Apple have announced that macOS 13 Ventura will be generally available early next week.
We've been actively using macOS Ventura beta builds for the past few months, both internally and in the Alfred community, and we're happy to say that Alfred has been stable and running smoothly.
As such, if you need to upgrade to Ventura early on, you can do so with the confidence that you'll be able to use Alfred 5 with it right away. Be sure to check for updates in Alfred, and grab 5.0.3 for the best Ventura support if you haven't done so already.
Alfred 5 has now been available for just under three months, and it's been brilliant to see both new and experienced users create excellent workflows which use many of the new workflow objects and Automation Tasks.
To help you discover, install and update all the amazing Workflows community members have been creating, we will be launching the Alfred Gallery next month.
You'll be able to submit workflows to the Gallery for inclusion, making it the ultimate resource for Alfred workflows!
At this stage, we're seeking your contributions; We’d love to hear about your favourite or most-used workflows. You can suggest your own workflows, or those created by other community members.
We're looking for all types of workflows, from simple, focused ones with little to no code to the more advanced ones out there.
How To Submit Your Workflows
Take a look at the Alfred Gallery Workflow submission forum where you'll be able to share workflows you'd like to suggest, as well as find tips on preparing your workflows for sharing.
If you have any questions about the submission process, don't hesitate to ask on the forum. We're excited to see this Gallery grow!
Automation Tasks are one of the new features introduced in Alfred 5. They behave like other Alfred Workflow objects, but instead of one specialised task, they contain a growing library of actions to choose from.
Together with the rewritten Workflow Editor and the new Palette, Automation Tasks allow you to build Workflows faster and without code.
Let's build a Workflow and look at a few Automation Tasks.
Building a Workflow without code
My Mac is set to Dark Mode and rotates the wallpaper every hour, but for screenshots I like to use Light Mode and the macOS default wallpaper. I may also resize the screenshot because retina images are large.
Changing everything back and forth is time consuming: I have to open the System Settings, go to two different panes, change the preferences in each, take the screenshot, resize it, then revert every changed setting. Even writing about it takes long!
Let's use Automation Tasks to do it for us.
We'll start simple: one Hotkey Trigger connected to two Automation Tasks in sequence. The first turns on Dark Mode and the second one changes the wallpaper.
Each Automation Task has simple configuration tailored to itself, which you can set directly from the object.
This is already an improvement. At this point we could duplicate everything and invert the settings to turn on Dark Mode and restore our wallpaper. Those two sets of actions take care of the most time-consuming part of the process, allowing us to take the screenshot in between.
But we can do better. Automation Tasks are straightforward to add and configure, plus they interact with other Alfred objects; we'll take advantage of that to do everything in one swoop.
Ready to use the Workflow?
You can download the Workflow to follow along.
- Save the path of the current wallpaper for later.
- Turn off Dark Mode (Light Mode on).
- Change to macOS' default wallpaper.
- Enter interactive screenshot mode. The Workflow waits until you're done.
- Resize the image to 50% the size.
- Restore Dark Mode and the original wallpaper.
Ten objects, zero scripting, one handy Workflow.
Automation Tasks can do so much more
We've barely scratched the surface; Automation Tasks can manipulate text, interact with web browsers, resize windows, and more! Each can be useful on their own, but they shine when strung together. Check the Automation Tasks documentation for more examples with fewer objects.
More is still to come to Automation Tasks, and we're loving the enthusiasm and ideas from the community. We're excited to see what Workflows you'll build next.
Following our feature-filled and stable Alfred 5 release, we bring you 5.0.1 which fixes a few spellings, tweaks a few features, and improves accessibility even further.
It's been brilliant to see your workflows, old and new, using Automation Tasks and taking advantage of the new User Configuration feature shared with the world.
In particular, we'd like to tip our bowler hat to the Mega Supporters who upgraded their license to the Legendary Supporter - We thank you for your ongoing support through the years! :)
We have an exceptionally exciting roadmap for Alfred 5, and can't wait to bring you even more productivity in 2022 and beyond!
After many months of development and a brilliant Early Access release, we're excited to announce Alfred 5 is now available to all!
It was great to see such an enthusiastic take-up by the community during Early Access, who have really helped us put Alfred 5 through its paces in preparation for this General Release.
Ready to jump in with the new features? Download Alfred 5 from our website; You can grab a new Powerpack license or upgrade your existing license to unlock the Powerpack features.
Take a look at What's New in Alfred 5 to the discover the rewritten Workflow Editor, which is easier to use than ever, the fantastic Palette Search, the new Automation Tasks which help you write codeless workflows, and so much more!
We've published an Alfred 5 Getting Started post with the licensing FAQ.
What are you waiting for? Join the Alfred community in enjoying the new Alfred 5 features! :)
