What is Alfred 5?

[Brian K. Mitchell]

(1) What is Alfred 5  https://www.alfredapp.com ?

(2) How does it differ MacOS' finder and Spotlight?

(3) Is it safe?

(4) Do you use it? And why or why not?

[Leopold Green]

Yes I use - all the way from v1 - totally safe

 

you  can script - no harder than shortcuts for many different apps... I just scratch the surface of it really

if you don't have it I would recommend Popclip, ClearShot and Text Sniper too

 

[Clint Cozier]

Brian,

 

Alfred is like Spotlight on steroids. I've used it for years, its the first app I install on any Mac under my care. It is an app launcher, a file finder, and with workflows is wonderfully extendable. I believe it uses the spotlight index when it is looking for files. The advantage of Alfred vs. the finder is that Alfred is a keyboard file / app finder and launcher. I like keeping my hands on my keyboard. Alfred is a bit of a swiss army knife, it has elements from Text Expander, Keyboard Maestro, and I'm sure other things I've not thought of here. 

 

Is is safe? I've not heard anything about things buried deep in the code. It is one of the broader used keyboard launcher apps. 

 

I've used it for so long that I have a hard time remembering if something is provided by the OS itself or by Alfred. Also, it is fairly easy to develop workflows, so you can customize it to fit your particular workflows. If you decide to try it, go ahead and purchase the Powerpack....you will grow into it.

[Chris Heard]

I agree with Leopold and Clint. I have been using Alfred for quite some time and it has become basically a seamless part of my workflow. The clipboard history alone is enough reason for me to use it, but of course it offers much more.

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

Alfred is like Spotlight. So is LaunchBar. I use LaunchBar since I got a good deal on it years ago.

[A. Smith]

alfred haș changed my life. It is like spotlight. Sure. But it's so, so much more. especially if you pay and get the power pack. You can compose emails, control music, send files, create and organize folders, on and on, all from alfred. If you're one who likes to keep their hands on the keyboard rather than back and forth with trackpad/mouse, it can't be beat and is worth 10x what I paid for my use. 

[A. Smith]

And if you use a lot of shortcuts (I do; over 100 of them custom to my needs), you can run shortcuts directly from alfred. just <sc> and then you'll see a list of your shortcuts. You can also make other shortcuts to run a specific shortcut. To me, alfred, bartender, and shortcuts are the killer apps of macOS. BTW, I've come back to alfred because of shortcuts. I used it years ago and then dropped it. I'm now back at it with v5 and will never leave again. 

[A. Smith]

another alfred feature I use all the time: toggle low power mode. I'm on an Intel Mac and sometimes I really need full power while on battery. Other times I don't. I can simple key alfred and type <lp> and it toggles low power mode. I don't have to open settings or anything else. Alfred does that (it does open settings; but I don't have to make any change; sometimes I quit settings. Sometimes I let it run because I'm in a workflow and I just don't care). I'm telling you, alfred is amazing. 

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

7 hours ago, A. Smith said:

another alfred feature I use all the time: toggle low power mode. I'm on an Intel Mac and sometimes I really need full power while on battery. Other times I don't. I can simple key alfred and type <lp> and it toggles low power mode. I don't have to open settings or anything else. Alfred does that (it does open settings; but I don't have to make any change; sometimes I quit settings. Sometimes I let it run because I'm in a workflow and I just don't care). I'm telling you, alfred is amazing. 

 

I need to see if LaunchBar does this. This would be huge for me as well.