Launchy

{{Infobox software

| name = Launchy

| logo =

| discontinued = yes

| screenshot = Screenshot of launchy2.png

| screenshot size = 250px

| caption =

| collapsible =

| author = Josh Karlin

| developer =

| released = {{Start date|2007|01|22}}

| latest release version = 2.5

| latest release date = {{release date|2010|04|4}}

| latest preview version =

| latest preview date =

| frequently updated =

| programming language = C++ (Qt)

| operating system =

| platform = Windows, Mac OS X, FreeBSD, and Linux

| size =

| language =

| genre = {{ubl|Application launcher|Linux on the desktop}}

| license = GNU General Public License

| website = {{url|https://www.launchy.net}}

}}

Launchy is a free and open-source application launcher for Windows, {{nowrap|Mac OS X}}, FreeBSD and Linux. It indexes shortcuts in the start menu, and files in specific folders, to allow quicker access to programs without opening the start menu or browsing to folders.{{cite web | last = Rosenblatt | first = Seth | title = The 10 best downloads of 2007 | publisher = CNet | date = December 22, 2007 | url = http://www.download.com/8301-2007_4-9835850-12.html?tag=blog.4 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20130102095300/http://www.download.com/8301-2007_4-9835850-12.html?tag=blog.4 | url-status = dead | archive-date = January 2, 2013 }}{{cite web | last = Dolcourt | first = Jessica | title = Launchy 2.0 quick-starts apps with class | publisher = CNet | date = December 20, 2007 | url = http://www.download.com/8301-2007_4-9836546-12.html?tag=blog.1 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20120629230902/http://www.download.com/8301-2007_4-9836546-12.html?tag=blog.1 | url-status = dead | archive-date = June 29, 2012 }}{{cite web | last = Spector | first = Lincoln | title = Fifteen Great Time Saving Utilities | publisher = PC World | date = October 21, 2007 | url = http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,138571-page,2-c,utilities/article.html | access-date = December 30, 2007 | archive-date = October 7, 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081007151629/http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,138571-page,2-c,utilities/article.html | url-status = dead }}

Program usage

Launchy automatically loads on boot and waits for the user to call it by pressing Alt + Space or a custom 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.{{cite web | last = Gralla | first = Preston | title = The 15 Best Downloads of the Year | publisher = PC World | date = December 24, 2007 | url = http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,140721-page,3-c,utilities/article.html | access-date = December 30, 2007 | archive-date = July 2, 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080702061613/http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,140721-page,3-c,utilities/article.html | url-status = dead }}

Launchy can add folders and file formats to its catalog for indexing, so it can launch almost anything on a computer, including programs, URLs (also from bookmarks) and documents; as well as run Google, Wikipedia, MSN and Yahoo searches, bringing the results up in the default browser.

Launchy can be extended with plug-ins.

Platform

Launchy was originally written in C# (ver. 0.5), and in C++ since version 0.6.[http://sourceforge.net/projects/Launchy/ Project Details - Programming Language] The latest version, 2.0, has been completely rewritten using Qt. This has resulted in incompatibility with older skins and plugins.{{cite web|title=Launchy 2.0|url=https://www.neowin.net/news/launchy-20|website=Neowin|accessdate=7 August 2017}}

Included plugins

The following plugins are included with the 2.0 release:

= Controly =

Adds control panel items to the catalog

=Weby=

Allows web search
Can launch URLs, also from bookmarks

=Calcy=

A simple calculator

Community plugins

[http://sourceforge.net/projects/launchy/forums/forum/766269/topic/2270640 Ampy] controls Winamp, iTunes and foobar2000.
[https://web.archive.org/web/20110721193840/http://www.davidkarlsson.info/launchy/gcal.zip gCal Plugin] posts events to Google Calendar.
[http://f0vela.wordpress.com/tag/ituny/ iTuny] controls iTunes.
[http://sourceforge.net/projects/launchy/forums/forum/766269/topic/2948845 Killy] terminates tasks by name.
[http://launchysharp.sourceforge.net/ Launchy#] allows loading of plugins written in a .NET language.
[http://sourceforge.net/projects/mathyresurected/ MathyResurrected] adds additional mathematical capabilities.
[http://code.google.com/p/putty-launchy-plugin/ PuTTY Launchy Plugin] launches saved PuTTY sessions.
[http://pylaunchy.sourceforge.net/ PyLaunchy] allows loading of plugins written in the Python programming language.

Plugin development

Launchy 2 has a C++ API[https://www.launchy.net/api2.0/ Launchy 2 Plugin API] for developing extension plugins that add new types of objects to the catalog.

Community-developed bindings for other programming languages are provided as plugins:

PyLaunchy[http://pylaunchy.sourceforge.net/ PyLaunchy: Python plugins for Launchy] allows developing Python programming language plugins.
Launchy#[http://launchysharp.sourceforge.net/ Launchy#: .NET plugins for Launchy] allows developing plugins in .NET languages.

Awards

=2007=

SourceForge.Net Community Choice Awards, Honorable Mention: Best New Project{{cite web | title = SourceForge.Net Community Choice Awards | year = 2007 | url = http://sourceforge.net/community/index.php/landing-pages/cca07/ | access-date = 2007-12-30 | archive-date = 2008-01-20 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080120140929/http://sourceforge.net/community/index.php/landing-pages/cca07/ | url-status = dead }}
PC World 15 Best Downloads of the Year: Powertools
CNet Download.Com Top Ten Downloads of the Year