Quicksilver still ok in Leopard?

[Sceneshifter]

Hey,

I have never worked with an app called Quicksilver, but I read about it a lot on these forums and about how it was so great. Is it still nice and valuable in Leopard or has leopard made it obsolete?

I've earched some tutorials on quicksilver, and is it not just the same as spotlight in leopard?

Thanks!

 

[Osarkon]

I find it just as useful in Leopard as I did in Tiger.

 

[SaSaSushi]

I find it just as useful in Leopard as I did in Tiger.

I thought I recalled seeing a Leopard-specific update to Quicksilver shortly after Leopard's release but I wasn't having any problems running it in Leopard before it.

I can't imagine OS X life without Quicksilver.

 

[Sceneshifter]

So I installed it, and as far as I can see (not far) it's just the same as spotlight? I loked on internet and youtube for some etra help, but seems to be pre-spotlight or something as they all focus on the quick lookup thing, which spotlight does too?

Any recommended links & what do you use QS for with leopard?

Thanks!
Ps: Any way to have a nicer looking skin for it? Bevel and the standard one are a bit ugly for leopard, imo.

 

[72930]

'Show Keyboard Viewer' isn't working over here any more...

 

[webgoat]

So I installed it, and as far as I can see (not far) it's just the same as spotlight? I loked on internet and youtube for some etra help, but seems to be pre-spotlight or something as they all focus on the quick lookup thing, which spotlight does too?

Any recommended links & what do you use QS for with leopard?

Thanks!
Ps: Any way to have a nicer looking skin for it? Bevel and the standard one are a bit ugly for leopard, imo.

i use qs address book plug in a lot... i like seeing my contacts photos larger in the qs command bezel and the ability to automatically attach a file and email to a contact without having to open mail, compose new message, enter email address, browse for file in finder and attach.... i also like using custom triggers... i have custom keys set to switch forward/backward songs in itunes, play/pause so i can control itunes without having to have the app up or even in the same space for that matter... i also have a keyboard shortcut to launch screensaver and quicksilver preference pane

i use the bezel interface... it is the best looking in my opinion

 

[byakuya]

you actually have to install the plugins to get more features with quicksilver.
if u don't it pretty much is the same as spotlight.

one of my most favorite plugins is the clipboard manager. that one is just very useful if you copy paste a lot.

 

[Sceneshifter]

ah yes, I'm getting the hang of it, any way to disable spotlight entirely? I prefer QS already (looks wicked with that CUBE interface).

Question, is it possible to do something like this:
-VLC Open Movie ? ike to quickly launch a movie? It doesn't seem to find my avi movies, strange?

-Mail MULTIPLE files as an attachment? (very nice feature aswell, the single file attachment)

I'll check out the cutboard thing, I copy paste a whole lot for my dissertation, I hope that function is easy to use!

The web searching (though installed) doen't seem to work. How do I google search 'Apple' for example? Just not happening here.. Same for Wiki, how does it function?

Thaks for the replies, made me have a closer look at this quite handy app!

 

[joshysquashy]

I use it as an app launcher. I don't have all my apps in my dock, because thatd be ridiculous! It is much quicker than spotlight, Ie instantaneous, no waiting at all. I press Ctrl+Space, and then ph for Photoshop or ma for MacTheRipper etc. very useful!

The update for Leopard is because the old version couldn't hide the dock icon in Leopard, the new one can (so it runs in the background).

 

[TimJim]

Quicksilver works fine in Leopard. I used quicksilver in Tiger, but when i upgraded to Leopard and tested out spotlight, it was super fast and i haven't used quicksilver again.

 

[webgoat]

ah yes, I'm getting the hang of it, any way to disable spotlight entirely? I prefer QS already (looks wicked with that CUBE interface).

Question, is it possible to do something like this:
-VLC Open Movie ? ike to quickly launch a movie? It doesn't seem to find my avi movies, strange?


The web searching (though installed) doen't seem to work. How do I google search 'Apple' for example? Just not happening here.. Same for Wiki, how does it function?

