Quick application launcher. Programs for launching games. Comparison of Hidden Menu with its paid counterpart TrayIcon Pro

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After long-term use of Windows OS, operation and installation software Various unnecessary data often accumulates, which leads to slower system startup. Adequate maintenance is needed, and you can speed up the start and operation of your PC again.

There are various programs for cleaning the operating system to eliminate Not required applications autostart or delay their start time in order to use Windows as soon as possible, and only then they begin their work. What programs are similar to those tasks is best, we will try to figure it out, and you can decide what suits you best.

Many users use the computer's sleep mode as they at least somehow try to speed up loading. Another group again recommends only using MSConfig systems, where you enable only the services that you need.

For less experienced users who are not confident in MSConfig, we offer some advice on programs that big problem can be solved in a simple and safe way.

CCleaner has received significant support among users. This is a very versatile and capable cleaning program, removing all unnecessary and incorrect entries in the registry, and will also clean temporary files and traces of your Internet browsing (systems and applications such as IE, Firefox, Opera, Netscape, MS Office and many others).

The application also has the advantage that you can use it absolutely free and you can always have a portable version with you on a flash drive. We recommend CCleaner for good performance and convenience.
Even the average user can manage the program.

Auslogics BootSpeed.

Program with full set functions to start the system faster. Cleans the registry, defragments hard disks, clears space of previously deleted data, even restores it by accident deleted files and, of course, provides a wide range useful information, obtained from a thorough scan of the computer.


It also contains functions for working with programs that automatically start when Windows boots. You can disable or even delete applications that you consider unnecessary and are holding your system back.

Very simple utility, with a clear mission - to prevent processes and programs from running at startup. It comes in a table of these applications, categorized according to criteria in 17 different categories, so that the user can easily find the problematic process.

download:

Soluto is a specialized program for fast booting Windows. The main advantages of this program are free licenses, ease of use and a graphically pleasing interface. The application also provides backup in case of any damage done by the user in order to put the system back into working condition. After the reboot, the program will indicate how long it takes to download each application.


You can easily choose which processes and programs to disable, and which ones to simply delay the start for (seconds, minutes, tens of minutes). This will allow you to use your computer normally and allow those applications to run slowly and smoothly.

When working on a computer and often launching the same programs, it would, of course, be useful to configure their quick launch so as not to waste extra time searching for them.

Therefore, in this article we will look at the available Windows features(without installing additional programs) allowing us to configure the most optimal scheme for us quick launch favorite programs.

In particular, we will talk about settings autostart programs, launching programs using shortcuts on desktop, launching programs via Task bar, through the pinned area in start menu and with the help hotkeys.

Let's look at the above-mentioned features in detail using the Windows 7 operating system, and based on the illustrative examples given, you can decide how you personally configure the launch of your favorite programs in the best way in your operating system.

So, let's start in order...

Quickly launch your favorite programs through autorun

Most programs can be configured to start automatically when the operating system itself starts. As a rule, these can be the most favorite and daily used programs, such as mail program, Skype, electronic notebook, etc.

You can enable or disable loading programs when the operating system starts in the program settings. Let's look at this process using examples of several programs, the installation and use of which we have already discussed on our website.

Autostart for Skype

To configure its autorun, first find the icon of this program on the taskbar, right-click on it and in the drop-down menu go to Settings:


Autostart for Evernote

To consolidate this method of setting up the quick launch of your favorite programs, let's consider another setting for automatically launching a notebook.

Let's go to the menu Service-> Settings:

And in the tab Are common celebrate Launch Evernote at system startup and click OK:


Having thus configured automatic downloading of your favorites, i.e. the most frequently used programs, you can give yourself additional convenience when booting your computer - the necessary programs are already running!

But it is worth saying that you should not add many programs to startup, since the more programs there are in startup, the longer it takes for the operating system to start at startup.

Quickly launch programs using shortcuts

This is the most commonly used way to launch programs for novice users, since shortcuts to most programs, as a rule, are already added to the Desktop by default during installation.

