Howard- I first want to tell you that I really do appreciate taking the time to answer me inquiry. Now I hope we are talking the same language here.
I will deal with one problem quickly On quick reference keyboard shortcut-not your manual- you have for search again command ⌫ Resets search on current level . First off- I have no idea what the rectangle around the X means. Hitting X by itself does nothing on my computer. If I hit the clover key(the onebetween the option & spacebar labeled command) along with the "X" key-it does remove the text. I see you're saying that is the "cut" key which is why it looks like replace the present text and search again mode. You say & now I get it-that box with the triangle side on the left is indeed the delete or backspace symbol butlet me point out why I went astray & I think people can get confused. There is very good reason for it. 1. That symbol is NOT present on my mac keyboard. I have to presume if you use a symbol it's on the keyboard 2. I have seen it in programming books yes I understand you need space but you broke your convention on those last 2 commands as you say you did. Whats the result? illogical representation andforme consequent confusion-confusion I say perfectly warranted. A logical person would look for that back space command on the Mac keyboard-wouldn't they?! Those are the keys one is supposd to push in useing this APP. I do want you to understand that I am not tryng to be an a--hole here; just what goes through the user's mind. And again these are little things BUT they prevented me from understanding how this APP worked and that to me is a big deal. Again-not in your case-you're trying to be clear. For me-the bigger lesson isthat what are the consequences when it's not perfectly clear & the reason I am taking thetime with this post. I have 6 ears of Latin. So what-who cares? This the point-i read thinhgs literally-word by word in the form their in. Because computers are stupid-it is exactly why it is so important in general for computer book writers to be meticulous with their instruction-and you would think that somebody such as myself who owns about 40 books on programming would know by now that most writers of such books almost never right lucidly from the point of view of the READER! And they never are. You'd think I'd learn! Of all things-if you want to read a book about programming beautifully explained and written-best I have ever seen-Jon Ericsson-Hackers Manual 2. As for your statement about the delete key -you say:BTW, the delete key does delete the last letter typed when Quicksilver is in text mode. I'm not sure why in search mode, delete resets the search; I suspect it's because to select something you usually just type a few keys I'll show you what I don't know-what ll is the difference between the "text" & the different search mode?!!!!! I thought one put text into the first box so that it can do a search. No text-no search?? What am I missing? DELETE does NOT delete the text in the search box on this computer. What does command-X(actually cut) or typing again a new search in the same box. Thanks for time. Again I do really appreciate what you have done. I ave to eat-my feeble brain demands it. regards, cappy anderson york, maine On Feb 3, 6:27 pm, Howard Melman <[email protected]> wrote: > Quicksilver is very powerful, but it is not obvious. It's one of the > reasons I wrote the manual. A lot of people on the forums had similar > questions when they came to the app and at the time QS wasn't open > source, so writing documentation was something I could contribute (I > also wanted an excuse to use iWork Pages). Also, Quicksilver is in > fact easy to use (it why so many people do like it), but note that is > not synonymous with obvious (which is why it's not for everyone). > > I see you're new to OS X and haven't used a mac in 20 years. Assuming > you've been using Windows, yes some things are different. Not > necessarily better (though I think many things are) but just > different. I know people that still can't get use to there being one > menu at the top of the screen instead of a menu at the top of each > window. It's very normal for "switchers" to complain that something is > harder when in fact it's just different and unfamiliar. > > I very curious when you said "The Quick guide erroneously says the > keyboard short cut- search again short cut- is X. It is -command key > X." I tried to follow what you said and tried to find what you're > referring to since you didn't quote the manual directly. I think it in > the User Manual (version 0.15) you're referring to the first full > paragraph at the top of page 14 (hardly a parenthetical): > > "If you mistype something, you can type the delete key or ⌘X to clear > the pane and start over. If you navigate to something via → or / > then these keys will still keep you in the current position but clear > the search. To reset entirely so that you’re using the top-level > global catalog use the esc key. There’s no way to delete just the > last letter typed. " > > Note that clover-like symbol before the X (which I