How To Access Everything Quicker With Alfred [Mac]

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2 How To Access Everything Quicker With Alfred [Mac] In the previous article we talked a little bit about Alfred, a free alternative application launcher for Mac. While it s not yet up to par to its seniors like Quicksilver and QSB, Alfred has the potential to eventually be a serious rival to them. And as promised, in today s discussion, we ll dig deeper into Alfred s usage and see how it can optimize your daily Mac experience. Basic Usage As an application launcher, using Alfred is similar to using other launchers: you hit the keystroke combination, and then type in the command/search string. As you can see from the picture, Alfred has a bigger display than QSB. The default keystroke for Alfred is Option + Spacebar, but you can change it into your own chosen combination if you want to by going to Preferences General Essential.

3 However, Alfred has its own tricks which makes the app different from the rest. After doing a search, you can go directly to one of the results by hitting another keystroke combination: Return for the first result and Command + Specified Number for other results. For old time Quicksilver and QSB users, you can still use the arrow keys to navigate through results. Quick Access To Dictionary If your work requires you to always have access to word definitions, then Alfred might be able to give you a quick solution. Summon Alfred and type in Define followed by the word that you want to look up. Alfred

4 will come up with several suggestions and you can quickly open any of them in the Dictionary using the keystroke. I myself like QSB s way of accessing Dictionary better than Alfred s, but that s just my personal preference.

5 Quick Calculator Alfred can also serve as a quick calculator. Using it as such is as simple as hitting the = key in Alfred s search field followed by the calculation that you want to do. But before you can do the quick calculation, you ll have to first activate the Calculator function under the Experimental tab in the Preferences window.

6 Quick Access To The Web The one thing that I like most about Alfred is its ability to quickly access/search the many sides of the web, starting from Google to Twitter to your own chosen sites. The list of accessible sites and the commands used to activate them are there on the Preferences Web and as discussed in the previous part, you can customize the command simply by clicking and retyping. To make the picture clearer, let s see an example. Suppose you want to go with the default command and not change anything, here are the steps to shorten an URL using the Bit.ly service: press Option + Spacebar to activate Alfred, then type bitly followed by the URL that you want to shorten. Hit Return to complete the process.

7 You can add a search function to your favorite sites by customizing them in the Preferences Web Custom Sites. Click the plus (+) and start filling in the necessary fields. However, there s one thing that you should pay attention to: the Search URL field. You should use this pattern for the URL: URL.com/search?q={query} where {query} will be the blank that you will fill with search strings later.

8 A trick that I use is to add a Google search specific to a site, and the Search URL will therefore look something like this: Where the_url (sans quote) will be the address of the site that you want to search on and %20 is the substitute of blank space. So, the URL for a Google search of the MakeUseOf site will look like: Don t forget to click the Add button after everything is done. And here s the result: The Growing Butler Above are the things that I could share regarding using Alfred based on my early experiments with it.

9 So far I think Alfred is a good app, but it still can t replace my current launcher. Alfred still hasn t played the leading role. For now, it s just the supporting actor. But being a beta app, Alfred will surely become better and better as time goes by.

10 How To Create Your First Workflow System In Alfred 2.0 [Mac] Computers should be about getting things done faster and more efficiently. This is where the award-winning productivity Mac application, Alfred comes in. Using a few keyboard shortcuts, and/or keyword commands, Alfred enables you to quickly create a powerful workflow system find and launch applications and files, do various types of web searches, access text you saved on your clipboard with a simple keyboard shortcut, and call up contact information without opening the Contacts application in your Mac. We have covered the basics of Alfred in this article, but the recent release of Alfred 2.0 now includes automation workflows that can help you perform various types of actions on your Mac using a few keywords or hotkeys. Alfred doesn t require that you know a single line of code, but it does require a little setup time that you will eventually gain back, and more, using its powerful shortcuts. Alfred is a free download, but its Powerpack features cost 15. Alfred Workflow Systems Alfred is mostly used for quickly launching applications and files, and doing web searches, but with its new Workflows feature, you can set up micros to perform multiple actions at a time. It works similarly to Apple s Automator.

11 After you download and add the Powerpack features to Alfred, it contains a few sample workflow systems to get you started. For example, say you want to research reviews on a particular movie. With this sample workflow, all you have to do is launch Alfred s trigger window, type the keyword movie, followed by the name of the movie you want to search. After you hit the return key, Alfred will download search results for that movie in three different websites: YouTube, IMDb, and Rotten Tomatoes. This one powerful workflow saves you several clicks and repetitive typing. And on top of that, you can create similar workflows for your own favorite sites. Alfred includes four types of workflow objects triggers, inputs, actions, and outputs. These actions can launch applications and files, open URLs, run AppleScripts, perform itunes and System commands, filter files, and much, much, more. Creating a Search Workflow

12 An entire short manual could be written about Alfred, but I will show how to set up a simple search workflow similar to the one above. This workflow will perform a search term on both MakeUseOf and Google at the same time. To create this workflow, click on the Workflows button in the toolbar, and then click on the + button at the bottom of the application. Select Templates > Web and URLs > Open default web search in specified browser. The following setup should look like this: Now double-click on the Keyword trigger, and type in a keyword you want to use to activate the workflow. I used smuo. Provide a descriptive title and subtext, and if you like, grab add a MUO icon that will help you quickly identify the workflow. Click Save.

13 Okay, so far we have an action that will do a Google search of a search term you enter into Alfred s trigger window. But now let s add a trigger that will search MUO for that same keyword. Click on the + button on the top-right of the workflow editor, and select Actions > Open URL. Now you will need to add the search URL for MUO. It explains how to do so in the drop down window, but to save you time, you can simply copy and paste the URL below. Click Save and the action will be added to your workflow.

14 Notice also that you can select the browser you want the search to open in. It doesn t have to be your default browser. Next, click on the Keyword trigger and then click and drag a connection between the keyword trigger and the Open URL trigger. Now you re set. Simply toggle open Alfred, type your keyword trigger, followed by the search term. Hit return and Alfred will do its thing at lightning speed. This workflow system only scratches the services of what Alfred Workflows can do. Though I heavily use the Mac automation program, Keyboard Maestro to perform hundreds of computer tasks, Alfred has a few special actions that Keyboard Maestro can t do. Plus, it s just fun to see how you can get an application like Alfred to perform redundant tasks that you normally do manually. Alfred users with coding skills have already produced dozens of other Alfred workflows that you can download. Just do a Google search for Alfred Workflows, and explore what s already out there. Also, of course, try out the sample workflows and actions already installed in the Powerpack. The website for Alfred also contains a community forum in which users share workflows and questions. Let us know what you think of Alfred as a productivity tool. Do you find it easy to use? What type of workflows would you like to create in it?

15 How To Access Everything Quicker With Alfred [Mac] In the previous article we talked a little bit about Alfred, a free alternative application launcher for Mac. While it s not yet up to par to its seniors like Quicksilver and QSB, Alfred has the potential to eventually be a serious rival to them. And as promised, in today s discussion, we ll dig deeper into Alfred s usage and see how it can optimize your daily Mac experience. Basic Usage As an application launcher, using Alfred is similar to using other launchers: you hit the keystroke combination, and then type in the command/search string. As you can see from the picture, Alfred has a bigger display than QSB. The default keystroke for Alfred is Option + Spacebar, but you can change it into your own chosen combination if you want to by going to Preferences General Essential.

16 However, Alfred has its own tricks which makes the app different from the rest. After doing a search, you can go directly to one of the results by hitting another keystroke combination: Return for the first result and Command + Specified Number for other results. For old time Quicksilver and QSB users, you can still use the arrow keys to navigate through results. Quick Access To Dictionary If your work requires you to always have access to word definitions, then Alfred might be able to give you a quick solution. Summon Alfred and type in Define followed by the word that you want to look up. Alfred

17 will come up with several suggestions and you can quickly open any of them in the Dictionary using the keystroke. I myself like QSB s way of accessing Dictionary better than Alfred s, but that s just my personal preference.

18 Quick Calculator Alfred can also serve as a quick calculator. Using it as such is as simple as hitting the = key in Alfred s search field followed by the calculation that you want to do. But before you can do the quick calculation, you ll have to first activate the Calculator function under the Experimental tab in the Preferences window.

19 Quick Access To The Web The one thing that I like most about Alfred is its ability to quickly access/search the many sides of the web, starting from Google to Twitter to your own chosen sites. The list of accessible sites and the commands used to activate them are there on the Preferences Web and as discussed in the previous part, you can customize the command simply by clicking and retyping. To make the picture clearer, let s see an example. Suppose you want to go with the default command and not change anything, here are the steps to shorten an URL using the Bit.ly service: press Option + Spacebar to activate Alfred, then type bitly followed by the URL that you want to shorten. Hit Return to complete the process.

20 You can add a search function to your favorite sites by customizing them in the Preferences Web Custom Sites. Click the plus (+) and start filling in the necessary fields. However, there s one thing that you should pay attention to: the Search URL field. You should use this pattern for the URL: URL.com/search?q={query} where {query} will be the blank that you will fill with search strings later.

21 A trick that I use is to add a Google search specific to a site, and the Search URL will therefore look something like this: Where the_url (sans quote) will be the address of the site that you want to search on and %20 is the substitute of blank space. So, the URL for a Google search of the MakeUseOf site will look like: Don t forget to click the Add button after everything is done. And here s the result: The Growing Butler Above are the things that I could share regarding using Alfred based on my early experiments with it.

22 So far I think Alfred is a good app, but it still can t replace my current launcher. Alfred still hasn t played the leading role. For now, it s just the supporting actor. But being a beta app, Alfred will surely become better and better as time goes by.

23 How To Create Your First Workflow System In Alfred 2.0 [Mac] Computers should be about getting things done faster and more efficiently. This is where the award-winning productivity Mac application, Alfred comes in. Using a few keyboard shortcuts, and/or keyword commands, Alfred enables you to quickly create a powerful workflow system find and launch applications and files, do various types of web searches, access text you saved on your clipboard with a simple keyboard shortcut, and call up contact information without opening the Contacts application in your Mac. We have covered the basics of Alfred in this article, but the recent release of Alfred 2.0 now includes automation workflows that can help you perform various types of actions on your Mac using a few keywords or hotkeys. Alfred doesn t require that you know a single line of code, but it does require a little setup time that you will eventually gain back, and more, using its powerful shortcuts. Alfred is a free download, but its Powerpack features cost 15. Alfred Workflow Systems Alfred is mostly used for quickly launching applications and files, and doing web searches, but with its new Workflows feature, you can set up micros to perform multiple actions at a time. It works similarly to Apple s Automator.

24 After you download and add the Powerpack features to Alfred, it contains a few sample workflow systems to get you started. For example, say you want to research reviews on a particular movie. With this sample workflow, all you have to do is launch Alfred s trigger window, type the keyword movie, followed by the name of the movie you want to search. After you hit the return key, Alfred will download search results for that movie in three different websites: YouTube, IMDb, and Rotten Tomatoes. This one powerful workflow saves you several clicks and repetitive typing. And on top of that, you can create similar workflows for your own favorite sites. Alfred includes four types of workflow objects triggers, inputs, actions, and outputs. These actions can launch applications and files, open URLs, run AppleScripts, perform itunes and System commands, filter files, and much, much, more. Creating a Search Workflow

25 An entire short manual could be written about Alfred, but I will show how to set up a simple search workflow similar to the one above. This workflow will perform a search term on both MakeUseOf and Google at the same time. To create this workflow, click on the Workflows button in the toolbar, and then click on the + button at the bottom of the application. Select Templates > Web and URLs > Open default web search in specified browser. The following setup should look like this: Now double-click on the Keyword trigger, and type in a keyword you want to use to activate the workflow. I used smuo. Provide a descriptive title and subtext, and if you like, grab add a MUO icon that will help you quickly identify the workflow. Click Save.

26 Okay, so far we have an action that will do a Google search of a search term you enter into Alfred s trigger window. But now let s add a trigger that will search MUO for that same keyword. Click on the + button on the top-right of the workflow editor, and select Actions > Open URL. Now you will need to add the search URL for MUO. It explains how to do so in the drop down window, but to save you time, you can simply copy and paste the URL below. Click Save and the action will be added to your workflow.

27 Notice also that you can select the browser you want the search to open in. It doesn t have to be your default browser. Next, click on the Keyword trigger and then click and drag a connection between the keyword trigger and the Open URL trigger. Now you re set. Simply toggle open Alfred, type your keyword trigger, followed by the search term. Hit return and Alfred will do its thing at lightning speed. This workflow system only scratches the services of what Alfred Workflows can do. Though I heavily use the Mac automation program, Keyboard Maestro to perform hundreds of computer tasks, Alfred has a few special actions that Keyboard Maestro can t do. Plus, it s just fun to see how you can get an application like Alfred to perform redundant tasks that you normally do manually. Alfred users with coding skills have already produced dozens of other Alfred workflows that you can download. Just do a Google search for Alfred Workflows, and explore what s already out there. Also, of course, try out the sample workflows and actions already installed in the Powerpack. The website for Alfred also contains a community forum in which users share workflows and questions. Let us know what you think of Alfred as a productivity tool. Do you find it easy to use? What type of workflows would you like to create in it?

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