Thaks for the replies, made me have a closer look at this quite handy app!

the reason it isn't finding certain files is because you have not selected them in the catalogue... open up the preference pane and select the catalogue tab... from their select custom and add whatever folders and files you want qs access to... i have my itunes music, movies, and photos folders... if you add a folder with folders inside of it click on the info icon in the bottom right and select include folder contents up to however many levels you want... after adding new items to the catalogue click the refresh button next to the info button in the bottom right to update the catalogue

to google or wiki search from within qs command interface go to google and type in *** and search... add the resultant page to your bookmarks and name it what you want (i.e. google search or whatever) then refresh your catalogue and also make sure you have the Web Search Module plug-in installed.... then open up qs command interface and type in what you named your google bookmark and default action should be search for... then tab over and type in what you want to search.... same process can be repeated for wiki

 

[Sceneshifter]

the reason it isn't finding certain files is because you have not selected them in the catalogue... open up the preference pane and select the catalogue tab... from their select custom and add whatever folders and files you want qs access to... i have my itunes music, movies, and photos folders... if you add a folder with folders inside of it click on the info icon in the bottom right and select include folder contents up to however many levels you want... after adding new items to the catalogue click the refresh button next to the info button in the bottom right to update the catalogue

to google or wiki search from within qs command interface go to google and type in *** and search... add the resultant page to your bookmarks and name it what you want (i.e. google search or whatever) then refresh your catalogue and also make sure you have the Web Search Module plug-in installed.... then open up qs command interface and type in what you named your google bookmark and default action should be search for... then tab over and type in what you want to search.... same process can be repeated for wiki

Ok thanks, that worked just perfect! Still can't seem to send movies to vlc in specific, I can find them now, press enter and they open in quicktime. But I can't select them, and then send to vlc or something, not possible?

Edit: Nevermind just figured it out, Wow!

 

[webgoat]

Ok thanks, that worked just perfect! Still can't seem to send movies to vlc in specific, I can find them now, press enter and they open in quicktime. But I can't select them, and then send to vlc or something, not possible?

Edit: Nevermind just figured it out, Wow!

sure it is... type in the name of your movie file... hit tab and type open with... hit tab and type vlc

Edit: Just saw your edit

 

[Sceneshifter]

I'l having issues with selecting a file and opening suicksilver with that file selected. In a tutorial they say to press comd + escape, but that just brings up frontrow for me.. I find this rather terrible that I can't seem to find it because the image resizing stuff is really really a timesaver (as I do it in PS now...)

 

[Sceneshifter]

There also seems to be NO way to make the shelf show itself? I can add files to the shelf, no problem, but ho to make it appear??

 

[QCassidy352]

QS works great in leopard, and spotlight is no replacement for it. QS is soooo much more powerful at certain things. Spotlight has its uses too, but it certainly does not replace QS.

 

[Sceneshifter]

after a couple of days of using QS, I absolutely love it, makes it a whole lot faster to work with osx!

So far I'm mainly using it to perform actions on selected items & to launch apps. I also use it to send quick mails (saves you quite some time imo).

What I'm wondering is, do you have any very nice triggers you set up to use with QS? ANd do you have any other favourite things (not necessarily plugins) that you do with QS?

Thanks!

 

[webgoat]

What I'm wondering is, do you have any very nice triggers you set up to use with QS? ANd do you have any other favourite things (not necessarily plugins) that you do with QS?

i really like the itunes module plugin since it lets you make triggers for itunes... i have option+apple+left/right arrow keys to go back or forward songs and option+apple+up to play/pause.... for custom triggers i have option+apple+s to start my screensaver (ScreenSaverEngine available under all applications in catalogue) and option+apple+p to open qs pref pane... i wish i could find a way to set a trigger to switch my desktop background to another photo in a folder

 

[Sawtooth811]

It the Quicksilver is exactly the single 867MHz or faster G4, instead of the Dual 800MHz, then you're good to go. Otherwise, if you had a DUAL 800, then take your HD out of the G4, and install Leopard on a faster G4 for that HD. the dual 800 should do better than the single 867 in Leopard. Plus, GET AS MUCH RAM AS POSSIBLE!!! OS X LOVES RAM!!!