hope came through > in the email) means holding down the command key (aka the apple key) > while hitting X. It's standard mac convention to write it this way. In > the Quick Reference at the end under Keyboard Shortcuts, the last two > items are "resets search on current level" and "resets search to top > level", I use the symbols for delete (aka backspace) and escape, > mostly because I have to conserve space. I think those are correct. > > If I'm misunderstanding something please let me know, I'd like to > correct it. > > Quicksilver provides a LOT of functionality, and often many different > ways to do the same thing. It's use model is not similar to other > applications which is why it is so uniquely useful. I've written 15 > versions of this guide and have struggled trying to find the most > useful way to present information without having lots of duplication. > The answer to your question was on the ninth page of text which I > think is pretty good. I first had to explain what the application does > and its basic use, activation and installation. That seems appropriate > to me. > > BTW, the delete key does delete the last letter typed when Quicksilver > is in text mode. I'm not sure why in search mode, delete resets the > search; I suspect it's because to select something you usually just > type a few keys. If you've made a mistake it's probably more efficient > to start over rather than figure out which key you went wrong on and > backspacing to it. Escape is also a common "reset" key on many systems > since the 70s. Finally, command-x is the standard shortcut for Cut > which does remove the current selection. It's actually a good standard > choice for that functionality even those most people don't think to > use it in the Quicksilver command window. I don't recall if I had that > experience, but I guarantee you're not the first to experience it. > It's a reason I documented it. > > Howard > > On Feb 3, 2009, at 5:52 PM, diskifer wrote: > > > > > OK- > > I had downloaded that suggested guide and his quick ref. My > > question is answered in the detailed PDF almost parentheticly with one > > sentence on page 14. The Quick guide erroneously says the keyboard > > short cut- search again short cut- is X. It is -command key X. > > Why do I think its a big deal? The delete or backspace key is the > > default universal way to implement text replacement information It > > is intuitive-simple. Even (q)uit is more intuitive and my gripe is > > that the way this app works on this simple manuveur in non obvious way > > & gives me a bad initial impression of what is probably an OK app. > > And while I may be the first person to bring this up-guaranteed I'm > > not the first person to experience this and if that makes me a troll- > > so be it. > > It just seems to me this is NOT the kind of thing you should have to > > ask for help on a forum. And-as an afterthought-in reading that > > guide- > > BECAUSE he gets into explaining search hierarchies before he answers > > my question-I assumed he did not deal with the issue that was > > perplexing me. > > > Tell me how to start the car before you tell me how to shift gears. > > > On Feb 3, 4:59 pm, "Jon Stovell (a.k.a. Sesquipedalian)" > > <[email protected]> wrote: > >> By default, QS will reset its search after a few seconds. All you > >> have > >> to do is wait a moment and then start typing again in the first pane > >> of the QS command window and it will begin a new search. > >> Alternatively, pressing the Delete key (a.k.a. the Backspace key on > >> Windows machines) while in the first pane will instantly clear the > >> current search so that you can start typing in a new search right > >> away. > > >> The same system works in the second pane to allow you to choose > >> actions to execute on the object in the first pane. If you don't want > >> to do the default action for an object, press Tab to move to the > >> second pane, and start typing the name of the action you want to > >> perform. Press the down arrow to see the list of options if you > >> aren't > >> sure what the available actions are. > > >> I highly recommend that you look at Howard Melman's User Guide for > >> Quicksilver. It will help you get to know the application very > >> quickly. It is available in the Files section of this website > >> athttp://groups.google.com/group/blacktree-quicksilver/files > > >> On Feb 3, 3:47 pm, diskifer <[email protected]> wrote: > > >>> I just downloaded this app since I am really fumbling trying to find > >>> apps. I haven't used a MAC since 1988. > > >>> I don't get it. With Google-if I want to start a new search-I > >>> delete > >>> subject and enter new search terms. > > >>> The only way I can find to do the samething here is quit Quicksilver > >>> and relaunch. It come up with nothing (no results if I put in > >>> "reset > >>> search" or similar term. > > >>> What am I missing here? Can't seem to find anything in these guides > >>> other than hit ecape. Clears th app-what good is that if you want to > >>> search twice in a row. Was I dropped on my head? Not that I know > >>> of.
