Alfred

I’ve heard great things about the Alfred app. Finally downloaded it yesterday.

What is Alfred? I’ve often heard it described as a more powerful version of the Spotlight feature on the Mac. It is that, for sure, but it’s also a great deal more. I describe it as a one-stop centre for all your Mac commands. Just imagine having your own butler installed on your Mac, fetching and carrying for you.

Some examples of what Alfred can do. Let’s say you want to retrieve a file on your Mac. Alfred’s search function does that for you. Also, searching for something within a particular website? No need to navigate to that website; just do your search within Alfred. Alfred can also organise your password management (it has good integration with 1Password, a solid password management app). Or if you want to send an email using Gmail, you can tell Alfred that (for example, by typing ‘Gmail’), and it will take you directly to your Gmail account.

Apart from the long list of features that come included with Alfred, there is a vibrant community of Alfred developers, creating even more features for users.

I’m now finding my way around the app. So far, I’ve worked out a few commands, such as getting it to pull up my files (including searching within files), and retrieving details of my contacts. I also know how to get Alfred to do calculations, as well as carry out system-wide commands, such as emptying the bin, and locking the computer, sending it to sleep, or shutting it down.

These are only a few of the features available within Alfred. You can do even more advanced workflows if you upgrade to the paid version (Alfred Powerpack). That said, there’s a lot you can do with the free version, so don’t rush to upgrade right away. I’ll see how far the free version takes me, before deciding whether to upgrade.