WPF Circle Launcher User Control and Application

Recently I started developing an user control for WPF which could replace the standard menu systems. The user control is a set of icons, ordered in a circle (or several circles, if there are a lot of icons), and each icon launches some functionality. The user control is customizable, there are parameters for the size of the icons, the radius of the circle, events for clicking and moving, etc.

Then I decided to create a simple application launcher using this control. It's something like a quick-launch menu - users can add shortcuts to applications they use frequently and then start them from there.

Here are some screenshots of the Circle Launcher:


The user control creates animations when the user passes over an icon with the mouse:


It supports transparency and the windows is at the top-level, so it's convenient to use. Also, when the icons become too much for just one circle, the control automatically expands itself.



The application is under development, but still, I decided to post a preliminary version here.
The current features include:

• Adding new icons with drag and drop
• Automatic saving of the icons to XML and then loading back on startup
• Hotkey for showing the launcher - F12
• Moving the launcher across the screen (by dragging the center circle) and saving it's position
• Auto-hide when a shortcut is launched
• Manual hide by double-clicking the center or using the context menu of the system tray icon
  

The features of the user control include:

• Adding and removing shortcuts (Launcher Items)
• Explicitly setting the properties of a shortcut - Name, Icon, Launch path, etc.
• Events for launching, moving, double-click, etc.
• Settings for the circle radius, max number of items in each radius, icon sizes
• Animations
• Built-in drag-drop support for shortcuts
• Support for databinding
  

If anyone is interested in helping me to extend this application or the user control, please contact me. Even only with ideas. Any kind of help will be appreciated.

Download Circle Launcher

You can download the application from here. You'll need .NET 3.5 to run it.