I’ve been using Quicksilver as an app launcher for quite a while, but after looking into what else it can do I’ve been doing a lot more with it lately.
Here are some of the triggers I’ve set up along with some tips I’ve found out here & there (some from trawling through the 89 page user guide) that other people might find useful:
(For a lot of them you’ll need to Enable advanced features in Application> Preferences).
Triggers
(Let me know if you need help setting up any of these below).
Show the Clipboard History: ⌘↓
Show the Shelf Contents: ⌘↑
I use Quicksilver as a clipboard manager. Clipboard History stores the last 20 clipboard entries (You can alter the number to whatever you want). You can show the clipboard history, select the clip you want to paste (Paste is usually the default action) & then hit Return. Shelf stores clips of text, images etc. permanently. Ideal for email addresses, user names, passwords etc.
Open the current Safari web page in Firefox: ⌃⌥F
This is handy for web pages that don’t play nicely with Safari (e.g. some sites that diplay embedded video & FileShack downloads.) You can set it to open the current web page in any other browser.
Paste the URL of the current Safari web page: ⌃⇧W
It will paste the URL wherever you are (Writing an email, in Word, TextEdit etc.) of the page you have selected in Safari (You do this wherever your are & don’t have to select first Safari to paste the URL).
Bring items into the Quicksilver command window: ⌘ +Escape
(⌘ +Escape will do this by default in Quicksilver, but Front Row is now assigned to this key combination. You can recreate it as a trigger if needed (Current Selection> Select in Command Window), or reassign Front Row’s).
I use this for a couple of things:
1. Select a files on the desktop, in a Finder window or wherever, hit ⌘ +Escape & it will bring them up in Quicksilver. Then you can do whatever you want with them (Launch them, move them, upload them, tag them etc).
2. Select a plain text URL link (i.e. in an email or plain text file) hit ⌘ +Escape & it will bring it up in Quicksilver, recognise it’s a URL & then hit Return to open it up in Safari. (You don’t have to copy the link. Just select it, hit ⌘ +Escape then Return).
Add Tags: ⌃⌥T
Select files on the desktop, in a Finder window or wherever, then add tags (Spotlight comments).
To browse your tags in Quicksilver bring up ‘File Tags (Catalog)’ then press →.
You can browse the tags or type in a few letters to bring up the one(s) you’re looking for.
Copy files to MacBook Pro: ⌃⌥M
Copy the selected files to MacBook Pro (from PowerMac).
Open Startup URLs: ⌃⇧S
I have a folder in Safari bookmarks called ‘Startup’ that contain bookmarks of web pages I check every morning. So I hit ⌃⇧S & it opens them all up in separate in tabs in Safari.
Zip files & move to the desktop: ⌃Z
Runs an Automator workflow that zips the file in a ‘clean archive’ (Doesn’t contain resource forks that will look odd if unzipped in Windows), moves the zip file to the desktop & displays a Growl notification.
Open Router config: ⌃⌥R
Open the config page of my Router in Firefox (Doesn’t play well in Safari).
Safari Page in a New Window in the Background: ⌃⌥B
Opens the selected web page/tab from Safari in a new window in the background & minimises the current Safari Window. I use this if I have a few tabs in the Safari window, do a Google search & want to open multiple results in new tabs (would be too many tabs in 1 window if I kept them all in the same window). I made a custom AppleScript for this & run it from Quicksilver. You can download it here.
Duplicate Current Tab in Safari: ⌃⇧D
I made a custom AppleScript for this & run it from Quicksilver. You can download it here.
Start & Play / Stop (If already playing) iTunes: ⌃⇧Space
Start & Play / Stop (If already playing) RealPlayer: ⌃⌥Space
Mute/Resume RealPlayer: ⌃⌥↓
I listen to radio stations using RealPayer & there is a keyboard shortcut to mute & resume it, but you have to select RealPayer first before you can use the shortcuts. With this custom AppleScript you can use a keyboard shortcut/trigger no matter what app you have selected. You can download it here.
