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Duh Button Launcher Plus
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Please read the included EULA.txt (End User License Agreement).

Special thanks to all of you that submitted bug reports, and extra special thanks to all of you in the 1src forum!  Thank you all for your help and efforts in developing DBLP!

Kudos, also, to Lukas Grundmann for the VFS support and programming tips, as well as all of you in the Palm Pascal community (ppcompiler.org).

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DESCRIPTION
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Duh Button Launcher Plus is an advanced version of my previous freeware application launcher, Duh Button Launcher.  DBLP is an application that will let you switch applications, with the ease of your devices' hard buttons, without exiting the current application.  After installing DBLP, you can map up to 20 applications on your Palm, memory card, or DA's (Desk Accessories) to each of the four hard buttons (datebook, contacts, tasks, notepad).  Holding a hard button down will loop through each of the applications assigned to that button.  When you release the button, the selected application or DA will launch.

Don't know what a DA is? Palms, as of 5.0, don't multitask (more than one program running at a time).  However, DA's, are small applications you can run without exiting the application you are currently working in.  For example, you're writing a formula in memopad, and can't remember what X-V+4/N(56-Y*2) is.  So, you pop up a calculator DA, do your formula, and resume your memo, without ever exiting the memopad.  I'm sure I'd be wrong stating it as fact, but I personally have never run across a DA I had to pay for.  Most DA's are available as Freeware (cost you nothing to use the application).  Note: DA's are not "hacks," they are very simple Palm applications that just have a different method of being run, by means of a DA launcher.  Much information about DA's can be found online.  Just know, DBLP is not only an application launcher, but a DA launcher as well.

Memory card launching.  As of Palm OS 5.0, it is possible to load applications from a memory card by copying them from the memory card to RAM, and then deleting them when the application finishes, this is what most memory card launching applications do, as well as DBLP.

Note, not all applications can be run from a memory card.  When DBLP runs an application from a memory card, it first copies the executable to your device.  After the application runs, it's deleted from the device.  If other files are required by the executable, it may not run if they are located on the memory card.  Therefore, not all applications may be run from a memory card.

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Usage
------------------------------------Now that you know how great DBLP is, how do you use it?  

After you install DBLP on your Palm device (read the "install.txt"), you will see a new application installed, probably in the "unfiled" category.  DBLP actually is one program with two parts.  The first part is the setup, where you give DBLP explicit instructions.  The second part is the launcher which you use to quickly launch up to 20 different programs per hard button (calendar, contacts, tasks, and notepad).  To setup DBLP, launch the DBLP program by clicking its' icon with your stylus, in whatever Launcher you may be using.  See your devices', or softwares' documentation on how to do this.

Once DBLP starts, you'll be presented with a screen that may look a little intimidating, however, you should have it mastered in minutes.

Enable/Disable  ~~~~~~~~~~~

At the top of the setup screen, you'll see two buttons, "Enable", and "Disable."  When you first run DBLP, you will have to enable it before you can use it, and reasonably, if you need to quickly shut it off for any reason, the disable button is there.

Enable after reset ~~~~~~~~~

Below the enable/disable buttons, is a check box that reads, "Enable after reset".  If you should have to perform a soft reset for any reason, your Palm device will automatically detect and restart the DBLP application, thereby eliminating the need to enable the application after each crash or reset.

Choosing Button to Configure ~~~

Just below the check box, you'll see a drop down list that says, "Button to set".  Select a hard button to configure from the list, such as "Hard Button 1".

Once you select a button to configure, you'll see the button you are working on at the top of the screen.

Assigning Programs ~~~~~~~~~

Below the "Button to set" drop down list are three more titled "Apps in RAM," "Apps on Card," and "DA's."  Selecting an application will cause it to appear inside the list on the bottom right of the screen titled "Mapped Apps."

When you have two or more applications mapped to a hard button, you can rearrange them by selecting an application from your list, and pressing either the up or down green arrows.  You can also remove any application from the list by pressing the red "X".

Speed Button ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pressing the speed button will popup a small window that gives you the option to adjust the scroll delay.  The default scroll delay for the launcher is 20 tenths of a second.  Lowering this value using the minus button will decrease the scroll delay, and vice versa if you increase this value using the plus button.

