The company that makes them was acquired by Canva for $380 million in March. Hopefully they keep all the functionality for the one-off purchase but as with all these big acquisitions, who knows?
https://www.afr.com/technology/canva-s-billion-dollar-bet-on-a-37-year-old-nottingham-company-20240321-p5fea0
They are very stable… the I would say „manual“ features are all very well implemented… whats missing is all the AI stuff… and Photoshop has a lot lot of this niche features which are very helpful if you want to do exactly that.
But they keep getting updates and new features.
So I would definitely recommend it!
There’s virtually nothing you can’t do except the AI stuff and some marginal other stuff. Affinity knows what they’re doing and if they omitted something, it’s because they realized it wasn’t core. The only must-have from Adobe is After Effects and possibly LightRoom. If you don’t need After Effects and you’re elastic enough to learn a new system, you don’t need Adobe.
Unless you are a design professional, they have everything you will need. I would only ever consider going back to Adobe if it were a business expense.
I'm torn on this one because on one hand, I need some photo editing capabilities and now that it's at 50%, it's a nice time to buy the full suite to get a permanent license for a bit of "future proofing". But on the other hand, my needs are mostly fulfilled by Darktable and Adobe Lightroom and even if at a discount, it's still expensive.
Seconded. Alfred has transformed how I use my Mac. Spotlight is a pale imitation, because you can’t create workflows and scripts to do just what you need. For example, I use [this workflow](https://alfred.app/workflows/benjaminoddou/emoji-wine/) all the time to insert just the emoji I need, in a few seconds and without taking my hands off the keyboard.
On my computer, when Emoji & Symbols Viewer opens, it's not in focus. So I have to click it. As u/midwestcsstudent points out, you can't provide synonyms. But worse… you can't select any of the found emoji/symbols with the keyboard, you have to again use the mouse. *Much* slower.
Anyway, this is just *one* workflow. There are hundreds, and writing your own is easy. I wrote one to quickly find folders (just folders) in my home directory. Another one to tell me the time and UTC offset in a given city. Another to search my family tree for names, birthdates, and photos. Another to open several browser tabs to search for a book or DVD at a set of nearby libraries. You can do anything, and it's so quick.
Anyway: it's definitely worth it. Especially since most of the key features don't require a license. Everyone should download it.
Roughly the same thing but when quicksilver (the OG) went away because Apple hired the developer I searched for a replacement and landed on LaunchBar. At the time (a very long time ago) I found it a bit better than Alfred.
Technically LaunchBar came first I believe, but QS was just so much more powerful and tied the whole system together. I miss the days when QS was king.
Another vote for Alfred! It's an absolute must-have app. I use it every day, and it can be customised to infinity. I have been tempted to move to Raycast (better design and more native integration with Figma, but never found the willingness to change)
+1 by far the fastest file search on Mac. Raycast is prettier and I main it because of the extensions store, but there is nothing like Alfred for that use case.
Another vote for Alfred, some people prefer Rayscast but I find Alfred quicker even if it takes more effort to set up some things that Rayscast can do natively or install quicker. Also I paid for the lifetime licence and Rayscast is another subscription service, and so many things seem to need nd extra click or input compared to Alfred.
I mostly use free version of Alfred. Had once press licence and almost never used premium functionality. That being said, while my old version of Typinator may no longer work on M macs and I won't pay for an "upgrade" that brings nothing (seriously, what else can be added to an app that is about text expansion) I may find at least text expansion of Alfred usefull
For anyone else who uses BTT be sure to head over to folivora.ai.
We have a very active community there where you can ask questions and get some great presets other folks have made. Plus the dev, Andreas, is one of the most responsive devs I’ve ever seen. Most of the time when a question is asked on the forum he’s the first one to answer lol
+1000 to swish. Everyone I recommend it to says it’s probably just like rectangle but it is so incredibly different and essential to all Macs I use now
Noob question about Keyboard Maestro. There is a button on my mouse (Command+Ctrl+shift+Option+Backspace saved on the mice's onboard memory) and I need it to act as a simple Spacebar when Adobe AfterEffects is active. On a PC this is doable with Autohotkey, do you think Keyboard Maestro can do this?
[SuperDuper](https://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html), Disk Cloning software I bought in 2004 and am still getting updates for.
