ZLauncher - what's the benefit?

[TBolt]

I've installed ZLauncher today and am trying to figure out some of the themes that were made for it.

And, well...anyway...I'm wondering what the benefit is in actually using ZLauncher? Is it supposed to launch applications with greater stability?

It has a "customizable user interface" that provides some extra buttons and information for me to look at (like battery level, amount of free space in the internal and card memory)...okay...so?

What is supposed to be the real benefit to me as a Treo user?

Thanks!

[Stillrockin]

Well, I love zLauncher! Its a file manager, in that it allows you to view move/copy/delete files right from the interface. You can easily make categories and keep your views the way you want to see them. Need extra space in your ROM? Click and stay on say, . . . . .ereader and look at the options it give you. You can send it direct to your card, along with all ebooks associated with it to the card, and all thats left on your ROM is a very, very small shortcut icon. Need it back? The process is almost the same only this time, instead of "move to card" you "move to RAM. If you have been using fileZ, (I did until I tried zLauncher) then you will see that zLauncher is also file manager. Of course then there are all the themes and tweaking you can do fo the appearance. I just installed zLauncher on my 680 this morning. I tweaked several themes today trying to get a look I liked. You can see what all I did theme wise here. imho, its well worth the $20 zztechs ask for it!

EDIT: I might add that zlauncher is the type of app that you don't just learn overnight. There is a manual! I suggest you spend some time in it. This is a very powerful application for the Treo. It does much more than customize the interface . .

[TBolt]

Okay, it's a file manager. Thanks for your input. By the way, nice ZLauncher skin on your site.

[jreagles16]

I can tell you this it is so powerful it took me a week to set it up. I had such a headache from that app. But I recommend it. I think it is a must for more advance palm os users.

I also like having my phone ui, and home screen all customized. Brings the treo experience up three levels. (if that makes sense)

[benjie]

TBolt, I have tried them all and ended up with ZLauncher and I also go back and revisit, as I did both Initiate and LauncherX late last week.

Each of the above does very well and fits the basic needs of saving memory. However, for those that want the most bang for the buck, an application that is exceedingly feature packed, ZLauncher is the big dude on the block. It takes time to learn, but once learned and configured, it is easy to maintain. It also handles multiple creator IDs, something most other launchers do not. As for stability, no problems with the latest release.

Ben

[Stillrockin]

Tbolt, if you came away thinking from my reply that zLauncher is only a fancy file manager, then I didn't do a very good job of explaining it . . This taken from zLaunchers website:

Totally Customizable User Interface:

• Supports THEME & Icon Set. Changing the theme can give you a fresh look of your handheld. Icon Set provides the capability of replacing the any apps' icons, including the apps which are stored in /Palm/Launcher/ of the expansion card.
• ZLauncher can convert a BMP/PGP/JPG file into a background image DB directly. You can change the background image according to your favor. You also can PREVIEW the supported pictures before converting them.
• Each category has its own settings. You can set different icon settings, colors, background images for different tabs.
• Theme Manager provides the most convenience for managing themes, icon sets, and background images.
• You can change various color of the interface, such as icon text color, tab title text color, tab background color, and etc..
• You can change various font of the interface, such as icon text, tab caption text, and etc..
• You can change the different icons for different tabs. The caption of tab can be hidden to save more room to display more tab titles. Tab captions can be hidden manually or automatically.
• Offers up to 15 combinations of user interface and 3 item view modes(Icon view, List view, Detail view). You also can set the UI tansparent to make more background visible and make the screen more .

Flexible Management: ZLauncher provides the most flexibility for different users. You can organize apps/DBs/files of the handheld in tab mode, or in the classical mode without tabs. You can easily and quickly rearrange or hide the tabs according to your favor.

• Each tab matches a system category. You can manage categories quickly and easily. You also can overwrite the category information of system with ZLauncher's, or load the category information from the system to initialize the categories of ZLauncher.
• Each expansion card on the handheld is corresponding to a single tab. Most operations on the files/directories can be done by dragging & dropping.
• Supports Specific Category. You can easily to create a specific tab to group DBs by choosing one of the multiple presets settings or specifying CreatorID and/or TypeID of the DB .
• Supports Trash Bin which is similar to the Recycle Bin in MSWindows. You can archive useless apps or DBs into trash bin, or recover the apps/DBs from the trash bin if necessary. Various deletion options enable you to delete an app easily, quickly, safely and completely.
• Supports creating ShortCut for apps which are stored on expansion card manually or automatically. You can categorize the ShortCut to any app Category. ZLauncher ShortCuts allows the conduits continue to work normally even the corresponding apps are not in the internal memory. You also can assign the ShortCuts to hard buttons.
• Storing apps and their related DBs will free up lots of precious RAM of your handheld, which is much more than the RAM used by ZLauncher itself. You can easily launch app with related DBs via shortcuts.
• Full featured File Manager, enables you to manage all items on your handhelds(internal memory as well as external memory) easily and quickly. You can operate dozens items with a single operation.

