GO: A Simple Shell Replacement Solution
Version 1.05


Updated:Thursday, March 02, 2006

View my Blog about GO

Download GO with shortcuts and batchfile options (314k).

Download GO with shortcuts, batchfile, active history and skin support (458k).

^ Screenshots, Click one to DOWNLOAD.

 Version   Shortcuts   StartUp.bat   History   Skinable   Registry   ZIP Size   Downloads 
Light Yes Yes NO NO NO 314k Download
Full Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 458k Download

FEATURES
GO is FREEWARE (do you hear the sound of baby angels singing?)

GO is set to IDLE CPU usage, which means it doesn't gulp your runtimes.

GO, as a shell, can start with system resources above 90% (Mileage may vary)

GO will run StartUp.bat when it starts in place of a StartUp folder.

GO supports 38 Hotkey application launches via shortcuts within GO's homefolder. Cut-(A-Z), Cut-(0-9),
!Restart & !Shutdown Example:CTRL+E to launch Cut-E

NEW! - Shortcuts 0-9 (Cut-0,Cut-1 etc.) read the parameters line for parameters.

GO's Fav button can run your favorite app. Like 2xExplorer.exe or that memory intensive game or a screensaver, by default it runs Explorer.

You can nudge GO U/D/L/R 1% of screensize with CTRL+SHIFT+CursorKeys.

Full GO is now skinnable, just make or alter the "Skin.bmp" and save it to GO's homefolder, or pick another with ALT+S. JPG now supported.

Full GO now has an active history of 16 items, which you can access with the cursor keys.

NEW! - I included a Clock.exe I made, 20k and worth every byte.

GO is now immune to all forms of rhinovirus, although it is now afflicted with both narcolepsy and insomnia, it constantly doesn't fall asleep.

GO was written entirely with my lefthand pinky, excluding updates! (I don't lie often)

Commands & Hotkeys
!quit
Close GO.

!help
Run help file just like F1.

!clear (Full GO Option)
Wipe all history items.

ALT+ENTER
Opens the 'Open File' dialog.

ALT+CURSOR UP
Increase master volume by 5%.

ALT+CURSOR DOWN
Decrease master volume by 5%.

ALT+END
Decrease master volume to 0%.

ALT+T (Default-TOP OF SCREEN)
Snap GO to the Leftmost & Top of the screen.

ALT+B
Snap GO to the Leftmost & Bottom of the screen.

CTRL+SHIFT+CursorKeys
Nudge GO U/D/L/R 1% of screensize.

ALT+HOME (Default-NOT TOPMOST)
Toggle Always On Top status.

ALT+L (Default-LOCKED)
Toggle GO's lockdown status.(While GO is locked in place clicking the GO logo will roll and unroll)

CURSOR UP (Full GO Option)
Review previous history item.

CURSOR DOWN (Full GO Option)
Review next history item.

SHIFT+TAB
Show parameters box.

TAB (Default-UNROLLED)
Roll or unroll GO to and from a tiny cube.

ALT+C (Full GO Option)
Toggle between Black or White text. (Saves to registry in Full version)

ALT+S (Full GO Option)
Select a new skin. (Saves to registry in REG Version)

ESC/ALT+F4
Minimize GO.

F1
Displays the help text file.


EVEN MORE INFO
PROMOTIONAL BLURB
GO is super light shell for use with, as near as I can tell, all WINDOWS versions by Microsoft . It features 38 hotkeys that activate shortcuts in its homefolder and a history that is accessable with Cursor Up/Down. It can also be skinned in a variaty of ways (See the Skin Options in the ReadMe for more info). Its overall design is meant to be minimal to provide access to your documents, files and programs with as little fuss as possible. The command line box can be use to type such things as "calc" or "www.shellcity.net" and the browse button can be used to find and run your other files. GO takes up very little screen space (600x40) and can be rolled up to a tiny cube (20x20). In short GO is a very easy and flexible shell replacement that can either be as complex or as simple as you wish.

THE SEGMENTS OF GO
GO has 4 segments that serve 5 functions. The first segment is the GO logo which by default rolls and unrolls GO to and from a tiny cube and if unlocked 'ALT+L' you can drag GO around with it. The second segment is the button to browse for a file and run it. The third segment is a command line that you can type different files into like "calc" or webpages like "www.shellcity.net" and if you press cursor up/down you can access the history. The forth segment is the favorite button that runs the "Fav" shortcut from GO's homefolder otherwise it runs explorer.

PURPOSE
To provide a quick and easy shell that does just what you need it to, open and run files and documents. I made GO because all other shells I've seen are too complex for the average user, and usually huge files with a ton of options that no one really needs and are often shareware and require installation and require alot of configuring. Moreover they are often too easy to close or worse yet crash. GO meets all these concerns and is quite snappy at doing it.

KNOWN ISSUES
I have dug and dug, experimented, researched and come to a simple conclusion, I CAN'T SPECIFY KEYBOARD FOCUS WITH MMB4.7, Sorry... MultiMediaBuilder 4.7 by WWW.MediaChance.Com (the program I used to create GO) does not allow autoscroll with edit boxes. The short story is that the command line is as long as you see it, however many characters you can fit in the space you see and not any more than that. It's a limatation that I can't fix but you can easily get around it by using the Open Common Files dialog.


HOW DO I SWITCH SHELLS? Get a pen!
(Windows98 ADVANCED USERS ONLY)
The easiest (low tech) way to switch shells is:
( 1 ) Click START, then Run...
( 2 ) Type "system.ini" (No Quotes)
( 3 ) Find the line under [Boot] that says "shell=explorer.exe"
  • Don't mess with anything else or you'll screw up your computer. That's your WARNING!
  • ( 4 ) Change it to read "shell=(PATH)" (No Quotes) where (PATH) is the file you want as shell. (ie. PATH=C:\Windows\Go.exe) then save the file.
    ( 5 ) Click START, then Shutdown... and select Restart

    When your computer restarts the ONLY thing that will run is the program you chose as your shell, so choose carefully. When you're done using the different shell you will have to find some way of opening the "c:\windows\system.ini" again and change the "shell=(PATH)" back to "shell=explorer.exe".
    If you're using GO as your shell then simply type "system.ini" (No Quotes) in the command line.
    ( 6 ) Now you have to restart your computer. With GO type "!restart" (No Quotes) or ALT+CTRL+SHIFT+R (Must have shortcut setup for this).
    If you're not using GO and you're a little stuck then the easiest way is to press CTRL+ALT+DELETE twice.


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