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Quicksilver (software)
Encyclopedia
Quicksilver is a computer utility software
program for Mac OS X, originally developed by Blacktree Software
and distributed freely. It is essentially a graphical shell
for the Mac OS X operating system, allowing users to use the keyboard to rapidly perform tasks such as launching application
s, manipulating files
, or sending e-mail
. It is similar to the Mac OS X applications LaunchBar
and Alfred
, but uses a different interaction paradigm. Although feature rich and somewhat complex, Quicksilver is based on a simple three-panel interface.
contents, etc. Pressing a configurable hotkey or a combination of keys, usually Control
-Space
, invokes the Quicksilver command window.
Quicksilver has 3 panes, which correspond to the object, action, and attributes of the desired task (often referred to as object-action-object). The user first chooses the object of the command (an application, a file, an e-mail address, an IM
contact, a bookmark, etc.), then an action (predicate) to be performed on that object, and finally additional details (attributes) for the action if required.
The Quicksilver user interface provides access to a wide range of objects by applying incremental search to input typed on the keyboard. Most objects require typing only a few letters into any of the panes, reducing the set of suggestions and displaying the most likely match. Quicksilver uses a priority system based on previous usage (see mnemonic
) to determine the most likely match, "learning" from the user's actions.
Once an object is selected in the first panel, pressing the tab key
moves the focus to the second pane to search for available actions for that object (the "predicate"). Each type of object has certain actions which can be performed with it. For example, files on the hard drive can be moved to the trash, revealed in the Finder
, or opened in the default application for that file type.
Some actions require an "attribute" that provides further details or the specifics of an action. In this case, the third panel is used to find such an object on which to perform the command. For instance, the "Move to folder…" command requires the selection of a folder in the third panel. Quicksilver also accepts a direct-text entry mode in its panels (by pressing the "." key on a QWERTY
keyboard or "=" on an AZERTY
keyboard), broadening its range of inputs.
Quicksilver's icon is based on the alchemical symbol
for mercury
(quicksilver being an archaic name for the element mercury).
key. Then pressing the F7 key would open the Documents folder in the Finder and bring it to the front.
In addition to keyboard triggers, the "Mouse Triggers" plugin allows commands to be bound to simple mouse actions such as clicks or mouseover
s in different parts of the screen. A plugin called "Abracadabra" supports triggers activated through more complicated mouse gesture
s.
without opening the application or manipulating images via text commands.
s and AppleScript
s can be stored in the catalog, any function which can be performed using a script can be tied to Quicksilver, either through the command window, or through triggers. Because most Apple-native applications have extensive scripting libraries, many common tasks can easily be performed from Quicksilver. For instance, iTunes
can be told to play or pause, increase or decrease the rating on the current track, or skip to the previous or next track.
There are various visual interfaces for the Quicksilver, alternative Constellation Menus and also a Notification Hub, which supports Growl via a plugin.
.
In November 2009, development shifted to using GitHub
.
Quicksilver is now developed by a team of volunteers known collectively as QSApp.
At the end of 2010, a new website QSApp.com was launched, with the aim of unifying and collating all of Quicksilver's fragmented builds, plugins and support groups. Since its launch, the site has included a new Plugins Repository, Wiki and Downloads section. After several months of development, Quicksilver version β59 was released; a marked point in the history of the application.
builds of Quicksilver, known as Alchemy, have many major changes.
These builds have four major components: Crucible, a framework with extension to AppKit
and tools common to all Alchemy apps; elements, a framework supporting the plugin architecture; quicksilver, a command window driven launcher; and catalyst, which triggers a preference pane.
Utility software
Utility software is system software designed to help analyze, configure, optimize or maintain a computer. A single piece of utility software is usually called a utility or tool....
program for Mac OS X, originally developed by Blacktree Software
Blacktree Software
Blacktree Software is an American software company founded by Nicholas Jitkoff that specializes in freeware applications for Mac OS. Jitkoff is employed by Google and develops software for Blacktree in his free time....
and distributed freely. It is essentially a graphical shell
Shell (computing)
A shell is a piece of software that provides an interface for users of an operating system which provides access to the services of a kernel. However, the term is also applied very loosely to applications and may include any software that is "built around" a particular component, such as web...
for the Mac OS X operating system, allowing users to use the keyboard to rapidly perform tasks such as launching application
Application software
Application software, also known as an application or an "app", is computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Examples include enterprise software, accounting software, office suites, graphics software and media players. Many application programs deal principally with...
s, manipulating files
Computer file
A computer file is a block of arbitrary information, or resource for storing information, which is available to a computer program and is usually based on some kind of durable storage. A file is durable in the sense that it remains available for programs to use after the current program has finished...
