MenuBox

Leverage your web design experience to create sophisticated multimedia content or quickly build powerful text-based menus. Use MenuBox to AutoRun-enable your CDs and DVDs, as a multi-purpose application launcher, or as a customized HTML browser. Features include a windowless mode to directly open a document  (e.g. PDF, PowerPoint, Word, etc.) when your medium is inserted in the drive and conditional logic to install viewers, to create multilingual applications and for failsafe fallback.

The free version of MenuBox, which can be registered at any time, offers unrestricted command line functionality and briefly displays a small splash window (like some high-end authoring tools do even after you purchase them) when windows or conditional code are used, but is otherwise fully functional and redistributable.

The above example shows how you can apply your HTML experience and tools to create content which looks more like an application than a "normal" HTML page. Just set the window content size, a title and an icon, and decide whether you want borders, scroll bars, full screen display, etc., then link to your HTML. The user will not see browser-like menu options such as "View Source". The window can be closed and applications can be launched from your HTML code without annoying browser confirmation messages being displayed.

Templates in the new MenuBox Wizard make it very easy to build a project with just a few mouse clicks. Details of the result can then be edited with a text editor, an HTML editor, etc.

Operating Modes

MenuBox can be used in three different modes:

• Windowless (e.g. to open a PDF, Word, PowerPoint, etc. document using the CD-ROM AutoRun functionality)
• Simple window (text menus combined with graphics, mouseover information, sound, fade-in/fade-out effects, etc.)
• Browser window (HTML content in custom window, with options for borderless or full screen rendering, "kiosk" applications, etc.)

The three modes can be combined for fallback purposes.

Features

• Designed to be compatible, reliable and powerful, and to allow you to be up and running in minutes, not hours
• Widely deployed and tested for over 5 years, used on millions of CDs and DVDs
• Text-based approach is powerful, yet lightweight and easy to master
• Complex HTML content can be created with existing authoring experience and tools
• Quietly takes care of numerous details (involving paths, messaging, spawning, etc.) required for compatibility with different applications and operating system versions (not the usual "ShellExecute wrapper")
• Extends the original AutoRun specification (which applies to executable files) by also allowing documents to be automatically opened when the medium is inserted
• Conditional code can be used to display messages, install recommended software (e.g. viewer for PDF, PowerPoint, Word, Flash, AVI or MPEG, or VB runtime), branch to simple window, etc.
• Multilingual support: automatically open localized documents and menu windows based on system language
• MenuBox simple windows include support for custom window attributes (e.g. size, borders, full screen), application title and icon, color depth-optimized bitmaps, mouseover help texts, sound effects, launching programs, opening URLs, minimized/maximized options, printing documents, browsing directories, checking for software updates, etc.
• MenuBox browser windows feature an extended document object model (e.g. to launch applications or to close the MenuBox window via HTML and scripting, but without warning messages) and kiosk mode functionality (automatic reset, disabling of mouse text selection and context menus, etc.), and supports internet-enabled input devices (i.e. events for Back, Forward, Home, etc.)
• Can be used to fulfill AutoRun requirement of Windows Logo programs
• Redistributable runtime code is digitally signed using Authenticode (as AutoRun is increasingly perceived as a potential security risk, some policies may prevent the running of unsigned applications)
• Single, royalty-free, compact redistributable runtime file

Client Requirements

• MenuBox runs on all versions of Windows ("all" currently refers to Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT 4.0 for x86, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008), actively using the most advanced features which are available (e.g. translucency for fade-in and fade-out effects, Windows XP and Windows Vista visual styles, etc.) MenuBox does not run on versions of Windows prior to Windows 95.
• Menubox simple (text menu) windows and the windowless launcher functionality run on all versions of Windows (no special requirements).
• MenuBox browser windows (for HTML-based menus) require Windows 95 v. 950b (also known as OEM Service Release 2 or OSR2) or higher, or Windows 95 with Internet Explorer 3.0 (released in August 1996) or higher, which does not need to be the default browser. Conditional options are included to detect the availability of the browser and to either install the desired version of Internet Explorer or fall back to a text-based simple window or information message.
• The MenuBox browser extended document object model requires Windows 98 or higher, or any version of Windows with Internet Explorer 4.0 (released in September 1997) or higher to be installed, which does not need to be the default browser. Conditional options and scripting code are included to detect the available features and to keep running without errors or install a newer version of Internet Explorer or fall back to a text-based simple window or information message.