Wait, comma trick? I hit the comma key and it put a tiny NetNewsWire icon below the main one in the QS window. What does that do? And more importantly, how do I remove one of the tiny icons, in case I accidentally added two?

It’s adding those selected documents or folders to your working stack; you can fly all over the place adding items to do “something” to.

Just ESC to get out.

Super handy stuff.

This is sort of a silly thing to point out, but the term dialog box is a category of controls that includes things like alert messages, which don’t have any use for filesystem paths.

Neat trick though. The best one I can offer is setting up a trigger for rescanning your Applications catalog. This saves me a little time right after I’ve installed a new app.

Thanks for the praise for Default Folder! I’m the author :-) I just wanted to let you know that your link points to the Mac OS 9 version of Default Folder not the OS X version. You really want to point to http://www.stclairsoft.com/DefaultFolderX/. Thanks!

Great to see Default Folder get a mention. It’s been around for so long that I think it sometimes gets overlooked, but it’s been on every Mac I’ve ever used!

So many corrections! I feel like Dave Winer. ::ducks::

@Jon: Thanks for the correction and the wonderful product. Default Folder has saved me months of time over the years, and I want everyone to know it! (yes, you may use that) :-)

@Dan: Thanks for that. So what should I call the widget that lets me decide where to open or save a document?

File Dialog

Excellent work, Mr. Mann. This works awesomely with uploading files via your web browser as well, I should note. Open File Dialog, do some Quicksilvering, and then drag-and-drop. And if anybody can come up with a keyboard shortcut for the drag-and-drop step, that would rule twofold.

i can never remeber this: when i’m appending text to a file, how do i create a list? i.e.: i have a list of items i want to add to the file. how do i create an “end of line” marker? does that make sense? is the reason i can’t remember this because you can’t do it?

No sweat, Mathew: “OPTION-return”

gaah. i was using shift+return and nothing. :( thanks.

hehe. i just realised i can do this: i’ve a todo text file on my ipod. i can use quicksilver to prepend an item to the list on the ipod and not have to open the pod’s file to change it. hawt.

actually, i just realised i cannot! :) whenever i type some text, tab to append or prepend, then tab to the file on my ipod and hit return, i get this PING sound and nothing happens. :(

okay, 1 more post. i can. :) i had to rescan my catalogue after changing my file to a .txt extension.

Comma trick: (lots of heavy breathing) I had no idea. It’s so cool I feel a buzz. Wonderful. And drag from the bezel? I’d never even tried it. All this time I’d been using QS to reveal the location and then drag that into the file dialog. Sheesh, this just cut the effort to less than half. Excellent!

I recently learned that I could drag from the QS bezel and I use it to add attachments to e-mail. So instead of bringing up the file dialog for attaching a document, I search in QS and drag to Mail. Makes a once frustrating task very easy.

Drag it to mail? What about using the paste action on the file while the message is open or compose the message in QS directly.

@Aaron:

So another flavor of Alcor’s recipe might go like this (assuming we want to attach “foo.txt” from the Desktop):

1. Invoke QS
2. Type til you get “Desktop” & hit “/”
3. Type or select “foo.txt”
4. Tab to the 2nd pane
5. Type til you get “Email To…(Compose)”
6. Tab to 3rd pane
7. Type til the name of your contact comes up
8. ENTER or RETURN

Ta-da.

Sounds long, but, in my test, the whole thing took me 7 seconds.

It so pays to get fast at Quicksilver.

To Merlin and Alcor:

Yes, I could attach to a new e-mail from QS, but if I’m already in the middle of composing an e-mail, why start afresh?

With the mail window already opened, I’m sure I spend less than 7 seconds attaching the file.

I see what you’re saying Aaron.

I think it’s cool that QS has really brought the Perl mantra of “There’s More Than One Way to Do It” to the GUI.

I do love it.

You can do this without the drag and drop part, but it requires you to have enabled access for assistive devices in System Preferences -> Universal Access.

To do it, get the script and follow the directions on that page.

So does that text file contain the lyrics to “Trigger Cut”? Such a great song!

The one thing I’d add to your workflow, Merlin, is to make sure that you don’t select “Email to… (Send)” as the action, as that will actually send (duh) the email without allowing you the opportunity to write any accompanying text.

(Not that I’ve done this or anything… )

I know, Tarek! That’s a loaded gun. :)

I totally did that within 5 minutes of loading Quicksilver for the first time. Very embarrassing.

On a related note you can use QS to choose wich application to open a file with by:

1. invoking QS;
2. pull up the desired application
3. drag the file you want to open onto the app icon

I find it useful to open Photoshop-associated images with Preview or to open text files in BBEdit.

qs ?: now that i know how to add items to a file, is there a way to open text in the qs bevel from a .txt file and delete items? that would be hawt.

What app made that TXT file? So sexy…

//k

macfixer: TextMate

Just so you know,

In any mac os 10.x open/save dialog box : You can drag an outside folder/disk/item onto the dialog box while it’s on screen to “bring up” that path and filename .. hard to explain - just try it and you’ll see what i mean …

You don’t need default folder for this trick.

Steve: Can you “point” to open windows in the Finder to call them up in the dialog box (without changing focus)?

I thought that still required Default Folder, but I could be wrong (since I’ve had DF installed for years and wouldn’t know the diff. :-) ).