From version 1.0, Alfred can now remember all the URLs that you launch through the app.
Simply call up Alfred, type a URL and hit Return. The next time you start typing this URL, Alfred will suggest it in the results. Just make sure you have “Store and Show history of URLs in Alfred” ticked in the preferences.
Tip: This is the fastest way of adding a bookmark to Alfred. Just launch your URL once and Alfred will suggest it from now on.
With version 1.0 you no longer need to have Clipboard History enabled to be able to use the snippet functionality inside Alfred.
If you’re concerned about privacy and don’t want Alfred remembering all your text clips, simply untick the option yet you’ll still be able to make the most of the persistent snippets and have easy access to your most used bits of information.
Posted by Josh Sunshine on his website:
If you visit the updates page of the Mac App Store often, and you get fed up with wating for the main page of the App Store to open, you may like to know there’s now a URL you can visit which will take you straight to the updates page:
macappstore://showUpdatesPage – click to open the MAS and jump straight to the updates page.
I’ve also added the URL into Alfred so that I can use Alfred to open the page, too. Click the following link to add the same thing to your Alfred:
Add “Open Mac App Store updates page” to Alfred App
There’s no need to change anything; simply clicking the above link will add the shortcut “masu” to Alfred, which will open the updates page when activated.
Oh, and one last thing; you don’t need the Mac App Store open to use the URL. If you activate the URL with the App Store closed, it’ll automatically open.
favourite new trick of @alfredapp -and it took way too long for me to find. Find app you want then press right twice to open most recent doc
— orta (@orta)December 12, 2011
Got a tip for Alfred you haven’t seen mentioned on this Tumblr? Tweet me at @annamanasova!
Eager for some more tips for using Alfred and goodies in this holiday season? Head over to our Xmas Calendar and unlock treats every day!
We had previously seen a few extensions allowing you to connect Alfred with Twitter and blast it out to the universe but never one as easy to set up and to use as AlfredTweet.
Created by the amazing @jdfwarrior who somehow manages to find the time to supply a long list of useful extensions on his Tumblr, you’d be wise to go and check it out if you’ve got the Powerpack and want to expand Alfred’s capabilities.
Here are the commands and tasks you’ll be able to do:
Get AlfredTweet on David’s tumblr.
I love this one!
We’ve really seen some excellent extensions submitted by our users and I love finding out about those that just make you go “yay”. Switching user accounts on my Mac has just been one of those activities that require me to take my fingers off the keyboard and click with the mouse, then switch back to the keyboard to type the password.
Well, not anymore. In our evergrowing extensions page you can now find a Fast User Switching extension. All you’ll need to do from now on is call up Alfred, type “switch” and the account name and then just fill in your password. Quick and easy!
You can find the extension here, thanks Sebastian! Don’t forget to check out the full page though as there are plenty to get excited about.
There are dozens of brilliant Alfred extensions at our support site and today’s link is to one that has come in really handy over the last few days.
It’s very easy to use, just type “timer s” and then “timer x” when you want to stop and gives you quick information via a Growl popup.
Love it. Thanks @trepmal!
With over 80 tips already on this Tumblr, it might be difficult to get an overview of all the gems that have already been published if you’ve just found the site.
Here’s your chance to skim through all the little tips and tricks I’ve told you about in the last few months and perhaps pick out some that you’ve missed. Enjoy!
2. The one in which English is not your native language - translate, spell, define, custom search
3. The one in which you’re tired of writing out your address again - clipboard, snippets
4. The one for wannabe stalkers - twitter username, custom search
5. The one in which opening files is even faster - apostrophe, open, find, space
6. The one for the end of the day - shut down, system commands
7. The one in which you teach Alfred a lesson - knowledge
9. The one in which you’re thinking about privacy II, Clipboard edition - clear clipboard, delete
10. The one which brings up result actions within Alfred - right arrow, fn, ctrl
11. The one which brings up result actions in Finder - Alt+Cmd+\
12. The one in which you want to select a library/database for your app
13. The one in which you delete the whole string in Alfred - Cmd+backspace
14. The one in which you open recent documents
15. The one in which you play a song
16. The one in which you work on multiple files in one folder, Alt+Cmd+/ to open last browsed path
17. The one in which you want to “eject all”
18. The one in which you assign personal keywords for launching apps - spotlight comment
19. The one in which you open a URL with Alfred
20. The one in which you play a random album
21. The one in which you browse your Mac with Alfred - tilde or forward slash
22. The one where you search inside documents
23. The one in which you quickly check contact information - address book
24. The one in which you change the colours
26. The one for themes enthusiasts
27. The one in which you don’t remember keyboard shortcuts - use natural language keywords
28. The one in which backspace deletes a hotkey
29. The one in which you improve search accuracy
30. The one in which you email an attachment
31. The one in which you lock your Mac
32. The one in which you search in Thesaurus - define
33. The one in which you change the default fallback searches
