quicksilver

Three-panel interface

Quicksilver is a utility that normally runs at all times in the background, maintaining a highly configurable "catalog" of items including files and folders on your disk, address book contacts, internet bookmarks, scripts, clipboard contents etc. This catalog is automatically refreshed at certain intervals of time. Pressing a configurable hotkey or a combination of keys, such as Control-Space or Command-Space, invokes the Quicksilver command window, which contains three panes.

The three panes roughly correspond to a subject - predicate - attribute scenario. You would first choose the subject of your command: a "direct" object (be that an application, a file, an e-mail address, an IM contact, a bookmark etc.) you wish to operate with, then you would choose an action (predicate) to be performed on/with that object and finally (depending on your action) you would provide additional details (attributes) for the action you wish to trigger.

Most of the actions require simple typing of a few letters into any of the panes: i.e. typing into the first pane searches the Quicksilver catalog for items matching the letters typed (the direct object, or "subject"). As more letters are typed into Quicksilver, the catalog is filtered so that it shows only those items which match the search. Quicksilver uses a priority system based on previous usage (see mnemonics) to determine which items to list first of those which match, apparently "learning" from the user's actions. For example, typing "intern" might show the Internet Connect utility, the International panel of System Preferences, the Internet Plug-ins folder, an address book card for someone who works at International Example Corp., and that company's home page from a web browser's history. Repeatedly typing "intern" and choosing the Internet Connect utility will tell Quicksilver to boost this entry's ranking in its internal list, making it the first option after several such uses.

Once an item has been selected in the first panel, pressing the TAB key allows a user to switch to a second panel and search for available "actions" for that object (the "predicate"). Each type of object has certain actions which can be performed with it. For example, files on the hard drive can be moved to the trash, revealed in the Finder, or opened in the default application for that filetype.

Some actions require a third, indirect object (or an "attribute") that provides further details or the specifics of an action. In this case, the third panel is used to find such an indirect object with/on which to perform the command. For instance, the "Move to folder..." command requires the selection of a folder in the third panel.

Quicksilver also accepts a direct-text entry mode in its panels (by pressing the "." key on a QWERTY or "=" on an AZERTY), making it particularly useful for quick shell commands (Terminal) and Instant Messengers (such as iChat and Adium).

Of notice are the various visual interfaces available for the application, the alternative Constellation Menus and also its Notification Hub, which sports Growl support via a plugin.

Triggers

Quicksilver allows users to define "triggers", which perform a specific command (direct object + action + indirect object) whenever a predefined keyboard shortcut is pressed. For instance, the <"Documents", "Reveal"> command could be bound to the F7 key. Then pressing the F7 key would open the Documents folder in the Finder and bring it to the front.

In addition to keyboard triggers, the "Mouse Triggers" plugin allows commands to be bound to simple mouse actions such as clicks or mouseovers in different parts of the screen. A plugin called "Abracadabra" supports triggers activated through more complicated mouse gestures.

Flexibility

Because shell scripts and AppleScripts can be stored in the catalog, any function which can be performed using a script can be tied to Quicksilver, either through the command window, or through triggers. Because most Apple-native applications have extensive scripting libraries, many common tasks can easily be performed from Quicksilver. For instance, iTunes can be told to play or pause, increase or decrease the rating on the current track, or skip to the previous or next track.

Interfaces with other applications

Quicksilver has a plug-in architecture, with each plug-in providing integration with a program, an interface, or a new feature. A partial list of plug-ins follows:

Web browsers

Quicksilver plugins allow for the searching of bookmarks saved with several browsers.

• Camino
• Firefox
• OmniWeb
• Opera
• Safari

E-mail applications

Plugins exist to send mail through a number of applications.

• Apple Mail
• Entourage
• Eudora
• Mailsmith
• Gmail

Chat clients

Plugins can initiate chats with buddies in

• Adium
• iChat
• Colloquy

FTP clients

Plugins can upload files to remote servers

• Cyberduck
• Transmit

Mac OS X integrated

Quicksilver can perform a number of services with Mac OS X bundled and integrated programs.

• iTunes
• iPhoto
• Calculator
• Dictionary (system's own) look-up
• Sherlock
• File attributes
• Terminal

Other

• AOL
• Apple developer documentation
• Atom blog API
• BuddyPop
• BugMeNot
• Clipboard
• Command-line interface
• Desktop picture
• DICT look-up
• Diff
• Find and locate
• Google Cache
• make
• Network Locations
• Now Contact
• OnMyCommand
• Path Finder
• Phone number dialing
• PyObjC
• tail
• Timers
• User accounts
• Watson
• Wayback Machine

Trivia

• Quicksilver's icon is based on the alchemical symbol for mercury (quicksilver is another name for mercury).

See also

• LaunchBar, another fast launcher for Mac OS X
• Butler for Mac OS X
• Colibri, a Microsoft Windows application launcher modeled after Quicksilver
• Launchy, a simple launcher for Microsoft Windows
• Proxi for Mac OS X
• Katapult, similar software but for Linux with KDE
• GNOME Launch Box, an equivalent utility for GNOME by Imendio

External links

• Quicksilver homepage
• Quicksilver manual (official site)
• Getting started with Quicksilver at tuaw.com
• Quicksilver tips at 43 Folders
• Three Quicksilver Tutorials by Dan Dickinson
  • QuickSilver: A Better OS X In Just 10 Minutes
  • Quicksilver: From A Better OS X To Even More
  • Another Quicksilver Tutorial: Gold Trigger
• Quicksilver User Guide and cheatsheet by Howard Melman.