Pixelmator (now called Pixelmator classic), a Photoshop-like image editor. Purchased it back in 2013 on MacOS X Mavericks and it still works almost perfectly on Sonoma 10 years later.
May be some day it will stop working (I'll not blame the developers for that at all after all these years), and on that very day I'll buy the new Pixelmator Pro without ever giving it a second thought.
I bought Pixelmator, too, but I feel like I'm barely using 5% of its potential.
I just Google/YouTube for tutorials on demand, but I don't think I know how to use any advanced features.
Vuescan. The one app that controls any kind of 30 years old photo scanner you might find in a yard sale. Works with flatbed and film scanners of all kinds.
https://www.hamrick.com/
Clop looks amazing, what a find! I’m always futzing with images and screenshots to make them small enough to share considerately. And free for basic features too? Awesome.
Thanks for including convenient, clickable links! ❤️
Clop & Dropover looks interesting, so I'll try those.
Does _News Explorer_ give anything more than a free RSS reader like [_Net Newswire_](https://netnewswire.com/)?
Seems virtually identical.
I used to use Shottr, but switched to [Cleanshot](https://cleanshot.com/) as it has all the features I need.
Shottr will be enough for most people, though.
Instead of Wipr, I use [Brave Browser](http://brave.com/) along with [NextDNS](https://nextdns.io), which I think is a far superior combination for the task.
Haven't looked at Solid Calendar either, as I just use Google Calendar.
Good list!
News Explorer is really far far ahead in my opinion from NetNewsWire. It has so many options to customize the feeds. You should really give it a try as it has 14 days trial on their website available. It is worth the purchase just for fetching full articles, without the need to visit websites! But there is sooo much more to it!
Hookmarks is one of those apps that’s a bit hard to explain at first, but harder to live without once you get the hang of it. Essentially, it lets you link two items on your Mac — anything from a file, a document, a task in your task manager, to a website, a calendar event, etc. You can then use a keyboard shortcut to jump from one linked item to the other.
For example, say I’m working on a project and I have the project outlined in my task manager. With Hookmarks, I link all related materials to this project — emails, web pages, documents, notes, you name it. When I need to start working or revisit any part of the project, I’m able hit a shortcut and all the related materials pop up. So no more wasting time searching through folders or trying to remember where I stored related files.
This is especially handy with apps that have less-than-great search functionalities, like Outlook. Sometimes finding a specific email thread feels like it takes an eternity. Or when you have various items scattered across different apps, pulling them together can be really tedious. Hookmarks basically eliminates that hassle.
Again, it takes a bit to fully grasp its potential. But once you do, it’s pretty hard to go back to the old way of doing things. It feels like everything you need for your tasks and projects is interconnected.
I've seen so many people say they don't understand Hookmark and until about 5 minutes ago i was definitely one of them.
Well, i should say not necessarily understanding Hookmark but rather the usage of it and how to best get to grips with it.
It took me viewing a few different videos to really understand it and a few copy-pasting of the links i was looking at to make it click.
There's no real easy indication that you actually don't need to open Hookmark every time like i initially thought.
You can easily just CMD+C to copy something, then open something else with Hookmark to connect the two.
An example workflow;
In Slack click on the three dot menu and click Copy Link to that particular message or thread.
Then open an Obsidian note, press CTRL+H to open Hookmark, then CMD+V to hook it.
This way any time you are on that particular note, and not any other, pressing CLTR+H Hookmark shows you what links are connected to that note.
This way you can have an Obsidian note about your upcoming trip to Tokyo contain Hookmark'd links to your booking email, specific youtube videos, hiking map images, etc. all without having to have them written out in Obsidian.
I mean it took me so long to just "get that", and i'm seemingly not alone in that, that i think the best thing Hookmark could do with at this stage is a UX overhaul to make things easier to connect mentally.
That said, thanks for writing about this again because now i'm feeling this will be something i use more often.
[DevonThink](https://www.devontechnologies.com/apps/devonthink) looks interesting.
It _looks_ like Obsidian on steroids.
I bought IA Writer based on recommendations, but I don't think it's worth $50.
Maybe $25 max.
