Launchy

Launchy is a freeware utility for Windows and Linux for easy launching of programs, files etc. without unnecessary icons on the desktop.

Launchy indexes programs in your START menu and allows you to easily launch e.g. documents, files and folders.

For activation, the ALT + Spacebar shortcut is set by default after installation. After activation, just type the name of the program you want to run in sequence and Launchy will offer you options.