Toss the Mouse with Keystroke Launchers

Clicking through the Start or Applications menu looking for the application you want to launch is so old school. There are some great tools out there that let you find the application you want to launch in seconds all without even having to take your hands off the keyboard.

What exactly is a keystroke launcher? It is tool that lets you hit a couple keys (like Alt + Space) and it pulls up a little box that you start typing the name of the program you want to run. Quite simply, think of it as search on steroids. Most of the time, they are intelligent as well and start to put common programs towards the top of your search. If you have used Windows Vista, it is similar to the search box at the bottom of the start menu.

Let’s go through the three that I use across the various OS flavors.

Launchy - Windows

Launchy Screenshot

Launchy is the simplest to get up and running with out of the three. Just install it and the rest of the setup is pretty much automatic. It indexes the shortcuts to applications on your computer and then makes them just a few key presses away. Alt + Space pulls up launchy and presents you with a box similar to the above. Launchy also has support for different skins and plugins that let it do more than just launch programs, but I am happy with the base install. Launchy also says it works on Linux, but I have not had much luck in getting it up and running.

Launchy

Quicksilver - Mac

Quicksilver Screenshot

Quicksilver does more than just launch applications, but still is great for not having to mess with the dock or browse through the applications folder. Quicksilver has the capabilities to let you do all sorts of stuff on your computer like send e-mails with attachments, control iTunes, and even upload files all without having to do much more than type a few commands. Quicksilver has a plethora of add-ons, but has a bit of a learning curve to it I found. You can almost think of it as a graphical command prompt, but if you are looking for a keystroke launcher for Mac, it is king.

Quicksilver by Blacktree

GNOME Do - Ubuntu/Linux

GNOME Do Screenshot

Last but not least, GNOME Do is my favorite on Ubuntu. It is pretty much a linux port of Quicksilver, but it is much more intuitive. The base install only launches applications, but it too has a large collection of add-ons that let it do much more than just applciation launching. Despite its name, it works on ther window managers besides GNOME; however, I have only used it on GNOME in Ubuntu 8.10. Between Launchy and Quicksilver, I have to say that this one is my favorite.

GNOME Do is also in the Ubuntu 8.10 repository under Add/Remove Applications if you have “All Open Source Applications” selected.

GNOME Do Home