Expert’s Rating

Our Verdict

I ’m a engineering writer and avid Mac user , so third - party software is an essential part of my piece of work . To avow this , you require calculate no further than my e - mail inbox , which is litter with licensing and registration information for hundreds of applications that I ’ve accumulated over the yr . I ’d made a practice of hoard them up in a separate mailbox , which made them easier to track . However , that was far from the ideal solution . AppShelfis just what I ’ve been look for .

When you launch AppShelf for the first time , it mandate that you create a master key password , which it then asks for upon every subsequent launch . If you ofttimes let other hoi polloi employ your Mac and are concerned about the theft of your app licenses , this is an crucial gain for you . It would , however , have made more sense to allow the option to turn off the master password .

The main windowpane lists all the applications in the database in alphabetic ordering .

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The main window lists all the applications in the database in alphabetical order.

The user interface lie of a list of applications in alphabetic guild on the left and the details for the selected app on the right . It ’s worth noting , however , that AppShelf does n’t mechanically glance over your app brochure and add up your installed applications to its listing ; they have to be added manually . A toolbar at the top houses a couple of buttons to add or remove accounting entry and another to launch the selected software . There ’s also a helpful search theater that establish it comfortable for those with exceptionally large collections to get to a particular app .

The registration details screen stores information such as the software name ; software developer ’s Web site ; the purchased reading , date , and monetary value ; and the registered name , e - mail , and serial key . As mentioned originally , you’re able to also attach license file for those program that take them merely by choose the Attachments tab and trail them in .

The only affair that AppShelf does n’t extend is a way to sync its data between multiple Macs via MobileMe or any other method . Even with that lilliputian caveat , though , AppShelf remains a simple and intuitive program program that does the Book of Job it sets out to do with aplomb . If you call for to track licence and enrollment information for a large number of applications , AppShelf is a slap-up way to do so .