LaunchBox Reader Documentation

Integration Examples

These examples show practical ways to launch LaunchBox Reader from another application.

C# Process Launch

Use ProcessStartInfo.ArgumentList so paths and titles are quoted safely.

using System.Diagnostics;

var readerPath = @"C:\Tools\LaunchBox Reader\LaunchBox.Reader.exe";
var documentPath = @"D:\Manuals\Example Manual.pdf";

var startInfo = new ProcessStartInfo(readerPath)
{
    UseShellExecute = false,
    WorkingDirectory = Path.GetDirectoryName(readerPath)
};

startInfo.ArgumentList.Add("--path");
startInfo.ArgumentList.Add(documentPath);
startInfo.ArgumentList.Add("--document-title");
startInfo.ArgumentList.Add("Example Manual");
startInfo.ArgumentList.Add("--fullscreen");

Process.Start(startInfo);

C# Launch on the Same Monitor

If your app has a window handle, pass it with --launch-window-handle.

using System.Diagnostics;

var hwnd = mainWindowHandle.ToInt64();

var startInfo = new ProcessStartInfo(readerPath)
{
    UseShellExecute = false,
    WorkingDirectory = Path.GetDirectoryName(readerPath)
};

startInfo.ArgumentList.Add("--path");
startInfo.ArgumentList.Add(documentPath);
startInfo.ArgumentList.Add("--launch-window-handle");
startInfo.ArgumentList.Add($"0x{hwnd:X}");

Process.Start(startInfo);

PowerShell

& "C:\Tools\LaunchBox Reader\LaunchBox.Reader.exe" `
  --path "D:\Manuals\Example Manual.pdf" `
  --document-title "Example Manual" `
  --theme dark `
  --fullscreen

Open Without Resuming

LaunchBox.Reader.exe --path "C:\Docs\Manual.pdf" --no-resume --page 1

Open an Image Folder

LaunchBox.Reader.exe --path "D:\Scans\Manual Folder" --format images

Open a Comic Archive

LaunchBox.Reader.exe --path "D:\Comics\Issue 01.cbz" --layout single --fit fit

Open an EPUB with Reading Preferences

LaunchBox.Reader.exe `
  --path "D:\Books\Guide.epub" `
  --theme sepia `
  --flow paginated `
  --epub-layout auto `
  --font serif `
  --text-scale 110 `
  --line-spacing relaxed

Use an App-Specific Data Root

Set LAUNCHBOX_READER_DATA_ROOT before launching if your app wants Reader data in an app-managed folder.

var startInfo = new ProcessStartInfo(readerPath)
{
    UseShellExecute = false,
    WorkingDirectory = Path.GetDirectoryName(readerPath)
};

startInfo.Environment["LAUNCHBOX_READER_DATA_ROOT"] = @"D:\MyApp\ReaderData";
startInfo.ArgumentList.Add("--path");
startInfo.ArgumentList.Add(documentPath);

Process.Start(startInfo);

Before launching:

  • Confirm the reader executable exists.
  • Confirm the document path exists.
  • Prefer ArgumentList over manually building a quoted command string.
  • Pass monitor placement information when launching from fullscreen apps.

After launching:

  • Do not assume Process.Start means the document loaded successfully.
  • Ask users for logs from the reader data root when diagnosing document-specific failures.
  • Keep your integration tolerant of the reader being closed independently.