FreeLaunch

There are multiple ways to launch files and folders other than having them all piled up on the desktop. The taskbar is an alternative, but it too can only hold so many elements. To help out, developers came out with different kinds of launchers like FreeLaunch, which can keep your desktop a free space, and provide a neat menu to launch just about anything.

Apart from its system integration, the application can also be used to launch programs on a thumb drive, especially since it requires no installation to properly function. This also means that no changes are brought to system registry entries, and thus keeping the target computer intact.

There’s a default menu configuration, with three tabs, each with two rows of slots to place items. Luckily, this can be configured from the settings panel to allow more tabs, rows, slots, and even define spacing. Tab style benefits from a few different options, like button, page, or flat button, while the title bar can be kept normal, minimized, or hidden.

A quick setup only requires you to drag files of any kind, or even folders in appropriate slots on the launch pad. However, you can take the long way around, and use the context menu to specify the type of content, and modify some extra settings. These include launch confirmation, custom icon, priority, view type, description, and additional parameters.

When not used, the application hides to the tray area so it doesn’t constantly take up desktop space. There’s also a related option which automatically hides the menu after launching an item. The only downside here is the lack of hotkey support, which means you need to use the tray icon to bring up the launcher every time.

All things considered, we come to the conclusion that FreeLaunch is a straightforward, yet practical alternative of launching files and folders. It helps keep your desktop a clean space, especially since the number of slots can be configured to great extent. Even though it can’t be quickly brought up through hotkeys, the tray icon isn’t difficult to spot, or interact with.