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Gnome-Pie
All
3
Experiences
Pros
3
Top
Pro
Customizable
Ability to customize launchers (pies) and have multiple launchers.
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Pro
Simple to use
Simple GUI that can be launched at any moment using keybinds.
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Pro
Binding options
It recognizes the buttons on my mouse so I can bind my trigger key to a mouse button.
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10
0
DockbarX
All
4
Experiences
Pros
3
Cons
1
Top
Pro
Great plugin to help blend in to XFCE4 panel
DockbarX has an available plugin called "DockBarX Xfce4 Panel plugin" that allows DockbarX to blend in seamlessly with the XFCE4 panel, which is great for XFCE users due to the limited options of the default panel.
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Top
Con
Not actively updated
Less than a dozen updates since 2014: https://github.com/M7S/dockbarx/commits/master
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Top
Pro
Easily customized
DockbarX has inbuilt settings that allow the user to easily customize the look of the dock, from changing the text color to the background color.
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Top
Pro
Easily the best Win 7 taskbar functionality
If you want a combined launcher/manager, a la Win 7, this is it.
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30
1
Krunner
All
9
Experiences
Pros
7
Cons
1
Specs
Top
Pro
Opens folders/files also
Just by typing name of file or folder, it will give recommendations
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Top
Con
There are few plugins/"runners", and some do not work as they are old
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Top
Pro
Extensible with plugins
Krunner can be extended with the use of "runners" which are essentially plugins for the app launcher to allow for extra functions.
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Top
Pro
Fast
As it is written in Qt QtQuick using QML.
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Top
Pro
Lots of handy features
Such as a fully featured calculator, file opening, browser functions, currency conversion, date/time functions, etc.
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Top
Pro
Great integration with Plasma, developed by KDE
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Top
Pro
Can be used to open websites
By just typing an URL into the text box users can have the site open in their default launcher.
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Top
Pro
I'm able to find open tabs from browsers with KRunner which is very nice
Even supports edge browser.
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Specs
Publisher:
KDE
File Size:
1.4MiB
System resource usage:
Low
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Experiences
FREE
25
1
Plank
All
5
Experiences
Pros
3
Cons
2
Top
Pro
Simple and minimal
Plank is a good choice for those looking for something simple that just does its job well. There is no UI for options built in to the dock as to change anything those options will have to be accessed through a text file.
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Top
Con
No right click menu for some apps outside of elementary OS
Other file explorers and terminals (those not found in the default elementary OS) do not have any right click menus for the dock meaning it is impossible to launch multiple windows for certain file explorers or terminals.
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Top
Pro
Solid and lightweight
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Con
Poor workplace awareness (cycling windows)
When configured to only show apps on current workspace, cycling an app open on multiple workspaces will switch workspace focus, update the dock and often leave you to cycle another app.
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Top
Pro
Third party themer available
An additional third party app has been developed that allows theming the dock without the use of any extra resources. This is great for those that are not using elementary OS and the elementary tweaks extra.
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274
13
Launchy
All
4
Experiences
Pros
2
Cons
2
Top
Con
Small selection of plugins
The official plugin page on Launchy's homepage hosts just 11 plugins.
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Top
Pro
.deb files available for Debian based distros
For those using Debian based distros Launchy is very easy to install as their website has 32 and 64bit .deb files available. For all other diistros Launchy will have to be compiled from source.
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Top
Con
Abandoned
Launchy was last updated in 2010.
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Top
Pro
Easily themed with many available on the web
Launchy can be easily themedby placing themes into the Launchy theme folder and then selecting that theme from within the apps settings. There are also many user created themes available which is great for those that want their launcher to match the rest of their OS's theme.
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41
6
Rofi
All
18
Experiences
Pros
11
Cons
6
Specs
Top
Pro
Can run commands
e.g.: <code>run: st toxic</code> Runs a tox client in the terminal emulator "st". <code>run: maim ~/Images/screenshots</code> take a screenshot with "maim" and save it to given location.
