Windows Toolbox: Open Your Favorite Apps and Files Faster With Launchy

Vista lets you press the <Windows> key, type a few letters until a match to your application of choice appears, and then press <Enter> for a quick launch. If you aren't yet ready to move to Vista (or if you use Vista's Classic Start menu), try Launchy, a free, open-source tool from Josh Karlin. Press <Alt>-<Space> (or another hot-key combination of your choice) to pop open a command-line window; type a few letters, and Launchy anticipates your target file, displaying it (and other alternatives). When the file that you want appears in the window, press <Enter>. Launchy enables you to customize the directories it searches and the file types it shows, so you can use it to open picture or music files as well as to run applications.

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