Forget Launchers, Just Do It With Windows! - How To

Thats a cool post, thanks. The only thing I would say is that, compared to something like Launchy, there is a lot of setup here.

If you install Launchy, it automatically starts indexing the programs in your start menu, and can easily be told to index other things (like documents, etc) in other places. No edits of path variables, copying of shortcuts, setting up of hotkeys, etc. It basically works "out of the box".

There are of course advantages to using the built-in run box, like avoiding running another program that can use system resources. Still though, I have been happy with Launchy.

I stopped reading the instructions after the first two paragraph. As Halo2Master pointed out there is a lot of setup required to make this work. Also, do you have to manually add shortcuts every time you install something? That's a pain.

There are two things that Launchy does that I don't think your setup will. First, it interprets what you're typing in without having to fully spell it out. For example, when I want to run Notepad++ all I have to type is "+" and launchy gives me it as the top choice.

The other feature that Launchy has is the ability to add plugins. I've created a shortcut to my work's web-based email in launchy. All I have to type in is "v" and it takes me there.

Of course for people who are VERY conscious about system performance this could be a good option. But for me, it's worth the 13,736K of memory to have Launchy running. I use it ALL THE TIME!!!

Maybe this accomplishes the same thing, and if it does it sounds way easier:

1) CTRL+R: Type ".." without the ", just two periods.
2) Navigate to your folder
3) Copy any shortcut in there, F2 to rename it to whatever yo uwant

And you're done. Now just CTRL+R and type in whatever shortcuts you renamed in that folder.

Agree with Halo2Master here. I am happy investing resources in a install and let it work automatically detect new applications instead of doing this everytime. A near idea though :) I still use the Run box, though a lot less after launchy.

I've been doing this the simple way for years now.

-First make a folder of all the shortcuts you want and rename them as you wish. (ie: Moz for mozilla, fox for FireFox, etc...)
-Then, simply copy all of those shortcuts directly into the c:\Windows\Sytem 32\ folder (directly there, NOT in a subfolder).
-They launch out of the run dialog exactly as described here, only no variables to fool around with.
-Save the folder you copied to a spare drive for when you reformat your computer and then just copy them into 'System 32' again. You can also add it to your taskbar as a toolbar as described in the article.

A few notes on shortcuts:
-Capitals don't matter, it will run whether you say FireFox or firefox.
-If you use it often, give it a simple shortcut, like 'FF' or "Fox" for FireFox. 'DL' opens my DownLoad Accelerator, and it's easy to remember. (Likewise, AV->Antivirus)
-For programs you use less often, you can give it the exact name so it's easier to remember. (Like PowerPoint or Mathmatica)

Rather than messing with environment variables (which require a reboot), you can just drop a shortcut to the app into "c:\windows\system32"

You can also rename the shortcut so you can enter whatever you want in the run box to open it up.

Of course, none of this is as quick and easy as just using the damn Quicklaunch bar that's built in for precisely this sort of thing, or using normal Vista start menu where you can type a few letters and filter all your shortcuts at once. I'm just sayin'.

Or if you have vista, you can use 'Winkey + 1-9' to pen any of your quick launch icons. E.g if I had firefox the furthest left, I would use 'Winkey + 1'

LOL....I've been doing this for years...never thought of creating blog for it...great job...

An easier way is to simply add C:\Documents and Settings\username\Start menu to the path file,so everything that is in the start menu get indexed :)

Like Jeff I've been doing this for years, long before programs like Launchy became popular (on the PC at least).

I'm a control freak when it comes to my computer so this method suits me perfectly.

Also saves on yet another indexing application running in the background.

I've been using this method since 2001. I was thinking I was the only one using this :)

I've tried all other launchers but this one is the best method. It's very easy to use. One time setup and you save a lot time

I've been using it for a quite a while now - but what I did was to add Quick Launch dir to the PATH variable - just to keep the system clean - if you've got one dir with shortcuts, why make another one? :)

This is good for me because installing software at work is frowned upon. However, it doesn't seem to work for internet shortcuts. Any ideas?