The third part of our week - long profile of the good low - cost software useable for your Mac looks to save you some time . We sport seven terrific shortcuts that will serve you do everything from remember what keyboard shortcuts sync up to what commands to running AppleScripts and launching applications .
We also look at a brace of search putz that beam where OS X ’s built - in limelight lookup technology falters . And we sing the praises of launcher — utilities that give you quick access to apps , text file , and other stored information .
As in the first two parts of our Best of Gems feature , version numbers are current as of press time , though the speedy nature of package development could mean that new versions become available by the sentence you read this . The software listed below runs with the latest version of OS X , but it ’s just to check the developers ’ vane situation to confirm that your Mac meets the system requirements .
Menu shortcut utility: KeyCue 2.0.1
Keyboard crosscut — such as Command - C for Copy — have long been a quick and easy way to get at uncouth diligence actions on the Mac . However , to get word those shortcuts , you have to research the current program ’s menus to obtain the hope command and then remember the keyboard shortcut colligate with that command . WithKeyCue 2.0.1 ( ) installed , holding down the Command key pops up a window sum all the shortcuts usable from within the current app . It also display custom menu cutoff you ’ve defined through OS X ’s Keyboard & Mouse taste pane and third - political party public utility company such as MenuMaster . When you weigh modifier cay , KeyCue highlights the shortcut that are accessible via that combining of changer . It ’s a bang-up cheat flat solid for using and learning keyboard cutoff . ( $ 15;Ergonis )
Window switcher: Witch 1.0.2
Which window?Witch lets you employ the keyboard to quickly interchange to any window in any coating .
OS X permit you switch between window in the current program by contract Command- ` . alas , not all applications put up this crosscut , and even among those that do , there ’s often no apparent system of logic to the edict of windowpane switch . Witch 1.0.2 ( ) gives you proper window - swop behavior . By pressing its customizable keyboard cutoff , you get an on - cover list ofallopen window inallapplications , organized by app . Press the shortcut until you get to the desired windowpane and then release — unlike OS X , Witch shows you on the button which windowpane you ’ll be change to . ( payment requested;Peter Maurer )
Other top shortcuts
Scripters and AppleScript users will loveFastScripts 2.2.9 (; $ 15;Red Sweater Software ) , which replace OS X ’s own handwriting carte du jour with a more running version that rent you assign keyboard shortcuts to hand , understands other scripting linguistic process ( such as Perl and Automator ) , and provides better menu organization . One of the handy AppleScript - free-base utilities isKeyViewer 1.4 (; free;MacParc ) , which provide easy admission to OS X ’s Keyboard Viewer without having to embark into System Preferences and activate the Input menu .
If you care OS X ’s Command - Tab coating switcher , LiteSwitch X 2.5 (; $ 15;Proteron ) improves on it by offer more intelligent switch — apps show up in reverse ordering of recent economic consumption , you could perform more actions on apps via the switcher , and you could also touch off OS 9 - like windowing behaviors . For more convenient access code to System Preferences , MenuPrefs 2.6 (; $ 5;iThink software package ) set a young bill of fare in your menu taproom that lists preference pane of glass . you could even customise the layout of the menu — for illustration , choosing how preference panes are sort or including only those window pane you frequently access . For greater keyboard functionality , check outSpark 2.1.1 (; free;Shadow Lab ) , which let you create keyboard shortcuts that feed AppleScripts , launch applications , overt document , ascendancy iTunes , and even execute system of rules activity .
Spotlight substitutes
Quite a findMoRU redact the power of Spotlight at your fingertips — without ask you to memorize arcane commands .
Tiger ’s Spotlight search engineering is a great feature that helps you happen almost anything on your system . However , it ’s far from perfect : The find - while - you - eccentric approach , in which results are displayedasyou type your search chain , can be quite nettlesome , and do advanced searches is far from little . gratefully , two companies have step in with hunting utilities that improve on Spotlight ’s user interface : MoRU 1.3 (; $ 10 single computer license;Windstorm Software ) andEasyFind 3.9 (; free;Devon Technologies ) .
MoRU is an substitute front - final stage to Spotlight ’s own indicant . You build your query — simple or forward-looking — using MoRU ’s port ; when you defer the last query , you ’re really using Spotlight , so searches are just as ready as glare ’s . Once you ’ve do a lookup , it ’s saved in MoRU ’s user interface and can be rebroadcast in a single click at any time . EasyFind , on the other hand , works by in reality running alive search of your unvoiced driving force ; it does n’t trust on Spotlight ’s index . This can lead to lengthy search time , but it also means that EasyFind work in both OS X 10.3 ( Panther ) and 10.4 ( Tiger ) .
Which should you use ? If you mainly explore data file name , or if you ’re using Panther , EasyFind is a not bad — and free — solution . If you desire to use and get at the power of your Spotlight index finger , MoRU is the better choice ; although it ’s not gratuitous , it ’s still quite a bargain.—ROB GRIFFITHS
Launchers We Love
set up by letterType a few letter of the item you require to launch or open — excfor Excel , for example — and LaunchBar will chance it and open it . The app can even take your opt shortcuts ( for example , xlfor Excel ) .
If you ’re old-hat of browsing booklet and stretch the Dock with ikon just to open up applications and files , you ’re a meridian candidate for a launcher — a public utility that lets you found programs , open documents , and get at your stored datum quickly and efficiently . There are three major Mac players in the launcher segment : Butler 4.1.2 (; $ 15;Peter Maurer),LaunchBar 4.1.1 (; $ 20 to $ 39 , depending on license;Objective Development ) , andQuicksilver 1.0b48 (; free;Blacktree ) . All three do standardized things in similar ways . You activate the utility via a keyboard combination and then typewrite a few letters of the name of the desired item ; the detail appears in a lean , allowing you to set up or open up it ( or do other actions on it ) .
Once you ’ve tried a launcher , you ’re usually hooked . As long as you recollect the start of an detail ’s name ( or even just part of its name ) you could bump it and open it . Even better , over time , the launcher learns what you want when you type a cutoff , so you have to do even less typewriting . And catapult can even directly access items such as preference panes , Dashboard widgets , and internet browser bookmark .
Each of these launchers has feature that help pick out it from the others . For representative , Quicksilver has a vast collecting of nag - IN that add more features . LaunchBar can display a lean of late opened documents when a particular coating is take ; you could also browse the information associated with a given program — such as Address Book entries or iTunes trail — when that app is chosen . Butler can turn any folder into a pop - up menu , trigger via a hot Florida key under the mouse ’s location , and create and lead AppleScripts directly as Butler task .
The launcher for you is really a affair of personal preference — and the topic of sempiternal on-line debate . We recommend trying all three programs — they’re free to download — and picking the one that best fits your work flow and preferences.—ROB GRIFFITHS
