Appetizer

The Appetizer program launcher serves up your program and file shortcuts, and acts like a souped-up Windows Quick Launch toolbar. It can run as a portable launcher and has options specific to the PortableApps suite, and is likely best paired with that download.

When you first run it, Appetizer can automatically import shortcuts from the Windows Quick Launch toobar, from PortableApps (if it locates the suite), or from your Windows Start Menu. Be careful before choosing that last option, as you'll likely end up with more shortcuts than you want, and will then have to manually remove the extras one by one. You can also drag and drop shortcuts into the Appetizer window, or click a button to browse to a file or program and create a new one.

Appetizer offers a few options that go beyond the Quick Launch, such as kicking off multiple programs at once by clicking one button. Some features are specific to PortableApps, such as installing an autorun file on your portable drive to kick it off when you insert the drive, and Appetizer would likely be of most use when run alongside the also-free portable app suite. Otherwise, you might prefer a more developed launcher like Stardock's ObjectDock.

The author has made the source code for Appetizer available.

Note: The download link will pull down an installer for the non-portable version of Appetizer. For a portable .zip download, head to the author's download page.

--Erik Larkin