[tptacek]

I'm never going to use a tiling window manager, but I also never touch Mission Control (or Spotlight). I use Alfred.app to call things up; before Alfred.app, all the way back into the early aughts, I was using Quicksilver.app, which does the same thing. CMD-Space, type a couple letters, blam.

[blacksmith_tb]

I really like Alfred, it's a worthy descendant of QS for sure. To be fair, it is possible to use Spotlight for the same kind of "invoke, start typing, hit return to launch" workflow (it's just uglier, and not extensible). Lots of Linux DEs have similar searchable launchers, and if you squint, Windows does too (but packed with extra crud - I think maybe PowerToys has something more QS-like?)

[112233]

Re: spotlight. I'd like to know the logic that went into decision to stop showing location of app in spotlight results. If you have multiple copies, you now get multiple identical looking results, and must pick a door that has no goat.

[spectre3d]

Hold down the Command key when you have something selected in Spotlight, it will reveal the path.

[112233]

Thanks, it does. For single item. This honestly makes it worse, because it clearly signals intent behind the change. Apple software continues to be like that one friend who insists on keeping his apartment orderly and minimalist and achieves it by stuffing all mess under bed and in cupboards. Cannot find or use anything, but looks good on instagram.

[D13Fd]

I use Alfred a ton throughout the day. I have many workflows and other settings that I set up years ago that are absolutely indispensable to me.

I deal with a huge number of different projects at work, for example. I have a workflow that imports the master excel spreadsheet and builds an instantly searchable database of every project, with links to all relevant portals and information. I can just start typing a project name or number (or other relevant info) and instantly jump to the project’s Sharepoint page, my local files directory, emails about that project, the publicly-accessible portal for it, etc etc. I use it constantly every day.

I also use Alfred to search industry-specific search engines, to draft repetitive emails for me, and to file things away. I have many little conveniences set up, like a workflow that configures various laptop settings based on location (printers, audio devices, volume level, etc).

Honestly if I had to choose between “Mac OS with no Alfred” and “Windows with Alfred,” I’d stick with Alfred. It’s such a helpful app.

[vorpalhex]

Do you have a resource you like for "advanced" Alfred use?

[D13Fd]

No, not that I can think of. The app comes pre-loaded with a bunch of templates you can insert. I mostly just started from the templates and substituted my own perl or python scripts for things.

[sceptic123]

https://www.raycast.com/

[burnto]

Quicksilver was a revelation. I use Raycast now and Alfred is great too.

I don’t use spaces or Mission Control or tiling. But I’ve been using macs since the late 80s and most of that stuff just seems superfluous. The fast global extensible subject-verb-object command shortcut is the only UI innovation that really changed my workflow since system 7 multitasking and osx having a cli.

[chamomeal]

I am not a serious computer power user but raycast (also cmd + space + couple letters), cmd + tab, and cmd + ‘ get me around quick enough!

[seg6]

I love and do the same thing with Raycast! But mostly with apps that do not have a designated "workspace".

Most of the time, I only have Spotify, chat clients, my browser, and the terminal open. And I do prefer every one of them just having a fixed place behind a shortcut, which at this point is just muscle memory.

[brcmthrowaway]

So you have a workspace for each of those? Do they persist after reboot?

Do you use iTerm2 or Terminal.app, and tmux?

[seg6]

Yes, exactly, a workspace for each one of those. A snippet from my Aerospace config:

  [[on-window-detected]]
  if.app-id = 'com.microsoft.teams2'
  run = 'move-node-to-workspace 7'
  
  [[on-window-detected]]
  if.app-id = 'com.hnc.Discord'
  run = 'move-node-to-workspace 8'
  
  [[on-window-detected]]
  if.app-id = 'com.spotify.client'
  run = 'move-node-to-workspace 9'

They're 'persisted' in the sense that when I open them, they automatically open in their relevant workspace. You can also make them auto-start, so when your system boots up, they'll be in the right place.

[cosmic_cheese]

I also used to use Quicksilver back in the day. Now it's a mix of Alfred and Spotlight. Alfred for launching things and workflows, Spotlight for things like quick unit conversions and such. Alfred is bound to Cmd-Space while Spotlight is Cmd-Shift-Space.

[daveidol]

I’ve been using Alfred for forever, but with the new Spotlight on Tahoe I’ve decided to just try using Spotlight alone.

So far I’ve been pretty happy with it. But I was never a heavy user of the Alfred power features (despite owning a lifetime license for Powerpack).

[mbirth]

Same here. Despite Legendary status, I’ve used Alfred as a souped-up launcher and implemented my workflows app-agnostic either as a shell script, a Shortcut, or an AppleScript. I haven’t launched Alfred since upgrading to Tahoe.

Especially since you can now create Shortcuts that get input directly from Spotlight or the active window.

[AppleBananaPie]

+1 for Alfred

I personally use a tiling window manager when I feel like it but also get how it's personal preference :)