If you’re like me, you want your computer to be fast. However, no matter how much RAM you have or how fast your processor is, there are some things that you just can’t speed up, well, at least with hardware. Think of it like this. Your Mac is like a convertible. It’s sleek, it’s powerful, it’s fast. However, when you get a Mac out-of-the-box, it’s like being stuck in first gear. The raw power is there, but there’s no way to harness it. Sure, it might be nice to take a leisurely drive in first gear in a real convertible, but it’s quite another story when the only scenery to be appreciated consists of icons and cascading menus.
This is where Quicksilver comes into play. Quicksilver is a free program (Mac only) that lets you unlock your Mac’s potential, to bring it into fifth gear, thanks to keyboard commands. The basis of Quicksilver is quite simple; the less you have to take your hands off the keyboard, the faster and more productive you will be. Quicksilver has access to virtually every corner of your Mac, allowing you to do things that normally would take several clicks with a mouse. Quicksilver has two main interface options, Primer and Bezel (I personally prefer Bezel). Whether you’re using Primer or Bezel, Quicksilver behaves the same way. When you open up the Quicksilver command window, you are presented with two panels. The one on the left is what you’re searching for and the one on the right is what you want to do with that item. Want to open up Firefox? No problem, just hold CTRL + SPACE (or whatever shortcut you assign to open Quicksilver) and type “Firefox” into the left panel. After maybe two or three letters, Firefox will pop up and the right panel will automatically change to “Open”, then all you have to do is hit enter. Here’s another example. Perhaps you want to open Airport Utility. Normally you would have to click the “Go” menu, select “Applications”, scroll down and double-click on “Utilities”, then double-click on “Airport Utility”. With Quicksilver, all you have to do is hold CTRL + SPACE, type “Airport Utility”, and then hit enter. As you can see, Quicksilver can drastically improve your workflow.
However, the beauty of Quicksilver lies with its versatility. Quicksilver isn’t just an application launcher, it isn’t just a search utility, Quicksilver is, essentially, whatever you want to make of it. For example, let’s say you want to send an email to your friend Jeff. Normally, you would launch your mail program, select “Compose New Message”, and type in Jeff’s name in the “To” field. With Quicksilver, all you have to do is hold CTRL + SPACE, type Jeff’s name, hit tab, then arrow down to “Compose Email”. Now, you might be saying, “Wait a minute, sending an email the normal way only takes three steps, but using Quicksilver takes four, how can that be more efficient?” and you are right, Quicksilver does have one more step, however, the process is much more streamlined. First of all, everything you’re doing is centralized in Quicksilver’s command interface. You don’t have to go down to the dock (or your Applications folder), then go up to the top of the screen to hit “Compose New Message”, then type out the recipients name. Furthermore, with Quicksilver, your hands never need to leave the keyboard.
One of the reasons Quicksilver is so versatile is its plug-in system. You can install a variety of plug-ins that let you access everything from your Firefox bookmarks, to Mac OS X’s Dictionary. Another neat feature is Triggers. With Triggers, you can program Quicksilver to perform a certain action based on a given keyboard shortcut (or mouse gesture). For instance, I can hold CTRL + G to search Google. If Firefox (my default browser) isn’t open, Quicksilver will open it and display the results page in a new tab.
It’s thanks to features like these that Quicksilver is so powerful. Want to add a new event to iCal? You can do it right from Quicksilver. Want to look something up in the Dictionary? No need to launch the application, just type the word into Quicksilver (you press “.” to create a text field in Quicksilver’s command interface) then hit tab and type “Look Up in Dictionary”. I’ve only been using Quicksilver for about a week and I’ve barely even scratched the surface. There are just so many features and uses for Quicksilver that it’s impossible to delve into them all. Nevertheless, if you are a Mac user, you owe it to yourself to try out this program. From its sleek, intuitive interface, to its powerful, customizable core, Quicksilver can transform your computing experience and help you take your Mac out of first gear and into fifth. With Quicksilver, you can take control of your Mac.
Filed under: Apple, Computers, Mac OS X, Technology Tagged: | Firefox, Mac, Mac OS X, Quicksilver
