I do not know how many of you use it, but Google has put an app launcher on Windows. It works like the launcher on a Chromebook. But on a Chromebook, you have the search key that fires it up.

Can you have a keyboard shortcut on Windows too?

Yes. Thanks to  Alex Chitu of Google Operating System, I can now tell you how to do that. This works on Windows 7 or Windows 8.

1. Right-click the Chrome Launcher Icon
2. Choose Properties
3. Go to the “Shortcut key” field and enter a keyboard shortcut ( Example: Ctrl + Shift  + A)

That’s it!

You can launch apps from here or use the search field for a variety of things. Soon, contacts will be synced and you can easily find a friend and start drafting an email.

You can already search for apps from the Chrome Web Store and install right from the app launcher.