How to use Quicksilver as an entirely mouse-operated alternative to Finder...
Using Quicksilver to browse your files is fairly simple, and only takes a couple of minutes to set up. The first thing that needs to be done, assuming you already have Quicksilver installed and running, is to open up the plug-ins window to install the two add-ons you'll need.
The first plug-in you'll need is called Constellation Menus. Constellation provides an alternative interface to the normal Quicksilver for when you want to use the mouse rather than the keyboard. Unfortunately, the plug-in is still in beta, but from my experience it seems stable enough for normal use. Secondly, you'll need to install Abracadabra Triggers (also still in beta), which allows you to use mouse gestures, in exactly the same way as is available in Opera or Firefox as Quicksilver triggers. This basically means you can set your computer to do anything you want in response to mouse gestures no matter what application you're using.
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It's worth nothing here that you can use the built-in Quicksilver mouse triggers rather than installing Abracadabra if you'd rather. A guide to setting up normal Quicksilver mouse triggers can be found here.
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The next step is setting up a Quicksilver trigger to launch your “file browser”. In order to do this open the main Quicksilver window and select the “Triggers” section. Select “Custom Triggers” from the left hand box, click the the + symbol at the bottom of the window and select “Gesture” from the drop down menu.
You should see a screen that looks something like this...
The box which appears to to help you set up the trigger acts in exactly the same way as the normal Quicksilver interface. In the first box select the folder you want to be opened when you activate your trigger, your home folder is probably a good bet, and in the the second box choose “Show Radial Menu”. Instead of using your home folder you can use “Finder Sidebar Items” to show the same locations that appear at the side of every Finder window. In order to use “Finder Sidebar Items” make sure “Proxy Objects” is selected under the Quicksilver section of the Catalog tab in the main window. Now click on the small grey square in the triggers column and use your mouse to draw a simple shape in the box provided… as an example mine is a circle. At this point it's probably also worth selecting “Abracadabra” in the preferences pane and choosing a mouse button to hold down when making the gesture for true mouse-only operation. Everything should be set up now, so you can close the Quicksilver window and try out your trigger.
Hold down the appropriate button on your mouse and make the gesture to see a screen something like this…
Single clicking on a folder opens it in a new Finder window, double clicking opens the folder in a new radial menu above the current one and right clicking opens a radial menu with all the possible actions Quicksilver can perform on it. If there are too many items in a folder to display at once a click the small arrow in the centre of the menu to 'flip' through the items in the folder, you'll see what I mean when you do it.
To see what I mean by the above paragraph take a look at the image at the beginning of the post.
Once you reach an item you want to open, or perform an action on, single click to perform the default Quicksilver action, or right click to being up a menu with all the possible actions. And there you have it, an easy to use file browser inside Quicksilver… but for best results make sure to play around with both the Abracadabra and Constellation settings to find the set-up which suits you best.
Enjoy…
It's worth nothing here that you can use the built-in Quicksilver mouse triggers rather than installing Abracadabra if you'd rather. A guide to setting up normal Quicksilver mouse triggers can be found here.
*******************************
The next step is setting up a Quicksilver trigger to launch your “file browser”. In order to do this open the main Quicksilver window and select the “Triggers” section. Select “Custom Triggers” from the left hand box, click the the + symbol at the bottom of the window and select “Gesture” from the drop down menu.
You should see a screen that looks something like this...
The box which appears to to help you set up the trigger acts in exactly the same way as the normal Quicksilver interface. In the first box select the folder you want to be opened when you activate your trigger, your home folder is probably a good bet, and in the the second box choose “Show Radial Menu”. Instead of using your home folder you can use “Finder Sidebar Items” to show the same locations that appear at the side of every Finder window. In order to use “Finder Sidebar Items” make sure “Proxy Objects” is selected under the Quicksilver section of the Catalog tab in the main window. Now click on the small grey square in the triggers column and use your mouse to draw a simple shape in the box provided… as an example mine is a circle. At this point it's probably also worth selecting “Abracadabra” in the preferences pane and choosing a mouse button to hold down when making the gesture for true mouse-only operation. Everything should be set up now, so you can close the Quicksilver window and try out your trigger.
Hold down the appropriate button on your mouse and make the gesture to see a screen something like this…
Single clicking on a folder opens it in a new Finder window, double clicking opens the folder in a new radial menu above the current one and right clicking opens a radial menu with all the possible actions Quicksilver can perform on it. If there are too many items in a folder to display at once a click the small arrow in the centre of the menu to 'flip' through the items in the folder, you'll see what I mean when you do it.
To see what I mean by the above paragraph take a look at the image at the beginning of the post.
Once you reach an item you want to open, or perform an action on, single click to perform the default Quicksilver action, or right click to being up a menu with all the possible actions. And there you have it, an easy to use file browser inside Quicksilver… but for best results make sure to play around with both the Abracadabra and Constellation settings to find the set-up which suits you best.
Enjoy…
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