Launchy is a program launcher to open files, folders, websites, and programs on your computer.

While Launch comes as an installer, you are offered a portable option during installation.

Launchy is a smart search program which tries to guess which program or file you are looking for and will launch it when you hit the enter key. It is only visible when you press the alt+space key combination; otherwise, it hides in the background.

If Launchy disappears into the background, pressing alt+space will bring it to the foreground.

If you would like Launchy to index more than the programs in your start menu, such as folders, mp3, docs, pdf, avi, then select the Catalog tab.

Adding Directories - Right click on Launchy and select options and then go to the Catalog tab. Add the directories you would like Launchy to scan by hitting the “+” button (1 on the picture). You can also drag and drop folders from Windows Explorer onto the folder list.

Adding File Types - You can specify which file types to search for in each directory, such as *.mp3 in your music directory and *.jpg in your pictures folder.

To add a file type to a directory, select the directory, click the “+” button and enter the file type (such as *.mp3) in the edit box that appears in the file types list.
To add all of the files in a directory, add ‘*.*’ as a type.
To index all programs in a directory, check the “Include executables.”
Launchy can also index the names of sub-directories. Check the “Directories” box to add sub-directories as a type to index

Clicking on options gives you numerous choices including General, Skins, Catalog, and Plugins.

Launchy was initially developed for the developer's personal needs but has grown into a full-featured program launched with numerous options, settings, plugins, and skins.

While free, the developer accepts donations at his website.