Application Launchers

True Launch Bar is a powerful replacement for the Windows QuickLaunch bar that integrates all the standard functionality and adds a wealth of functionalities that can turn your QuickLaunch bar into a flexible shortcut organizer with integrated RSS reader, network monitor and many other tools. You can create it as a simple program launcher, or as a complex utility bar with the help of free plug-ins. True Launch Bar displays customizable icons which menus that allow you to group your shortcuts, assigned hotkeys and even password protect them. The program also offers a unique features that enables you to automatically switch toolbars based on the currently active application. Other features include customizable color schemes, drag and drop support and much more. If you are looking for a powerful application launcher that tightly integrates with Windows, definitely give True Launch Bar a try.

Tray Commander is a customizable launcher, that lets you run frequently used programs and system commands directly from the tray. It runs as a single icon in the system tray which, that offers a menu with your custom commands. You can define 3 different menus, one will pop-up when you right-click, a different one when you left-click and yet another one on middle-click. Each of the menus can be loaded with your entries, using an easy to use interface. Tray Commander also includes many preset options like open and close your CD drives, reboot, shutdown, screen capture, launch screensaver, send email and quick access to video modes. Each of the available action can also assigned a hotkey, so you can launch them from your keyboard directly.

LaunchIt NOW! Plus provides quick access to your frequently used programs, files, folders and favorite URLs. It runs in the system tray and offers a customizable desktop-like interface with full size icons of your favorite items. Adding new items is as simple as dragging them into the interface or selecting them from a list. Furthermore, you can organize all your shortcuts into custom named tabs, dock it to any screen edge and more. The program also offers free add-ons to extend the functionality.

NLauncher is a program launcher, that uses icon panels for easy launching of your favorite applications, folders, web links and documents. The program hides a set of attractive launch bars on the left and right side of the screen, and they become visible when you hold your mouse touches the edge of the screen. To add new items, you can simple drag a folder, program or shortcut onto the panel, choose a custom icon, and optionally add additional parameters. NLauncher supports multiple level, which allows you to create groups of shortcuts, that will reveal all items in the group as a new menu. Attractive an easy to use launcher that nicely blends into the XP scheme, with additional skins to choose from.

Handy Folders adds a toolbar to Windows Explorer, that enables you to switch to your favorite folders or other drives with a single click. You can customize the list of folders, and also access them from the system tray icon for quick access from your desktop.

Kirby Alarm is an alarm and task scheduler that can launch a popup reminder dialog, play a sound, run a program or send an email address in user defined intervals. The scheduling options include simple recurring reminders, as well as more advanced options like every X day of the month, every other Friday, last Monday of the month, last day of the month etc. The program comes with a simple but practical interface and is easy to use. It doesn`t look like much, but actually offers a fairly flexible set of features, and new reminders can be created very quickly. Runs in the system tray.

AppRocket acts as a keyboard launch pad, that provides you with instant access to anything on your computer. It displays a small bar on top of your screen, that can be used to quickly access user-defined directories or drives, and also acts as an indexer and search engine that indexes all the folders/drives you specify and returns instant results for anything you type. For example, to access MP3 files, just type `mp3` and it will present you with a list of indexed files, or type 'remove` to access the Add/Remove software applet and more. In addition, AppRocket`s ranking scheme and intelligent search functionality work together to compliment your usage patterns. Thus, after using AppRocket for a short period you will learn how to leverage its power as it adapts.

Favorite Shortcuts provides one-click access to your favorite programs, documents, websites and folders, as well as lists of recently used documents and folders. It is available as an additional submenu in the Windows Explorer and Desktop context menu and as an optional icon in the system tray. Just right-click anywhere and select the Favorites Shortcut menu to launch your favorite item. You can easily add new items by simply right-clicking on a folder or file and then select Add to Favorite Shortcuts in the popup menu.

Task Commander enables you to easily launch and manage your programs without having to use the standard Programs menu. You can access your favorite applications from the system tray, manage running programs and minimize, hide or close them with advanced options. In addition, it includes a visual task switcher that replaces the standard Windows Task Switcher (Alt+Tab) and allows for visual selection of the application that you want to switch to. Additional features include hotkey support for common Window operations (hide all, minimize all, etc.) as well as a dynamic feature that allows you to add items to the HotLaunch menu automatically.

FastOpen is a free, system-tray-based menu utility. It lets you launch your favorite programs, documents, Websites, and single-pane Explorer views of your frequently used folders from its right-click menu. Arrange your menu entries in any order you wish and add separators to organize items into logical groups. Options let you instantly add all drives to a menu or submenu; insert Run, Find, Open, Connect, and/or Disconnect commands; and automatically place a separator after a certain number of items. FastOpen is easy to use and a nice alternative to the Windows Start Menu.

This is an integrated toolbar and tray launcher. It can show several fully customizable toolbars at a time. When you click a toolbar button it can either run an application (open a document) or show multilevel customizable menu. Menus can also show contents of folders (e.g. Programs folder from the Start menu or Desktop folder). You can dock toolbars to the screen edges, can minimize toolbars to the tray and access their contents by clicking on the tray icon (menu with the contents of the toolbar will be shown). Advanced Launcher is a handy alternative or supplement to the Start menu and Desktop.

SuperLauncher enables you to launch programs, documents, websites, folders and system commands via shortcuts (hotkeys) from your keyboard. Just drag and drop the item onto the SuperLauncher icon and specify the hotkey combination you want to use, and the keyboard shortcut will be created for you. In addition to hotkey shortcuts, the program also allows you to schedule automatic launches, insert frequently used text snippets (e.g. email signatures), create personal reminders, schedule automatic reboots and more.

