WinLaunch

If by any chance you're unhappy with your computer's current OS desktop organization/management options, or you're simply looking for an alternative or complementary taskbar-like feature, then it might be worth checking out the wide variety of app launchers out there.

One such application is WinLaunch which, as its straightforward name suggests, provides you with quick access to your most important files, folders, and applications from anywhere on the desktop.

Subsequent to its surprise-free installation, the first thing that becomes apparent is the app's looks, which, truth be told are not its strong point. While we're on the subject, it's worth mentioning that WinLaunch won't take home the prize for the most feature-packed Windows launcher either. Consequently, the app doesn't come with support for both web or system searches, nor does it allow you to perform calculations or even the possibility of grouping shortcuts.

On the upside, however, "tipping the scales" at somewhere well under 2 MB, it's definitely one of the most lightweight apps of this sort out there. Also on the plus side of things, the app offers a decent amount of customization options.

From the main menu, make your way to the Launcher Properties window (by right-clicking the main interface), where you're presented with the configuration possibilities. For instance, you can choose both the active and passive transparency levels, change the bar's general and highlight colors, add a customizable clock to its main GUI, as well as various useful shortcuts for a calendar, timer, encryption pad, and a clipboard cleaner.

You may have noticed that there's a Setup Wizard option readily accessible from the app's main window. With its help, you can more-or-less straightforwardly use the four-pane explorer-like menu to add new shortcuts to your list.

WinLaunch is the, by all accounts, a non-impressive app of this sort, both regarding visual appeal as well as of productivity power. Nonetheless, it does its job rather well, and if simplicity and lightness are what you're after, then it's surely not a bad choice.