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Top
Con
One of the most poorly documented launchers for new users
Challenge: Install Rofi and google how to actually start or use it. Sure, there's plenty of Arch users screaming about dmenu, showing off editing of config files, integrating it with i3 or this or that, but how do we actually: 1) Start it. 2) Use it. Rofi seemed intriguing, because it was ranked #1 on slant, but it may be better to use a third party dock in Xfce, because there's simply no resource on how to use Rofi for a complete newbie.
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Top
Pro
Minimalist design, yet can use customizable themes
Also it's easy to make use of your own "plugin" (scripts).
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Con
Lacks a default "blank slate" launch behavior
Unlike Ulauncher, Albert and similar launcher there's no generic "enable everything" launch behavior. You can configure Rofi to do almost this, but it's whitelist based, so you'd have to reconfigure it if you install or uninstall a plugin, and Rofi has to know if the plugin should be part of the combi mode or treated as an isolated mode.
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Top
Pro
Case insensitive
Instead of having to worry about case sensitive characters, you can use caps or lowercase wherever you please without causing any issues.
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Top
Con
Lacks conventions for plugins
Some other launchers have stricter plugin/extension APIs, making the plugin behavior more consistent. For example plugins in Rofi respond to your choice differently (at least by default). Some output the result to stdout (like the calc mode) and others add the result to the clipboard (the emoji mode/plugin). And there's no API for plugins to add their own config option. They can check your CLI arguments, but that's not a perfect solution as different plugins could implement the same argument to mean different things.
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Top
Pro
Customisable
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Top
Con
Lacks keywords to switch between modes
You can switch between modes with ctrl+tab by default, but if you have a lot of modes this is slow.
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Top
Pro
Great keybindings
They seem to be emacs based.
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Top
Con
Issues on Wayland
If you use Wayland, then Rofi may fail to grab keypresses or inputs, or may fail altogether. Works fine if you switch to X11.
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Top
Pro
Resource efficient
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Con
Issues when Caps Lock is active
When typing with Caps Lock activated, it's impossible to use Backspace. Rofi eventually freezes in this scenario.
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Top
Pro
Simple
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Top
Pro
No resource usage when you're not using it
Other launchers often run in the background to be prepared for showing the launcher. Rofi doesn't do this.
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Top
Pro
Clipboard history extension
Greenclip adds clipboard manager functionality.
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Top
Pro
Greatly maintained
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Top
Pro
Easily switch windows without mouse
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Specs
Publisher:
Dave Davenport
File Size:
529KiB
System resource usage:
Low
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Experiences
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199
27
Docky
All
6
Experiences
Pros
5
Cons
1
Top
Pro
Panel mode
For those that do not like the OSX dock look there is also a panel mode included that pushed the apps to the left side of the panel and elongates the dock to fill the entire bottom of the screen, just as a regular OS panel would.
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Top
Con
Removing Docky icon is not as easy as it should be
gconf editor is required in order to remove the Docky icon from the dock, which seems unnecessary as the setting exists, it should be in the app settings instead of hidden away in gconf.
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Top
Pro
Drag and drop apps to the dock
Users can easily drag and drop apps to the dock for easy launching. Any app that is added will stay on the dock until removed manually. This makes for a great way to have all of ones most used apps in one place.
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Top
Pro
Many themes
There are several themes installed with the dock by default that aare easily switched in the settings. What is even better is that there are many themes available online for download as well. With the best part being thatt he themes are simple .svg files that are easily editable in Inkscape to customize to how one wants.
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Top
Pro
Highly Customisable.
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Top
Pro
Plugin Docklets
Docky provides simple applications that run inside of the dock such as a clock, weather forecaster and CPU monitor. These provide an easy way to see information without having to open up separate apps.
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123
19
Ulauncher
All
17
Experiences
Pros
13
Cons
3
Specs
Top
Pro
Simple
Ulauncher comes with very reasonable defaults, looks good and just works.
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Top
Con
Extensions store is confusing, lots of redundant extensions.
There are dozens of extensions, which is good, but as an average user it is hard to find what you are looking for. It is unclear to me how updating plugins work.
