What is Quicksilver?

peanutismint

peanutismint

peanutismint

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And why should I care?

Note: I have read its documentation and watched several tutorial videos on how to use the program, I'm still at a loss, though, as to why anyone would actually want to do things through Quicksilver rather than just click stuff like a normal user. Please, feel free to prove me wrong!
 
I don't get it either, but its for developers and pro users to use for getting around the OS extremely quickly.
 
peanutismint said:
And why should I care?

Note: I have read its documentation and watched several tutorial videos on how to use the program, I'm still at a loss, though, as to why anyone would actually want to do things through Quicksilver rather than just click stuff like a normal user. Please, feel free to prove me wrong!
Click to expand...

Ha, i was wondering this but was too embarrassed to ask! i tried to use it, but it seemed counter intuitive and more time consuming to use than to just do what i needed to do, without it... if that makes any sense.
 
I use it. Have just recently started using it actually. Why dont you just download it and give it a try. Its basically the same as spotlight but it indexes less but more important things so that when you search for something it comes up loads faster.
For example if i wanted to load up a program which i dont have on my dock, instead of opening the applications folder and browsing until i find it i can bring up quicksilver type in the app name and then open it from there.
its very good, give it a try.
 
It is essentially a productivity tool where key strokes replace the normal combination of mouse and keyboard. It indexes your hard drive and contains plug ins that allow you to control different apps and make them talk to each other. Think of it as a application launcher and search tool on steroids.

That is the theory but in practice I found it just slowed me down and it never learned to do what I wanted. At first I was amazed and over awed by the uber geek factor but after a while it just annoyed the hell out of me. Spotlight and OS X keyboard shortcuts serve me better.

Check out Launchbar or Butler as well.
 
quicksilver is the 1st application you need to install on a mac.
i've been using it for a while and i couldn't live without it.

for example, if you have hundreds of bookmarks and you are looking for the OVERCLOCKERS website, you don't need to (1) click on the bookmarks button (2) look for the bookmark or folder of bookmarks (3) click it.
you simply press CTRL+space and type "ove" and press RETURN.

similarly, if you want to open DISK UTILITY and you don't have the icon on you dock, you simply press CTRL+space and type "dis" and press RETURN.

try using it for a couple of days. you'll love it.
thanks to QS now i don't bother sorting out bookmarks or keeping all the icons of the applications i use the most on the dock.
 
whatever said:
quicksilver is the 1st application you need to install on a mac.
i've been using it for a while and i couldn't live without it.

for example, if you have hundreds of bookmarks and you are looking for the OVERCLOCKERS website, you don't need to (1) click on the bookmarks button (2) look for the bookmark or folder of bookmarks (3) click it.
you simply press CTRL+space and type "ove" and press RETURN.

similarly, if you want to open DISK UTILITY and you don't have the icon on you dock, you simply press CTRL+space and type "dis" and press RETURN.

try using it for a couple of days. you'll love it.
thanks to QS now i don't bother sorting out bookmarks or keeping all the icons of the applications i use the most on the dock.
Click to expand...

But that sounds exactly like Spotlight..... which I do use obsessively.
 
Yep, I use Spotlight for almost everything. For instance for launching Mail :- Command then Space, type 'ma' and then hit Command again and Return. Mail launches. Just as quick as Quicksilver.

I know Quicksilver is much, much more than just a launcher but the things it does, when it behaves, can be done just as eaily with the built in tools. For instance emailing a file. Use Spotlight to find it and drag it over the Mail icon in the Dock and a new message is created, type the first letter of the persons name and chose the recipient. Less than two seconds tops. Creating an archive:- again use Spotlight to find it, right click and archive, simple. :)

Quicksilver is an incredible piece of software but I just cannot seem to get the productivity benefits out of it that some claim, in fact, quite the opposite.
 
I'm like greased lightening with quicksilver

Spotlight for me, is slower to search and requires more keypresses.

Couldn't be without it now
 
I tried it but didn't get on with it I still go with cmd-space for almost all my applications and search in spotlight.
 
whatever said:
for example, if you have hundreds of bookmarks and you are looking for the OVERCLOCKERS website, you don't need to (1) click on the bookmarks button (2) look for the bookmark or folder of bookmarks (3) click it.
Click to expand...
If I want to get to the forums, I just hit the address bar in Safari, type 'fo' and hit return when the autocorrect entry pops up (takes less than a second, usually) :)
 
I only use it for launching applications and bookmarks. I find it's quicker and more accurate than Spotlight, and I prefer the interface.
 
Al Vallario said:
If I want to get to the forums, I just hit the address bar in Safari, type 'fo' and hit return when the autocorrect entry pops up (takes less than a second, usually) :)
Click to expand...

ok...that would work for overclockers....how about other websites? then, u need to open up safari, then click the address bar. in QS u don't need to do so.

PS: spotlight (which i adore) is infinitely slower than QS.
spotlight is for files. QS for applications and bookmarks primarily.
 
whatever said:
{snip}

PS: spotlight (which i adore) is infinitely slower than QS.
spotlight is for files. QS for applications and bookmarks primarily.
Click to expand...

Echo.

I use both but 99% of the time, i use QS to launch applications. I can have minimal icons on my dock and desktop and just press ctrl-space + whatever I want to launch, after a few use, it remembers like "wod" instantly shows MS Word for me in my QS search... it remembers :)
 
I wasn't going to post in this thread as I couldn't really put what I wanted to say, about quicksilver, into words, effectively.

However, I found over at the official forums.

I urge people to also watch the following screencast. It will help you to understand what quicksilver does!

Click here!.

The power of quicksilver is amazing, but like anything, it takes time to learn. Everytime I check back at the quicksilver site, I usually spiral off into various websites and always learn something new, that I didn't know how to do before!

EDIT: For anyone wanting to get started with quicksilver, read the following tutorials.

Tutorial 1
Tutorial 2
Tutorial 3
 
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*penny drops*

i had QS installed on my Mac and never used it properly because i didn't understand it... i've used it a bit more over the last few days and it's bloody superb... love it.
 
I used it once.

Liked how it opens programs, runs actions etc with a few keystrokes but I'm pretty nifty with shortcuts and usually know where my files are so I never bothered with it much after a week.
 
I like it, couple of things I use it for:

Dictionary definitions, quick calculations, shell commands, application launching. Spotlight is nice but sometimes a bit slow, probably better for finding documents though.
 
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