Were you a Mac user first?gekko513 said:
Most Windows-to-Mac migrations that I know (all hacker/poweruser types) miss Win+R dearly.
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Most Windows-to-Mac migrations that I know (all hacker/poweruser types) miss Win+R dearly.
Drag and drop your Applications folder into the Dock.
Drag and drop any app you open a lot (aka, enough that it is a pain to go any other way to open it BUT for the dock) to the Dock.
Use Spotlight and arrow keys+enter key.
Don't worry about cluttering up your Dock. Add stuff and if you realize you aren't using something... take it out! Simple as that. But I add stuff whenever I realize I'm annoyed that it takes too long to open without a single click.
Drag and drop any app you open a lot (aka, enough that it is a pain to go any other way to open it BUT for the dock) to the Dock.
Use Spotlight and arrow keys+enter key.
Don't worry about cluttering up your Dock. Add stuff and if you realize you aren't using something... take it out! Simple as that. But I add stuff whenever I realize I'm annoyed that it takes too long to open without a single click.
gekko513 said:
Learn something new everyday. Thanks.
Since I don't usually launch apps via Spotlight due to usually having all of my apps open or in the Dock, I was mislead by the post quoted below. Never thought to try just Enter.
orkle said:
Ok well here you go. I got inspired too by this thread to tinker and create an app that emulates Window's Run command:
http://www.kainjow.com/downloads/RunMacRun.zip
You need to set a hot key first via the File menu. I chose command-option-R, but you can choose something else. Then once the Run window comes up, you can:
Email me or post here with comments: kainjow at kainjow dot com
Enjoy!
http://www.kainjow.com/downloads/RunMacRun.zip
You need to set a hot key first via the File menu. I chose command-option-R, but you can choose something else. Then once the Run window comes up, you can:
- Enter an application name to launch it
- Enter any type of URL that the system is registered to handle, and the associated application will be activated with that URL (i.e. http, mailto, aim, whatever)
- Enter "cmd" to open a new Terminal window
- Click "Browse" to select a program manually (not really sure the point of this... but I wanted to make it work as similarly as the Windows version)
Email me or post here with comments: kainjow at kainjow dot com
Enjoy!
I agree with other posts here. Get QuckSilver. You can hit two keys and it pops up a window where you launch an application. The nice thing about QuickSilver is that it "learns" and you can launch things like GarageBand with just two characters. I launch it with "GB".
gekko513 said:
Hmm, well that's one way to look at it...however, if you understand the complexity of what it would take to develop a search engine on the desktop vs. the simplicity of a tiny, tiny little app like 'win+r'...well, you get my point...
desktop search is not an app launcher and the clever way that Apple has enabled applications to be a "category" is simply meant to distinguish apps from any other file type since they are their own category of information.
Im not sure if I can clarify this further: Spotlight first; locates and second; allows me to run the application. In the 'win+r' instance, I am neither searching for an application or trying to find many results related to the application. I am simply instantly running the app. I know the name, I know the command, I know the location, I dont need the computer to find anything, only to execute a command instantly...
shift-command-A opens application folder
type in first few letters of application name - app will be highlighted
command-O to launch the app
type in first few letters of application name - app will be highlighted
command-O to launch the app
Quicksilver - I have mine set up so I can just tap ctrl twice, then I could type 'grgbd', 'gb', or 'garageband' to launch GarageBand.app. Then hit enter and it launches it.
I don't get why you Windows converts are against Quicksilver. You can set it up to be just as quick as the windows run command. You really ought to give it a shot before knocking it and trying to create your own utility.
wrc fan said:
I don't know if I count as a Windows convert (I switched 9 months ago, and while I had been using Windows for about a year at that point, I'd used Linux for maybe 5 years prior to that), but Quicksilver is a basic requirement for me to use a Mac. I install it on all my friends' Macs as a prerequisite to any aid from me.
Quicksilver is the Start>>Run replacement - and of course can do so much more. Does anyone have that link to the Backpackit/Quicksilver workflow demo?
-RS
gekko513 said:Windows user first. So I'll push your survey one notch towards "Some Windows-to-Mac ..."
