MSE Software Suite Launcher Windows 10&11

Software Suite Launcher — User Guide

Launch and organize apps, URLs, shortcuts, and folders from a single, icon grid.

Accepted items

• .exe — Applications (supports custom arguments & working directory)

• .lnk — Windows shortcuts (keeps vendor icon; can repair target)

• .url — Internet shortcuts (open in your default browser)

• Folders — Opens in File Explorer

Adding items

• Add ▾ → Add Program (.exe/.lnk/.url) or Add ▾ → Add Folder…

• Drag & drop .exe, .lnk, .url, or folders into the window

• Advanced → Scan Start Menu… — imports shortcuts with optional auto-category from folder names

• Duplicate guard prevents adding the same name+path twice (you’ll get a notice)

Tiles

• Click to launch/open. Right-click for: Open location · Rename · Edit properties · Set category · Pin/Unpin · Run as admin (.exe) · Remove

• Pinned tiles show a ★ and appear first (also show in the tray mini-launcher)

• Missing items show a warning; use Fix missing… or Auto-find…. For shortcuts: Repair shortcut target…

Search, Arrange & Categories

• Search box filters by name, path, description, and category (shortcut: Ctrl+F)

• Arrange: Type · Name · Path · Category (adds group headers)

• Category filter: choose a single category from the drop-down to filter the view

• Right-click a tile → Set category… to assign; clear with an empty value

• Organize → Move selected to category… — bulk move (can scope to current filtered view)

• Organize → Manage Category Colors… — color-code categories; headers & tile accents reflect the color

Edit properties (per item)

• Name, Path (.exe/.lnk/.url/folder), Description

• Arguments (for .exe only) — appended on launch; supports quoting

• Working directory (for .exe only)

• Category — free-text label for grouping/filtering

System Tray mini-launcher

• Tray icon shows Pinned apps and quick Category submenus for fast launching

• Left-click the tray icon to show/hide the main window

• Tray menu also has Show Launcher · Hide Launcher · Quit

Start Menu import

• Advanced → Scan Start Menu… searches:

• %ProgramData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
  %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs

• Pick items via checkboxes; duplicates are disabled automatically

• Enable “Auto-category from folder path” to map the first subfolder as the category

Handling missing or moved items

• Tiles with missing paths warn in the tooltip and style; right-click the tile:

• Fix missing… — browse to the new file/shortcut

• Auto-find… — searches common locations (Start Menu, Program Files, Windows)

• Repair shortcut target… — for .lnk files whose target moved

Admin & launching

• Right-click → Run as administrator (UAC prompt appears)

• Standard launches suppress console flicker for GUI apps

Scrolling & layout

• Grid shows 12 tiles (4×3) before scrolling

• High-DPI friendly; icons are cached for snappy redraws

Import / Export / Validate

• Advanced → Export Suite… — save your list to a JSON file

• Advanced → Import Suite… — replace or merge with a JSON file

• Advanced → Validate Suite — quick check for missing items

Configuration & data

• apps.json (your suite):

• Portable (if writable): …\SoftwareSuiteLauncher_Config\apps.json
  Otherwise: %APPDATA%\MSI-SoftwareSuite\SoftwareSuiteLauncher\apps.json

• A backup apps.json.bak is created before each save (auto-restore on errors)

• categories.json stores your category color choices (same folder as apps.json)

• icon_cache folder stores rendered icons for faster startup (safe to delete; auto-rebuilds)

• Advanced → Open Config Folder (Advanced) is guarded with a safety warning

Single-instance

• Only one instance runs at a time. If already running, the app shows an informational message.

Policies

• Paths on Z: or R: drives are blocked by policy (cannot add, open, repair, or launch).

Keyboard shortcuts

• F1 — User Guide

• Ctrl+F — Focus Search

• Delete / Backspace — Remove focused tile (with confirmation)

Tip: If icons ever look stale, just delete the icon_cache folder from the config directory; it will be rebuilt automatically.