, or sending e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
. It is similar to the Mac OS X applications LaunchBar
LaunchBar
LaunchBar is a launch application for Mac OS X. It provides access to user's applications and files, by entering short abbreviations of the searched item's name. It uses an adaptive algorithm that 'learns' a user's preferred abbreviations for a particular application...
and Alfred
Alfred (software)
Alfred is an application launcher and search utility for Mac OS X. Alfred is free, though an optional paid upgrade is available.Using a keyboard shortcut chosen by the user, Alfred is able to quickly find and open software applications, files, and contacts on a particular machine...
, but uses a different interaction paradigm. Although feature rich and somewhat complex, Quicksilver is based on a simple three-panel interface.
Interface
Quicksilver is a background application that runs whilst the operating system is running. It maintains a configurable "catalog" of items which is highly customisable, but can include files and folders on disk, address book contacts, Internet bookmarks, scripts, clipboardClipboard (software)
The clipboard is a software facility that can be used for short-term data storage and/or data transfer between documents or applications, via copy and paste operations...
contents, etc. Pressing a configurable hotkey or a combination of keys, usually Control
Control key
In computing, a Control key is a modifier key which, when pressed in conjunction with another key, will perform a special operation ; similar to the Shift key, the Control key rarely performs any function when pressed by itself...
-Space
Space bar
thumb|250px|A [[computer keyboard]], Space Bar is on the bottom center of the keyboardThe space bar, spacebar, or space key, is a key on an alphanumeric keyboard in the form of a horizontal bar in the lowermost row, significantly wider than other keys. Its main purpose is to conveniently enter the...
, invokes the Quicksilver command window.
Quicksilver has 3 panes, which correspond to the object, action, and attributes of the desired task (often referred to as object-action-object). The user first chooses the object of the command (an application, a file, an e-mail address, an IM
Instant messaging
Instant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
contact, a bookmark, etc.), then an action (predicate) to be performed on that object, and finally additional details (attributes) for the action if required.
The Quicksilver user interface provides access to a wide range of objects by applying incremental search to input typed on the keyboard. Most objects require typing only a few letters into any of the panes, reducing the set of suggestions and displaying the most likely match. Quicksilver uses a priority system based on previous usage (see mnemonic
Mnemonic
A mnemonic , or mnemonic device, is any learning technique that aids memory. To improve long term memory, mnemonic systems are used to make memorization easier. Commonly encountered mnemonics are often verbal, such as a very short poem or a special word used to help a person remember something,...
) to determine the most likely match, "learning" from the user's actions.
Once an object is selected in the first panel, pressing the tab key
Tab key
Tab key on a keyboard is used to advance the cursor to the next tab stop.- Origin :The word tab derives from the word tabulate, which means "to arrange data in a tabular, or table, form"...
moves the focus to the second pane to search for available actions for that object (the "predicate"). Each type of object has certain actions which can be performed with it. For example, files on the hard drive can be moved to the trash, revealed in the Finder
Macintosh Finder
The Finder is the default file manager used on Mac OS and Mac OS X operating systems; it is responsible for the overall user-management of files, disks, network volumes and the launching of other applications...
, or opened in the default application for that file type.
Some actions require an "attribute" that provides further details or the specifics of an action. In this case, the third panel is used to find such an object on which to perform the command. For instance, the "Move to folder…" command requires the selection of a folder in the third panel. Quicksilver also accepts a direct-text entry mode in its panels (by pressing the "." key on a QWERTY
QWERTY
QWERTY is the most common modern-day keyboard layout. The name comes from the first six letters appearing in the topleft letter row of the keyboard, read left to right: Q-W-E-R-T-Y. The QWERTY design is based on a layout created for the Sholes and Glidden typewriter and sold to Remington in the...
keyboard or "=" on an AZERTY
AZERTY
AZERTY is a specific layout for the characters of the Latin alphabet on typewriter keys and computer keyboards. The layout takes its name from the first six letters to appear on the first row of alphabetical keys...
keyboard), broadening its range of inputs.
Quicksilver's icon is based on the alchemical symbol
Alchemical symbol
Alchemical symbols, originally devised as part of alchemy, were used to denote some elements and some compounds until the 18th century. Note that while notation like this was mostly standardized, style and symbol varied between alchemists, so this page lists the most common.-Three primes:According...
for mercury
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
(quicksilver being an archaic name for the element mercury).