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Top
Pro
Fast
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Top
Con
Needs more posibilities for extensions
Currently, extensions can run only when you type their alias and <space>. There is no way to see results from multiple extensions at once. The output is also limited just to rows.
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Top
Pro
Allows custom shortcuts
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Top
Con
Does not easily fit into a customized desktop without full GTK3 CSD support
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Top
Pro
Themeable
ULauncher supports themes and comes with a good supply on install but more can also be made.
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Top
Pro
Supports fuzzy search
You can enter app name with a typo and Ulauncher will still be able to find it.
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Top
Pro
Supports extensions in Python
With Ulauncher you can easily add and update third party extensions. From kill process to windows switching, many of them work very well. The extension API is documented and if you know Python you can create and share your own extensions.
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Top
Pro
Actively maintained
Unlike Albert or others, it is actually being maintained.
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Top
Pro
Good extension ecosystem
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Top
Pro
Good look
Ulauncher looks modern & can be customized with many themes.
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Top
Pro
Direct plugin install from GitHub
Can fork, customize, and install instantly.
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Top
Pro
Extensions are really easy to write by yourself
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Top
Pro
Quick search
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Top
Pro
Able to launch Kdialog, Zenity and Bash scripts
Extensions are easily created. Python script is all open to see. Not compiled like some.
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Specs
Platforms:
Linux
License:
GPL-3
Price:
FREE
Publisher:
Aleksandr Gornostal
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Experiences
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217
32
GNOME Do
All
3
Experiences
Pros
2
Cons
1
Top
Con
Has not been updated in a while
With the last update being dated Jan. 2014 development seems to be at a standstill.
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Top
Pro
Plenty of plugins
By using the many available plugins Gnome Do can become a powerhouse of combined tools in one easily launchable and usable application.
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Top
Pro
Themeable
Users can easily customize the looks of Gnome DO with the available themes in the settings of the app..
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6
2
Cairo-Dock
All
8
Experiences
Pros
4
Cons
4
Top
Con
No updates since 2016
Certainly no PPAs for modern releases of Ubuntu.
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Top
Pro
Easy to tweak and make your own themes
Drag and drop, change icons, use effects, etc. It's fun to play with. It's not a basic dock program and the GUI is good.
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Top
Con
Poor/No system theme or icon integration
Docks use their own theme, own theme colors, icons, layout's and theme engines.
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Top
Pro
Cairo-Dock session
Users can choose to launch a stand alone Cairo-Dock session where the dock also serves as a taskbar where all apps are launchable such as in any other DE session. There is a composited version and one without.
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Top
Con
Hard/Underwhelming to configure
Cairo dock proposes a feature rich tool, tweakable to any degree. The configuration menus are at times inappropriate, shallow and uninteresting, complex to navigate, and prefab-centric. Rarely offering a satisfying preset, and always unsatisfying to tweak.
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Top
Pro
Popular and usually found and installed from a distros repo
Due to the popularity and how long Cairo-Dock has been around it is more often than not found in a distros repos, which is very convenient to get the app installed.
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Top
Con
Can be heavy on resources for weaker systems
Cairo-Dock is more on the heavy side when compared to other docks, which is something to keep in mind for those that are on low resource systems.
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Top
Pro
Easily themed
Cairo-Dock has built in settings to install and use themes for the dock and icons. Definitely more robust in this are than most other docks available for Linux.
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Experiences
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61
24
Avant Window Navigator
All
3
Experiences
Pros
2
Cons
1
Top
Pro
Tons of plugins
AWN comes with a big selections of applets such as a CPU monitor or clock or trash bin. This means one can easily turn the docks functionality into that of a taskbar. There is even an app launcher applet that will group all of ones apps in one place just like a start menu.
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Top
Con
Project is dead
Has not been update since 2013 and has been already pulled from many repos. While it still can be installed and works as it did in 2013, no more fixes or features are expected.
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Top
Pro
Easily customized
There is a wide array of setting available to theming and customizing the dock.
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0
0
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