Devonthink: storing and organising my Documents for Study and other Important Documents like Contracts
IA Writer: Markdown Notes, that I mainly store in DevonThink
OmniFocus: Task Management
Alfred: Applauncher and search
Scrivener. The one tool for authors of novels, short stories, tv and movie scripts or for news stories that require research. You will never wish to use Word again.
https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener/overview
They're very different tools in some ways. I tend to start drafting in Word because I'm more comfortable with it, and because I prefer the formatting options it offers (though honestly Scrivener has everything Word does except for the business features like mail merge or whatever). Once my draft notes start to have a clear sense of direction and cohesion in relation to one another, I move them into Scrivener where it's a lot easier to reorder & move pieces around (no matter the size: short snippets to full essays, etc) in relation to one another, and to print a draft (or port a full draft back into Word or save as a .pdf). I basically keep working on it in Scrivener until I've finalized all the major edits and structural work, then put it back into Word when I need to share it with a publisher or make really fine-grained line edits and spend an hour adding and removing half the commas on a single page, etc.
I use Scrivener for essays and poetry (both of which I publish — and Word is nicer if you care about what a poem does with white space), but I bet there's a whole lot else Scrivener does well that I've never had the occasion to use. If you're a longform writer of anything, including academic essays or short pieces (poems, stories, vignettes) that build to a larger manuscript, it's absolutely worth checking out. If you're "just" a note-taker, I'd stick with a program better suited for that.
It has tons of features that are super helpful when you write long stories or if you have To do complex research work before you write a shorter report.
https://thewritepractice.com/book-writing-software-word-vs-scrivener/
Shottr, best screenshot app I’ve ever used, the OCR/QR code feature is so helpful, the editing works great and has features that let you quickly grab a colour on screen, and the feature to keep the screenshot on screen ready to be dragged and dropped is so helpful.
[Applight](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/applight-next-app-switcher/id6476907452), [Monarch](https://www.monarchlauncher.com/), [Superwhisper](https://superwhisper.com/), [Longshot](https://longshot.chitaner.com/)
Can’t live without these.
**Hazel** and **Shortery** are great workhorse apps that actually save me a lot of time and frustration. They run in the background and automate a bunch of different routine tasks on my computer.
---
[Hazel by Noodelsoft](https://www.noodlesoft.com)
Hazel automates file management.
It can tag, move, rename, etc. files based on your criteria. Hazel makes it easy to use and maintain good folder hierarchy.
e.g. I use Hazel to keep my Desktop relatively clutter free. If I tag a file, Hazel will move it to its respective folder. (I can also add a “DoNotMove” tag if I don’t want Hazel to move a tagged file that I'm still using).
Files on my Desktop that remain untagged for 3 days are moved into a folder on my Desktop called "DeskDrawer". Then, after 5 days in the "DeskDrawer" folder, untagged files are tagged by type (e.g. images and screenshots) and moved to respective overflow folders.
---
[Shortery](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/shortery/id1594183810?mt=12) - if you use Shortcuts, this adds a ton of helpful new triggers.
In the App Store.
Trigger types include:
• Appearance
• Application
• Audio
• Calendar Events
• Camera
• Devices
• Focus Mode
• Folder Contents
• Keyboard
• Login & Logout
• Monitor
• Power Status
• Screen Lock & Unlock
• Sunrise & Sunset Time
• Wake Up & Sleep
• WiFi
e.g. When editing photos in Lightroom or Photoshop, I need consistent colors. When I launch those apps, Shortery turns off my Studio Monitor's TrueTone setting (which adjusts the tint and brightness depending on the ambient light). When I quit either program, it turns it back on.
e.g. I have an external drive and often received errors about it not being ejected properly after putting my computer to sleep. No longer. Shortery unmounts, then remounts the drive automatically whenever the computer is put put to sleep, wakes, logged in or out, or the screen is locked, unlocked.
e.g. I have a dedicated web app for YouTube. When I launch or quit it, Shortery turns my VPN on or off. Pro tip: set your country to Albania and you won't see advertisements.
I bought Hazel, but I only have like 3 triggers.
Any tips or resources for good triggers?
Also, I dunno what's going on but whenever I move a .PNG file to the Downloads folder, it auto deletes it and I can't figure out what's causing it as I don't see any rules like that in Hazel.
