#Alternative to launchbar for mac install#
#Alternative to launchbar for mac update#
#Alternative to launchbar for mac pro#
#Alternative to launchbar for mac mac#

As with Wox, some of this functionality is already built into Windows, but Lightshot is a nice power-up to the variety of things I can do with the PrtSc button and, more importantly, the speed with which I can do them. The app is called Lightshot, and it does everything you'd want from a screenshot app: it can capture the whole screen or a part of it, share directly to social networks, or automatically feed you a sharing link upon upload, if you want to share manually. That's a function of my treating Windows PCs mostly as glorified gaming consoles, but now that I'm taking them seriously as work machines again, it turns out they have a neat utility waiting to spirit away my screenshots into the cloud for easy sharing.

Like my colleague Paul Miller, I've been doing Windows screenshots wrong for a long time. I recognize that Microsoft's Cortana handles a lot of these search tasks too, but macOS has Spotlight search too, and I still favor Alfred over it.

#Alternative to launchbar for mac mac#

But hey, it's free, and once you've got it up and running, it works like a charm! I have it tied to the same shortcut combo - Alt (as opposed to the Mac's Command key) and space bar - as I have it on my Mac keyboard, and it accelerates my work in the same fashion.

#Alternative to launchbar for mac install#

You have to download a separate program to allow you to search your computer's drives, and it's a bit fiddly to install your own custom web searches (and icons for those) such as I have. Setting up Wox is not the most user-friendly experiences I've ever had. Wox is a rather shameless copy of Alfred that recreates that basic, ultra fast, constantly needed search functionality. You can do a whole heap of advanced automation and workflow integrations with Alfred, but for me, it's simply the most immediate way I know to search the Verge archives or look up a word or a news story. It's my shortcut to searching for files on my computer or stuff on the web. My MVA (Most Valuable App) on the Mac is easily Alfred. Well, I followed The Verge's own advice and used a set of apps to recreate my MacBook experience on a Windows laptop, and you know what, I'm kind of loving this new world I'm living in. The design, displays, and versatility of Windows laptops have all improved in major ways, but one of the final hurdles that kept many like myself attached to their macOS habit was the abundance of great utility apps.

#Alternative to launchbar for mac pro#

It was an anticlimactic end to a prolonged wait for users of MacBook Pro and Air laptops alike, and it led many of us to grow curious about how far the Windows alternatives had evolved in that time.

#Alternative to launchbar for mac update#

Once you get used to Alfred and learn some of the KB strokes to get things done, it becomes almost annoying to have to stop and move your hand over to the mouse.Avid Verge readers will know of my frustration with Apple's unsatisfying MacBook Pro update late last year. Also, look at the Alfred Powerpack features here. There are some workflows hosted here, or you can make your own. For example, I use a workflow that unhides ~/Library for me after it gets hidden by point updates. Just about anything you can think of that you routinely do on your Mac, you can make a workflow to do it for you with a couple keystrokes. There are also some really nice workflows users have put together. long list of system commands like, quit all, sleep, restart, empty trash.

long list of built in searches like Amazon and Wikipedia Google search within Alfred with instant results shown in Alfred drop down find a name in contacts then launch an email to the contact find a document then email it as an attachment (there is along list of actions for files) I'll just list a few ways I use Alfred aside from file/app launching: If all you are doing is launching apps and searching for documents, then yes, you are underutilizing and there is not much point in using Alfred.