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- allanpat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+20@toto
it's not so much a power user tool as a convenience tool. i don't use quicksilver for much beyond application/folder launching, but it's become invaluable just for that alone. Thanks to quicksilver, i no longer need my dock, so my desktop can be full screen. Also, i can get to anywhere on my computer in usually 3 or less keystrokes (it knows i open firefox a lot, so i can launch it just by pressing ctrl+space 'f').
Once you become used to it, actually opening your finder and searching for applications/folders just seems like such an unnecessary hassle. - joaob, on 10/12/2007, -1/+14Quicksilver is honestly just one of those things that you have to download and try in order to appreciate it.
- totorototoro, on 10/12/2007, -12/+25I've installed/removed Quicksilver several times on Macs I've owned...I know it gets rave reviews, but I still can't figure out what makes it truly worth installing.
From Adam's article: launching Firefox by typing ffox? Opening a *.txt file with Textmate? Compressing a file? I know these are just examples, but I guess I don't really use my Mac for much beyond these example tasks, which arguably don't need Quicksilver to get done with minimal effort. Maybe its just a poweruser thing? - adc86, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11Its also slang for "Mercury"
The more you know! - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10hack?
someone get the submitter a dictionary - 9enisP, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10I've never heard of Quicksilver before now, and I can definitely see it as a useful tool. The plugins are what sold me. Scaling and converting any image on the fly... looking up definitions of words with a few simple keystokes. This sounds like a really cool program.
- Kypt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Thing is, Quicksilver's app launcher is just ONE of the features. The greatness of it comes from the plugins.
- gchucky, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7I use Launchy ( http://www.launchy.net/ ). I've tried it alongside Colibri ( http://colibri.leetspeak.org/ ) and I think it just works better.
- adc86, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8So when a software package is 'Doze only, its because Mac's suck, but when one is Mac only, its because... Macs suck? Just not seeing the logic.
- stalefries, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6No, not at all. Beagle is just an indexing and search service. Quicksilver is a very versatile launcher and action-thingy.
Beagle is to Linux as Spotlight is to Mac OSX. - lasombragh, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Quicksilver lets you use global keyboard shortcuts btw...
- lasombragh, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Quicksilver can be very, very useful if even just partially understood and utilized. Setting up triggers for frequent actions (i.e. e-mailing an active selection, launching applications, opening folders, looking up word definitions, pulling up contacts by name, plugging in song titles, etc.) can make even these most mundane of tasks almost instantaneous. I like just being able to launch frequently used programs with my function keys, or even just typing in a URL without having to open a browser and click on the URL line first.
Quicksilver has definitely changed the way I use my computer in a positive, more time-efficient manner and, frankly, I can't imagine not ever using it again just because of all the time it saves me on a regular basis. - Quix, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8"Just not seeing the logic."
Since when do Mac bashers use logic? - adc86, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6cmd-space, 'termi', cmd-return. Does Quicksilver beat this? (its honestly a question, does it?)
- blubbert, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5No matter how many articles are written on Quicksilver, they will always fail to capture its full usefulness.The plug in functionality of Quicksilver allows everyone to find at least something that can be done easier and simpler with Quicksilver. I use it to access and search web pages, IM people, and execute complex commands that would otherwise require a lot of unnecessary steps. To fully appreciate it, you have to give it at least a week of solid usage.
- macaddct1984, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4The Apple Blog does a great weekly screencast on various aspects of Quicksilver:
http://theappleblog.com/category/screencasts/ - flashboy131, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Apple Address Book: Indexes your Address Book contacts and lets you access all of the information therein.
this is cool because I have Entourage for work and I can use quicksilver to send e-mails to:
1-Activate Quicksilver
2-Name (first or last)
3-"mail to"
4-New mail message with the address filled in
Works with other mail app's I just happened to have Entourage set up, you have to have the address book (OSX) plugin activated though. - cbergeron, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Agreed. I don't know how many sites I visited that mentioned Quicksilver in some form or another until after I got my first Macintel. Then one day, I saw a tip that required it so I downloaded/installed it, and I had a couple of epiphany's.