A shortcut is a small file that only launches the desired program. Removing a shortcut does not remove the program itself. Regular shortcut on the Desktop is displayed with the icon of the program itself (so that you can clearly see what kind of program it is) and is additionally marked with an arrow so that you can see that it is a shortcut:

pros using shortcuts on Desktop: It is immediately clear which program to choose to launch.

Flaws using shortcuts on Desktop: if you randomly add shortcuts all in a row, then the Desktop becomes cluttered and the very essence of why shortcuts are added (for quick launch) is lost, since in a large list it becomes more difficult to quickly find the desired shortcut to launch the program.

In addition, when using a computer, we can periodically temporarily add some files to the Desktop, for example, a music or video file, a document, and then decide where to put it.

And if there are a lot of shortcuts, then this file(files) can simply get lost among a large number of shortcuts. And if this large file, for example, some movie, then this is extra space in random access memory computer, which may affect the speed of the computer.

Also, access to shortcuts on the Desktop can only be achieved when the windows are minimized, and if we already have some programs and (or) Explorer windows open, then we need to perform an additional action to minimize the windows. By the way, how to do this is described in a separate article:.

Well, when there are a lot of shortcuts on the desktop, this “closes” the Desktop screensaver itself, which in itself, in my opinion, is not very beautiful.

Therefore, my opinion is that there should be few shortcuts on the Desktop or, if possible, eliminated altogether.

Decide for yourself how to do it. All that remains is to show how to add shortcuts on the Desktop yourself.

Let's look at the example of adding a shortcut to the Desktop to launch the translator.

You need to go to the menu first Start— > All programs. There, find the folder with the desired program, open it, find the file that launches the program. Next, right-click and in the window that appears, go to Send— > Desktop (create shortcut):


A shortcut will appear on the desktop:

Let me remind you that such shortcuts can be deleted from the Desktop, but the program itself will not be deleted.

Note: Shortcuts can be created not only for launching programs, but also for any folder or file. For example, if we often go to a folder with music or movies, then we can create shortcuts to these folders in the same way and place them on the Desktop.

Quickly launch programs via the Taskbar

You can make a quick launch for some programs by using Taskbar, usually located at the bottom of the screen (it can also be located on the side or top, depending on the settings).

The main advantage of placing program shortcuts on the Taskbar is their accessibility in one click, since they are always visible.

Let's look at adding your favorite programs for quick access to the taskbar, using two programs as an example: (one of standard programs, included in the operating system) and browser.

File Explorer on the Taskbar

Go to the menu Start-> All programs(1), go to the folder Standard(2), we find (3). Next, right-click and in the window that appears, click Pin to taskbar(4). As a result, an icon (5) will appear on the Taskbar to launch Explorer:

Browser on the taskbar

We also go to the menu Start-> All programs(1), we find Browser(2). Next, right-click and in the window that appears, click Pin to taskbar(3). As a result, the taskbar will appear icon(4) to launch the Browser:


Of course, you shouldn’t add many programs to the Taskbar, since they are also added there. running programs. But adding a few frequently used programs would be helpful.

Quickly launch programs through the Start menu

One more is enough convenient way launching your favorite programs is using the Start menu. Only unlike the previous one, in this method programs can be launched not in one, but in two clicks.

I'll show you how to use the Start menu using a cleaner as an example.

We also go to the menu Start-> All programs, we find CCleaner. Next, right-click and in the window that appears, click Pin to Start Menu:

And a shortcut to launch CCleaner is added and pinned at the top (1) of the Start menu, while all the other programs we launch take turns below (2):

Quickly launch programs using hotkeys

In the properties of program shortcuts, it is possible to configure their launch using hot keys. I learned about this method from.

This course covers how to quickly launch a data encryption program. I’ll show you in printed form how to make this setting, and you can use this example to set up any program.

We find in the Start menu the program we need, which we want to configure for quick launch using hot keys, right-click on it and select Properties:

In the Shortcut Properties, specify the key combination to quickly launch the program, press Apply And OK:

All! Now we can launch this program using hotkeys. And if you need to change the shortcut to other keys, then we also just go here and change it to another combination.

