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Sell Me Quicksilver...

peanutismint

peanutismint

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 4, 2007
437
9
Cardiff, UK
I've read about it so many times, watched so many videos, and heard so many Apple fanboys fawn over it. But I've yet to hear Quicksilver advocated in a way which actually helps me to 'get it'. Maybe I just don't use that many programs which the use of Quicksilver would really benefit from, over say just using them in the normal ways, but I'd really like to have somebody explain it to me, as I feel I might be missing out!

Anybody have anything to say in favour of/against this application?
 
I launch my apps faster than any other way. I control iTunes better than before. I open documents faster than before. I perform actions quickly (Shut down, Restart, Empty trash etc). Its awesome!
 
psychofreak summed it up well. I love it, I can launch programs quicker instead of finding them in the Applications. Granted I can keep them in the dock but I prefer a 'clean' dock with just the Finder and Trash Bin :D:apple:
 
psychofreak said:
I launch my apps faster than any other way. I control iTunes better than before. I open documents faster than before. I perform actions quickly (Shut down, Restart, Empty trash etc). Its awesome!
Click to expand...

I've read this alot, and I've read the quicksilver website. But this doesn't say exactly HOW you do this?

Like, what are the commands or keystrokes? It's all mystical sounding, but I seriously don't understand the literal "how it works."
 
Sean Dempsey said:
I've read this alot, and I've read the quicksilver website. But this doesn't say exactly HOW you do this?

Like, what are the commands or keystrokes? It's all mystical sounding, but I seriously don't understand the literal "how it works."
Click to expand...

The keystrokes can be customized. Mine is ":apple:~" which brings up the QS search function. Then you proceed to type the application you want. You don't even need to type the whole thing out. QS shows the closest match while showing you 4 other similar matches.

Ex. I want Firefox. I type ":apple:~ F Return" and it selects/launches Firefox.
 
i use quicksilver instead of spotlight, and i have key commands for my frequently-visited file folders and websites. i use it for basic stuff like:

select item > move to/open with > destination/app

instead of clicking through a ton of finder windows. its pretty incredible once you use it for a while.
 
Quicksilver should not have to be sold. It's a powerful tool, often underestimated, but it will either suit you or it won't.

I consider myself a 'power user' and use this for literally everything. My philosophy is: there should be no reason for me to take my hands off of the keyboard, for anything. Everything should be accessible in some form or another through a series of key commands simply because it's quicker to type than to move the mouse and click.

However, many users will not find this useful because they have grown too accustomed to the interface's buttons and objects. It's an interesting application to get used to initially, but once you do grow accustomed to using key commands like I do (for everything), you will find this application hard to live without.
 
Sean Dempsey said:
I've read this alot, and I've read the quicksilver website. But this doesn't say exactly HOW you do this?

Like, what are the commands or keystrokes? It's all mystical sounding, but I seriously don't understand the literal "how it works."
Click to expand...

I'd have to agree with Sean; what I'm looking for is an 'unbeliever's guide' to Quicksilver (if any website's ever written such a thing!) as I can't understand how keystroke launching of an app could be any quicker than just clicking the dock... But perhaps Quicksilver's about more than just launching?
 
quicksilver is one of those things that is simply awesome in every way and that is used constantly but you cant quite put your finger on why.

Just download it and use it for a couple of days, its the only real way to "get it"
 
I've been trying it out, and I do see some potential. But there is alot I can't figure out.

The main thing being - how to search for a file like Spotlight. I have some files, in this case, ninja gaiden 2 screenshots. I want to find where I put them, I know they say "ninja"

so I hit my hotkey, and type "ninja"... and it gives me the text input, and the option is "large text". Not sure why I need HUGE WORDS on my screen, but whatever. Can't figure out how to get it to search right away. I see I can tab over and then use the arrow keys to "search in spotlight", but there's got to be an easier way.

I can see how this could be really useful if you mastered all the triggers and assigned a bunch of custom ones, I just haven't figured it out yet.
 
Sean Dempsey said:
I've been trying it out, and I do see some potential. But there is alot I can't figure out.

The main thing being - how to search for a file like Spotlight. I have some files, in this case, ninja gaiden 2 screenshots. I want to find where I put them, I know they say "ninja"

so I hit my hotkey, and type "ninja"... and it gives me the text input, and the option is "large text". Not sure why I need HUGE WORDS on my screen, but whatever. Can't figure out how to get it to search right away. I see I can tab over and then use the arrow keys to "search in spotlight", but there's got to be an easier way.

I can see how this could be really useful if you mastered all the triggers and assigned a bunch of custom ones, I just haven't figured it out yet.
Click to expand...