The first was, this app rox0rs my appz0rs (I couldn't live without it today [for sho!]). The second being that life doesn't have to be difficult. It's all about love my fellow hippie R'publicant'z... NOT.
That said, it made my productivita skyrocket!
The typical GTD Mac crowd takes some getting used to, but once you're in... you're In! - buu2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I use quicksilver every day for just the quick stuff like opening apps, files, and specific songs in itunes. I've used command space since ive started. It remembers your most common openings. So I use it mostly to open ichat, itunes, safari, and firefox (I just press ic, i, s, and f respectivelly for those apps and enter to open them.) It's an amazing program and I'd love to read the second part of this guide!
- scosol, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I don't do anything fancy with it, but my dock is only 7 items long, and I have a ***** of apps, so it's super-useful for launching apps that aren't on my dock.
- flashboy131, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I've been setting up Photoshop Automator actions, like bath rename and resize...etc and have gotten Quicksilver to see these. Time consuming to set it up at first but saves so much time in the long run.
- dbr_onix, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"If its Mac-only, why would this application have anything to do with Windows, Linux or freeware?"
I think the point was that Quicksilver is the best productivity application that has been made (And is better than the Windows/Linux equivelents) - Yes, it could be worded more clearly, but it's not implying it's cross-platform at all. - ibis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3gnome-launch-box and katapult look the most like quicksilver. But both only really launch apps at the moment (and I don't think there is any development being done on g-l-b). Deskbar Applet is probably a bit closer in functionality, allowing you to launch apps, search, look up dictionary words and all sorts of other stuff. I like the quicksilver interface a lot more though. I wish someone would merge the gnome-launch-box interface with deskbar functionality. Hell they're both python I think, maybe I'll have a look...
- generalE, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Quicksilver is the most fascinating and innovative app I've ever used. Last time I was blown away like this was when I discovered Norton Commander for DOS ;) There is no way to describe Quicksilver as it is basically the framework - the best I can come up with is that it performs "actions" on "objects". Actions and objects can be anything and I mean _anything_ as long as there is plugin (and there are many).
Never underestimate the power of Quicksilver :) - Kypt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3On my machine with Quicksilver:
ctrl-space, 'ter', enter
And a lot faster than the Spotlight way since its instant (doesn't get any twirling circle of search) - joelhardi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Hey soapdish, I immediately thought the same thing. It's "bash + tab completion" for Mac!
Unfortunately great *nix things like locate and tab completion are broken on a Mac because of the way Apple packages its applications (at least for everything in /Applications, not for CLI or X stuff). It would be cool if Apple would patch some of the standard utilities like locate to work better with OSXisms like application packages and Netinfo, instead of just pushing out barebones BSD coreutils. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3For a quick google search in FF. Bookmark ' http://www.google.com/search?q=define:%s ' w/o quotes.
assign keyword 'd'
should look like: http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/7108/03272007203132qv3.png
Now, make a new tab, type "d hello" w/o quotes to get google to do a very quick definition of hello. - Qwijib0, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Another vote for launchy. It's pretty much the best utility for windows.
- SittenSpynne, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4I was kind of disappointed because the opening sentence made it sound like something that was cross-platform and this beam of hope was quickly followed by "Mac-Only".
Any equivalent for those who choose Windows? It looks really neat and something I'd waste a lot of time finding ways to save time on. - concertina, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2If you're looking for something like quicksilver under gnome, gnome-launch-box is the closest analogue.
- ScarHawk, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I haven't a mac so I can't vouch for or against Quicksilver. But if you want an ultra fast way to launch programs in windows with a few keystrokes, its pretty simple and it only takes about a minute to set up. Here's what I do:
Create a folder someplace- I usually put it right in the root of some drive. Call it something like "quicklaunch". Now go into System properties > advanced tab then click the "environment variables" button. Edit your path to include the new directory.
Now, open up the folder and right drag whatever programs/folders you want to be able to launch. Heres the cool part- since they are shortcuts, they can be whatever they want and they don't have to have extensions.