Convenient Manipulation:

• Supports Drop. Most manipulations on apps, DBs and files (such as categorizing, viewing information, beaming, deleting, and etc.) can be done by dragging & dropping.
• Supports Tap ; Hold. Tapping on an icon for a second will pop up the operating menu. You also can pop up the menu with JogDial or 5-Way Navigator.
• You can customize Beaming and Deleting operations. If the operated item is an app, you can only operate on the app or operate on it and its related DBs together.
• You also can beam all apps/DBs/files in a tab at one time.
• Supports jog wheels such as Sony JogDial and Handhspring Treo RockerSwitch, and 5-Way Navigator. You can perform most operations with single hand.
• Supports sending apps/DBs/files via Bluetooth/SMS/EMail.
• Special support for lefty users. You can specify the scroll bars listed on the left hand side.

Full/True Expansion Card Support:

• You can directly perform operations such as moving, copying, viewing information, beaming, deleting, and etc. on expansion card files. You even can operate the whole directory tree. This operation is as simple as operating in MSWindows.
• You can export apps and DBs from memory(ROM or RAM) to expansion card, or import the files from expansion card to RAM. The imported files must be in the form of standard PalmOS DB(PRC, PDB or PQA).
• You can launch an app from anywhere of the expansion card.
• Supports multiple expansion cards. You can copy or move files/directories between different expansion cards of a handheld.
• Path-Tree enables you to browse the whole expansion card.

Easy Launching:

• Quick Launch+ list records the favorites/common/latest launched apps. With the help of Quick Launch+ list, you can launch the most used apps quickly and easily.
• Quick Launch Anywhere allows you launch your favorite apps from anywhere, even outside ZLauncher.
• Fast Find enables you finding out a certain app/DB/file quickly. Type character within the preset interval can highlight the item which matches the inputted string best. During the period of highlight, inputting a linefeed character will launch/open the highlighted item.
• You can launch a app by tapping its related DB.

Advanced Information Management:

• View the system information in detail. You can know the status of your handheld clearly at anytime.
• You also can view the information of app/DB/file or modify its attributes.

Easy Function Extension: Supports file association. By associating DBs/files with a specified app, you can directly open a specified DB/file which isn't an app ( E.g., after installation of ZReaderLite for ZLauncher which is bundled with ZLauncher, you can tap to read the PalmOS format document directly.).
You can specify your favorite Doc reader to open standard PalmOS DOC's. The specified app must respond the sysAppLaunchCmdOpenDB launch code to open Docs.
You can specify AcidImage / AcidImage Pro / Rescro Viewer / Splash Photo as the default viewer to open the pictures.
Integrates the Compress/Decompress function of FlyZip.
Supports directly opening HanDBase DBs via HanDBase.
Supports directly opening ISilo documentations via ISilo.
Supports directly opening WordSmith documentations via WordSmith.
Supports directly opening launchable DBs via the responding apps.

[BoneKrusher]

I guess I do not see the advantage yet, I tried setting this thing up and it reverts back to the Palm interface when I press the home key. There does not appear to be any Blue tooth support, I cannot see the icon when it is on the Zlauncher screen, am I missing something here?

[Stillrockin]

Originally Posted by BoneKrusher

I guess I do not see the advantage yet, I tried setting this thing up and it reverts back to the Palm interface when I press the home key. There does not appear to be any Blue tooth support, I cannot see the icon when it is on the Zlauncher screen, am I missing something here?

Try this:

with zlauncher open, goto menu/Options/ZLPreferences.
Under the general tab, select "Default Zlauncher.

close it out, and now hit your home key . .

Bluetooth support?? Such as?

[Kreth]

Originally Posted by Stillrockin

Bluetooth support?? Such as?

I think he's talking about being able to see the Bluetooth icon from ZLauncher. I remember this being a problem with certain themes when I demoed it.

[benjie]

This is an easy thing to work around - there are icons or functions called 'toggle' that when used can turn Bluetooth on/off & sound on/off.

To do the thing: Options -->> ZL Preferences -->> Top/Bot. Bar -->> tap on one of the open areas on the bar you wanna use - let's play with the top one, again tap on one of the open areas, select Plugin -->> ZLPluginStatus -->> it will then display the speaker or bluetooth or something like that -->> then tap that icon and the tap on preferences - and select Sound or Bluetooth!!!!!!!!!

Ben