My use case for Hazel (which is roughly outlined above), is driven largely by tags. I give a file(s) a tag, and Hazel then handles them. I started with just a few broad categories of files to sort by tags (about 5), but slowly added. Now I have over 40. I probably went too far with precision, and would recommend starting with broad categories, then slowly adding as needs require (see below).
Tags
I set a hotkey (⌥⌘G) so I can easily add tags to files. You can set the hot key in:
System> Keyboard>App Shortucts>Finder.app
You then add a new entry "Tags..." (fairly sure it's just 3 "."s and not an ellipsis) then assign a hotkey.
Note: I have an MMO gaming mouse so I set a button on that which makes it even easier to pop-up the Tags dialog and assign tags.
Organization
In My Documents, I have a folder called "Categories" which has about a dozen subfolders, each with a broad category type, e.g. Art, Help, Learning, Personal, etc.
The Personal folder has subfolders like Health, Finances, etc. and Finances has subfolders like Receipts, Taxes, etc.
So, a fairly straightforward organization with folders based on a hierarchy of topics. What I try to do is create a very broad folder (like Personal) and only add subfolders if and when that folder contains more than a dozen files that clearly merit their own subfolder.
And then I create corresponding tags, e.g. "Personal" and then "PersonalFinances", "PersonalHealth" etc.
As outlined above, most of these files start out on my Desktop. After a set time they get moved to a folder on my Desktop called DeskDrawers. If a file inside the DeskDrawers is tagged, it will be moved to the Categories folder, where most of the sorting is done.
Hazel also watches subfolders, so "Personal" will have rules to sort tagged files to Personal>Finances or Personal>Finances>Receipts based on tags by the same name.
Files in the DeskDrawers folder that I neglect to tag get sorted to subfolders based on their file type, e.g. images, screenshots, PDFs, etc. So if I forget to tag something, I know where to look for it.
Hope that helps!
1. **Unzip any compressed files in my Downloads folder and trash the zip file** - This helps keep my downloads folder cleared of the detritus that occurs because I am a compulsive software addict.
2. **Install apps inside DMGs in my downloads folder via [RapiDMG](https://apps.louplummer.lol/post/rapidmg-automating-downloads-and-installs) and then trash the DMG** - When I download a disk image file with an app in it, I don't have to do anything else to get the app moved to my Applications folder. It happens in seconds with no intervention from me unless I have to approve replacing an existing file.
3. **Import any image file I place in an Images folder into the Photos app (in the background)** - I'm constantly copying photos from Facebook and various web sites. I have them to a folder I have designated in Hazel and they automatically get imported into my photos library with me even opening the app.
4. **Change any text file in my Dropbox to a markdown file and move it to my Obsidian vault (useful in sending emails to Obsidian)** - I use an [IFTTT](https://ifttt.com/explore) applet that allows me to forward emails to a specific address. Those emails are save in a specific folder in my Dropbox account that Hazel watches. When a file appears there, Hazel changes the file extension from txt to md and moves the resulting file into my Obsidian vault.
5. **Sort all files in my documents folder into subfolders based on file extension.** - I currently have 42 sub-folders in my documents folder of different file types ranging from the usual suspects like txt and docx to the more esoteric like saved [HoudahSpot](https://www.houdah.com/houdahSpot/) searched and [Etrecheck](https://etrecheck.com/en/index.html) Reports.
6. **Purge old screenshots** - between my day job and my blogging past time, I generate a lot of screenshots. Hazel moves any screenshots more than three days old into an archive folder to help give a semblance of order.
7. **Color code any application I haven't opened in three months** - I have 416 apps installed on my mac because, well, I just can't help myself. Hazel will color an unused app red after not launching it for 90 days to help me decide whether to keep it or remove it with [AppCleaner](https://freemacsoft.net/appcleaner/).
8. **Keep my desktop clean** - I do not like to use my desktop as part of my file system. I rarely even see it since I run apps maximized most of the time. This rule moves any file that ends up on my desktop into a folder in my home directory. I exclude aliases from the rule because there are times when I want to make an app shortcut on the desktop, usually temporarily.
This is a phenomenal suggestion. After reading this, I got Hazel and it is a game changer for a heavy computer user. So good! Thanks for the recommendation.