Thats basically it. Now all you have to do is hit WINDOWS-KEY+R and all the stuff is there from the run box. Its amazing how much faster it makes things- I have to connect to alot of different computers at work via PC Anywhere (ick) and all i do is type in three letters and hit enter. Boom, I'm there. Or to open up a document I have to use every day "doc" and hit enter. If I ever have to add more, I just type editlaunch and enter. Its wicked simple and its amazing the difference it makes. - lasombragh, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Unless I, uh, 'miss read' something, the description is clear in saying that regardless of platform, "this Mac-only freeware application launcher..." etc.
- monototo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2runs fine on a G4. you just have to remember to keep the catalogue reasonably thin (i.e. don't ask it to add every document and picture to its database).. and I keep the superfluous visuals turned off.
- pkulak, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2It looks like Quicksilver separately indexes your whole drive, or user folder. Why? I thought the Spotlight API was open to all applications, so why does Quicksilver bother when the index is always there and always current?
- dbr_onix, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Humanized Enso [ http://www.humanized.com/ ] is probably closer to what Quicksilver is, although it's (slightly annoyingly) not free. Launchy is decent, but it doesn't let do anything apart from starting applications.
- antifolkhero, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2@bdpf: +1 dude. "Whether we're talking Mac, Windows, or Linux, freeware or shareware, this Mac-only, freeware application launcher-and-then-some is the best productivity booster I have on my computer." If its Mac-only, why would this application have anything to do with Windows, Linux or freeware? If you can't use it on any of those three systems, its obviously not "the best productivity booster" for them, is it?
- jexdawg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1is this anything like beagle for gnome?
- tghd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1If you want a launcher for Windows use Launchy
http://www.launchy.net/ - SilentSpyder, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I have been thinking of trying this ever since I heard about it on Mac Break, here's the video by the way "http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mov?http://media.libsyn.com/media/macbreak/macbreak-012-600p-h264.mov". Anyway, I just don't see it running good on my old G4.
- jbarket, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I used to love Quicksilver, but honestly I don't know what it used to do for me that Spotlight doesn't. Apple+Space works great for finding documents, emails, contacts and of course applications.
- mokeyjoe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1---
- MattyLite, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1In Quicksilver, I can't seem to find this "Image Manipulation Actions" plugin the author talks about. I only see "Text Manipulation Actions." Anybody else notice this?
- concertina, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@ibis
You're totally right. I had a temporary mind blank about deskbar-applet because it was broken on my primary Linux machine for a while.
I'm back to using it after a several-month hiatus, and it looks much better than I remember, with better plugin support that gets it closer to quicksilver functionality, though it still has a little ways to go. The interface is still clunkier than quicksilver, sadly. Excessive scrolling sucks. - sithious, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1give it a try - it runs very well on my good old g4.
:) - Scotepi, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2what about spotlight? its extremely fast and built in... i use it for opening programs and sometimes documents/folders... no since in running another program that does almost exactly what spotlight does
- gchucky, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@cbergeron:
I've got a Mac, thanks. And when I'm on it, I use Quicksilver. My main box is Windows, though, and for that I use Launchy.
No need to be so angry, man... - mokeyjoe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1You need to get the image manipulation plugin. Go to Plugins in the menu and then click on it.
It's one of the most useful as it means you don't need to open an app to resize or change the format of picture. I used QS to set up a trigger on a hot corner so I can drag pics there and they resize to 800x600 for uploading to the net.
The great thing about QS is although at first it looks like a launcher once you get to know it you find yourself not launching apps at all - at least not in the traditional sense - just doing everything via Quicksilver. It's the universal application. - TheYellowMole, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1If you can get used to it, the possibilities of AutoHotkey http://www.autohotkey.com/ are endless. I use it to run programs, mail e-mails, or quick text (like a forum sign-off). It can literally automate just about anything you can dream of. I highly recommend it .
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2ive downloaded it before but couldn't find much of a use for it really? maybe i should try it again
- cbergeron, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1@gchucky:
Except for the keystroke delays, unwanted pauses, and the lack of intelligent application selection (or the lack of core OS animation, etc...) launchy is what I have to use on my Windows Virtual Machine to simulate Quicksilver.
Just get a Mac and be done with it.
Using Launchy on a Windows box is equivalent to being a Poser. Surf/Ski/Skate or Pretend. -
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