Launch

Launch is a very simple Windows utility that runs in the background and watches the Windows clipboard for local file URLs. When a local file URL is copied to the clipboard from any application (usually a web browser), the Launch utility invokes Windows Explorer (or another program) and positions it at the directory which contains the file whose URL was pasted to the clipboard. The primary purpose for this utility is to allow quick access to the directory which contains the file that is being viewed by a web browser.

Usage: LAUNCH [command [; command [; ...]]]

The optional command parameter(s) specifies a command to execute when a file URL is copied to the clipboard. The command parameter should include the command name followed by its command-line arguments. The command-line arguments should include %1, which will be replaced by the full file path of the file URL. If no command line parameters are specified, then the following default command is used to invoke Windows Explorer:

   EXPLORER /e,/select,%1

Once invoked, the Launch window should remain minimized at all times, since it contains no user interface. You can terminate Launch at any time by selecting close from the window's system menu, or by selecting the Launch window and pressing Alt-F4.

If you are using Netscape or Internet Explorer, you can use one of the following methods to copy a local file URL to the clipboard:

If you would like to copy the URL of a link on the currently displayed page, simply right-click on the link and select "Copy Link Location" (Netscape) or "Copy Shortcut" (Internet Explorer).
In Netscape, you can also copy the local file URL of the currently displayed page to the clipboard. Simply highlight the file URL displayed in the Location field at the top of the browser window, and press Ctrl-C.

Other browsers may provide similar methods.

The URL that is copied to the clipboard must be in one of the following formats. Any other format will be ignored by Launch.

   1.  file:///drive:/path
   2.  file:///drive|/path
   3.  http://127.0.0.1/path

Where, drive is a drive letter, and path is an absolute path (starting at the root directory) to a file on that drive. Syntax 2 is allowed for compatibility with Netscape. Syntax 3 is used for local testing of CGI mode. In this mode, drive is not specified, and the path refers to the drive that contains the working directory where Launch was started.

If the file specified by the URL does not exist, the Launch command will not be executed.

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