What I did is I set up a shortcut to open a quicksilver prompt in text mode and enabled the Spotlight plugin. I can begin typing my term, then hit tab and start typing spotlight. By the time I hit "SP" it highlights the spotlight command I can hit enter to search. It all sounds more complicated than it really is.

Edit: Here's a short video I made to illustrate what I mean.
http://fsandoval.net/upload/qsspot.mov
 
If you're a keyboard person then it's a decent app launcher, if you're a mouse person then you will never "get it"... Quicksilver is like a lightweight Spotlight but without the content indexing... it only indexes the file names.

It's a simplistic program that does what it does well, and that's why it's popular. It overcomes one of the biggest weaknesses of the Finder/OS X design, launching applications efficiently without having a million icons in your dock...
 
Bow Rekk said:
But what's wrong with spotlight? I use that to open most apps.
Click to expand...

it can't do this (one of many features of Quicksilver):

mac_forums_-_reply_to_topic-20070912-022104.jpg
 
tjevans said:
Here's what Lifehacker has to say for beginners.

You may also want to try any of the screencasts listed here.

Finally, here is what Daring Fireball called the most comprehensive guide to quicksilver (in pdf format).

QS is so much more than just a launcher. Once you understand just how to customize it (which really isn't that hard; the guide cited above does a good job of explaining it), you rarely need the mouse. I even use it to remove apps via appzapper.
Click to expand...

+1

I recommend the tutorials from 43 folders, only because I have a Mann crush on Merlin!
 
tjevans said:
I even use it to remove apps via appzapper.
Click to expand...

Okay, and how is that easier than the regular way of using AppZapper? Can you, for instance, have it open appzapper, zap an app, then close appzapper? See, if that's the sort of thing you can use it for, I might be interested...

For another example, when I download apps, I do several actions the sam every time:

  1. Unzip the package (if necessary)
  2. Mount the DMG file
  3. Drag the app to my Applications folder to install it
  4. Unmount the DMG
  5. Archive the DMG
  6. Delete the original zip package

Is Quicksilver the sort of program that will do all of those actions for me, or is that not how it works?
 
I used to be a Quicksilver hater. I was like "who needs Quicksilver when there's Spotlight". I finally broke down and tried it, and loved it. It's just one of those things you have to try out for a few days. If you find yourself using it a lot, then keep it, if not, then maybe it's not for you.

I haven't even tapped into the full power of QuickSilver, but I can definitely say it's a great application launcher.
 
I have tried QuickSilver a few times now, and quite a few other launchers. Funny thing is, I find they slow me down.

Dunno, just not a big fan of them. Pretty much everyone at work uses it and they laugh that I don't ... *shrug*
 
Quicksilver is hard to explain to someone using words alone, but ill give you an anecdote. My Quicksilver is bound to the twice hit command key. When that stopped working, i felt like i lost controll over the computer. Quicksilver has integrated itself so completely with my workflow that without it i felt like i lacked something as important as a mouse.
 
peanutismint said:
Okay, and how is that easier than the regular way of using AppZapper? Can you, for instance, have it open appzapper, zap an app, then close appzapper? See, if that's the sort of thing you can use it for, I might be interested...

For another example, when I download apps, I do several actions the sam every time:

  1. Unzip the package (if necessary)
  2. Mount the DMG file
  3. Drag the app to my Applications folder to install it
  4. Unmount the DMG
  5. Archive the DMG
  6. Delete the original zip package

Is Quicksilver the sort of program that will do all of those actions for me, or is that not how it works?
Click to expand...

When using appzapper, my workflow with quicksilver goes like this

1. invoke qs with my trigger keys
2. type "app" (that's usually enough for qs to guess I mean appzapper)
3. type "op" (that's usually engough for qs to geuss I mean "open file")
4. type enough letters of the application I want to zap for qs to put the app in the target pane.
5. Press enter.

I can do this usually in less than 2 seconds.

You may not be able to use qs to install an app from a zip simply because qs re-scans it's catalog (where you tell it to look for files and apps) every ten minutes. Therefore, it may not yet know the zip exists, but there are ways around even this limitation. I will not go into them here and now because I have to get back to work, but the point is, like any application, there are shortcuts for doing many common activities, and the more you use the app, the more you can discover them.

As someone has aready wrote, if you're a keyboard user, you're more likely to find qs useful than if you were a mouse user.
 
tjevans said:
When using appzapper, my workflow with quicksilver goes like this

1. invoke qs with my trigger keys
2. type "app" (that's usually enough for qs to guess I mean appzapper)
3. type "op" (that's usually engough for qs to geuss I mean "open file")
4. type enough letters of the application I want to zap for qs to put the app in the target pane.
5. Press enter.

I can do this usually in less than 2 seconds.
Click to expand...

I've been using quicksilver for ages, that run through just took me to the next level of usability, thankyou!
 
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