Quick launcher for the desktop
PUSH BUTTON
Desktop icons are not the only way to launch programs; in fact, a kicker that is not hidden by a muddle of windows is often preferable. Tablaunch is a flexible and attractive program launcher for the Linux desktop.
The kickers that come with the major desktop environments are full-fledged universal tools that offer a variety of features, including pag ers, menus, and clocks. This was too much of a good thing for developer D. Lam; as a user who preferred a simple window manager, he did not fancy the idea of cluttering his machine with the KDE or Gnome libraries. While shopping around for an alternative, D. Lam dis covered YeahLaunch, the launcher belonging to the YeahWM [1] window manager. This is a kicker that is easy on resources, and it automatically hides in the background when you don’t need it. The only drawback, from D. Lam’s point of view, was YeahLaunch’s very plain appearance. This prompted him to fire up his editor and develop a new kicker based on YeahLaunch, which he dubbed Tablaunch [2]. Although Tab launch is still easy on memory, the new kicker has vastly improved optics, add ing options such as a zoom feature that activates when users hover the mouse over an icon. But if you prefer a more staid approach, Tablaunch is still an interesting option. If asked to do so, Tab launch will give you simple pushbuttons rather than icons, and that should keep even the strictest of purists happy.
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
Wayland 1.24 Released with Fixes and New Features
Wayland continues to move forward, while X11 slowly vanishes into the shadows, and the latest release includes plenty of improvements.
-
Bugs Found in sudo
Two critical flaws allow users to gain access to root privileges.
-
Fedora Continues 32-Bit Support
In a move that should come as a relief to some portions of the Linux community, Fedora will continue supporting 32-bit architecture.
-
Linux Kernel 6.17 Drops bcachefs
After a clash over some late fixes and disagreements between bcachefs's lead developer and Linus Torvalds, bachefs is out.
-
ONLYOFFICE v9 Embraces AI
Like nearly all office suites on the market (except LibreOffice), ONLYOFFICE has decided to go the AI route.
-
Two Local Privilege Escalation Flaws Discovered in Linux
Qualys researchers have discovered two local privilege escalation vulnerabilities that allow hackers to gain root privileges on major Linux distributions.
-
New TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro Powered by AMD Ryzen AI 300
The TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen10 offers serious power that is ready for your business, development, or entertainment needs.
-
LibreOffice Tested as Possible Office 365 Alternative
Another major organization has decided to test the possibility of migrating from Microsoft's Office 365 to LibreOffice.
-
Linux Mint 20 Reaches EOL
With Linux Mint 20 at its end of life, the time has arrived to upgrade to Linux Mint 22.
-
TuxCare Announces Support for AlmaLinux 9.2
Thanks to TuxCare, AlmaLinux 9.2 (and soon version 9.6) now enjoys years of ongoing patching and compliance.