Launchy

Launchy with Black Glass Skin
Download from http://launchy.net. It’s a freeware.

Launchy is quite convenient and easy to use. The default shortcut keys are Alt + Space which can be easily changed from the option menu that you can access by right clicking on the border of Launchy.

It provides slick interface design which is skinable. Also, it is easy to add new executable location. You only need to define the parent folder in the Catalog menu and Launchy will scan all sub-folders and index them too. It is smart and self learning so once you executed ‘putty’ ssh by typing ‘pu’, it will show ‘putty’ as default entry next time you type ‘pu’. One thing that I didn’t like was that it consumes about 18 MB of memory. It is little too much for a simple application, but I guess it’s because of the graphic interface. But I couldn’t find better alternative.

Basically I like it because it’s pretty and smart enough to remember my favorite applications.

There are some similar free softwares introduced here at Lifehacker.com site. I did tried recently became freeware Enso. It is less intuitive (with no pretty graphics interface, showing only large bold letters on the left top corner) and hard to learn . Also it uses about 34 MB of memory. It was just not for me.

With the RocketDock and Launchy, I am in full control of my desktop.

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Where is that Folder?

At work , I deal with lot of files stored in my local hard drives. And it’s very important for me to organize these files properly. So I would not do the same task – creating the same reports – over and over again.

But with so many folders and sub directories, it is virtually tiresome for me to search the right folder every time I open an Explorer Window.

However , with the help of these three freeware utilities, Now it’s quick and easy to find the right folder. Efficiency has increased 200%.

In the below image , the right column icons are all actual folders.
Windows XP folders list

1. iColorFolder
This utility lets you change the folder icon and its color. By default you are required to select the folder icon styles ( Aqua, Mac OS X, Vista , Windows XP) and you can change the color of the folder icon. Therefore, it helps me to distinguish each folder with different importances and classifications.

You can change the icon by right mouse click on the folder.

DOWNLOAD : http://icolorfolder.sourceforge.net/download_icolorfolder_page.htm

2. Shedko Badges
This program allows to show small emblem icon over the Windows Icon. There are 10 different types of icons you can mark. This program is not confined to Folders. It can apply the emblem icon to any Windows file and folders.

DOWNLOAD : http://eng.softq.org/badges.htm

3. Folder Guide 1.1
This program allows you to setup the favorite folders to appear in the right mouse context menu of Windows Explorer.

DOWNLOAD: http://www.freeware365.com/desktop/folderguide.htm

All three utilities are also perfectly working in the Open/Save File Dialogs.

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