The "Long Press Delay" value corresponds to the length of time in seconds, before the DBLP launcher will start while holding down a hard button.  Long Press is activated via a check box in the Options screen.

The "Auto Launch" feature can be enabled/disabled in the options screen.  The length of this value determines, in tenths of a second, how long without a key press, before DBLP automatically launches the highlighted application.

Options Button ~~~~~~~~~~~

After I wrote DBLP, I decided to include some tweaks to enhance the DBLP experience.  

-Ignore Card Insert:  Prevents the system from switching back to the default Palm Launcher when you insert a memory card.

-Ignore Hb1, Hb2, Hb3, Hb4: Where "Hb" stands for "Hardware Button."  When checked, the DBLP launcher will not run when the corresponding hard button is pressed. Instead, the hardware button will behave as it typically would.  For instance, it's useful to disable hb1 on a Palm TX, where DBLP conflicts with the "Recent Applications," activated by holding down the 'Home' button.

-Default Hb1-Hb4 App:  On devices like the Palm TX, the preferences button panel only allows you to assign the first hard button to "applications" (default Palm OS launcher), or the "favorites" application.  This option in DBLP allows you to set it to whatever you want.  You can always change it back in the preferences button panel.

-Long press for DBLP: By default, DBLP activates immediately after you press a hard button.  This option waits for you to hold down a hard key for one second before the DBLP launcher activates.  When this feature is enabled, a short key press to a hard button behaves as it normally would, generally launching whichever application has been assigned to that button.

-'Enable Auto Launch':  This feature (enabled by default) automatically launches the highlighted application after a configured number of seconds (in the 'Speed Settings' screen; four seconds by default).

-'Scroll Mode.'  By default, DBLP is in "Scroll Mode," meaning that DBLP will automatically scroll through your list of applications automatically, at the speed set by the scroll delay.  When not checked, you can manually scroll through the applications using the navigational pad, selecting a program via the center select key, a pen tap, or the right key on the navigational pad.  

-TIP:
You can close the DBLP launcher when not in scroll mode by pressing the left button on the navigational pad.  You need to use the ReturnDA to cancel the launcher when in scroll mode.  You can read more details about the ReturnDA below, in the "Extras" section.

-'Font.'  This is the font that will be displayed in the DBLP launcher.

-'DIA support (if available)'.  If your device has a DIA (dynamic input area), then the DBLP launcher window will use the entire screen to display your applications.  You may disable this feature if you prefer the smaller window.

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Extras 
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Included in the DBLP distribution are a few small DA's.  For the most part, the included DA's functions are self explanatory, e.g., power, reset, date/time.  There is one DA in particular, however, called "ReturnDA."  ReturnDA does absolutely nothing, but that IS its' primary function.  If you assign ReturnDA to a hard button, when you select it, program control will return to the program you were just using, as if you never pushed the hard button.

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Tips:
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1. Assign the calendar, contacts, tasks and notepad applications as the first application for each hard button.  When you do this, quickly pressing and releasing the contacts button, will launch contacts like normal (in scroll mode).
2. Assign "ReturnDA" as the last application for each button.  If you accidently hit a hard button while you're in the middle of working on something, or if you press a hard button and then change your mind about switching applications, just scroll down to ReturnDA and resume your task!  Think of it as a "cancel" button for DBLP.  You only need ReturnDA in Scroll Mode.  You can always cancel out of the DBLP launcher in Non-Scroll mode by pressing the left key on the directional pad.
3. Do not check "Enable after reset" until you've ensured that DBLP works well with your device.

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KNOWN ISSUES/BUGS/SUPPORT
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See the "ChangeLog.txt" for specific changes, as well as a list of known issues and bugs.

An unofficial forum has been started at 1src.  I monitor and participate in this thread: 

http://www.1src.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1015246

Email any bugs to supertrucker@supertruckersites.com, with a detailed description of how the error occurred (so I can replicate the error).  Be sure to include what applications, and hacks you have installed, as well as the model and OS version of your Palm device.

Enjoy DBLP!

Supertrucker