Keybreeze (formerly PC-Com) allows you to quickly access frequently used programs, folders, web sites or commands by typing a keyword rather than clicking an icon or searching through menus. It remains hidden until you press the Pause key on your keyboard and type your keyword - press enter and the command is executed. The program comes configured with several common commands and you can customize it to add your own. In addition to simple shortcuts, you can also configure advanced options like URLs that include parameters (useful to add custom search engines etc.), send emails, reboot your computer and more. Very configurable, but requires some PC experience.

Filing Cabinets lets you clear up your desktops and quickly access frequntly used programs , documents or web sites by organizing them into cabinets that slide in and out from the sides of your screen. When not in use, they only show a small edge, that will cause the cabinet to slide out when you hold the mouse over it. You can create as many cabinets as needed, and each can be further customized in color and appearance, or even password protected. The program supports drag-and-drop allowing you to easily add items or move them between cabinets, you can even drag URLs directly from Internet Explorer (or any other browser). Additional features include an integrated file browser for folder content, options to assign multiple shortcuts to a single icon and more.

Quick Starter is an application launcher that allows you to launch your favorite programs, documents, folders or links from the right-click menu of a system tray icon. The program also includes a task scheduler to automatically start programs at specific times, or to shut down the computer. Furthermore, Quick Starter includes a handy feature to edit the PlacesBar (the folder bar in Open/Save dialog). and add your own shortcuts to the list.

getStarted!XP is an application launcher that you can use to access your favorite programs or files. It displays a set of icons along any edge of your desktop that are associated with programs, folders or files of your choice. The icons are customizable in size and use mouseover magnification for visual effects. getStarted!XP supports drag and drop, auto-hide, directory sub-menus for folders, and a choice of skins.

Hotkey Assistant allows you to assign keyboard shortcuts to launch applications and manage application windows. For example, you can define a hotkey to launch Internet Explorer, and also set hotkeys that allow you to minimize IE to the tray, keep it always on top and more. The application specific settings allow to you set hotkeys that work differently depending on which program is currently open. You can also can minimize any program to a system tray icon, or keep it on top by right-clicking on the close button (customizable). In addition, Hotkey Assistant provides global options that enable you to configure hotkeys for volume controls, log-ff, shutdown and more.

XStart is a simple application launcher that sits in the system tray and provides quick access to your favorite programs, links, folders or documents. The program is easy to use, just drag a shortcut into the launchpad and optionally customize the icon and display text. You can create custom categories to further organize your shortcuts, customize the background color and icon size. Not as feature-rich as other launchers, but easy to use.

Total Autorunner enables you to automatically launch files, programs and documents from any removable drive, as soon as the drive is connected. The program does not rely on the autorun.inf file, but uses a proprietary method instead, that lets you create a list of items to be launched. You can also create drive-specific autorun folders with shortcuts to programs or documents on the drive, and optionally launch a custom splash screen as soon as the drive is connected. Total Autorunner supports any type of removable drive (hard disks, pen drives, Mp3 players etc.).

Flexiblesoft Launcher is a small program that allows you one mouse-click access to a pop-up menu of your favorite shortcuts, minimizing use of valuable desktop space and system resources. By extending mouse functionality, your customized pad of shortcuts appears with the click of a mouse (or a combination that you specify). Click one of the shortcuts on your pad, and your application is launched.

Launch-n-Go is a program launcher that enables you to assign hotkeys and keywords to selected programs, commands, documents or web sites. You can also use it to insert dates and text snippets into any document via hotkey, and quickly launch search results, weather forecasts etc. The program integrates into the Windows taskbar,from where you can enter a keyword to launch the associated action.

My Folders allows you to create shortcuts to your favorite folders, that you can access via keyboard hotkey or from a menu in the system tray. You can set custom icons for each folder link, chose to open it normally or in Explorer mode. In addition, if you activate My Folders (via Hotkey) while using a standard Open/Save dialog, it will change the location of the Open/Save dialog to the select Favorite folder.

Keyboard LaunchPad is an easy to use hotkey manager that enables you to assign keyboard shortcuts to launch programs, files, websites, system commands (eject CD, reboot etc.) or to paste pre-defined text or images to the clipboard. You can assign shortcuts to most keyboard keys, and also define additional arguments to be processed.

Super Launch-o-matic is a simple application launcher that allows you to open programs, documents, folders, web pages from an easily accessible tray menu. In addition, you can also assign keyboard shortcuts to each, so the item can be launched by pressing a hotkey combination on your keyboard. Super Launch-o-matic also supports email items (one-click email sending) and text snippets that can be copied to the clipboard (email signatures etc.). The program supports drag and drop, custom categories.

Stargate Link Boss allows you to keep all of your important programs, URLs and e-mail addresses just a click away. Quickly drag and drop new links to the hide away docking window that pops into action when needed. the toolbar supports internet shortcuts, access to the most recent used file list, desktop shortcuts, email addresses and more. Links can be categorized in custom folders (supports drag&drop) and also accessed from the tray icon menu. In addition, you can publish your links to an HTML page, share them and add additional comments and notes.

MouseLaunch is a unique application launcher that is activated by clicking both your mouse buttons at once. While that may be handy, it does not offer much beyond that - add up to 24 files or folders to the basic launchpad by drag and drop.