Residing in your system tray, PS Hot Launch can act as a sort of replacement start menu. You can add applications and files to it as if you were creating a menu structure, and then punch it up by clicking on the icon. Far more useful is the hotkey ability though, which I use mostly for fodler launching. Just add a folder (or anything else), and toward the bottom of the app you can add a hotkey. I use the windows key + alt, and a letter most of the time, this makes sure I don’t conflict with any other hotkeys.

If you use a lot of folders, this applications will be a Godsend! I use quite a lot, since I use Xampp to do web development on my local machine, so i use a lot of directories for websites and such, all of which I can bind to hotkeys. Launching Firefox can also be easier than with Launchy, just press Win+Alt+F for example. That said, Launchy has some benefits of PS Hot Launch, but I use both side by side harmoniously.

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The software program is driven by the global hotkey [CTRL SPACE] that opens the run box of the application launcher. Entering a char will show the first five hits in the container below and provide the means to scroll through the rest if there are more than five results.

Besides launching applications and files Key Launch can initiate Internet searches, open bookmarks, start Control Panel items, create a new email message, manage computer shutdown commands or open Internet addresses.

Every application launcher has to face off against Launchy. Key Launch is compatible to Windows Vista which Launchy is not according to the information on the Launchy homepage. Launchy on the other hand is Open Source and available for Linux which Key Launch is not.

Another advantage of Launchy is that users have created plugins and skins for the application launcher while Key Launch stands on its own as of now. Computer memory usage is similar for both application launchers with Launchy using a few additional Megabytes while running.

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There is one thing of concern during installation. Speed Launch can only be installed if you accept that usage metrics will be send over to Microsoft. I suppose one could simply prevent the communication with the server if he does not like to transfer the data. As always, there is no real information what data gets transferred, only the assurance that it will not be used to identify the user.

Well, if you still want to give it a try you notice a bulls eye in the lower right corner of the screen after installation. That’s the area where you drop files and websites on to create shortcuts.

The shortcut Windows C opens the main program interface that you see above. You type in the first few letters of the file, application or website that you want to use and hit enter. Depending on the choice the file is instantly launched or additional input is requested (for example when picking Wikipedia).

Internet pages are opened in the default browser which is very surprising but also welcome for a Microsoft application. Microsoft Speed Launch could be described as a basic version of Launchy. The only advantage is that it comes directly from Microsoft which will surely appeal to many users who are cautious about third party applications.

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The script can be downloaded from Gianluigi’s website, just take note that it requires the Microsoft .net Framework 2 or higher to function properly. Runs perfectly on Windows XP Service Pack 3 and Windows Vista Service Pack 1 according to the author. The website is in Italian but Google Translate does a good job at translating the website into English.

The option to create Outlook Tasks from the command line is given after script installation. Just fire up the Windows run box (Windows R) and enter any new tasks beginning with “do”. The command “do buy some beer” would add the buy some beer task to Microsoft Outlook which does not even have to be running to add the tasks.

The application can also be added as a Runner plugin to Launchy. Just add the executable to the list of plugins in Launchy and you can from now on use the “do Tab task” command to add tasks to Microsoft Outlook. Definitely more convenient if you use Launchy all the time.

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It becomes visible if you press ALT + SPACE and old users will immediately spot the new look and feel of the software. It finally supports Windows Vista and Firefox unicode bookmarks to mention only two of the new features.

So, what can you do with it ? First of all, you can launch applications with Launchy 2 which is the main purpose of the program. Just type in the first few chars of an application and hit enter once the software is displayed that you want to start. As a basic example, to start Spider Solitaire you simply enter Spid and launchy displays Spider Solitaire on the right side of its interface.

That’s usually much quicker than clicking on Start > Programs and finding the folder of the application that you want to start. It even beats clicking on shortcuts on the desktop if you get used to it.

Instead of opening and hiding Launchy 2 users can now opt to make it stay on top and at the same time change the transparency level of the bar. I prefer the old fashioned keyboard shortcut whenever I need Launchy but some users could very well integrate it into their system.

Launchy can open bookmarks in your favorite browser as well and use shortcuts to search in Google and other websites. A Google search for instance would have the following commands. Type Google, hit TAB and enter your search string plus return at the end.
Your default browser opens showing the search results for that query. Best of all ? You can add your own search queries to Launchy with ease.

Thanks to Download Squad for letting me know about the update.

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Just right-click the link and select the application that you want to use to view it from the menu. Launchy, that is the name of the Firefox add-on, supports more than 60 applications right out of the box with the ability to add more applications using an XML file.

It is possible to disable programs that have been found and are selectable in the right-click menu.

If you for instance want to view the source you have the option to use Ultraedit, Notepad, Open Office or Wordpad which is pure overkill. It is convenient to remove all but one program unless you really use more than one source viewer.

I personally can see two great applications for Launchy. The first is for webmasters who like to test websites in several browsers. The second is for users who would like to open media files in external applications and for users who like to send images right into their image editing software.

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The run command in the start menu is not touched at all but you can hijack the run shortcut Windows R if you like or use the defined Windows Z for opening Executor. It offers the complete features of the natural run implementation of Windows and adds many features to it.

It is possible to launch applications using shortcuts. In the example on the left I’m able to start my burning suite Nero by typing in nero. Executor may scan the startmenu and add all applications listed there as a keyword so that you can access them by typing such keywords.

It is always possible to alter keywords and add new keywords to start programs to it. This can be done by manually editing the keywords list or by dragging and dropping a file or shortcut into the program interface.

It is furthermore possible to open an Internet address or perform defined actions such as searches on Wikipedia. Dozens of defined keywords exist for this already.

Shortcuts to folders can also be created. Simply add the path to the folder and a keyword to Executor. Whenever you type the keyword and hit return the folder will be opened.

Multiple commands are supported. You could for instance do the following which opens Photoshop, the Deviantart homepage and Winamp. Photoshop || www.deviantart.com || Winamp

Several fixed commands are integrated. The commands ?shutdown, ?restart, ?lock for instance open the shutdown dialog, the restart dialog or lock the computer.

This is really the run feature that Windows should have had from the very beginning. There are simply to many features to list them all here. I absolutely recommend this free software.

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