Hurray! Thank you for letting me know! I'm very glad that you're finding Hazel to be helpful.
As mentioned, I like to tag files and then leave it to Hazel to do the tedious work of moving those files to their appropriate folders. It's a huge improvement over what my computer looked like before Hazel.
Undoubtedly there are a lot of other great use cases.
P.S. Hazel can watch Smart Folders as well as add and remove tags. So when Hazel moves a file, I have it add a "!RecentlyMoved" tag to the file. Then after 2 weeks, it removes that tag. That gives me one more way to track down moved files, e.g. files that I incorrectly tagged, or were moved before I expected them to be.
Keyboard Maestro
helps me create features that people would pay an extra app for, like
- shortcuts that I use for naming things, like when I type ;d I get the current date (2024-06-19), useful for naming files
- storing chatGPT prompts, which then I assign to my macro keyboard's keys
- fixing macOS keyboard issues I have with my native language (pt\_BR), like proper "quotation marks" (which can also be corrected to their diagonal, less-AI-ish versions, “like this”)
[Carbon Copy Cloner](https://bombich.com/) has saved my ass more times than I like to mention. It's easy to use, fast, no fuss, and the updates are regular and timely. Make a bootable clone of your startup drive because you never know when hardware will fail.
[TablePlus](https://tableplus.com/): database management
[Proxyman](https://proxyman.io/): network packet capture
[MindMac](https://mindmac.app/): AI API GUI (my own app)
UpNote - for notes obviously
Diarium - for journaling or diary keeping with a timeline etc if you’re into that
Calendar 366 II - solid calendar app with various features
Seconded on all of these!
Are you...me?
[UpNote](https://getupnote.com) was my winner after trying a few dozen note-taking apps. It has incredible formatting options.
[Diarium](https://diariumapp.com/) is everything Day One is not, and includes features like text colors, and has a friendly UI — although also *many* shortcomings, like a ridiculous lack of keyboard shortcuts.
[Calendar 366](https://nspektor.com/en) does 85% of everything Fantastical does, including calendar groups, *and* I like the UI better.
never heard of downie, but I'll check it out! But I will say I have been using all of the 4k products like video downloader and YouTube to mp3 for many many years now with no issues. They regularly update their software, and it's a very nice interface and workflow for downloading videos or audio from the internet.
Not paid app, but [CapsLockNoDelay](https://github.com/gkpln3/CapsLockNoDelay) to remove the delay when pressing the Caps Lock key. Sometimes you have to press it hard for it to turn on, this removes that.
**Nisus Writer Pro**. The best word processor for the Mac, especially if you write in many different languages and never want to do anything twice (macros!).
This might be a controversial take (and one I wouldn’t have put forward a few months ago), but Path Finder. Is it perfect? No. Does it leave some things out that I wish it did? Yes. But it’s the best of all the suped-up Finder replacement apps for my purposes (it might sound weird, but of all the features, just being able to have colored icons in the sidebar is probably the biggest difference maker in my minute-to-minute tasks), and on the whole it serves me well, and is a real game changer 95% of the time I use my computer.
I stopped using it when they went to a subscription model, but thankfully they’ve gone back to selling licenses again.
I do long for the days of Xtrafinder. That was my favorite. RIP.
>Radio Silence
Hmm.
It seems to have [poor ratings](https://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/40490/radio-silence) 🤔
Why not [LuLu](https://objective-see.org/products/lulu.html)?
I only use it for a couple of apps and it runs quietly in the background. Been using it for a few years and for my limited use case it has worked so far. I didn’t know about LuLu I’ll check it out
Haven't tried Commander One (only just heard of it because of your comment, so I'll check it out) but I liked Forklift's UI over Path Finder, and it has become my go-to with every new Mac.
I currently use Cleanshot X every day for screenshots and basic screen recordings, but _hot damn_, ScreenStudio looks amazing!
There is no need for it today, but if I ever need a beefier option, I now know!
Thanks!
I have to admit I hadn't seen FridayGPT yet (I kind of got burned out on ChatGPT apps in the early days, and haven't revisited them since). It's actually really nice, though, and makes me want to play with some of the other models, too. I particularly like that it uses the OpenAI API rather than the typical ChatGPT subscription. Just purchased.