Triggers
Quicksilver allows users to define "triggers," which perform a specific command (direct object + action + indirect object) whenever a predefined keyboard shortcut is pressed. For instance, the <"Documents", "Reveal"> command could be bound to the F7Function key
A function key is a key on a computer or terminal keyboard which can be programmed so as to cause an operating system command interpreter or application program to perform certain actions...
key. Then pressing the F7 key would open the Documents folder in the Finder and bring it to the front.
In addition to keyboard triggers, the "Mouse Triggers" plugin allows commands to be bound to simple mouse actions such as clicks or mouseover
Mouseover
In computing a mouseover, mouse hover or hover box refers to a GUI event that is raised when the user moves or "hovers" the cursor over a particular area of the GUI. The technique is particularly common in web browsers where the URL of a hyperlink can be viewed in the status bar...
s in different parts of the screen. A plugin called "Abracadabra" supports triggers activated through more complicated mouse gesture
Mouse gesture
In computing, a pointing device gesture or mouse gesture is a way of combining pointing device movements and clicks which the software recognizes as a specific command. Pointing device gestures can provide quick access to common functions of a program. They can also be useful for people who have...
s.
Plug-ins
Quicksilver has a plug-in architecture, with each plug-in providing integration with a program, interface, or new feature. For example, plug-ins exist for sending email via MailMail (application)
Mail is an email program included with Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X operating system. Originally developed by NeXT as NeXTMail, a part of their NeXTSTEP operating system, it was adapted, following Apple's acquisition of NeXT, to become OS X's Mail application.Mail uses the SMTP, POP3, and IMAP protocols,...
without opening the application or manipulating images via text commands.
Flexibility
Because shell scriptShell script
A shell script is a script written for the shell, or command line interpreter, of an operating system. It is often considered a simple domain-specific programming language...
s and AppleScript
AppleScript
AppleScript is a scripting language created by Apple Inc. and built into Macintosh operating systems since System 7. The term "AppleScript" may refer to the scripting system itself, or to particular scripts that are written in the AppleScript language....
s can be stored in the catalog, any function which can be performed using a script can be tied to Quicksilver, either through the command window, or through triggers. Because most Apple-native applications have extensive scripting libraries, many common tasks can easily be performed from Quicksilver. For instance, iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
can be told to play or pause, increase or decrease the rating on the current track, or skip to the previous or next track.
There are various visual interfaces for the Quicksilver, alternative Constellation Menus and also a Notification Hub, which supports Growl via a plugin.
Development
On November 6, 2007, the source code for Quicksilver was made available via Google CodeGoogle Code
Google Code is Google's site for developer tools, APIs and technical resources. The site contains documentation on using Google developer tools and APIs—including discussion groups and blogs for developers using Google's developer products....
.
In November 2009, development shifted to using GitHub
Github
GitHub is a web-based hosting service for software development projects that use the Git revision control system. GitHub offers both commercial plans and free accounts for open source projects...
.
Quicksilver is now developed by a team of volunteers known collectively as QSApp.
At the end of 2010, a new website QSApp.com was launched, with the aim of unifying and collating all of Quicksilver's fragmented builds, plugins and support groups. Since its launch, the site has included a new Plugins Repository, Wiki and Downloads section. After several months of development, Quicksilver version β59 was released; a marked point in the history of the application.
Alchemy
Experimental trunkTrunk (software)
In the field of software development, trunk refers to the unnamed branch of a file tree under revision control. The trunk is usually meant to be the base of a project on which development progresses. If developers are working exclusively on the trunk, it always contains the latest cutting-edge...
builds of Quicksilver, known as Alchemy, have many major changes.
- Triggers are moving to a separate product, called Catalyst
- All the little frameworks are being joined into one big one called Crucible. This includes extensions and core functionality that most apps and plugins will use. This is currently called QSBase.framework
- The preferences will be greatly simplified. There will be Extras-style advanced preferences for the fiddly options.
- Plugins are going to be hidden from most users, they'll activate themselves automatically or be installable from the web
- β5X Plugins are incompatible.
These builds have four major components: Crucible, a framework with extension to AppKit
Application Kit
The Application Kit is a collection of classes within the OpenStep specification and provided by such operating systems as OPENSTEP, GNUstep, and Mac OS X under Cocoa, providing classes oriented around graphical user interface capabilities...
and tools common to all Alchemy apps; elements, a framework supporting the plugin architecture; quicksilver, a command window driven launcher; and catalyst, which triggers a preference pane.