Launchy 2.5 for Windows

by Josh Karlin

Avg. Rating 3.6 (80 votes)

File Details

File Size 4.2 MB
License Open Source
Operating System Windows 2000/XP
Date Added
Total Downloads 2,983
Publisher Josh Karlin
Homepage Launchy

Publisher's Description

Launchy is a free windows utility 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.

Latest Reviews

plasticpig72

plasticpig72 reviewed v2.5 on Sep 24, 2013

I am sorry but with CPU usage at 45 - 100%, however much I like Launchy, I need to find an alternative. No matter what I change in the settings I cannot get the usage to drop below 45% and that is unacceptable.

drorharari

drorharari reviewed v2.5 on Apr 8, 2010

2.5.0 Release Notes (from the installation):

Added Simon Capewell as a developer. This release owes quite a lot to him.
Thanks Simon! ?
Faster performance
Better behavior on Linux – Thanks Mike! (d9b5)
OS X now supported
Icons displayed correctly
Environment variables updated correctly when system changes
Controly includes more items, thanks Fabian!
New shortcut keys
New controls:
Shift+tab or Shift+bkspc deletes previous tab
Shift+Ctrl+Enter launches in elevated mode (Vista and Win7)
Down arrow shows history (when there is no current search text)
Default skin built into executable in case no other skin is found
Launchy now has an icon in the system tray
Skins are simplified and easier to create
Directory browsing auto-completes correctly

----------------------
Been using Launchy for many years and have updated to 2.5 - a great little program just turned better.

zorty

zorty reviewed v2.1.2 on Aug 8, 2008

it's a must have time saving addon.

KayNine

KayNine reviewed v2.1.2 on Aug 8, 2008

Similar to www.executor.dk, which I used for months now. The ability to add plugins is a plus, the default skins and GUI also look better. I like both, haven't yet decided which one to keep.

Chaeska

Chaeska reviewed v2.1.2 on Aug 7, 2008

I have a 32 bit system and since it's one of the very indispensable little programs for me I give it 5 out of 5 - I tried all other launchers I could find and Launchy is simply the best of the lot.

@Jille: Launchy isn't a calculator... I think the 1/5 rating is for your inability to read...

Lythius

Lythius reviewed v2.1.2 on Aug 7, 2008

Um. I don't know what the other poster was thinking. This application works fine on my Vista x64 SP1 production system.

Awesome application!

AsianAngel

AsianAngel reviewed v2.1.2 on Aug 7, 2008

Loving this wonderful little app! ^__^

Jille

Jille reviewed v2.1.2 on Aug 7, 2008

WOW !! A holey Google calculator for Christs sake, does it calculate better than Microsoft's ???

roj

roj reviewed v2.1.2 on Aug 7, 2008

Still broken on x64 systems (XP and vista) and hence useless to me.

THREE stars until the issue is properly resolved.

Edit:

The issue has now been corroborated on SourceForge several other 64-bit users. Vista users may not notice it because Vista's heightened security posture tries to block access to that shortcut..

In short, this app is junk and a security risk until it's fixed.

ONE star.

roj

roj reviewed v2.1.1 on Jul 29, 2008

The Disk Defragmenter problem with XP64 still persists in this version - not surprising since the bug hasn't even been assigned to someone for investigation yet.

Furthermore, it manifests itself in Vista64, albeit somewhat differently:

Due to Vista64's different account privilege structure, the app isn't allowed to touch the Start Menu for All Users, which is where it made the change under XP64. Hence, the app simply completely fails to run Disk Defragmenter and you get...

...nothing.

Code arbitrarily changing things like that == Bad Code.

THREE stars until this mess, which has persisted silently since Launchy 1.x (I downloaded it and tested), is fixed.

Avg. Rating 3.6 (80 votes)
Your Rating

Someone reviewed v on Mar 19, 2023

Pros:

Cons:

Bottom Line:

Someone reviewed v on Jul 5, 2022

Pros: 555

Cons: 555

Bottom Line: 555

plasticpig72

plasticpig72 reviewed v2.5 on Sep 24, 2013

I am sorry but with CPU usage at 45 - 100%, however much I like Launchy, I need to find an alternative. No matter what I change in the settings I cannot get the usage to drop below 45% and that is unacceptable.

drorharari

drorharari reviewed v2.5 on Apr 8, 2010

2.5.0 Release Notes (from the installation):

Added Simon Capewell as a developer. This release owes quite a lot to him.
Thanks Simon! ?
Faster performance
Better behavior on Linux – Thanks Mike! (d9b5)
OS X now supported
Icons displayed correctly
Environment variables updated correctly when system changes
Controly includes more items, thanks Fabian!
New shortcut keys
New controls:
Shift+tab or Shift+bkspc deletes previous tab
Shift+Ctrl+Enter launches in elevated mode (Vista and Win7)
Down arrow shows history (when there is no current search text)
Default skin built into executable in case no other skin is found
Launchy now has an icon in the system tray
Skins are simplified and easier to create
Directory browsing auto-completes correctly

----------------------
Been using Launchy for many years and have updated to 2.5 - a great little program just turned better.

zorty

zorty reviewed v2.1.2 on Aug 8, 2008

it's a must have time saving addon.

