| Original author(s) | Josh Karlin |
|---|---|
| Initial release | January 22, 2007 |
| Stable release | 2.5 / April 4, 2010 |
| Written in | C++ (Qt) |
| Platform | Windows, Mac OS X and GNU/Linux |
| Type | application launcher (utility software) |
| License | GNU General Public License |
| Website | www.launchy.net |
Launchy is a free open source application launcher for Windows, Mac OS X and GNU/Linux. It indexes shortcuts in the start menu, and files in specific folders to allow quicker access to programs without opening the start menu itself, or browsing to the relevant folder.[1][2][3]
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Launchy automatically loads itself on boot and waits for the user to call it by pressing Alt + Space or a custom user hotkey. The user then starts typing the name of the program or file they wish to launch. Launchy automatically searches its list of programs for the closest match as the user types. When it finds the desired program, the user hits enter and it is automatically launched.[4]
Launchy also has the option to add folders and file formats to its catalog for indexing. This makes it useful for launching almost anything on a computer, including internet, music, videos, and games. Launchy also can run Google, Wikipedia, MSN, and Yahoo searches, bringing the results up in the default browser. It also launches bookmarks as required. Launchy also supports plug-ins, adding to its versatility.[3]
Launchy was originally written in C# (ver. 0.5) but the subsequent release (0.6) was in C++.[5] The latest release (2.0) has been completely re-written using Qt. This has resulted in incompatibility between this version and older skins and plugins.
The following plugins are included with the 2.0 release
Index Control Panel Applications: This plugin finds the control panel applications in your system and lists them in Launchy.
Update (10/08): The Controly plugin is no longer included in Launchy.
Update (06/09): This devfuel.com article describes a workaround using shortcuts.
Update (09/10): As of version 2.5, the Controly plugin has returned.
Perform Web Searches: Launchy now supports the following search keywords: google, msn, yahoo, live, weather, amazon, Wikipedia, dictionary, thesaurus, imdb, netflix, and msdn websearch. Type in any of these keywords, hit tab, type in your search query, and hit enter.
Launch Webpages: Type in the url such as ‘www.launchy.net’ or ‘http://www.launchy.net/’ and hit enter.
N.B. Seems to no longer exist. Launchy documentation file Readme.pdf apparently hasn't been updated for a while as the first line of the document shows "Launchy 2.1 Beta".
Bookmarks: The Foxy plugin will automatically load your Firefox bookmarks into the database. Just search for them as you would applications.
Quick searches: Launchy loads Firefox quick searches and will index the keyword into the database. Use it like you would a web search.
Calculate: Type in some math.. Launchy will figure out what you want to do. Note: This calculator is limited to +,/,-,* and parenthesis.
Launchy 2 has a C++ API[6] for developing extension plugins. Plugins can be developed in order to add new types of objects to the catalog, rather than just shortcut files.
Bindings for other programming languages are provided as extension plug-ins, developed by the community:
Launchy 2.0 was considered to be notorious for slowing down the computer because of the catalog refresh function claiming 100% CPU usage every 5–10 minutes.
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