There are many application launchers available out there. Most of them allow you to launch applications quickly using the keyboard, pressing a combination of keys that you define to launch the desired application. This is useful if you like using the keyboard more often than the mouse.
However, for those of you that prefer to use the mouse, there is a application launcher you will find useful called Mouse Extender. This application launcher allows you to not only launch applications or programs, but also open files, folders, and web addresses.
Download Mouse Extender from http://me.codeplex.com/.
Mouse Extender does not require installation. It is downloaded as a .zip file, so all you need to do is unzip the file and run the MouseExtender.exe file. Mouse Extender starts minimized in the system tray. To show the panel, click on the icon. Right-clicking on the icon displays a pop-up menu of options, where you can also select Show panel to display the panel.
The following image shows the panel before any programs, files, folders, or web addresses are added to it. There are buttons on the panel for accessing the Control Panel, restarting your computer, and shutting down your computer, respectively, from left to right. Later in the post, we will describe how to hide these three buttons if desired.
To add a program or a file to the panel, right-click on the panel below the buttons and select Add File or Program from the pop-up menu.
The Open dialog box displays. Navigate to the directory containing the program executable file, select the file and click Open.
An icon for the program displays on the panel. Click the icon once to open the program.
If you don’t want the panel to minimize to the system tray when you click off of it, click the thumbtack icon so that it displays at an angle rather than flat. This way, you can move the panel anywhere on the screen and have access to it immediately. Note that the panel will block part of your screen, if it is not minimized to the system tray. When we talk about the settings later in this post, we will show you a way to make the panel smaller.
It is very quick and easy to access the panel if it is minimized. The default method is to click the middle mouse button. If you either don’t have a middle mouse button, or you want to use a combination of a system key and a mouse button, that can be specified in the settings, discussed later.
NOTE: You cannot use just the left mouse button or the right mouse button to access the panel.
If you have a lot of programs, files, folders, and web addresses to add to your panel, you can add tabs to the panel to categorize your items. Right-click on any empty space on the panel below the buttons and select Add Tab from the pop-up menu.
A dialog box displays allowing you to enter a title for the tab. Enter your desired title and click OK.
NOTE: Be careful how many tabs you add. If you add more than fits on the panel, you cannot access the tabs to the right that don’t fit.
The following image displays the panel with three tabs added. Move your mouse over each striped box representing the tabs to view the name of the tab. Click the box to activate that tab.
Mouse Extender allows you to edit the properties for each item you add to the panel. Right-click on any icon on the panel and select Edit Item from the pop-up menu.
A dialog box displays on which you can change information about the item, such as the Tooltip that displays when you move your mouse over the icon on the panel, add any command line Arguments to be passed to the application when you click the icon, and select a different icon. Make your desired changes and click OK or click Cancel if you don’t want to make changes.
To change settings in Mouse Extender, right-click on any empty space on the panel below the buttons and select Settings from the pop-up menu.
The Settings dialog box displays. The following are some of the settings that can be changed:
- Select the Use compact view check box to make the panel smaller.
- Uncheck the Show system buttons check box if you don’t want the three system buttons to display on the panel.
- Select the Hide on mouse click when opened check box to hide the panel the same way you access it (the middle mouse button, by default).
- The Don’t hide panel check box is the same as the thumbtack icon on the panel. If it is checked, it is the same as the thumbtack sitting at an angle. When you click off of the panel, the panel does not hide.
- The Mouse button configuration box allows you to specify which mouse button and system key to use to access the panel. You can select the middle mouse button on its own, or you can use the Alt key, Shift key, or Ctrl key plus one of the mouse buttons. In the latter case, you can use the left or right mouse button. However, you cannot use either the left or right mouse button by itself.
We have found Mouse Extender very handy. It can be accessed quickly from within any program and provides easy one-click access to programs, folders, and web addresses, the latter of which displays in the default web browser.
by Lori Kaufman
Just for the record, I love, love, LOVE Mouse Extender. (Virtually) all methods and apps for handling shortcuts are language-based – they require your brain to translate that instinctively-familiar icon into language, then to look for that text alphabetically. Big time-waster. If you're used to thinking visually (and I thought I wasn't), this is wonderful. Look for the icon for the application/address/folder you want, or simply look by location (you can arrange the icons however you want), and there you are.
I have found one or two programs that don't play nice with Mouse Extender (the app won't launch from its interface, for some reason), but otherwise…highly recommended.