was performed while ProgramMenu was creating menu trees, the next execution of ProgramMenu will raise settings dialog before creating menu trees.

3.6 2003.3.20 Default start button has changed to transparent one, etc

• Default start button has changed to transparent button.
• WIS Bar related process has been removed since transparent button made this unnecessary.
• "Launch delay" option added. In the case the whole screen is covered by a startup window after soft reset, or program menu tree are built on a memory card which is recognized by Pocket PC a few seconds after the soft reset, this option will solve the problem.
• Automatic SIP pop up for edit fields in setting dialog.
• Smart installer/uninstaller added, which no longer requires exiting ProgramMenu before installation/uninstallation of ProgramMenu.
• Start button of ProgramMenuPlus has been removed from the Pocket PC password screen, Owner information screen, etc.
• A few other minor problems have been fixed.

3.2 2002.9.2 Two bugs fixed

• ProgramMenu exhausted CPU time in the case a certain kind of substantial files -- not shortcut files -- existed under ProgramMenu's menu folder. This problem has been fixed.
• Plural setting dialogs could be opened. This problem has been fixed.

3.1 2002.8.26 An option to generate an auto start shortcut, etc

• An option to generate an auto start shortcut file in Windows startup folder has been added.
• /s command line option now performs menu tree caching so that the menu items can be rapidly accessed from the first time. ProgramMenu took a long time to pop up in the first time in the case there were a lot of menu items.
• A memory corruption problem has been fixed. The problem may have been observed as corruptions of menu item strings. The problem may have occurred in the case there was a shortcut file to a folder in the ProgramMenu's menu folder, and the name of the shortcut file was shorter than the target folder name. This problem was introduced in ver 1.3.
• ProgramMenu was listed up by task managers just after launched with /s command line option. This problem has been fixed. This problem was introduced in ver 2.0.

2.1 2002.4.25 The code base has been merged to SmallMenu, etc

• The code base of ProgramMenu has been merged into SmallMenu's one.
• Start button bitmap can be placed anyware on the device.
• Custom menu folder can be chosen via tGetFile.dll's folder dialog.

2.0 2001.11.12 Menu Launcher has been integrated

• Menu Launcher of ProgramMenu Toys has been integrated as ProgramMenuPlus. Now ProgramMenuPlus can display an alternative start button to take over Start Menu.
• Settings dialog has been divided from ProgramMenu into separate executable.
• Online help has been added.
• '/s' command line option to invoke ProgramMenu without popping up menu has been added.
• PC setup has been added.

1.4 2001.3.21 A minor degradation fixed

• A function to close the menu by the second execution of ProgramMenu introduced in v1.1 not work with v1.3. This has been fixed.

1.3 2001.3.16 Treatment for shortcuts to folders changed

• Shortcuts to folders treated as usual folders. This means that putting shortcut to `\My Documents', for example, will generate menu for documents.

1.2 2000.11.14 Cursor navigation problem fixed

• A problem with cursor navigation has been fixed. ProgramMenu lost its focus when the submenu was closed by the left arrow cursor.

1.1 2000.11.6 Minor changes on Hardware button, etc

• The second click of the button became to close to the menu if ProgramMenu was assigned to a Hardware button.
• `About' and `Exit/Refresh' items are moved to `Program Menu' which leads to a pop up menu including both items.

1.0 2000.10.31 The first version