RunPin

Some Windows functions and features can’t be accessed as easily as others, at least not through conventional ways, such as identification through File Explorer. This is where the Run tool can shine, letting you launch dedicated programs by simply writing the appropriate names. There are also third-party alternatives, such as RunPin, which offer a bit more features.

On the bright side of things, the application is portable, thus saving you the time and effort required to go through a setup process. As such, you can save it on a thumb drive in case you want to use it on other computers as your very own Run tool alternative. Registry entries are not altered in the process, so the health status remains intact. Note that .NET Framework is a mandatory requirement.

As far as the visual design is concerned, the application holds all functions in a rather compact window, similar to the one offered by the Windows Run tool. On the other hand, this makes accommodation a walk in the park, letting you try out the set of features without spending too much time figuring things out.

Apart from the input field which requires you to write down the name of the target program, you also find a couple of menus to assist you. One of them displays all recently opened programs, similar in the way the Run tool offers suggestions in the drop-down menu. The window can be made to sit on top of everything else.

Second, there’s a favorites menu, but the name isn’t really right for what it offers. You can only choose from a list of preset apps found in Windows, with no options to manage this list. What’s more, the entire path needs to be provided for third-party programs for them to be detected.

Taking everything into consideration, we can state that RunPin isn’t really the Windows Run tool alternative you’re expecting to find. The favorites menu can’t be modified, while the lack of a built-in search function or indexer prevents it from properly detecting particular items simply by their name.