PanelLauncher

That project came up since I worked on Windows MultiApp kiosk mode with panel PC. At the begining I was focused only on native management, but dealing with bookmarks on a panel is not really user friendly. So, instead of reviewing everything, that solution came up to handle existing work made on bookmarks.

Overview

PanelLauncher is a customizable WPF application launcher that provides a full-screen interface for launching applications, Web sites from managed bookmarks, and controlling system settings like display brightness and scaling.

Features

• Custom Application Launcher: Launch your favorite applications with custom icons
• Bookmark Management: Load bookmarks from Chrome/Edge policies or from a local file
• Display Controls: Adjust monitor brightness and display scaling
• Browser Rules: Open specific URLs in different browsers with custom arguments
• Fully Customizable Theme: Configure colors, backgrounds, and styling via JSON
• Tabbed Interface: Organize content in multiple tabs

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Configuration Files

Some examples can be found under Examples folder

1. config.json

The main configuration file that controls the application behavior and theme.

Properties

Window Settings

Property	Type	Default	Description
windowStyle	string	"None"	Window border style: "None", "SingleBorderWindow", "ThreeDBorderWindow", "ToolWindow"
bookmarkSource	string	"chrome"	Browser to load bookmarks from: "chrome" or "edge"

Theme Configuration

All theme properties are nested under the theme object.

Background

Property	Type	Default	Description
backgroundColor	string	"#3D3834"	Main window background color (hex)
backgroundImage	string	""	Path to background image (absolute path)
backgroundImageStretch	string	"UniformToFill"	Image stretch mode: "None", "Fill", "Uniform", "UniformToFill"

Header

Property	Type	Default	Description
headerBackground	string	"#783CBD"	Header background color
headerBorderColor	string	"#BC9C16"	Header border color
headerTitle	string	"Application Launcher"	Header title text
headerTitleColor	string	"#F3DCAC"	Header title text color
headerLogo	string	""	Path to logo image (absolute path)
exitButtonBackground	string	"#BC9C16"	Exit button background color
exitButtonForeground	string	"#3D3834"	Exit button text color
exitButtonHoverBackground	string	"#F3DCAC"	Exit button hover color

Tabs

Property	Type	Default	Description
tabBackground	string	"#783CBD"	Tab background color
tabForeground	string	"#C9D1D1"	Tab text color
tabBorderColor	string	"#BC9C16"	Tab border color
tabSelectedBackground	string	"#BC9C16"	Selected tab background
tabSelectedForeground	string	"#3D3834"	Selected tab text color
tabHoverBackground	string	"#C7ADE5"	Tab hover color
systemToolsTabBackground	string	"Transparent"	System Tools tab content background
systemToolsTabName	string	"System Tools"	System Tools tab display name
displayTabName	string	"Display"	Display tab display name

Buttons

Property	Type	Default	Description
buttonBackground	string	"#783CBD"	Button background color
buttonForeground	string	"#F3DCAC"	Button text color
buttonBorderColor	string	"#BC9C16"	Button border color
buttonHoverBackground	string	"#BC9C16"	Button hover background
buttonHoverForeground	string	"#3D3834"	Button hover text color
scaleButtonSelectedBackground	string	"#BC9C16"	Selected scale button background
scaleButtonSelectedForeground	string	"#3D3834"	Selected scale button text color

Group Boxes

Property	Type	Default	Description
groupBoxBackground	string	"#783CBD"	Group box background color
groupBoxForeground	string	"#F3DCAC"	Group box text color
groupBoxBorderColor	string	"#BC9C16"	Group box border color
groupBoxBrightnessTitle	string	"Screen Brightness"	Brightness group box title
groupBoxScaleTitle	string	"Display Scale"	Scale group box title
groupBoxApplicationsTitle	string	"Applications"	Applications group box title

Footer

Property	Type	Default	Description
footerBackground	string	"#783CBD"	Footer background color
footerBorderColor	string	"#BC9C16"	Footer border color
footerTextColor	string	"#C9D1D1"	Footer text color

Slider

Property	Type	Default	Description
sliderThumbColor	string	"#783CBD"	Slider thumb fill color
sliderThumbBorderColor	string	"#BC9C16"	Slider thumb border color
sliderThumbHoverColor	string	"#BC9C16"	Slider thumb hover/drag color
sliderTrackFillColor	string	"#C7ADE5"	Slider filled track color (left side)
sliderTrackBackgroundColor	string	"LightGray"	Slider empty track color (right side)
sliderScaleX	number	1.0	Horizontal scale factor (1.0 = normal)
sliderScaleY	number	2.5	Vertical scale factor (2.5 = 2.5x larger)

Status Messages

Custom status messages displayed in the footer. Support string formatting with {0}, {1}, etc.

Key	Default	Parameters
default	"Click on any application or bookmark to launch"	None
launching	"Launching {0}..."	{0} = Application/Bookmark name
launchError	"Failed to launch {0}"	{0} = Application name
launchUrlError	"Failed to open URL for {0}"	{0} = Bookmark name
scaleChanged	"Display scale changed to {0}"	{0} = Scale value (e.g., "125%")
scaleError	"Failed to change display scale"	None

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2. systemapp.json

Defines custom applications to display in the System Tools tab.

Properties

Property	Type	Required	Description
name	string	Yes	Display name for the application
path	string	Yes	Full path to the executable
arguments	string	No	Command-line arguments to pass
icon	string	No	Path to icon file (.ico, .png) or path to .exe to extract icon

3. bookmark.json

Fallback bookmark configuration if browser policy bookmarks are not available.

Properties

Property	Type	Required	Description
toplevel_name	string	No	Internal identifier (filter these out)
name	string	Yes	Display name for bookmark or folder
url	string	No	URL for direct bookmarks
children	array	No	Nested bookmarks/folders

4. browser_rules.json

Defines rules for opening specific URLs in specific browsers with custom arguments.

Root Properties

Property	Type	Required	Description
defaultBrowser	string	No	Browser key to use by default
browsers	object	Yes	Browser configurations
rules	array	Yes	URL routing rules

Browser Configuration

Property	Type	Required	Description
path	string	Yes	Full path to browser executable
defaultArguments	string	No	Default command-line arguments

Rule Properties

Property	Type	Required	Description
name	string	No	Rule description
urlPattern	string	No	Match URLs containing this string
bookmarkName	string	No	Match exact bookmark name
browser	string	Yes	Browser key to use
arguments	string	No	Additional arguments for this rule

Note: Rules are evaluated in order. Either urlPattern or bookmarkName must be specified.

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Keyboard Shortcuts

• Escape: Close the application
• Alt+F4: Close the application

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File Locations

All configuration files should be placed in the same directory as the executable:

PanelLauncher.exe
config.json
systemapp.json
bookmark.json
browser_rules.json

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Browser Bookmark Integration

The application can load bookmarks directly from Chrome or Edge browser policies:

Chrome

• Registry: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome\ManagedBookmarks
• Registry: HKCU\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome\ManagedBookmarks

Edge

• Registry: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge\ManagedFavorites
• Registry: HKCU\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge\ManagedFavorites

If no policy bookmarks are found, the application falls back to bookmark.json.

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Tips & Best Practices

Colors

• Use hex color codes: #RRGGBB
• Named colors are also supported: "White", "Black", "Red", etc.
• For transparency, use "Transparent"

Paths

• Always use double backslashes in Windows paths: C:\\Path\\To\\File.exe
• Or use forward slashes: C:/Path/To/File.exe
• Relative paths are relative to the executable location

Icons

• Supported formats: .ico, .png, .jpg
• You can also specify an .exe path to extract its embedded icon
• If no icon is specified, no icon will be displayed

Slider Customization

• sliderScaleX and sliderScaleY control thumb size
• Values: 1.0 = normal size, 2.0 = double size, etc.
• Recommended: X=1.0, Y=2.0-3.0 for comfortable touch targets