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Launch apps from the Finder without using a mouse
Now that someone has officially evangelized LaunchBar -- as required by law in this situation, I believe ;-) -- I'd like to take this opportunity to evangelize Butler (formerly Another Launcher).
I have been a registered LaunchBar user virtually since its inception, and it is an awesome utility. Now though, I've switched to Butler. As a launcher it behaves much the same way as LaunchBar (abbreviations, intuitive learning, etc.) but it also has many other powerful features, not the least of which is a web search in the menu bar that allows you to perform search on the fly no matter what app you're currently in! I'd mention more features, but there's way too many.
The one ding I have on Butler is it is so powerful that it can be a bit complicated to set up, but once you've got it just right, there's no turning back.
Best of all it's Donationware! I've given the author every cent he asked for and then some. Just my 2 cents, but thought it worth a mention.
another launcher - QuickSilver
So far I've tried LaunchBar (looks good), Butler (confusing), and QuickSilver. Right now I'm getting used to QuickSilver. I like the fact that it was easy to get started. Butler may be better, but it's got a lot of features I'm not clear on using. QuickSilver is currently free, and the developer is trying to decide whether to actually open-source it, or charge a small (~$10) amount. I'd be willing to pay that, but it sounds like he's interested in open sourcing it, to let others help improve it.
Anyway, you can check out QuickSilver at VersionTracker
another launcher - QuickSilver
Quicksilver certainly looks nice, and it's true that Butler's learning curve is a little steep, but Butler allows you to do so much more that I think it is well worth learning to use.
Launch apps from the Finder without using a mouse
I tried Butler once (maybe twice), and it just looks too darn complicated. I was left with a bad first impression when it filled my menu bar with lots of little, somewhat cryptic icons. And as near as I can tell (from skimming the Butler web site), it isn't possible to squash that horde down to a single monochromatic menu icon. If it were, I would be more inclined to take a second (third) look. (Yes, I am just about out of room on my menu bar.)
Beyond that, I simply don't have the time to wade through the ins and outs of Butler -- the "Quick Start" is not very useful, IMHO, and the FAQ is overwhelming -- but I would be more than happy to give it another try if one of its advocates wants to submit A Beginner's Guide to Configuring Butler to Maximize Productivity and Minimize Time Spent Futzing as a hint to Mac OS X Hints. (Hint, hint!)
Launch apps from the Finder without using a mouse
You can set up Butler absolutely any way you want.
Launch apps from the Finder without using a mouse
I really don't get why people think Butler is confusing. Try this:
Launch apps from the Finder without using a mouse
I'm surprised to see all these comments about Butler being complicated - it's a little idiosyncratic at points, but I got it up and running with it in no time at all. Launchbar's configuration dialog is certainly more confusing. I found it really easy to configure the custom menus and hot keys, and I love the search box in the menu bar.... all of these are avialable in other utilities, but this seems to be the only one that has them all. [I am not affiliated with the author of Butler :-)] |
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