Alfred Productivity Tips: Using custom searches
Fancy becoming a productivity ninja with Alfred? Some might say that calling yourself a "ninja" is cliché but the ninja is efficient, stealthy and a master of his tools, just as you can be with Alfred. Besides, I've been gagging for an excuse to post this awesome Lego ninja picture so bear with me, alright? ;) To help you discover some of the more advanced features, I've put together this mini series to introduce some of the power user functionality you may not have used before.
First, use the web searches
Before jumping into Custom Searches, have a look at the dozens of web searches in the preferences. We've included a stack of standard searches you're likely to want to use. Simply type the keyword followed by your search term.
Create your own custom web searches
There are no doubt websites you want to search that we haven't included. In that case, it's time to create your own! The key to creating custom web search is to work out the search URL for that site. Simply do a search and replace the search term with {query} like so:
http://www.netflix.com/Search?v1={query}
You can then use the searches to do super useful stuff:
- Search Apple Developer documentation: http://developer.apple.com/search/index.php?Search={query}
- Track packages from various shipping companies: See Alfred Tips for multiple query options
- Search Ruby on Rails API: http://apidock.com/rails/search?query={query}
And much more...
Searching apps on your Mac
There's more than one flavour of custom searches; you can also create them for applications on your Mac. Not all apps offer an application URI so it's worth digging around or asking the developer. Here are a few of our favourite ones:
- Spotify: spotify:search:{query}
- App Store: itunes://ax.search.itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZSearch.woa/wa/search?term={query}
- Facetime: facetime://{query}
A custom search without a query
Did you know that your custom "searches" can in fact not be searches at all? Launch any website with a custom keyword by saving it in Alfred's custom searches.
- I keep my stress levels low with the "lolz" keyword: http://icanhascheezburger.com/?random
- And read my favourite daily web comic with a "qc" custom search: http://questionablecontent.net
Check out the Tips & Tricks category of the blog for regular tips on using Alfred and discover many more custom search ideas on Alfred fan Olivier Guerriat's alfredtips.com.
Share your searches
As Jack Johnson says, "it's always more fun to share with everyone..." so swap custom searches with friends. Use the copy icon to copy the custom search query and click on any special URL starting with alfredapp:// to import one to your own custom searches.
Websites change and evolve, so searches that worked in the past may stop working. If this happens, take a look at the website you created the custom search for and go through the steps above again. It's likely that the exact search URL has changed, so you'll need to update your custom search accordingly.
Chime in in the comments if you've become a black belt of productivity and want to share your own tips. We'll feature some of the best ones in future posts!