34. The one in which you refresh your memory about keyboard shortcuts - help page
35. The one in which you’ve added new music to iTunes - reindex or Cmd+R
36. The one in which you quickly start an email
37. The one where you paste without formatting
38. The one in which you move files with Alfred
39. The one in which you exclude files and folders from Alfred’s results: overview
40. The one in which you show more than 9 results
41. The one where you quickly enter calendar events
42. The one in which you can’t find a file
43. The one in which you use the same custom search for multiple websites
44. The one in which you come back from action list
45. Quick overview: File System Navigation in Alfred
46. The one in which you show package contents
47. The one in which you copy path to clipboard
48. The one in which you open a file with a specific app - “open with”
49. The one for when you’re writing
50. The one in which you use Caps Lock as your Alfred hotkey
51. The one in which you quit all apps
52. The one in which you control iTunes with keywords
53. The one in which you assign global hotkey to open websites
54. The one in which you use Terminal commands to switch network locations or switch Airport On/Off
55. The one in which you navigate time zones (worldTime buddy)
56. The one in which you add icons to your custom searches
57. The one in which you become an iTunes DJ
58. The one in which you play a random album II
59. The one in which you create new actions
60. The one in which you sync Alfred
61. The one in which you want to tweak
62. The one in which you check how addicted you are (usage stats)
63. The one in which you set up global hotkeys
64. The one in which you call someone via FaceTime
65. Use Shell Command to enter tasks into Things (from Andrew)
66. The one in which you open a file in a specific app
67. The one in which you do a quick calculation and copy the result to Clipboard
68. The one in which you launch file/app groups
69. There’s now a “Get Info” Action
70. The one in which you display notes for your contacts
71. The one in which you export extensions
72. The one in which you work around Microsoft Office problem
73. Remove selections with Backspace
74. Adding an action? Leave the keyword empty
75. The one in which you add applications’ icons
76. Don’t forget about some of the advanced options
77. Quickly access your Automator workflows with Alfred
78. Using extensions: File Search Filters
79. Tips for running AppleScripts
80. Quickly access a specific path in File System Navigation
Looking for ways to extend Alfred and really customise him to your needs? Don’t forget to visit the Extensions section of our new support site where we feature some of the best user-created gems.
Here’s a guide if you want to submit your own extension. Don’t forget to also let me know about it at anna [at] alfredapp [dot] com and we’ll definitely feature the best ones!
Using Alfred with Lion? Don’t forget that Alfred now has three standard themes you can dress him in - Light, Dark as well as one that is Lion-inspired and will fit right in with your OS.
With the Powerpack, you can also create your very own colour combination for the different elements of the Alfred window or even import one that someone else has created. Play around and see what works best for you but if you’re craving inspiration, have a look at some user-created themes.
Make Alfred fit right in with your style!
What if you want to have a way to open up several folder paths in Alfred’s File System Navigation without having to navigate to them manually from your Home folder each time?
Let’s say one of my often-accessed folders is /Users/anna/Documents/Alfred/Alfred Tips and I want a quick way to open up Alfred’s File Navigation feature right to this path?
Here’s a solution:
There are several ways you can run AppleScripts with Alfred:
First situation: Your AppleScripts are saved on your Mac, outside of Alfred
Troubleshooting: ~/Library/Scripts is treated by OS X as a System File area so Alfred/Spotlight don’t find scripts saved here by default.
Solution: If you put your AppleScripts into a new folder ~/Scripts (and symlink them back in the other ones if you need them there too), Alfred will find them.
Alternatively, the Powerpack allows you to create a filter specifically for the ~/Library/Scripts folder and to include system files in the results.
Second situation: You enter your scripts right into Alfred, as AppleScript extensions.
Go into Preferences > Extensions and add a new AppleScript. This option is accessible to Powerpack users.
What if you have a certain file type that you often search for and don’t want to see any other types of files in your results in that instance? What if you know that this file type is located in a specific folder on your Mac?
With the Search Filter Extension you can easily set up keywords that trigger a special, limited, type of search that will filter out where and for what file types Alfred looks.
One use example to illustrate:
I’ve written about some of the other Extensions that are now accessible with the Alfred Powerpack and let you enhance and customise your Alfred experience. Today I want to point your attention towards the ability to now have quick access to your Automator workflows right within Alfred.
For your workflows, you can specify a keyword or save it as an additional action. If you’ve already put in the effort into creating a workflow, make sure it is easily accessible!
To add a new Workflow Extension, simply go into Preferences > Extensions and click “plus” in the bottom right corner.
SHARE YOURS:
If you’re an Automator user and have written about some workflows that could be useful for other Alfred users, let me know on Twitter (see sidebar) and I’ll add links to our upcoming Extensions page.
Here are a few other Alfred goodies: