2013-11-20

Application launchers

Some time ago, I told you which tools I use. I can't live without an application launcher. At work, I choose Executor. Why? Because it's lightweight, it's portable and it's handy.

First of all: what is an application launcher? Well it's a piece of software which enables its users to start programmes with a few keystrokes. You may call it a bunch of shortcuts. By using such software, one can use the keyboard as much as possible and therefore minimize the use of a mouse.

Installing Executor is easy. As it's portable, it won't change the registry of your computer. You don't even need Administrator permissions. The launcher comes with a set of commands by default. Like starting the Calculator, using some utilities and searching the web. 

Furthermore it's easy to add the shortcuts from the Programs Menu by importing them. Last but not least, it's possible to add applications manually. This is what I did. I added my Media Player, PDF Reader, etc. and assigned two character abbreviations to them. For instance, I start VLC by pressing Ctrl+Space (to start Executor) and "vl".

Picture: Executor

This programme includes an auto complete feature and saves its history. Therefore it's very easy to find what you're looking for. The skin is customizable; a feature I don't use. On my laptop, Executor eats about 7 MB.

Other well known application launchers are Launchy (for Windows and Linux) and Gnome Do (for Linux).

Do you use an application launcher?

Enjoy!