10.6: One way to create a mouse-free launcher assistant

Apr 28, '10 07:30:00AM

Contributed by: llee

Snow Leopard only hintI have a lot of apps, documents, and folders. A vast quantity. Many of these items are needed only occasionally, so I don't like to clutter up my premiere automation environment, QuicKeys, with launchers that I won't use every day, week, or even every month. That doesn't mean this tip can't be useful for everyday things, it's just that it is particularly suited for meeting my needs. This solution is based on an organized hierarchy of aliases kept in the Snow Leopard Dock. You can do this with earlier versions of Mac OS X to some extent, but to be able to have complete mouse-free navigation and launch control for a hierarchy of items, you need Snow Leopard.

To be able to get to the Dock without grabbing the mouse, you have to be sure that Move focus to the Dock is checked in the Keyboard and Text Input section of the Keyboard Shortcuts tab of the Keyboard pane of System Preferences. By default, the shortcut is triggered with control-F3 (Fn-Control-F3 on laptops, depending on the setting of F1, F2, etc. in the Keyboard section of the same System Preference pane).

Now build your hierarchy of aliases (or originals, if you prefer) in a folder somewhere on your hard drive -- your home folder is good -- and drag its containing folder into the Dock.

Now use the Control-F3 trigger to activate the Dock. It should activate with the last-used Dock item highlighted. For me, that's usually the Finder, so I normally keep the folder right next to the Trash. That way, when I press Control-F3, I can navigate to my folder with two arrow strokes: Up Arrow if the Dock is on the side of the screen, or Left Arrow if it's in the default bottom position. Press Return with your folder selected, and you'll see the first level of items pop up.

The way they look depends on the settings for the folder. To adjust those settings, you'll probably need to use the mouse, but don't worry, it's just for initial setup. Control-click the folder's icon in the Dock and choose the settings you like. I normally select Sort by Name, and Display as Folders, although you could also display the items as a Stack.

With my recommended settings, you won't observe any difference between Folder and Stack for Display method. I prefer to activate Grid for 'View content as,' because with lots of items, more keystrokes will be needed for navigation if you use Fan or List. Try the other settings for 'View content as' and you'll see.

Because the goal is to keep from using the mouse, you'll probably want to be able to see which item is highlighted while pressing arrow keys to navigate. I believe this is enabled by default for the latest release of Snow Leopard, but if you need to implement it, use a utility such as TinkerTool to modify Dock settings, or see this hint. ( To reverse the command, repeat it with no at the end instead of yes, then quit the Dock again.

Here's the really neat part, the keyboard navigation:

Just choose 'Open in Finder' for the desired level to add more items to your folder. Happy launching!

[robg adds: There are many ways to create your own such launcher. My preferred choice of the day is Butler (disclaimer: I now work for Many Tricks, makers of Butler), which lets me create a navigable pop-up folder that can be activated via an assigned keyboard shortcut; I have Control-Option-1 through -3 set to show three such folders. Once activated, I then use the arrow keys to navigate through the hierarchy. You can do similar things with LaunchBar and Quicksilver, I believe, and I'm sure there are other tools. If you've got a favorite utility or method, please share.]

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