KayNine

KayNine reviewed v2.1.2 on Aug 8, 2008

Similar to www.executor.dk, which I used for months now. The ability to add plugins is a plus, the default skins and GUI also look better. I like both, haven't yet decided which one to keep.

Chaeska

Chaeska reviewed v2.1.2 on Aug 7, 2008

I have a 32 bit system and since it's one of the very indispensable little programs for me I give it 5 out of 5 - I tried all other launchers I could find and Launchy is simply the best of the lot.

@Jille: Launchy isn't a calculator... I think the 1/5 rating is for your inability to read...

Lythius

Lythius reviewed v2.1.2 on Aug 7, 2008

Um. I don't know what the other poster was thinking. This application works fine on my Vista x64 SP1 production system.

Awesome application!

AsianAngel

AsianAngel reviewed v2.1.2 on Aug 7, 2008

Loving this wonderful little app! ^__^

Jille

Jille reviewed v2.1.2 on Aug 7, 2008

WOW !! A holey Google calculator for Christs sake, does it calculate better than Microsoft's ???

roj

roj reviewed v2.1.2 on Aug 7, 2008

Still broken on x64 systems (XP and vista) and hence useless to me.

THREE stars until the issue is properly resolved.

Edit:

The issue has now been corroborated on SourceForge several other 64-bit users. Vista users may not notice it because Vista's heightened security posture tries to block access to that shortcut..

In short, this app is junk and a security risk until it's fixed.

ONE star.

roj

roj reviewed v2.1.1 on Jul 29, 2008

The Disk Defragmenter problem with XP64 still persists in this version - not surprising since the bug hasn't even been assigned to someone for investigation yet.

Furthermore, it manifests itself in Vista64, albeit somewhat differently:

Due to Vista64's different account privilege structure, the app isn't allowed to touch the Start Menu for All Users, which is where it made the change under XP64. Hence, the app simply completely fails to run Disk Defragmenter and you get...

...nothing.

Code arbitrarily changing things like that == Bad Code.

THREE stars until this mess, which has persisted silently since Launchy 1.x (I downloaded it and tested), is fixed.

Carlospr

Carlospr reviewed v2.0 on Jun 24, 2008

@ reddy.shyam

Memory footprint? If you have a really low end system (256MB RAM or less) then maybe you should worry about each application you install. Other than that make a test: start the application and if you note that your PC performance is really bad compared to what it was before than you have a problem, than you can say the application uses too much RAM or things like these. If not than you're probably don't know what your saying and you probably don't know that system itself manage the memory usage and not the application itself.

Of course I'm not talking about an application with bugs... Well, make the test first before stating things that doesn't matter at all.

PS: this kind of unjustified worry about RAM started in the 90's when RAM was too expensive.

sparskter

sparskter reviewed v2.0 on Jan 17, 2008

Very very good... superb! They fixed memory usage!

roj

roj reviewed v2.0 on Dec 19, 2007

Really annoying bug:

Before installing Launchy, the Disk Defragmenter menu item under System Tools in XP64 works properly. After installation *and use of Launchy to attempt to launch Disk Defragmenter*, the target field of the Shortcut is changed to the Event Viewer MSC snap-in. If the Shortcut is changed back, Launchy will again change it. Flagging the shortcut as Read only will preserve the Shortcut setting but Launchy will still launch Event Viewer when the words "Disk defragmeter" are typed in. If Launchy is uninstalled and the Shortcut has the Read Only flag removed, all is as it should be. Reinstalling Launchy causes the problem again.

This problem is very reproducible as it has been tested on two different systems. The problem does not occur under XP32 or Vista64.

Oh, and by the way, the process ar SourceForge to register an ID just to report a bug is a PITA and I have two words for them, NOT Happy Birthday. Give your heads a shake people, and open up the process to NOT require an ID.

FOUR stars.

EDIT:

Regarding asinine comments about unjustified worrying about RAM usage:

It's twits like you who have allowed the rampant creation of poorly coded BLOATWARE to proliferate. "RAM is cheap - just throw more at it" is the most "head in the sand" ignorance and rubbish one could conceivably spew and is right up there with "just get a faster processor" in the Too Stupid To Live Category. There was a time when devs actually took the time to quash memory leaks and took pride in writing tight code - those were better days. Memory garbage collection routines are NOT the be-all and end all and even the best OS manages memory only reasonably well and M$ offerings ain't at the top of the heap in that department.

Your mindset has resulted in products like Vista - you should be proud.

Get A Clue or get one installed.

© 1998-2024 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy.