LaunchBar VS QuickSilver

Using Launchbar... Again

2007-07-08T17:34:00.000-06:00

I've switched back over to LaunchBar... again...

For what it does, it does really well. Isn't that a Unix / Apple concept.

It saves me time, and that's what I really want. Although Quicksilver does have some flash, LaunchBar saves me time.

I have many posts to put up about some other things that LaunchBar currently does better than QS, when I have the time I'll put them up.

If the functionality were equal, I would choose QS for the flash of it.

But the functionality is not equal, and LB allows me to process things faster. Especially with how I use my desktop. Once a day I process everything off the desktop to other folders. LB allows me to do this and saves me time. QS falls short with this type of processing.

Support of FileVault: LB 1: QS 0

2007-05-28T17:12:00.000-06:00

LaunchBar supports FileVault perfectly... QuickSilver fails miserably...

I cannot move files around in QuickSilver... I'm assuming because of FileVault.
I cannot add tags to files in QuickSilver... I'm assuming because of FileVault.

I have no problems moving around with LaunchBar. It works like a well oiled machine.

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QuickSilver Tutorials Wiki

2007-02-27T21:31:00.000-07:00

Straight from the source of QuickSilver...

A listing of QuickSilver Tutorials.

http://docs.blacktree.com/quicksilver/tutorials

Thank you for the link howard.

(I absolutely love the website at blacktree... it's full of mystery. More on that later)

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Screencasts for learning QuickSilver

2007-02-27T18:54:00.000-07:00

One thing about QuickSilver that LaunchBar doesn't have... is a zealot following, which I'm going to post about the religious qualities of QuickSilver in another post and award a point. Why so many zealots? A cynic could say because there was never any usable documentation, and so the users are forced to learn it or leave it, as well as creating the documentation for QuickSilver.

An open source fanatic may counter with, it's a free application, with plugins created by users... software for the people by the people.

Or it could be that QuickSilver is a free program... boggles the mind that such an incredible piece of software is still free and no ads on their site either. That's enough to make anyone a zealot about it.

And then there are the fans who just love the software. It does inspire a small warm glow inside you when you use it, it's just not mentioned openly.

The Apple Blog has been putting together a collection of screencasts to walk us through different QuickSilver functions. And because a picture is worth a bunch of words...

Check them out here:
The Apple Blog Screencasts

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Holding it down on da Engineering: LB 1: QS 0

2007-02-26T22:02:00.000-07:00

In a conversation with howard, he brought to mind why I love Macs so much... holding it down on the engineering.

Why are Apple Macintoshes better than W? Because you can't customize as much. Apple goes for elegance, W for bombardment.

If Apple is a Sniper, Windose is D-Day. Windows hits you with every customizable pimpdaddyable configurable option. Windows gives you a b-52 while the Mac hands you an M82.

Windows has Five upgrade options.

Let that sink in... F I V E.

When Apple Leopard comes out, know how many upgrade options they will have?
Hmm... I'll give you a hint...

It's the loneliest number that you'll ever do
Two can be just as bad
It's the lonliest number since the number o-o-one

It's why I like Apple. They give you a fair price on a great product, without it feeling like they are attempting to milk you for money.

It's like this, I would rather go to an auto mechanic that I trust will tell me the truth and pay him fairly, than try to get a cheaper mechanic who may lie to me to up the price.

Okay, so back to LaunchBar vs QuickSilver. LaunchBar is less over engineered than QuickSilver. QuickSilver is very customizable. But do you need to pimp it up?

I'll admit, I love the way QuickSilver looks, and animates. It's just freakin' fun. And tricking out QuickSilver can be fun also. LaunchBar... mmm... not so fun, but very solid and sturdy... and closer to elegance than QuickSilver.

I'm torn between the two sides... and somewhere in between is elegance. Too complex and you become bloated and slowed down. Too simple, and it takes more work to get something done than should. The middle is elegance...

From WikiPedia

Elegance is the attribute of being unusually effective and simple. It is frequently used as a standard of tastefulness, particularly in the areas of visual design and decoration. Elegant things exhibit refined grace and dignified propriety.

And so... although the features of QuickSilver are piling up the points, I'll award the elegance feature to LaunchBar... keepin' it real... for now.

Time to pimp up my blog a bit and clutter it with some video examples...

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Customizable Triggers: LB 0: QS 1

2007-02-26T20:39:00.000-07:00

A fellow blogger, howard, commented his love of the QuickSilver triggers in the post about Filing Files from the Desktop.

While this is a huge advantage... and LaunchBar does not have the ability to create triggers... I feel that the triggers are a crutch for developing an elegant solution for getting to files and folders quickly. In my opinion, the point of LaunchBar & Quicksilver is to get away from triggers... to get away from remembering keystroke shortcuts, and glean from the user the users keystrokes. The program should be organic, learning as it goes, and becoming an extension of the user. Quicksilver should bend to the user, and not the user bend to Quicksilver (even if it is the user's own customizable keystroke shortcuts that the user is bending to).

On one hand, it would make sense to award QS a point for the use of triggers, and being able to customize them. On the other hand, if the application is developed correctly, you won't have the need to memorize additional keystrokes.

However, being that I just posted about using the active menu items... using a customizable trigger... the trigger does allow you to create your own... separate applications. Like accessing the menu bar items from the active application. And there are a couple other customizable shortcuts I have, one for searching a specific folder full of applescripts I have. Again, in LaunchBar, I don't need a trigger for the applescripts. I just type the first letter of the folder, spacebar and I'm in for a subsearch. In QuickSilver, browsing is not as easy to do. It can be done, but unless you've tried Launchbar and QuickSilver both, you won't know how much easier and intuitive Launchbar is for browsing through folders.

Here's a article explaining how to set up triggers along with an intro to QuickSilver:
QuickSilver changes everything

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Accessing Menu Items: LB 0: QS 3

2007-02-24T22:51:00.001-07:00

At first glance this may seem unfair to give QS three points compared to LB. But this feature is so freakin' cool... it blows my mind. I think you may agree it's worth the three points.

Within QuickSilver a user is able to access any menu bar item from the current application. Why is this so insanely great?

You create your own dynamic keyboard shortcuts!

let me say this again...

You create your own dynamic keyboard shortcuts!

No more memorizing the keyboard shortcut for save, QS will begin to remember what you type the most and bring up s for save.

For example:
For me to open up a new tab, all I do is
option+spacebar
nt
enter

Now... you may be scoffing... thinking... hmphph... I already know that command+n is a new tab. Why would I want to spend three keystrokes when I can do it in one.

And that's a valid argument. I'll probably continue to use command+n myself.

But do you know what the keystroke is for the menu item 'mail link to this page'?
I don't... but I can easily find out.
option+spacebar
down arrow
will show me all options!

or

option+spacebar
s
will show me all menu items with an s in them.

I can browse the menu items with the keyboard!
command+option
c
tab
mb
enter
and I can browse the menu bar items to find the specific name of the menu bar item!

Maybe three points isn't enough for this one. It's just about game over with that trick.

LaunchBar still does many tasks more efficiently. QuickSilver is a sleeping behomath... not yet awakened, with a little polish it could take over the world.

I have many more comparisons, and LaunchBar doesn't do as badly as I was fearing at first. I LaunchBar is great if you don't want to have to fool with it. QuickSilver will do so much more, but is not as elegant and has a steep learning curve.

Here's a post that tells you how to set this up:

http://theappleblog.com/2006/11/01/quicksilver-does-menus-too/

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Tab VS SpaceBar: LB 1: QS 0

2007-02-19T10:44:00.000-07:00

This may seem like a minor thing to some, but in the world of keyboard navigation, where the tiniest change can make the difference between carpal tunnel and mind like water, this is a big thing.

LaunchBar focuses on using the spacebar
QuickSilver focuses on using the tab

This is a huge deal.

These applications need to look at the neutral place of the hands on a keyboard, fingers all on the home row, thumb on the spacebar.

In Launchbar you never have to leave the home row.

In Quicksilver you constantly have to leave the home row to hit the tab key. Just take a look at some of the keystroke posts I've put up.

Quicksilver is type then tab, then type then tab with an occasional space put in.

Launchbar is type then space, then type then space, with an occasional tab put in.

Think I'm overreacting? Try this test,
open a text file
type d
type tab
Do this 100 times and see how your wrist is feeling

now try this test
open a text file
type d
type spacebar
do this 100 times and see how your wrist is feeling.

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Clipboard History: LB 0: QS 1

2007-02-17T19:16:00.000-07:00

The more I learn about QuickSilver, the more blown away I become.

I am beginning to think this blog is going to be pointless as the benefits of what QuickSilver can do will outweigh the speed of LaunchBar. At least it will allow me to compare the two applications and learn more about QuickSilver.

And I do love the candy of QuickSilver UI.

I haven't found a way to do this with LaunchBar.

For those wanting a video explaining the setup.
Using QuickSilver with Clipboard History & Shelf

This video goes into shelf as much as the clipboard history. The clipboard history is enough for me right now. The main difference between the two is the clipboard history is cleared out when QuickSilver is quit. From the QS manual:

The shelf is a place for long term storage frequently used items. It’s like the Clipboard Storage described above but it lasts across Quicksilver sessions. People use it for: email addresses, im- ages, code fragments and templates, favorite hex colors, lorem ipsum text, passwords (though this isn’t secure), etc.. You can also put documents, folders and, applications on it and treat it like an alternate Dock.

Here's an excerpt from the QuickSilver manual on how to set up the Clipboard History:

Clipboard History For this section you’ll need the Clipboard Module plug-in installed. It doesn’t install any actions but does add several catalog objects in the Quicksilver Set. Inside Shelf & Clipboard you’ll find two items, Shelf, and Clipboard History. Make sure the latter is enabled for this section. Under Internal Commands you’ll find several related objects, some of which behave like actions but are scripts (such as Clip Store Copy 2) that you use with the Run action. Also under Proxy Ob- jects there’s a Clipboard Contents proxy object.

One limitation of copy and paste on the Mac is that the clipboard only remembers the last thing you copied. With Quicksilver’s Clipboard Module you can extend this to remember the last several items you’ve copied. In the Clipboard Preference pane you can configure the number of items to be saved in the clipboard.

A large number is useful but takes up more memory, particularly if you put large images on the clipboard. You can bring up a window showing the Clipboard History by activating Quicksilver and typing ⌘l (that’s a letter L) which is a built-in HotKey. You can also choose the Clipboard History object and the Show action. This action is actually a toggle and will close it if it’s visible. If you use it often you can create a trigger.

If a clipboard item is text, the first few words are included in the list to help you identify the correct item. If the item is an image, the icon (usually) shows a thumbnail of it.

Personally I use Clipboard History with the Show Contents action as a trigger on ⌃⌘C so that I get a new results list that I can use the matching algorithm to search through. However this doesn’t work too well for image items, you have to scroll to see them. ⌘l is a toggle, so typing it again will make the window disappear.

In the Clipboard preference pane you can enable the “Hide after pasting” option. If you position the window with one side on an edge of the screen then it will always disappear when idle (even if “Hide after pasting” is un- checked). You can then bring it back by moving the mouse to that same edge of the screen and it will appear again. This is similar to using the screen corners in the Dashboard & Expose System Preference.

For the first 10 items in the history you can paste them into the current application by typing the number of the item while the Clipboard History window is open. For other items you’ll need to double-click on them to paste them. Items remain in the Clipboard History until it fills up, in which case the oldest items are removed when new items are added (i.e., FIFO).

The Clipboard History survives Quicksilver restarts and system reboots. The clear button at the bottom of the Clipboard History window will remove all but the most recent item from the history. You can remove a single item from the history by se- lecting it with single click and then typing the delete key. You can’t delete the first (number 0) item. Instead copy something else onto the history to move it down and then delete it.

Quicksilver User’s Guide December 23, 2006

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ScoreCard Breakdown

2007-02-17T11:44:00.000-07:00

	LB	QS	Post
&sum	5	7
	1		Address by Company
		1	Cube vs Bar
	1	1	New Mail
	1		Filing Files
		1	Clipboard History
	1		Tab VS Spacebar
		3	Access Menu Items
		1	Customizable Triggers
	1		Holding it Down on the Engineering
	1		Support of FileVault

QuickSilver Tutorial

2007-02-15T22:43:00.000-07:00

Okay... so this isn't the post I promised. But I did find a guy who is creating some great ScreenCasts about using QuickSilver.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EydTYOeqIrk&mode=related&search=

Filing Files from the Desktop: LB 1: QS 0

2007-02-15T22:37:00.001-07:00

If you are like me, and you probably aren't, you use your desktop as an inbox. All my new files get downloaded to the desktop, and once every day or two, I process the items on my desktop. Moving files into my reference folder, or creating new projects, or adding to my current projects. (If you haven't guessed yet... I'm into GTD (Getting Things Done).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gtd

LaunchBar makes moving files around extremely efficient, and processing files from the desktop can be done easily... QuickSilver... you look beautiful baby, but you are a bit clumsy.

I'll compare the keyboard steps between the two applications.
Let's say I have three files on the desktop:
file1
file2
file3

file1 I want to move to my reference folder, File Folder 1.
file2 I want to create a new project called project2 in my Active Projects folder, and move it there.
file3 I want to delete.

Brace yourself and start your stopwatches...

note: for both applications, it is assumed that the key I type has been learned by the application to bring up the correct item. Although LaunchBar does appear to find the items I am looking for that haven't been used yet and move them closer to the top of the list.
LaunchBar
Almost done... one more file.

File 1 completed... now on to the next file
1	Command+SpaceBar	Activate LaunchBar
2	d	Search for Desktop
3	SpaceBar	Activate Subsearch (file1 is selected in the subsearch)
4	Tab	Activates the Open With/Move To Action
5	ref	Searches for Reference folder in my documents
6	spacebar	Activate Subsearch
7	ff1	Searches for File Folder 1
8	return	Activate Drop File Action
9	f4	Move File to Location
10	ctrl+k	Moves down to the next item in the desktop. The item you just moved is still there, the desktop hasn't been indexed yet.
11	tab	Activates the Open with/Move To Action
12	ap	Searches for Active Projects folder in documents
13	shift+command+n	Begins the New Folder Action in Active Projects Folder
14	project2	Types in the name of the new folder
15	return	Creates the New Folder in Active Projects Folder
16	return	Activate Drop File Action
17	f4	Moves the file to the new folder
18	ctrl+k	move down to the next item in the desktop.
19	command+delete	Moves file to trash

19 moves. Not bad for moving three files off the desktop.
Okay.. so let's move on to QuickSilver... I'm getting depressed just thinking about it.

You have no idea how painful this is after using LB ctrl JKLI commands to move around
1	command+spacebar	Invoke QuickSilver
2	d	Search for Desktop
3	/	Move into desktop contents
4	tab	move to next action
5	mt	Select the Move To Action
6	Tab	move to next action
7	ap	Select the Active Projects Folder
8	/	Move into the Active Projects Folder
9	ff1	Search for File Folder 1
10	return	Move file to folder
For some reason I get a QS error at this point. It says, error moving file ..path/file copy to ..path/file. However, the file gets moved & deleted.
11	command+spacebar	QuickSilver isn't the active application. I have to invoke again to get the error message
12	return	Closes the error message box.
Okay... here is where QS really breaks down. LB allows you to create a folder in the midst of moving a file. QS, you have to know what the file is you want to move, then go create the folder, then move the file
13	command+spacebar	Invoke Quicksilver
14	Spacebar	Move to next item in desktop
15	esc	close quicksilver so we can re-invoke to create a folder name
16	command+spacebar	Invoke QuickSilver
17	ap	Search for Active Projects Folder
18	/	Move into Active Projects folder
19	tab	move to next action
20	nf	Search for New Folder Action
21	return	create new folder
22	command+spacebar	Invoke Quicksilver
23	d	Search for desktop
24	/	move into desktop folder & select first item
25	tab	move to next action
26	mt	Select Move To Action
27	Tab	move to next action
28	ap	Select the Active Projects Folder
29	/	Move into the Active Projects Folder
30	ff1	Search for File Folder 1
31	return	Move file to folder
For some reason I get a QS error at this point. It says, error moving file ..path/file copy to ..path/file. However, the file gets moved & deleted.
32	command+spacebar	QuickSilver isn't the active application. I have to invoke again to get the error message
33	return	Closes the error message box.
I love how QS looks... but I'm starting to get tired here... one more thing to do
34	command+spacebar	invoke quickSilver
35	d	Search for desktop
36	/	move into desktop folder & select first item
37	tab	move to next action
38	mtt	search for move to trash
39	return	moves file to trash

And your done... whew.

Okay, so the results are in. LaunchBar is about 2 times more efficient than Quicksilver for moving files around.
I can't say this enough, using Quicksilver gives me goosebumps cause it looks so good. But I always go back and forth between functionality and having fun.
If there's a more efficient way to do this test in quicksilver, I'd love to know about it.

