Opinion: Quicksilver Versus the Dock
I hardly ever use my mouse. Pretty much everything I do on my computer, from opening files to switching tracks in iTunes is activated by keyboard shortcuts. My number one app for doing so is the wonderful tool that goes by the name of Quicksilver. Through Quicksilver, you can open any application, folder, or file on your computer by just typing its name. Which means that anything is instantly available. So what use then is Apple’s built-in Dock? It would seem that Quicksilver would replace its only function to have those programs and other items you most often use immediately at hand. But this is not the only thing the Dock can do, and indeed is nowhere near its best feature.
One of the most useful things about the Dock is that it tells you with a quick glance what programs are open. I can see that I have, for example, four different browsers running, and that’s probably what’s making my computer slow. Or, the reason I can’t find that window is not because I accidentally moved it but rather that the application quit itself. I can also easily see if there are files in a folder, using the Stacks. When this feature first came out, I was one of the people who were a little suspicious of its utility, but I have since been converted. I have a Temporary folder where I put things I have to deal with, and I can tell quickly whether or not there’s anything in there. I can also see whether I have to empty the Trash (a task that is much less arduous than its real-life counterpart, but still one I often forget to do). All of these tasks are very difficult to do with Quicksilver.
Now, you can move files through Quicksilver. You just have to find the file, usually by browsing through a directory, then tab over to the action panel, type in “move to,” and then tab again, and find the final resting place. But, with a few folders in the Dock, you can just drag the file straight in. I find this a lot easier, and a lot less time consuming. Although I might save time by using Quicksilver, I still open up the folders afterwards and make sure that the file was actually moved. That is one big problem with anything done through Quicksilver opening applications, moving files, and so on there’s no feedback. When you click on or drag something to the Dock, it bounces, or fades, or slides. You know something has happened. With Quicksilver, you just have to trust it.
But the biggest reason I keep my Dock around is for the sake of art. There are many programs out there, like Dock Library, SuperDocker, and so on, that allow you to customize the way your Dock looks. I can always be content that my Dock matches my Stack icons and the style of my computer by being “wooden.” You can customize Quicksilver too, but that’s only up for as long as you’re using it. With the Dock, you can also admire the well-designed icons of the world.
I wouldn’t want to compute without the Dock. It may not be my go-to application for launching applications, but it serves so many other purposes that it’s still worthwhile to keep around. Sure, there are scripts, programs, and hacks floating around the internet that allow you to do away with it, but I’m standing by my old friend. A launcher like Quicksilver is the easiest way to be quick, but the Dock adds style and utility to a desktop.
I used to use quicksilver but never really used the advanced functions of it. For launching programs, spotlight can do that. Recently, I am using google desktop from the developer of quicksilver and found that it can be faster than spotlight at finding files and launching programs. For controlling itunes I use gimmesometune. The biggest reason I stopped using quicksilver is that they just didn’t update. Did the open source community pick it up?
Just to be honest… you can empty the trash simply writing “empty trash” in quicksilver, maybe you have to activate it through its settings, aaand.. you can select a file in quicksilver without browsing through all the folders, simply clicking the file with the mouse, then activating the function “Command window with selection” in the triggers, so that you can quickly move the file to a folder, open it with a particular software or anything you need… I’m a “power user” of quicksilver and find it really really useful
I use Quicksilver every day and many, many times a day. But I’m not sure I would evangelize its adoption right now. From what I understand, Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard breaks Quicksilver. And because of the way Quicksilver relies on private APIs — the unauthorized way — that have been changed in 10.6, it won’t be easy to fix it, if possible at all, since Quicksilver’s author is no longer actively developing it. That’s really depressing for me. Hopefully the community at large will engineer a fix.
OMG I didn’t know that thing… it’s the end of the world for me… not kidding :O
Not to get too far off topic, but where did you get that awesome totoro icon, and what are you using it for?
Like you, I mainly keep my dock around for the art of it, and a quick glance to see if I left something running that I didn’t intend to. I haven’t used quicksilver since Tiger, though. The speed improvements in spotlight have filled all my launching needs without needing to run any other program. I still move things around with finder.
Quicksilver is a must-have for me. But it is a power-user app. The average user likes to point and click. However, for those who like to get things done quickly without having to reach for the mouse, Quicksilver is wonderful. I use it a lot for many things other than just launching apps:
- open URLs
- browse directories
- open/move/copy/trash files
- reveal apps
- resize images
- perform system commands (shutdown, restart, fast user switch–with a single keystroke)
And more.
Also, one BIG difference between Spotlight and QS or other launchers like it is that Spotlight never learns from your picks. And you can’t set a key to perform an action. For instance, I can train SQ to to launch Photoshop when it is often the choice I select from the matches in the list, or I can even set ‘ps’ to always select Photoshop. You can’t do that with Spotlight.
Hey Alex, I was actually wondering if someone would ask that! It’s an icon set for Adium, the chat program. I have about ten different sets, but I’ve stuck with that one for a long time now.
As for QS v. Spotlight, I find that QS still overpowers spotlight in that, as Tim said, QS can have more specialised triggers. You don’t have to type something exactly to find it, whereas if you skip a letter or make a typo in Spotlight, then you’re sunk.
Where is that dock from? It is sexy.
How about the source of those stack icons???
I read on MacUpdate somebody said the new version worked with Snow Leopard, so perhaps the update will solve the problems with the APIs
I’ll add the third voice to the chorus… like the source to the Dock Drawers too.
the developers now got a paid job at google he is the man behind GOOGLE QUICK SEARCH BOX.
I fact, this app is just a quicksilver on steroids and Google money. I`m trying and it`s almost as good as the old quickie.
http://googlemac.blogspot.com/2009/06/introducing-google-quick-search-box.html
I found the drawers: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=864H43UV
Here’s a tip for the stack drawers, linked above:
I needed some specific emblems that weren’t included in that set, but I discovered something really cool: If you use the drawers that have the “handle” opening, they’ll display — through the hole — whatever’s beneath them. So, by following a “handle drawer” with a plain, *colored* drawer (in the same folder), you get just enough extra color to make it unique.
I used the wood folders with handles, then added a splash of color to each, in this manner. of course, you can use any combination of colors you like. (note: you’ll need to add a 2nd space to the beginning of the handle drawer’s name, to force it to the top of the list.)
Hey guys, Glad to see you found the drawers! I was actually in the process of finding them again, since my original source for them seems to have disappeared. When I got them, there was an awesome blank drawer, which you could add whatever symbol to, which was really handy.
Here’s the source for the dock: http://www.jackrebel.com/wooden-class-dock-for-your-mac/ I think. It’s been a while since I changed it, but I think this is where I got it.
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