Quicksilver (software)

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Quicksilver
Basic data

developer QSApp
Current  version ß71 (Build 3942)
(January 16, 2013)
operating system Mac OS X 10.6+ (Snow Leopard and newer)
category productivity
License Apache
German speaking No
qsapp.com

Quicksilver is a freely available software for Mac OS X , which allows the user to navigate very quickly through heterogeneous data, to start applications and scripts and to open files. For this purpose, the files on the hard drive are indexed in the background at regular intervals. When opening the program, you can find a desired file within the indexed area by entering the keyboard, then select an action and, for some actions, add another parameter. The action is executed with the appropriate parameters by the system (or by a program corresponding to the action). One can imagine the composition of an action in Quicksilver in the form of the triple subject, predicate, object. The functionality of Quicksilver can be expanded in the form of plugins.

At the beginning of December 2007, the Quicksilver developer announced that he no longer wanted to work on Quicksilver and recommended switching to alternatives, in particular LaunchBar . Since the beginning of November 2007, Quicksilver has been available as free open source software, including the source code, under the conditions of Version 2.0 of the Apache license , so that other developers can continue to maintain the software.

Interface and functionality

Quicksilver mainly runs in the background and regularly indexes the files on the hard drive. The administrative unit within Quicksilver is called "Catalog". The granularity of the indexing can be set under Settings . The interface is started with the help of a keyboard shortcut (C-spacebar by default). The user interface makes a panel appear; As you type a word on the keyboard, Quicksilver displays a list of hit items. After you have found the object you are looking for, press the tab key to switch to the next field and select an action. An action can be, for example, running a program or opening a file. Some actions also process a third parameter (see also example applications). Quicksilver internally records the searches that have already taken place and uses this information to shorten the search paths.

Sample applications

In addition to quickly starting programs and finding files, Quicksilver can be used for other versatile purposes. The following examples serve to illustrate the basic functionality.

Start a program
By entering the program name - for example iTerm - all catalog entries are searched for the word iTerm. If the iTerm application is selected in the list of hits, the second panel (action) already shows Open - i.e. execute. The program is executed by pressing the Enter key.
If Quicksilver is used regularly, the iTerm program can be found in the list of hits before entering the complete program name; if necessary, you just enter the letter “i” and the iTerm program is placed at the top of the hit list based on the searches iTerm already carried out. Compare this way of accessing applications to navigating the file system with Finder (Mac) .
Opening of a document
By entering any part or parts of the file name, Quicksilver will present a list of the objects (files, programs, bookmarks, audio data ...) in whose names the corresponding search words appear. The first action will be Open ; however, other actions can also be selected, such as deleting, copying, moving or even writing an e-mail. Copy and move are actions that require a third parameter, in this case the target directory on the file system, which can be selected from a list in the same interactive way.
Manage to-do lists
It is possible to use Quicksilver to manage task lists. For this purpose, an object is not searched for in the first panel, but any text is entered. To switch to the text input mode, enter a period (.) As the first character. Then write the desired text in the panel; selects action attach to ( Append To off) and closes the procedure by selecting the file. As a result, the entered text is appended to the end of the file.

integration

Quicksilver integrates interfaces to various programs using freely available plugins:

Web browser
Search the bookmarks and search history of the current web browsers.
e-mail
Sending e-mail using various programs.
Chat
Start chats.
FTP
Upload files to FTP server.
Mac OS X
Integration in system programs and standard applications.

Alternatives

See list of desktop search programs

Web links

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  1. ↑ Quicksilver definitely in the end (?) | Mac quirks. Retrieved on March 18, 2013 (German).
  2. ↑ Quicksilver's Creator on the Future of QS. Retrieved March 18, 2013 .
  3. ↑ blacktree-alchemy. Retrieved March 18, 2013 .