I use a DVORAK keyboard layout, and so the / of browsing into a folder for me is up by the [ key on a QWERTY keyboard. At least it's still close so I don't move my hands, but it's not as convenient as the QWERTY /.
LaunchBar mapped out the JKLI keys so that in DVORAK I can keep my right hand on the JKLI keys to move around.
It's extremely comfortable to browse around files with that setup. Moving the hand to the arrow keys is inefficient, especially when you do it as much as a person does using LB & QS.

If you learned something new or appreciate the time spent here, consider dropping a coin in the coffer via the donation button.

Once I've rested up from this post, I'll post a feature that QuickSilver does that LaunchBar cannot do... yet.

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Getting New Mail: LB 1: QS 1

2007-02-15T00:06:00.000-07:00

Simple enough. I love using the keyboard to get new mail.

LaunchBar:

	Keystroke	Purpose
1	command+spacebar	Evokes LaunchBar
2	GM	Finds Get Mail Applescript
3	Return	Executes Applescript to Get Mail

QuickSilver:

	Keystroke	Purpose
1	command+spacebar	Evokes QuickSilver
2	M	Finds Mail Application
3	Tab	moves to next action
4	GM	Selects Action: Get new mail
5	return	Excecute Action

This comparison isn't fair, because QuickSilver could trigger the applescript to do the same thing and it would be just as fast.

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The Cube vs the Bar: LB 0: QS 1

2007-02-14T23:48:00.000-07:00

I love the cube on QS! It's beautiful. Especially if you have a graphics card that can display the Core Image effects. And the way it places the pictures of items in the cube are beautiful... until you run into an image of a url favicon, which doesn't scale well. It's a bit pixely. I have found that some url's appear next to a large image of a globe. The globe looks beautiful, and the favicon looks good because it didn't get expanded. I don't know what is determining how the url will show up in the cube... yet.

I also love how iTunes artwork can show up in the cube.

LaunchBar's Interface is a bar... odd isn't it. The nice thing about LaunchBar's bar is it interfaces nicely with the OS, doesn't clutter anything up and isn't flashy. It's just there.

QuickSilver has many different Interfaces that can be installed. And the way it dissolves in and out will take your breath away. LaunchBar is a more functional application, and QuickSilver is more fun, or I would even say, sexy application. There's nothing wrong with either side of fun or functional, but the truly great applications will do both.

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Searching for Address Contact By Company: LB 1: QS 0

2007-02-14T22:31:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I was trying to find a contact by the company name in QS. And couldn't do it... as crazy as it may sound. I found out that Address contact entries that only have a company name but no name, do not show up in QS.

Here's the keystroke comparison between LB & QS with sending an email to an address book entry labeled UTAH.

The name of the company I was looking for is listed as UTAH.

LaunchBar

	Keystroke	Purpose
1	Command+Space	Evoke LaunchBar
2	EM	Find Email Address Group
3	space	trigger subsearch
4	UTAH	selects email address of contact
5	Return	brings up email with selected email address

QuickSilver
(Note: I cannot access this address entry in QS, so I will use another entry.)

	Keystroke	Purpose
1	Command + Space	Evoke Quicksilver
2	ADC	(address book Contents module)
3	Tab	Select Action
4	SC	find search contents module
5	Return	Excecute Action
6	Jim	brings up Jim's contact card
7	Tab	Select Action
8	CE	Find Compose Email Module
9	return	brings up email with selected email address

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LaunchBar VS QuickSilver

2007-02-14T22:18:00.000-07:00

I've been a long time user of LaunchBar, and recently have begun tinkering with Quicksilver. Here are my first impressions...

• LaunchBar is easier to learn.

• Quicksilver can do more things that LaunchBar cannot. Although, LaunchBar is tapping into AppleScripts to do some tasks.

• LaunchBar takes less keystrokes to launch most tasks.

• Quicksilver is sexy... umm... yep... sexy. And that is it's main draw.

• LaunchBar is extremely fast and always indexing.

• Quicksilver has created a strange, mythic, religious feel about it. From the icon, to the strange poem in the about menu, using Quicksilver is like entering a different state of mind. Not to mention the poor documentation makes a user work to find the answers, and encourages exploration. Some find this frustrating, but for those users that stay with it, QuickSilver creates an environment that forces a user to learn.

• LaunchBar is easier to set up indexes, called catalogs in QuickSilver.

• Quicksilver is more modular than LaunchBar. This allows you to do more with it, taking the output of one module into the input of another. It also slows the application down with the number of keystrokes.

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