Note: To set key combinations, you need to place the cursor in the Shortcut field and press the desired keys on the keyboard at the same time. For example, I indicated the combination Ctrl + Alt + T(I used the letter T at the beginning of the name of the program. You can choose any one that is convenient and memorable for you):


What exactly do I advise you to do:

  1. Clean Desktop, removing unnecessary shortcuts.
  2. Add to startup a couple of your favorite programs, which are usually needed immediately after loading the operating system.
  3. Add also 1-3 shortcuts to Task bar to frequently used programs.
  4. Pin 3-5 programs to start menu, which are used a little less frequently than the previous ones.

This way, we get quick access to 7-10 main programs that we use most often.

In this article, we examined only the capabilities of the operating system for quickly launching programs. But, there are also individual programs, allowing you to quickly access any programs, folders and files on your computer in 1-2 clicks. We will look at one of these programs in one of the following articles.

If your task is to speed up loading Windows, and this must be done without using third party programs, then you definitely need to read this article. Since it contains simple, and most importantly effective ways to speed up the loading of the operating room Windows systems 7, the impact of which you can feel without a stopwatch.

When starting up any computer, the first thing it does is launch the BIOS (from the English Basic Input/Output System), and therefore you need to start speeding up Windows startup with it. In BIOS(e) we are interested in two things: the boot priority queue, and the Fast boot function.
The latter can significantly speed up system startup by eliminating the search and check of the BIOS(s) of connected devices. However, this function has its drawbacks - by disabling it, the user disables the use of devices connected via non-standard connectors (USB, S-Video, hosts for mobile devices). They will start working after Windows has fully started.

To speed up booting by configuring the BIOS, you must:


Important! The figure shows the "Download Queue" for Dell laptop Inspiron. It may vary slightly on other devices. As a rule, the differences concern only the visual component, while the names of bookmarks and commands are almost always identical (standardized) for all devices.

It should also be noted that Fast boot sometimes works too well. As a result, users do not physically have time to press the required button in time to re-enter the BIOS. This problem can be solved by pressing the opening button BIOS settings(a) before turning on the computer.

Second step

The next step to speed up booting involves connecting all processor cores (if there are more than one) to start the operating system. For this:


The manipulations performed will begin to work the next time the operating system is rebooted.

Step three

The next step is to turn off unnecessary programs and services that affect system startup.

Disabling services


Here you need to disable unnecessary services, since they load the system even if they are not used by the user. Especially when Windows startup. You can read in detail about what can be disabled and what is better left alone on the Internet, however, you can guess about some services yourself. For example, you don’t need Print Manager if you don’t have a printer.

The “service” is turned off by right-clicking on it and clicking “Properties”. After which a window will open, where in the “Startup type” column select “Disabled”.

Step four

Next, we configure what Windows programs should automatically start when the system starts. Since so many programs like to be registered in autorun, the user not only does not use them, he does not even suspect that they are running.

Setting up Windows 7 startup


The changes you make will take effect the next time you start the operating system.

Step five

The last point of speeding up system startup is organizing the space occupied by files on the hard drive, in other words - defragmentation hard drive. This procedure is reminiscent of organizing the arrangement of books in a library. What is required for a more convenient, quick search for books (in our case, files) and their use.

The disk defragmentation service in Windows 7 is launched by a separate command - defrag.exe. It must be entered into the search bar of the Start menu or in the Run window (Win + R).

By running this command, you will open the “Defragmentation” window, where you should select the disk on which the operating system is installed and start defragmenting it.

The defragmentation process can take a long time, sometimes several hours.

Also in this window, it is better to immediately enable the function of periodically running defragmentation by clicking “Set up schedule”.

And choosing the optimal launch parameters for you. After this, you can start defragmenting your hard drive.

Advice. You should not boot your computer during defragmentation; it is best to leave it until the process is finished.

Surely, it is already clear that applications of this type allow you to use program launch. They belong to the type of lunchers. For the most part, such programs are most necessary for mobile devices, when the smartphone operating system itself is not able to run this or that application. By and large, launchers are multi-platform applications and can work under completely different operating systems. Moreover, the matter, as is already clear, is not limited to desktop computers or smartphones. Equally well, such programs also work on tablet PCs.

