Launchy and WDS Example

Launchy is an application launcher that can help you quickly access programs without cluttering your desktop with icons or toolbars. By default it indexes all of the programs listed in your Start Menu, and with a few keystrokes lets you start any of those programs. No mouse input is required.

It also has plugin support so third party developers can extend its capabilities. Weby and Runner are two plugins that are part of the Launchy standard install. Using these we will integrate with Windows Desktop Search to launch local searches.

Windows Desktop Search (WDS) queries are typically run from Windows Explorer or the Windows Search Deskbar. Both options are easy enough to use, but for the power user they just add desktop clutter or slow down access to WDS. WDS 2 also offered a way to initiate searches from the command line. With WDS 3 the command line option has been replaced with the less intuitive search-ms protocol.

Note: If you are unsure which version of WDS you have, please try the Windows Desktop Search 3.x instructions first.

Step by Step: Configuring for Windows Desktop Search 3.x

To configure Launchy for Windows Desktop Search 3.x:

  1. Invoke Launchy (default shortcut: Alt + Space)
  2. Right click on the Launchy window and select Options from the menu
  3. Click on the Plugins tab, and ensure Weby is selected in the “Available Plugins” list
  4. Select the “+” button
  5. Fill in the new row as depicted below
  6. Click OK to save the settings

LaunchyAndWDS-WebyConfig

Name URL Query
WDS search-ms:// query=%s&

Update: The query string requires an ampersand character (&) at the end to avoid a trailing slash being appended to your query.

Step by Step: Configuring for Windows Desktop Search 2.x

To configure Launchy for Windows Desktop Search 2.x:

  1. Invoke Launchy (default shortcut: Alt + Space)
  2. Right click on the Launchy window and select Options from the menu
  3. Click on the Plugins tab, and ensure Runner is selected in the “Available Plugins” list
  4. Select the “+” button
  5. Fill in the new row as depicted below
  6. Click OK to save the settings

LaunchyAndWDS-RunnerConfig

Name Program Arguments
WDS C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe “WindowsSearch.exe /url search:query=$$”

Note: If you are unsure which version of WDS you have, or the Runner plugin instructions don’t work for you, you probably have WDS 3.x installed so please remove the Runner configuration entry you just created and try the Weby plugin option instead.

Calling Windows Desktop Search from Launchy

After completing the configuration, searching your hard drive should be as simple as:

  1. Invoke Launchy (default shortcut: Alt + Space)
  2. Type WDS then press the Tab key
  3. Type in your query text then hit Enter

A WDS window should open with your search results populated.

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