I'm with Gekko... I was a Windows user before a Mac user (but an Amiga user before a Windows user) and I really don't miss it. I sometimes do keep a terminal shell running in the background to play with a couple of things, but the only things I used win-R for were things that didn't have readily available shortcuts and weren't used that frequently, such as winipcfg (which I usually had to use because of a failure to acquire a net connection
) and regedit (which I do *not* miss! ).
qtip919 said:
Well, but my guess is that you use Firefox, Safari or IE to browse the web instead of Lynx and that you use a graphical mail client instead of pine or mutt. All these applications use a lot more system resources than necessary to perform most of the tasks you want them to do, but they are also more flexible and helps you do advanced functions easily.
Sometimes you remember the exact name of what you want to launch or open, sometimes you're not sure. It's nice to be able to do everything in one powerful tool.
And I don't understand the argument about the development complexity of spotlight vs. Win+r. I don't have to develop either one of these. I'm just going to use them, and they're both already developed and available to me.
The only argument I can easily see against Spotlight is the second of lag until your app pops up as the topmost search result. I'm not that impatient, so for me it has little impact on my preference.
I don't understand what the big problem is here. Quicksilver has already been mentioned and Butler does the same thing as Quicksilver plus some other stuff. They are both free. Both can be set up to do EXACTLY what the run command does.
With Butler, for example, I hit Option-Space, D, V, D, enter and DVD player starts. A window appears if you pause, but you don't even have to wait on the window.
This question has been answered several times now. Quicksilver or Butler can both be configured to do exactly what you're asking.
With Butler, for example, I hit Option-Space, D, V, D, enter and DVD player starts. A window appears if you pause, but you don't even have to wait on the window.
This question has been answered several times now. Quicksilver or Butler can both be configured to do exactly what you're asking.
andysmith said:
Convert here and this convert is not against it. I love QuickSilver. It is probably the application that I use the most on my Mac, relative to its function.
One handy shortcut to access the dock is ctrl-F3 (remember the fn if you're on a 'Book). This, if enabled in System Preferences -> Keyboard & Mouse -> Keyboard Shourtcuts, will highlight the last use item in the Dock. You can navigate with the arrow keys and start/open any item's using Enter. This combined with putting the Application Folder in the Dock, as mentioned before, will give you access to start all the apps with a few keystrokes (when you've pulled up a list with the arrows you can type the first letter(s) of the item you're looking for)...
For those who went and looked at Quicksilver but might have been put off by the minimalist website, here's a great blog entry on how Quicksilver changes everything
I found it earlier today and it's already shown me a few new things that QS can do. It's now flashing up album art notifications of the next song in iTunes for me. And the clipboard history and shelf functionality are going to be incredibly useful!
I found it earlier today and it's already shown me a few new things that QS can do. It's now flashing up album art notifications of the next song in iTunes for me. And the clipboard history and shelf functionality are going to be incredibly useful!
I tried QS a long time ago, and back then it felt very unfinished (since it's still beta, that might not come as a surprise), but I tried it again yesterday, on your recommendationApplespider said:
, and I agree, QS looks very good, now...It might just as well be a permanent feature on my iBook...
Back to the Win-R thing...
Has anyone noticed, that if you have Terminal running, even if there is no open term window, that you can click on the dock icon of terminal and get an execute command window, much like Win-R? Can a hotkey be applied to that?
The only downfall is, that unless you have paths set up intelligently, the command to execute an app (which is what it sounded like the OP wanted) will be difficult, because you would need to say something like "open /applications/safari.app"
But still, it's actually very, very close to what the OP wanted. All you need is a hotkey.
Has anyone noticed, that if you have Terminal running, even if there is no open term window, that you can click on the dock icon of terminal and get an execute command window, much like Win-R? Can a hotkey be applied to that?
The only downfall is, that unless you have paths set up intelligently, the command to execute an app (which is what it sounded like the OP wanted) will be difficult, because you would need to say something like "open /applications/safari.app"
But still, it's actually very, very close to what the OP wanted. All you need is a hotkey.