Alfred 2.8 Released: JavaScript added, focus improvements and El Capitan-ready
Today, we released Alfred 2.8, which includes improvements to a number of features, and groundwork to ensure a smooth transition to OS X 10.11 El Capitan.
You can grab the latest update from Alfred's Update preferences or by downloading it directly from alfredapp.com.
JavaScript available as a scripting language
JavaScript has been added as a scripting language within Alfred's workflows (on OS X 10.10+), giving more choice to developers who want to use JavaScript to run actions through a workflow.
Window focus improvement and Compatibility mode added
In Alfred 2.7.2, we improved Alfred's focusing behaviour, but this caused issues for a small number of users where Alfred wouldn't appear as expected when using the set hotkey.
This release resolves this issue, and adds a further level of control over the window focusing behaviour. What does this mean? By default, Alfred will be a non-activating panel and operate much like Spotlight's window - that is, without taking focus away from the app underneath. Choosing Compatibility mode from the Appearance options makes Alfred operate like an app and take focus when shown. This is useful if you use keyboard remappers or Java apps, but otherwise shouldn't be a default option you need to change.
Preparing for El Capitan
This release also includes some more improvements ahead of OS X 10.11 El Capitan, which is expected to be released soon.
You can take a look at the change log for the full list of changes in 2.8.