In Windows 10 or in Windows 11, we usually use the built-in Windows Search feature to search for something available on our device, even with Windows Search too, we will be directed to bing search if we have to search for it online.
However, you know, apart from Windows Search, there are many similar applications that I think are much better, both in terms of appearance, features and capabilities, for example, Flow Launcher, an application that I recently saw on GitHub.
If you look at it like in the picture above, the appearance of Flow Launcher is quite interesting and even in my opinion it is more similar to spotlight search on Mac, although it is certainly different, but if you want to get search customization like a Mac, Flow Launcher is a must for you to try.
Not only that Flow Launcher version 1.9.0 which was released today, now not only contains new settings and themes, because there is an integrated plugin store where currently there are 35 plugins that you can activate as additional features in Flow Launcher.
Portable Version Available Too!
One of the highlights of Flow Launcher is that, apart from being present in the normal installation package, Flow Launcher is also available in a Portable version for those of you who don't want this application installed directly on the system. But don't worry, of course the features provided are still the same and nothing is different.
What Features Does It Bring?
Reporting from the Flow Launcher GitHub page, there are a number of new features that are presented in version 1.9.0, including:
- All new UI design
- New themes
- New Settings window
- Animation & sound effect for search window
- Light/Dark/Windows System Default color
- New Plugin Store
- Game Mode for when you are playing games
- Wizard window for beginners
- Python plugins can now have settings in the Settings window
- Global browser and explorer settings
- Crowdin support for translations
- Global browser setting with private mode option
- Python plugin setting support for the settings window
- Added Portuguese (Portugal) Language
- Added tab to autocomplete result
- Explorer plugin now supports autocomplete of directory/file path
- Wizard window for our beginners
- Added Glyph Icon support
- Add Quick Access action keyword for Explorer
- Add Crowdin Integration
- Copy to clipboard is available via the API for plugins
- Added Flow’s version data as environmental vars that can be accessed by Python plugins
- Switched off the default launch on system start up, so Flow will not start up when the computer starts by default
- You can now hide app’s path for Program plugin
- Game Mode added for those that would like to pause Flow during their gaming
- Manual plugin installation
- Animation and sound when triggering Flow
- Default theme is changed
- Settings control template updated
- Updated Slovak translations
- Default File manager in settings that can be switched to use different explorers globally
- Tweaked translation api
- the Tray Menu is redesigned kind/ui
- For latest Windows release, Flow’s popup now uses Windows notification
- Plugins can now execute shell commands via Flow’s API
- New WindowsSettings plugin, replacing ControlPanel plugin
- New Plugin Store
- Tweaked language functionality
- Added modern themes
- Support download plugins via CDN
- Refactor Bookmark plugin
- Added Advanced Boot Options restart for Sys plugin
- Added run as administrator when holding ctrl and shift
- Bumped applicable nuget packages to latest versions
- Refactor JsonRPC structure
- Updated Embedded Python download message from install to download
- Cache program result
How to use Flow Launcher
There are two ways that you can use to activate this Flow Launcher, the first is to click on the Flow Launcher icon in the Notifications Area or use the ALT + Space key combination, of course the second way is easier isn't it.
1. Plugin Installation and Management
If you want to add additional plugins, for example the Spotify plugin, Clipboard History or others, you can open Flow Launcher > Settings > Plugin Store.
When this article was written, there were about 35 Plugins that you could install, including Google Search, Steam Search, Ip Address, Flexy, and others.
Meanwhile, to disable or activate the plugins that you have installed, you can switch to the Plugin settings and then set them to On or Off.
2. Worth for you to try
So, after I've tried it for a while, I can say that Flow Launcher is better than Windows Search, why? because of the availability of several plugins, such as Google Search which is indeed quite useful for you Google Search users.
Besides that, it looks very simple and minimalistic, similar to Spotlight Search on Mac, although Microsoft itself has presented PowerToys Run but I think Flow Launcher is actually better because it provides more plugins and features.