The “Run POPFile” Start Menu shortcuts created by the Windows installer use this utility to start POPFile.

This is a simple front-end which runs the 'popfile.exe' starter program after ensuring the necessary environment variables exist. If the POPFILE_ROOT and POPFILE_USER environment variables are undefined, the registry data created by the installer is used to define them.

If suitable registry data cannot be found, the 'Add POPFile User' wizard is launched (if it can be found). The StartUp shortcut uses the /STARTUP option to stop this utility from launching the 'Add POPFile User' wizard (this avoids problems when all users share the same StartUp folder).

Normally Windows 9x systems require a reboot to change the value of environment variables, so this utility defines them “on the fly” to avoid having to reboot.

To make debugging easier, the utility can use the POPFile Message Capture utility (if it is available) whenever the 'windows_console' mode is enabled in 'popfile.cfg'.