TheAction

TheAction is a super handy application launcher that makes it easy to find and launch your favorite apps, System Preferences files, or other stuff you can search for. If you've ever wished for a simpler way to get to your programs, this might be just what you need!

Similar to Spotlight

This app works a lot like the OS X Spotlight tool. It even comes with some cool hotkeys that help you zip through everything without any hassle. How great is that?

Accessing TheAction

You can find TheAction sitting quietly in your status bar. To access the search bar, just click on its menulet. But here’s a pro tip: you can set up a system-wide hotkey in TheAction's Preferences window. This lets you activate the panel without needing to click anything!

How It Works

When you're ready to search, just type in a keyword in the search bar. TheAction will quickly show possible results that match what you're looking for. You can use your arrow keys to scroll through them and press the return key to launch whatever you want.

Hotkeys Galore

There are also several hotkeys built into TheAction that help you easily pick the previous or next item on your list or switch between different types of results.

QuickLook and Finder Integration

You can even use keyboard shortcuts to preview items with QuickLook or reveal them in a Finder window—making it super convenient!

Customizing Your Results

By default, TheAction shows only applications and System Preferences files in its results list. But if you want more options, head over to the Preferences window! You can add folders, definitions, contacts, images, movies, music, PDFs, fonts, spreadsheets, emails—you name it!

Scripting Capabilities

TheAction should also let you run custom scripts as apps. However, during our testing phase we had some trouble setting up scripts in the Actions window.

In Conclusion

To sum it all up, TheAction is an app launcher that's inspired by Spotlight but gives you extra filtering options and efficient navigation features.

If you're looking for more info on how to use TheAction effectively, check out their small usage guide here. Just keep in mind that it's not super detailed.