At a minimum, program launchers allow you to optimize the launch of your most frequently used applications and files. First of all, this is achieved by using the established parameters of the system itself. The fact is that the launch of each program or service can be controlled according to several criteria. For example, this could be the launch configuration, priority, initial launch parameters and much more. Standard means Operating systems like Windows do not allow such fine tuning. That is why programs for launching programs have become so popular.

On the other hand, applications designed to run on smartphones offer unprecedented performance. This is because they use less system resources and do not take up space on the phone's flash memory. Just the same, they allow you to launch completely different programs with support for the Java platform or specialized software applications. It is the versions of mobile launchers, in most cases, that are the category that is usually called “free programs”. In order to download free programs to run programs, you can use our website. Absolutely all free software products have no restrictions on use or validity period. It may well be that some commercial products offer slightly greater functionality. However, judging by free programs, this is not entirely true. Free programs often offer features that paid commercial products may not provide at all. This is especially true for saving settings files. Commercial file with the settings it “weighs” quite a lot. File free program It takes up minimal space and is mainly text-based, that is, it has a .TXT extension.

In conclusion, I would like to say that such applications need to be used. Especially regarding mobile devices. Well, what exactly to use is up to the user to decide. You understand, the advantage is that the dutcher is able to run the program even if the system does not accept it.

We live in a world at a very fast pace. We try to save our time on everything. Do a lot of things at once. We are trying, we are learning. But many do not stop there and are looking for additional ways to find time when working at the computer.

And here there is one such simple option - to add more automation to your work on a PC or laptop. But first, first things first.

There are two main methods of working at a computer (purely conventional, they are practically never found in their pure form):

  • manual. When the necessary applications are launched independently, the necessary documents are opened, and so on. The most common method. And the most costly in terms of time. Various things can improve its performance. That is, panels will be created for quickly launching programs and files, for example, like on Mac OS. This is done using programs such as RocketDock and Winstep Nexus.
  • auto. A certain algorithm is already prescribed here, for example, 10 minutes after turning on the computer, the application for reading and sending will start Email. This really saves time, but first you have to watch yourself: what applications you open and when. Programs such as Hot Keyboard can do this.

Accordingly, all programs for quickly launching programs are divided into:

  • manual. That is, they have more manual actions, their main tool- These are panels for quick launch. They are similar to shortcuts, but they are much more convenient and they have different additional features. And besides, they make working at the computer more enjoyable.
  • automatic. From the name it is clear that they do everything according to a pre-written algorithm.

Now let’s take a closer look at the second group of software for quickly launching applications and files. And in particular the launch algorithm, which comes in three types:

  • by pressing a certain key combination. That is, the so-called “hot keys”, which are also available in Windows. But only for certain commands, such as "Copy" and "Paste". And here, for any application, its own special key combinations can be assigned. It is very comfortable. Quickly click on the key and you don’t have to look for a shortcut or icon to launch it.
  • by pressing a certain combination on the mouse. This is similar to the previous option. But here the number of applications or files to launch is much limited. Because the mouse basically only has three buttons.
  • by time. For example, launching an application 10 minutes after the computer is running. Here you will need to specifically register each application for automatic launch. You can also turn your computer on and off according to a schedule. Use it, for example, as an alarm clock, that is, the computer turns on itself at 7:00, launches the media player and there is already your favorite song and you get up to it.

However, before you start working with programs to quickly launch programs, you need to answer the following questions:

Virtual desktop programs

(just click on its name to go to the analysis and then download it):

It is appreciated for its excellent work if it is tuned; for ease of use with PCs and laptops; for putting things in order on the desktop; for free; for being great for quickly launching applications; for helping to optimize work with files; for being convenient and not buggy; for being nice to look at.

It is valued for its stable operation on 64-bit OS; for the opportunity to take screenshots; because it looks beautiful and works efficiently; for being convenient; for the ability to create multiple desktops; for free; for being beautiful and pretty.

It is appreciated because it is simple; for saving a lot of time; for what really works; for being convenient and effective; for excellent support of modern operating systems; for great functionality; for being great for web designers and editors; for convenient navigation; for freeing the desktop from all rubbish.



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