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An application launcher is a computer program that helps a user to locate and start other computer programs. An application launcher provides shortcuts to computer programs, and stores the shortcuts in one place so they are easier to find.
In the comparison of desktop application launchers that follows, each section is devoted to a different desktop environment.
These desktop application launchers work with Microsoft Windows operating systems only.
| Creator | Latest stable version | Release date | Software license | Open source | Programming language | Plugin support | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appetizer | Laurent Cozic | 1.4.6.494 | February 13, 2010 | GPL | Yes | C++, wxWidgets | Yes |
| ASuite | SalvadorSoftware | 2.0 | April 20, 2020 | GPL | Yes | Delphi | No |
| Classic Shell | Ivo Beltchev | 4.3.1 | August 12, 2017 | MIT | Yes | C++ | Yes [note 1] |
| Keypirinha | Jean-Charles Lefebvre | 2.26 | November 18, 2020 | Freeware | No | ? | Yes |
| LiberKey | Captel SARL | 5.8.1129 | November 30, 2015 | Proprietary | No | ? | No |
| Microsoft PowerToys Run | Microsoft | 0.73.0 | August 23, 2023 | MIT | Yes | C++, C# | Yes |
| PortableApps.com Platform | Rare Ideas, LLC | 15.0.2 | May 17, 2018 | GPL | Yes [note 2] | Delphi | No |
| Quick Access Popup | Jean Lalonde | 11.5.10 | November 7, 2022 | Freeware | Yes | AutoHotkey | No |
| SliderDock | Dimitri Roozendaal | 1.21 | October 11, 2010 | Creative Commons | No | ? | No |
| SyMenu | Gianluca Negrelli | 7.00.8038 [1] | January 3, 2022 | Freeware | No | C# | Yes |
| Wox | Qianli Feng | v1.3.524 | February 24, 2018 | Freeware | Yes | C# | Yes |
| XIA Links | CENTREL Solutions | 4.2.12 [2] | July 1, 2021 | Proprietary | No | C# | No |
These desktop application launchers work with Linux operating systems only.
| Creator | Latest stable version | Release date | OS | Software license | Open source | Programming language | Plugin support | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albert Launcher | Manuel Schneider | 0.18 | December 27, 2022 | Linux | ALL | No (Source available | C++ (Qt) | Yes | |
| 9menu | Arnold Robbins | 1.8 | June 1, 2004 | Linux | GPL | Yes | C | No | |
| Avant Window Navigator | Neil J. Patel | 0.4.2 [3] | November 27, 2013 | Linux | GPL | Yes | C | Yes | |
| dmenu | dwm developers | 4.5 [4] | December 19, 2011 | Linux | MIT License | Yes | C | No | |
| GNOME Do | GNOME Do Developers | 0.95.1 [5] | January 23, 2014 | Linux | GPL | Yes | C# | Yes | |
| Katapult | TDE Developers | R14.0.6 [6] | March 5, 2019 | Linux with TDE | GPL | Yes | C++ | Yes | |
| Unity Dash | Canonical Ltd. | 7.3.0 [7] | June 19, 2014 | Ubuntu | GPLv3 | Yes | Vala | Yes ("lenses" and "scopes") | |
| Synapse | Michal Hruby and Alberto Aldegheri | 0.2.99.4 [8] | April 8, 2018 | Linux | GPLv3 | Yes | Vala | Yes |
These desktop application launchers work with the Apple macOS operating system only.
| Creator | Latest stable version | Release date | Software license | Open source | Programming language | Plugin support | Runs on macOS Catalina | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alfred | Running with Crayons | 5.1.4 | October 30, 2023 | Proprietary | No | Objective-C | Yes | Yes |
| Butler | Peter Maurer | 4.3.2 | April 9, 2019 | Proprietary | No | Objective-C | Yes | Yes |
| DragThing | James Thomson | 5.9.11 | November 16, 2016 | Proprietary | No | C++ | Yes | No |
| LaunchBar | Objective Development | 6.10 | April 24, 2019 | Proprietary | No | Objective-C | Yes | Yes |
| Quicksilver | Quicksilver Foundation | 2.0.0 | March 25, 2022 | Apache License | Yes | Objective-C | Yes | Yes |
| Raycast | Raycast Technologies Ltd. | 1.68.1 | February 22, 2024 | Proprietary | No | Swift | Yes | Yes |
| SpeedDock | SpeedDock | 1.9 | November 5, 2019 | Proprietary | No | Swift | No | Yes |
These desktop application launchers work with two or more different operating systems.
| Creator | Latest stable version | Release date | OS | Software license | Open source | Programming language | Plugin support | Runs on macOS Catalina | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Launchy | Josh Karlin | 2.5.0 | April 4, 2010 | Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS | GPL | Yes | C++ (Qt) | Yes | No |
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Multiplicity is a computer program that enables one keyboard and mouse to access two or more client computers from a host computer. It was developed for Stardock as part of their ThinkDesk subscription service, but is available separately.
A menu bar is a graphical control element which contains drop-down menus.
Caldera OpenLinux (COL) is a defunct Linux distribution. Caldera originally introduced it in 1997 based on the German LST Power Linux distribution, and then taken over and further developed by Caldera Systems since 1998. A successor to the Caldera Network Desktop put together by Caldera since 1995, OpenLinux was an early "business-oriented distribution" and foreshadowed the direction of developments that came to most other distributions and the Linux community generally.
A compositing manager, or compositor, is software that provides applications with an off-screen buffer for each window. The compositing manager composites the window buffers into an image representing the screen and writes the result into the display memory. A compositing window manager is a window manager that is also a compositing manager.
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Comparison of the Java and .NET platforms.
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