I started writing the first version of RUNit back in 1996.

At that time I was looking for a tool providing quick access to often used programs.
Since I didn't want to spend any money, I checked out the freeware and shareware sites.

I tried a few different launchpads but wasn't really happy with any of them. A few things didn't like in other programs:

• many come along with a full-blown setup - installing hundreds of files on your harddisk
  - just for such a ridiculous program like a launchpad.
  so you end up with a few more .dlls in your windows directory and a dozen dead keys in your registry
  - just because you wanted to TRY a program
  (the uninstall (if any) never seems to remove everything - don't ask me why)
  
• what I really hate are programs that require additional .dlls that you have to download somewhere else,
  just to find out that you downloaded the wrong version
• most programs provide such a thing as a floating toolbar - occupying precious space on your screen.
  I think features like autohide make it even worse, because I find it annoying to see that thing popping up
  if I move the cursor to the wrong place on the screen
  

I had used the program for a while, when I sent it to some shareware site (can't remember which one),
just for fun (1996!).

That was RUNit version 1.1 (see picture) which didn't have icons,
options nor "whole-screen mode", but a few bugs.

I didn't get any response from that shareware site and forgot about the whole thing.

So I was really amazed when I started receiving emails from people telling me they are using RUNit
and how much they like it, in february 1998!
Somehow the program seemed to have found its way to the nonags site at that time.

Since then I have received emails from people all over the world, who got RUNit
from different shareware sites and shareware CDs.

version 1.2 fixed some of the bugs, from the 1.1 version,
mainly the problems with shortcuts to special items such as dialup-connections
and problems with directX games.

in February 1999 I started working on version 2.0 which has many of the features
requested by users working with the 1.x versions.

new features:

• keyboard mode:
  new option for accessing the "launch menu" by pressing CRTL-SHIFT
• fast access to the setup- and options dialog:
  the setup and options dialog can be accessed by pressing 's' and 'o' respectively,
  whenever the "launch menu" is visible ('x' to Exit RUNit)
• the setup dialog automatically opens, when a file is dragged to the RUNit "hot area"
• the setup dialog now owns a menu (Exit RUNit, About, Quick Reference)

bugs fixed:

• change icon dialog not working correctly under NT
• setup dialog "sticking" to the cursor after click on the title bar
• "close" in system menu of options dialog not working
  (because I'm a lazy guy, I simply removed it ;-))
  
• change icon button displaying random icons, when separator selected
  

bugs fixed:

• problem when selecting right screen border as the RUNit "hot area"
• unwanted behavior when "whole screen mode" and "keyboard mode" activated together
• hook was always installed, even in "border-no keyboard-mode"