Magic Dave Ball

That silly Finder, in Mac OS X, is so annoying. Isn’t there any way that I can skip using it and launch my applications directly? Perhaps using some good ol’ keyboard interface, instead?

Magic Dave Ball to the rescue!

There are many solutions to this common problem, but my favorite, by far, is Quicksilver.

The easiest way to get an idea of what Quicksilver can do for you is to start by using it as an application launcher… Become skilled enough at Quicksilver and you can say good-bye to the Finder entirely!

Gratuitous Background

“Quicksilver” is an old timey word for the element mercury which, at room temperature, is a liquid metal — transcending the barrier between solid and liquid. Ancient alchemists believed it to transcend the barrier between life and death.

Mercury is also, of course, the Roman god of tricksters, thieves, and trade (known in his earlier, Greek aspect as Hermes). Mercury’s trickster role informs some occult traditions as well… His duty as the Roman pantheon’s psychopomp no doubt lending itself nicely to that idea.

Yes, this application is that good. Really. This application launching stuff is nothing compared to what you’ll be doing with Quicksilver later. Trust me.

Install Quicksilver

Installing Quicksilver is easy as can be:

1. Head over to the Quicksilver homepage and click on the “Download” link in the center of the page.
2. After the DMG has downloaded, double-click it so it mounts, and then…
3. Drag the now visible Quicksilver application to your Applications folder.

Oh how I spoil you, faithful reader. You are so lucky to be getting install instructions. Next time you won’t be so lucky.

Using The Mystic Portal

Quicksilver’s magic begins with its own invocation: Out of the box, that’s Ctrl-Space. I prefer ⌘-Space myself… but there’s no accounting for taste. If you’ve got Quicksilver running, go ahead and do that now.

If you’ve been following along (and I know you have!) then you should see the interface above. Go ahead and type some stuff in there. Just a few characters. Maybe “gar”. Do you see GarageBand as the first choice in the pop-up box that appears?

Hit Return (or Enter if you’re fussy). Abracadabra! You’ve launched GarageBand! (Why not edit a cool song while you’re at it?)

Try this whole process again. Invoke Quicksilver, type “gar” (and watch GarageBand show up)… but instead of hitting Return (or Enter), hit Tab. This will move the focus to the next window. Behold! What other things can you do to GarageBand besides open it? Hitting the down arrow at any time in a Quicksilver window will reveal more choices. Find out! Have some fun! Explore! By pressing Return (yes, yes, or Enter) you can select the action to perform on GarageBand.

If, at this point, you have accidentally run “Move to Trash…” on GarageBand… well, I have pity for you. Go root around in your Trash.

Try this out a few times with some other applications. Feel free to explore all the other choices that may be popping up in Quicksilver in the first pane… They’re not all applications.

Also Makes Julienne Fries

Have you noticed how your documents are showing up in that first Quicksilver tab? Y’know, maybe that PDF you were reading in Preview… or that ReadMe.txt that came with that shareware you downloaded?

Yup, Quicksilver lets you get at those, too. And they work just like applications do: Invoke Quicksilver, find the document you want, verify that the action in the second panel is “Open”, and press Return (that Enter joke is getting old… I’ll stop, I swear)… and voilà! Instant document-opening!

Notice a pattern here? A disturbing trend? I’ll give you a sec.

No, seriously, think about it. Sheesh.

Okay, okay, I’ll spill: Quicksilver is finding your stuff. It’s searching your drive, finding things, them making them available by name. First your applications… now your documents. This is all configurable in Quicksilver’s truly massive preference pane. Be careful in there, though: There be dragons.

What else could Quicksilver make findable in a few keystrokes? Hmm!

Things To Remember

At the heart of Quicksilver are these simple steps.

1. Choose subject.
2. Choose action.
3. Choose modifier (sometimes).

We’ve covered some of what you can do in steps 1 and 2… we haven’t come across any actions that are complex enough to warrant heading in to step 3.

You’ll be sure and experiment, though, right? Play around? See what else is in the dark corners of Quicksilver?

I just knew you would.

In Summary

So, hey, check that action out! Without even going to the Finder, you’ve opened an application. That was really fast, too — faster than opening a new Finder window, going to the Applications folder, scrolling down until you found Garage Band, double-clicking it… blah blah blah blah blah, GUIs are so last century.

Wait, GUIs are last century but text-based interfaces are “magical”?

Shut up, you.

Check out all of my Quicksilver del.icio.us links for more (way more) information about this truly awesome program.

Tune in next time when we cover… text!

Got any feedback? Please leave me some comments! I read it all!