Interface Invoked with a
keyboard shortcut, Quicksilver has three panes, into which the user can enter an object, an action, and an optional attribute—analogous to creating a sentence with a subject, verb, and object. Quicksilver is a background application that runs while the operating system is running, maintaining a "catalog" of files and objects on the user's computer. By applying
incremental search as the user types, Quicksilver predicts the filename or action typed by the user and automatically selects the object. Quicksilver uses a priority system based on prior usage to "learn" the user's habits, ultimately requiring only a few letters for the most commonly selected objects.
Extensibility Triggers Quicksilver allows users to define "triggers," which perform a specific command (direct object/action/indirect object combination) whenever a customizable keyboard shortcut is pressed. For instance, if a command opening the Documents folder is bound to the key, this hotkey would trigger that action regardless of what application the user is currently in.
Plug-ins Quicksilver has a built-in
plug-in architecture, allowing the user to choose and install plug-ins providing integration with a specific program, interface, or new feature. For example, plug-ins exist for sending email via
Mail without opening the application or manipulating images via text commands. Constellation Menus supporting
mouse gestures, and a Notification Hub which supports
Growl.
Alchemy Experimental
trunk builds of Quicksilver, known as
Alchemy, have many major changes. • Triggers are moving to a separate product, called
Catalyst • All the little frameworks are being joined into one big one called
Crucible. This includes extensions and core functionality that most applications and plugins will use. This is currently called
QSBase.framework • The preferences will be greatly simplified. There will be Extras-style advanced preferences for the fiddly options. • Plugins are going to be hidden from most users, they'll activate themselves automatically or be installable from the web • β5X Plugins are incompatible. These builds have four major components:
Crucible, a framework with extension to
AppKit and tools common to all Alchemy applications;
elements, a framework supporting the plugin architecture;
quicksilver, a command window driven launcher; and
catalyst, which triggers a preference pane. ==History==