Launchy 2.0

Publisher's description of Launchy

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Launchy is designed to help you forget about your start menu, the icons on your desktop, and even your file manager. Launchy indexes the programs in your start menu and can launch your documents, project files, folders, and bookmarks with just a few keystrokes.

Version 2.0 has been completely rebuilt using Qt toolkit with a new look, better skinning support, simplified options, and other new features and improvements. Skins, plugins, and configurations for previously version of Launchy may not work with Version 2.0.

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Editor's review of Launchy

This very handy tool lets you open nearly any program, file, folder, or Web site on your system with just a few keystrokes. Launchy is called from the background with a hot key combo, and a small, skinnable box pops up.

Enter the first few letters of a file or program, and Launchy automatically displays the rest of the name. You simply press Enter to open or launch it. If the displayed name isn't the item you want, a few seconds later the tool displays a drop-down list with other likely candidates from which you can choose. In our tests, we were easily able to configure the tool to choose from multiple directories among our system's other users' folders. Besides files, folders, and apps, Launchy also displayed site names from our default browser's Favorites file.

This easy-to-master tool--free and unlimited--performed without a hitch in all our tests, and soon may completely replace our using the Start menu or Windows Explorer. We recommend it for any user.

User reviews of Launchy

• Average user rating: out of 68 votes
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  Launchy

  No need for start menus anymore

  by: playtom on 01-Jan-2008 03:42:37 PM

  Pros: Well, i've have to say this is an amazing piece of software, one that might even convince the most hardcore users to switching to launchy and leaving start menu and windows search behind. Does everything as stated, search and open files, documents, music, videos, websites, and even perform online search query without a glitch. Did you know it can also search the weather, along with a built-in calculator. Users can also download and install extra plug-ins into Launchy, making it a customizable program.

  Now that i got rid of all the icons and shortcuts in my desktop, i can enjoy the wallpaper and if i ever need anything, just call up launchy and it'll do its job.

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  Launchy

  fast quick easy

  by: PC_Nerd-Henry_Chan on 12-Jan-2008 10:20:04 PM

  Pros: just type in some words and it displays the progam

  it's so good it's like it can read my mind!

  I typed in fastone and it found the program i was looking for (Faststone). I can reconize the right program even when i do typos.

  Cons: the themes sometimes have graphic problems: sometimes you see the left top corner image floating around.

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  Launchy

  there are other ways not to use your startmenu

  by: toudai on 21-Jul-2008 04:55:59 PM

  Cons: in windows you can set up your own linkbar which you can put anywhere on your desktop, drag files, folders, application shortcuts, internet favorites to it and you can quick launch it from there

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  Launchy

  It's swell!

  by: vestige on 28-Mar-2008 11:59:38 PM

  Pros: Simple, fast, elegant---what more could you want?

  Cons: I can always think of a few extra features to add to software---can't everybody?---and Launchy's no exception. I can hardly consider that a "con", though.

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  Launchy

  Worthy

  by: NYJohn413 on 22-Apr-2008 06:23:16 PM

  Pros: I can't believe some of the reviews of how worthless of a program this is. Yes, if you like your mouse and scrolling through multiple shortcuts and windows, then this proggy is not for you. Are you saying, that out of the 150 or so of my most accessed files and shortcuts the easiest way of launching them is through the quicklaunch bar? HA! Never again since I found this program. [/rant]

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