Search Google: ⌃G
Search Google Images: ⌃I
Search YouTube: ⌃Y
Search Del.icio.us: ⌃D
Translate: ⌃T
Translate with Google (Spanish to English)
Tips
Reveal
If you select an app, file or folder in the first pane the action is Open, but if you type ⌘ +Return Quicksilver will reveal the app, file or folder in a Finder window.
Show Package Contents (& Hidden Files)
Hold down the ⌥ & press → the results list will include hidden files (those that begin with a period) and you can browse into packages (like the Finder’s Show Package Contents).
Use AppZapper with Quicksilver
To trash apps with AppZapper from Quicksilver it requires pasting a little code in the the AppZapper app. Download the code & instructions here.
Address Book, Large Type & Paste
If you have a contact in the object pane, typing → will show a results list with fields of the contact including phone numbers, email addresses, addresses, and the note.
TAB & select Large Type to display it in very large text across the screen. Or select Paste to paste the item into whatever you’re working on
Drag Files & Folders into Quicksilver
If you bring up a folder in Quicksilver you can drag files, folders etc into that folder to move or copy them there. For example bring up the Applications folder in Quicksilver & drop an app off the desktop onto it to move it there (handy if you’ve just downloaded an app that doesn’t give you an alias to the Applications folder). You can also drag items from Quicksilver to the dock, or drag them out of Quicksilver onto the desktop to move them there.
Assign Abbreviations
Once you’ve selected an app, file or folder in Quicksilver Tab & then select Assign Abbreviation to make abbreviations of commonly used apps, files & folders. For example you could set F to Firefox so you only have to type F, P for Photoshop, M for Mail etc…
When you have abbreviations set to one letter for certain items you can just hold down the letter to launch them. (Rather than typing the letter then hitting Return).
Shift rather than Tab
If you check the ‘Capitalized keys modify action in command window’ in the Preferences > Extras you can type in both sides of the Quicksilver command window at the same time.
E.g. instead of firefox > Tab > reveal type firefoxREVEAL (or ffRV if it’s something you type often).
Web Searches
Use the Web Search Module to start web searches from Quicksilver. Once you’ve set them up you only have to type 1 or 2 letters in Quicksilver, or set them up as triggers to select your search engine/site & start typing your search.
Upload to flickr & Add Tags: ⌃⇧F
Use the flickr plugin to upload the selected image(s) to flickr & tag them.
Move to…
You can use ⌥⌘G to select the Move to… action. Select the file or files you want to move in the Finder. Activate Quicksilver and bring up the destination folder in the object pane. Then, without tabbing to the action pane, type ⌥⌘G, the command window changes so the files are in the object pane, the action is Move to… and the destination folder is the argument.
Open With
Another way to use Open With… is to select the file you want to open in the Finder, then activate Quicksilver and select the application you want to use in the object pane. Then instead of tabbing to the action pane, just type ⌥⌘G. The command window will change so the Finder’s selection is the object, the action is Open With… and the application is in the third pane. You could set it up as a trigger so it’s only 1 key press.
HD & Home Folder
Invoke Quicksilver & hold / (forward slash) for about one second. You’ll see your HD. Then the menu will appear in the results list. Invoke Quicksilver & hold ~ (tilde) for about one second. You’ll see your Home folder.
Changing Icons
You can change icons used in plugins by going to the ~Library/Application Support/Quicksilver/Plugins folder. Right click on the plugin & select ‘Show Package Contents’, then browse to the Resources folder & replace the icon.
Killing & Restarting Quicksilver
Every now & then Quicksilver doesn’t play nicely & I need to force quit it.
It doesn’t show up in the normal Force Quit… menu, so here are a couple of Automator apps I run from Spotlight if I need to force quit & restart Quicksilver, or just force quit it.
Download them here.
(You could also save them as Finder plug-ins & access them from the right click context menu).
Quicksilver Quick Reference
Quicksilver User’s Guide
Quicksilver Site Tutorials & Screencasts
