I have experimented with several productivity tools to aid with quickly launching applications. I hate clicking the start menu, selecting All Programs (I use Windows XP), and then finding my application in the long list of installed applications. I have optimized my Quick Launch toolbar, my Start Menu, and have even created toolbars that lurk in my taskbar that link to folders with commonly used shortcuts.
The problem is still that they are all require me to drag my mouse around and poke the required menu items. Using the mouse, especially when you interact with large menus, is a real time drag. I know the Windows Start Menu supports shortcut keys, but honestly there are only so many of those I can remember. I have found a better way.
Colibri is a free, hot-key launched, keyboard optimized, launcher utility. If you've ever seen QuickSilver on the Mac, this is very similar. I hit Ctrl+Alt+Space (configurable) and the Colibri console appears, center screen. I start typing text contained in the name of the application or file I want to open and Colibri finds the item and opens it. No mouse interaction is necessary. None. It will not even let you.
In the example on the right, the underlined text in the top pane shows that I typed "word" into Colibri's main window. Since this was the first time I typed this text, it offers a list of all the items containing the search text. After I type the text and select the application I want to launch (Microsoft Word in this example) using my arrow keys, Colibri remembers my selection. The next time I type the same text Colibri recalls my previous selection and suggests it as my first launch option. Hit Enter to launch the selection. If you use multiple applications that contain the same text, Colibri will keep them at the top of the list for easy selection - the selection you used last will be automatically selected.
There are several features that I really like about Colibri that set it apart from other application launchers. First, unlike many of Colibri's competitors, it has been extended using plug-ins to support launching many different file types. Among my favorites is the ability to open Control Panel applets. When I type "Add" into Colibri, Colibri selects the "Add or Remove Programs" control panel applet by default. This saves lots of time over waiting for the Control Panel list to populate.
Colibri also supports quick Google searches. Enter the Colibri hot-key, type "Goo" and select Google (if it isn't already selected). Then hit Tab and start typing your search text. When you hit Enter, a browser window opens to the Google search page executing your search. The hot-key search feature of Google desktop is better than Colibri (fewer keystrokes), but I don't run Google desktop on my laptop.
Beyond just launching applications, my favorite Colibri feature is its support for launching shortcuts of ANY type. It takes a bit of work, but using the free SQLite Database Browser available on Source Forge, the configuration files for Colibri can be modified to instruct Colibri to scan additional directories for files that can be launched. A favorite practice of mine is to add a directory in My Documents containing shortcuts to my most commonly accessed directories. I name the shortcuts using the name of the machine (if it's not local) and the directory names (such as "appserver01_bin_net_dll") so that I can quickly type the machine name and folder I want to open - Colibri finds it quickly and saves me time typing the path in Windows' Start/Run application. In the example below, I entered the text "apps dll", and Colibri narrowed the list down to two machines that both contain a directory with "dll" in the path name.
Here's how to add a new directory to Colibri's list of scanned directories. Open the SQLite Database Browser application and open the "Filesystem.sqlite" SQLite database found in your Application Data\Colibri directory. Open the table named "folders" - the folders table contains 1 column named "path". Add a row containing the full path to the directory you want Colibri to scan.
After modifying Colibri's configuration files and after you add a new
shortcut to a scanned directory, you will need to tell Colibri to
rescan the directories. Hit the Colibri hot-key, enter "Colibri" and
hit Tab. Use your down arrow to select the "Update Index" option. It
should take only a few seconds before you are on your way again.
If you are a Visual Studio user, I suggest changing the default hot-key to Ctrl-Alt-Space because Visual Studio uses Alt+Space (Colibri default) for IntelliSense support - easy fix.
Don't walk away with the impression that I am suggesting that by simply using Colibri you will transform yourself from a non-productive programmer to a productive programmer. There are many more factors that will affect your productivity much more than how you launch apps on your computer(procrastination, email, telephone, instant messaging, YouTube, Facebook, sports, desktop clutter, etc.). Colibri will help you navigate your computer faster than you were previously able - guaranteed.
