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I know this program has been out there for sometime, but I just learned about it today and I’m in love!

Launchy is an open source application launcher for windows. If you are a Linux user it works similar to the “Run Application Dialogue” but on steroids.  It won’t only looks for programs but you can customize it so that it indexes any file type on any directories that you tell it to.  By default it only indexes .lnk (shortcut) files inside the “Start Menu”.  In my case I use eclipse to code and it sits on my “dev” folder, so I just added the extension “.exe” and the directory where “eclipse.exe” resides and voilà, eclipse was indexed instantaneously.

To get to the directory options and other stuff you need to right click outside of the search box area.

Another neat feature of Launchy is that you can browse through your Drives, just type the drive letter (”c:\”) or something like “my documents” and you’ll start seeing your content and folders. On top of that, if you are in the need of some quick calculations, just type any numerical expression inside Launchy and see the results.  Now you know why I love this tool.

Below is a list of tips they list at their site and the download link:

• Search Google
  • Type in google, then tab, then your search query and press enter
• Check the Weather
  • Type in Weather, then tab, then your zip code or city,state and press enter
• Search other sites
  • Other sites you can search include wikipedia, msn, yahoo, amazon, netflix, imdb, and more.
• Browse your computer
  • Type in c:, then tab, then a folder or file, hit tab, and continue
• The Launchy Calculator
  • Did you know that Launchy has a built in calculator? Type in some algebra and see what happens!
• Index your Bookmarks & Folders
  • Directory: C:\Documents and Settings\user\Favorites
  • File Type: .url
• Index your Music
  • Directory: My Documents
  • File Types: .mp3 .aac .ogg
• Index your Pictures
  • Directory: My Documents
  • File Types: .jpg .gif .bmp
• Index your Documents
  • Directory: My Documents
  • File Types: .doc .pdf .xls .ppt
• Index custom Commands
  • Directory: Your Custom Folder
  • File Types: .exe .bat .lnk
• And more..
  • Please see the readme file for more tips and tricks with Launchy!

 To download Launchy go here http://www.launchy.net/

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