💾 About The Project

HTML Project Launcher Professional

HTML Project Launcher Professional is an advanced PowerShell application that provides a professional-grade graphical user interface (GUI) for discovering, managing, and launching local HTML projects. It scans multiple user-defined folders, aggregates all found HTML files, and displays them in a powerful, sortable, and groupable list. The application also supports project-specific metadata and can generate a modern web-based dashboard to serve as a visual launchpad for all your projects.

Built by: Zachary Whiteman & Google Gemini Ai.

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🔰 Getting Started

This script acts as a central hub for managing and accessing local web projects.

🕰️ Prerequisites

To run this script, you will need:

Windows Operating System.
PowerShell 5.1 or newer.
.NET Framework: Required for the Windows Forms GUI.

💽 Installation & Execution

Download: Download the HTML Project Launcher Professional.PS1 script file.
Unblock: Right-click the file, go to Properties, and click Unblock if the file was downloaded from the internet.
Run: Execute the script from a PowerShell console.
```
.\HTML Project Launcher Professional.PS1
```

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🚀 Usage

The application provides a comprehensive interface for managing your HTML projects.

Main List View: The central part of the application lists all discovered HTML projects. You can sort by clicking on column headers or group by various attributes using the "View" menu.
Managing Project Folders: Use the File -> Manage Project Folders... menu to add or remove directories that the application should scan for projects.
Launching a Project: Double-click a project in the list or right-click and select "Open Project" to launch it in your default web browser. A small navigation overlay will be injected into the page to allow you to go back or return to the main dashboard.
Web Dashboard: Click the View Dashboard in Browser button (or use the "Tools" menu) to generate and open a dashboard.html file. This dashboard provides a modern, tile-based interface to visually browse and launch your projects.
Metadata: Right-click a project and select "Edit Metadata..." to add or edit information like "Author" and "Version," which is stored in a separate .meta.json file alongside the project.
Ignoring Files: If you want to hide a specific file from the list, right-click it and select "Ignore File." You can manage your ignored files from the Tools -> Manage Ignored Files... menu.

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✨ Key Features

Multi-Folder Scanning: Aggregates HTML projects from multiple source directories into a single interface.
Dynamic Web Dashboard: Generates a modern, themeable (light/dark), and responsive (grid/list) HTML dashboard for visually launching projects.
Metadata Support: Stores and edits project metadata (e.g., Author, Version) in associated .meta.json files.
In-App Navigation: Injects a simple "Back" and "Home" navigation overlay into launched projects for a seamless experience.
Powerful List Management: The main project list can be sorted by any column and grouped by attributes like folder, date, or author.
Persistent Configuration: Saves all settings, including source folders, window size, and ignored files, to a local config.json file.
File Cleanup Utilities: Includes tools to clean up temporary and generated files, such as the dashboard and metadata files.

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🛠️ Technology Stack

Scripting Language: PowerShell 5.1+
GUI Framework: .NET Windows Forms (WinForms).
Data Handling: Uses JSON for configuration (config.json) and metadata (.meta.json) files.

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📐 Architecture & Security Notes

File Injection: The "launch" feature modifies the target HTML file to inject a small CSS/HTML navigation snippet. It is designed to be non-destructive but modifies the source file in place.
Local Operations: The script operates entirely on the local file system. It reads and writes files within your project directories and its own configuration directory.

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