Launchy 2.0 Released

[ckempo]

Launchy has reached version 2.0. Download is here.

What is Launchy?

Launchy is the most efficient way to open files, folders, websites, and programs on your computer. Nobody likes to hunt through the start menu to find an application, just to find that the application is hidden under some obscure folder named after a company you have never heard of! Instead, Launchy is a smart search program which tries to guess which program or file you are looking for and will launch it when you hit the enter key. It is only visible when you hit the alt+space key combination; otherwise it hides in the background. Once you have used it for a few days, it becomes an indispensable utility for your computer. And it's free!

Changes:

? Launchy has been completely rewritten with QT

o Your old plugins/skins will no longer work

o Your old configuration will be wiped

? A new look! New icons and skin thanks to Tyler Sticka

? Much better skinning support

? Options merged into a single, tabbed dialog

? Skin selection now shows previews

? Plugins much more configurable

? Launchy can hide when it loses focus

? Fade in/out effects

? Customizable transparency

? Optional shallow scan of directories

? Unicode support for Firefox bookmarks

? Vista support

? It's just better.

[Fourjays Veteran]

Nobody likes to hunt through the start menu to find an application, just to find that the application is hidden under some obscure folder named after a company you have never heard of!

Isn't that what the ability to rename/reorganise the start menu is for? You're even asked in most installers if you want to rename the directory it goes under.

[zhangm Supervisor]

Well, some installers don't. Windows XP will by default highlight any new programs installed in the start menu, at least until you can develop a muscle memory to where its located, or otherwise reorganize it.

But programs like Launchy can be fairly useful, especially when you just don't feel like moving the mouse pointer, and want to launch stuff via keystrokes.

[Fourjays Veteran]

Well, some installers don't. Windows XP will by default highlight any new programs installed in the start menu, at least until you can develop a muscle memory to where its located, or otherwise reorganize it.

But programs like Launchy can be fairly useful, especially when you just don't feel like moving the mouse pointer, and want to launch stuff via keystrokes.

It is strangely quite useful after trying it. Might just get hooked.

It just seemed a pretty daft comment to make to "advertise" the product, considering it is so easy to customize the start menu.

Edited December 19, 2007 by Fourjays

[DreadBoat89]

? It's just better.

it is just better!

[Punio4]

Woohoo! The most used piece of software on my computer!

[Janitor]

Hmm how hard is it really to go through a start menu? Lazyness at its finest.

[NateB1]

I use Vista's instant search tool - works like a charm. What benefits does this program offer over Vista's search?

[Punio4]

Hmm how hard is it really to go through a start menu? Lazyness at its finest.

Well if you put it that way, how hard is it to browse to the executable itself and doubleclick it? Or launch it via a command prompt? Lazyness at its finest.

Dumb argument. It's about increasing productivity. If you get the same work done in less time, it's better.

I use Vista's instant search tool - works like a charm. What benefits does this program offer over Vista's search?

Frankly, nothing, if you use it to launch shortcuts. Launchy however it supports plugins. Comes with a few too.

A calculator for instance, so if you type in "2+3" the result will be 5, if you type in "google xy" it will open your browser and google it... It also indexes .cpl files.

PS: Noticed a bug with it.

Using XP. On the first few steps (3-5) of the fade-in slider, no fade effects kick in.

Perhaps an input field with the duration in ms should be implemented...

[Knaarfje]

I've made the lucida skin for launchy compatible with version 2. Does anyone want it?

arf, I just noticed the font isn't exactly right yet :x

[iconoclast]

I was just about to make this thread. Launhcy is awesome! Once you use it you won't know how you lived without it. If you have a cluttered start menu, or if you have several nested apps, then this is great. Even better is when you have small standalone apps that don't automatically put them in the start menu, like HiJack this. I have that in a "My Software" folder, added that to Launchy, had it scan .exe's, and now I just type in "Hi"+enter and it launches.

I highly recommend it, as does lifehacker >> http://lifehacker.com/software/feature/lif...apps-334568.php

[Ryne]

I've made the lucida skin for launchy compatible with version 2. Does anyone want it?

arf, I just noticed the font isn't exactly right yet :x

Sure do :).

Please share it when it's complete.

[Lewism]

I've made the lucida skin for launchy compatible with version 2. Does anyone want it?

arf, I just noticed the font isn't exactly right yet :x

Please share when you're done, I used this theme on the previous version.

[Knaarfje]

Sure do :).

Please share it when it's complete.

The font it should use is 'HaxrCorp 4088', witch I dont have, so I used calibri.

I also made the scrollbar of the dropdown to fit the skin better. I'm not sure about the handle of the scrollbar though.

Anyway, here's the result, plus the skin itself.

Oh, I take no credit for the skin itself, as I only migrated it :p

download

[Lewism]

Thank you TOMM!E

[Thrawn]

I ike launchy, and use it on my laptop. I'll use it to launch a program like... once every 2 days. The idle memory footprint is pretty good.

However, this worried me:

-Launchy has been completely rewritten with QT

As long at QT does not mean QuickTime, I'm sure it's still a good prog. The memory footprint on my system is 808KB right now. I'll see what I get after the upgrade.

Edited December 19, 2007 by Thrawn

[Savarize]

Is Launchy something like Quicksilver, but for windows? And how fast does it index the programs/(files)?

[Impact]

I was just thinking about Launchy this morning. I was thinking that it would be smart for Microsoft to license it and put it into Windows seven. Seems even smarter than having start menu search!

[Thrawn]

Humn... the memory footprint went from 808KB to over 8MB...

Now I only use this every few days, but I have 2GB ram on this laptop, so I guess I can afford to waste memory for the small convinence. But still, its definitely getting bloated.

[Knaarfje]

is the 'always center launchy' option new? I love it! ^_^

[gsarig]

Is it just me or the shortcut key (alt+space) isn't working when launchy is at the background? I mean that, when I have other windows open, pressing alt+space doesn't bring launchy in front of them... I use Vista and I didn't have this problem with the previous version of launchy...

[Knaarfje]

Is it just me or the shortcut key (alt+space) isn't working when launchy is at the background? I mean that, when I have other windows open, pressing alt+space doesn't bring launchy in front of them... I use Vista and I didn't have this problem with the previous version of launchy...

works fine for me... I'm using windows XP.

if you turn on the 'hide launchy when it loses focus' option it should work just fine.

[ckempo]

Is it just me or the shortcut key (alt+space) isn't working when launchy is at the background? I mean that, when I have other windows open, pressing alt+space doesn't bring launchy in front of them... I use Vista and I didn't have this problem with the previous version of launchy...

I always change the Alt+Space combo to be Alt+Q anyway - being as Alt+Space is already configured to be the system menu for whatever app has focus, it's a daft default choice.

[velkymx]

Does it work as a taskbar toolbar yet?

[gsarig]

works fine for me... I'm using windows XP.

if you turn on the 'hide launchy when it loses focus' option it should work just fine.

Thanks for the responses. I solved the problem (which proved not to be a problem after all): All I had to do was unchecking the "Always display launchy window". I had it checked because I wanted to have it always visible when no other window was open. That's what was causing me the "problem".

Thanks again! :-)

btw: I like the new version - looks more "professional" and fits better with the vista interface!