 

[webgoat]

It the Quicksilver is exactly the single 867MHz or faster G4, instead of the Dual 800MHz, then you're good to go. Otherwise, if you had a DUAL 800, then take your HD out of the G4, and install Leopard on a faster G4 for that HD. the dual 800 should do better than the single 867 in Leopard. Plus, GET AS MUCH RAM AS POSSIBLE!!! OS X LOVES RAM!!!

we're talking about the software quicksilver, not the hardware

 

[mmccaskill]

I've heard a rumor that Quicksilver has been abandoned. I can't find confirmation on their website. Is there any truth to this?

 

[tjevans]

I've heard a rumor that Quicksilver has been abandoned. I can't find confirmation on their website. Is there any truth to this?

Sort of.

In a recent interview with lifehacker.com, the creator of QS basically stated that he was through with developing it.

However, it has gone open source, so anyone can pick up the ball and continue development.

But then again, Mr. Jitkoff also stated in the interview:

Jitkoff: I'm inclined to encourage users to move over to the more stable and well supported alternatives like LaunchBar. Right now QS 54 (ed: the current build) accomplishes everything that I really need, the problem is stability, which for some reason most people seem to be ignoring.
Lifehacker: Right, in the end stability is what matters most. I have a MacBook Pro that—until your recent updates—crashed QS on a very regular basis, which was always heartbreaking. But I've seen major stability improvements since the updates, which has been fantastic.
Jitkoff: Basically, that branch is condemned to a long slow death. I just don't know if the experimental one will ever be up to snuff. Hence the recommendation of third party apps.
Lifehacker: Gotcha. The thing about Quicksilver is that it really is feature complete for features that I am actually aware of that I need right now. But is the current stable-ish build doomed to never hit a really stable landmark?
Jitkoff: Unfortunately, I think not.
Lifehacker: Oh wow, you're looking to break hearts!
Jitkoff: I told you you wouldn't like the answers.
Lifehacker: Well, I suppose we'll have to manage.
Jitkoff: I think that many of the alternatives are quite good. Making people relearn is a mean thing to do though.
Lifehacker: Right. I guess from my standpoint, the fact that Quicksilver is free (as well as open source, now) is a major part of why it's so beloved.
Jitkoff: But also why it is so poorly supported. I have to do any work in off-time.

So, with the creator "inclined" to encourage users to move to other similar apps, I'm not quite sure what to make of it.

 

[mckyvlle]

That's quite disheartening...

I'm a recent 'switcher' and I spent a good chunk of time reading LifeHacker's tutorials on using QuickSilver and learning the ropes. What can I say... QuickSilver encapsulates the power of the command-line (warning: Unix junkie here) in a very usable manner using a GUI. I absolutely love it!

I'm using the B53 version on Leopard, so far so good. Haven't had it crash on me yet, touch wood!

With QuickSilver being open sourced now, hopefully its future will be bright!

Sort of.

In a recent interview with lifehacker.com, the creator of QS basically stated that he was through with developing it.

However, it has gone open source, so anyone can pick up the ball and continue development.

But then again, Mr. Jitkoff also stated in the interview:



So, with the creator "inclined" to encourage users to move to other similar apps, I'm not quite sure what to make of it.

 

[evilyankeefan]

I had only started using QS just a few weeks ago. No problems. As I'm not deeply entrenched in using it, I can switch to something else. Funny though how I'm trying out LaunchBar and already missing QS.

Sure I can keep using QS, but I'm just a little scared if something causes it to break and the uncertainty of a fix.

 

[byakuya]

I hope that quicksilver won't die a slow death...
it is simply the best app launcher/multi purpose utility out there...
so far I haven't had any problems with the latest build but hopefully someone will pick up qs now that it is open source.