Qatapult is a Great Looking Keyboard Launcher for Windows
Windows users can start applications in a number of ways. They can use the start menu for that, shortcuts on the desktop, start the program from its program directory or the command line, or pin programs to the taskbar if they use Windows 7. And then there are keyboard launchers which put program starts at the user's fingertips.
The application launcher Qatapult has been developed for this year's Donation Coder Nany challenge. You can start using the program right after you have downloaded and unpacked it on your system. The program displays a small overlay window on the screen that you can use to type in the first letters of the application that you want to launch.
The top matching application and the most likely action are displayed in the program interface once you start typing the first letters of the application name.
A tap on the enter key loads the program on the system. It is alternatively possible to press tab to switch to the list of available actions for the active application (and use shift-tab to switch back). Available actions are taken directly from the program's context menu. They usually include opening the application, opening the properties window, deleting the application or using the run as command to run the application with different privileges.
The keyboard launcher seems to take program information from the Windows start menu. You can use it to start applications but not documents or other files, at least not directly.
The only option to launch files from within the program's interface is to enter a path in the launcher window. The folders and files under that structure are then displayed by the program, with options to select and launch files this way.
You can also use the built-in email to action if you configure a mail server in the program options. You can even authorize the program to fetch your Gmail contacts for some fast email sending action.
The program window stays on top all the time. You need to use the shortcut Shift-Space to hide it on the system. The same shortcut can also be used to bring it back to the front.
Windows users looking for a fast great looking keyboard launcher that is actively developed can download the latest version of the software from the Donation Coder website.
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Executor is by far the best program of the touch-typing launching applications I have found. It is the most used program on my system. If it can be launched from your computer, you can apply a keyword and path to launch it with Executor…folders, files, system tools, URLs, any program on your computer (not just in the Start Menu, and much much more. It is very simple to create new keywords or launch them.
Executor is a multi purpose launcher and a more advanced and customizable version of windows run. Keywords have properties like shortcuts, and you can for example drag-drop a shortcut/file/folder/favorite to add it as a keyword. Auto-completion for keywords, file system and history. URL detection. Keywords support parameters. There are many additional features that make this program BearWare’s choice for this category. Portable. Size: 1.5MB. Win XP/Vista/7.