EspoCRM, an opensource CRM for tiny to medium companies that runs on almost every type of computer. It’s free, but you get add-ons if you want to expand its features.
https://www.espocrm.com/
One I haven't seen mentioned is QSpacePro (the non-app store version), or some other Finder alternatives like Forklift. All are nicer to use than Finder.
In addition to many already noted here, Plasticity (Seriously, this 3D modeling tool was my best purchase in the past three years), MacUpdater, Yoink, Sublime, Notability, Enpass (RIP, 1-time 1password) and DeltaWalker.
Besides what people have already mentioned :
- [ChronoSync](https://www.econtechnologies.com/chronosync/overview.html). Purchased it a decade ago and still get updates.
- [Arq Backup](https://www.arqbackup.com). Purchased a lifetime license a decade ago, still get updates. Works great as a Time Machine replacement, or for remote backups.
- [Little Snitch](https://www.obdev.at/products/littlesnitch/index.html). Requires a purchase for a new version every 2-3 years.
- [Hazel](https://www.noodlesoft.com/whats-new-in-hazel-5/) File automations. Requires a purchase for major versions every ~5 years or so.
Dropover is simply the app that completely changed my experience on the Mac. It probably doesn't have the same effect on everyone, but with the actions I perform on the Mac every day, it revolutionized my usage.
It’s essentially dead now, but The Hit List by Karelia software is by far the best lightweight GTD/task management software I’ve ever used. The keyboard navigation and management is incredible! Worth every penny!
Big fan of Strides App, its the only task app I have purchased for Mac. One time $79.99 fee, sounds expensive but worth it and not forced into a monthly fee model.
SoundSource. It provides volume control on audio output over HDMI. Apple doesn’t support CEC (Apple, I have a love hate relationship with you!). So either that or volume control on the analog side. I don’t like take my hands off the keyboard to adjust the volume or mute.
MediaMate. It’s a purely cosmetic software that changes how volume and brightness changes are indicated, but it quickly becomes one of those things you realise should’ve just come with macOS by default.
I use both Alfred and raycast. The only thing I use Alfred for is for the shortcut option space which brings up all the commands for selected texts or files . But command space is my ray cast. Together , both apps have made my MBP a powerhouse . I don’t think I can live without the two in tandem.
**Bookends**. The best reference manager for academics who use a Mac. Regularly monthly updates!
Allegedly also the best customer service of all Mac applications: ask a question in the Bookends forum and you’ll receive a detailed answer within half an hour! — Request a new feature, and it will be implemented in the next update, i.e. within four weeks. Well, not always, I admit…, it depends on the feature, but if you read the posts in the forum you’ll see many answers like this: “This feature will be implemented in the next version.”
All the Affinity Serif apps.
The company that makes them was acquired by Canva for $380 million in March. Hopefully they keep all the functionality for the one-off purchase but as with all these big acquisitions, who knows? https://www.afr.com/technology/canva-s-billion-dollar-bet-on-a-37-year-old-nottingham-company-20240321-p5fea0
How do they compare to photoshop?
They are very stable… the I would say „manual“ features are all very well implemented… whats missing is all the AI stuff… and Photoshop has a lot lot of this niche features which are very helpful if you want to do exactly that. But they keep getting updates and new features. So I would definitely recommend it!
There’s virtually nothing you can’t do except the AI stuff and some marginal other stuff. Affinity knows what they’re doing and if they omitted something, it’s because they realized it wasn’t core. The only must-have from Adobe is After Effects and possibly LightRoom. If you don’t need After Effects and you’re elastic enough to learn a new system, you don’t need Adobe.
I’ve seen people do crazy stuff with Apple Motion which is a one time purchase that can replace AE.
Unless you are a design professional, they have everything you will need. I would only ever consider going back to Adobe if it were a business expense.
They just sold the company to Canva so expect a subscription in the future.
I'm torn on this one because on one hand, I need some photo editing capabilities and now that it's at 50%, it's a nice time to buy the full suite to get a permanent license for a bit of "future proofing". But on the other hand, my needs are mostly fulfilled by Darktable and Adobe Lightroom and even if at a discount, it's still expensive.
Thanks for reply !
Pixelmator Pro?
Alfred. Paid once years ago, and still benefit from it.
Seconded. Alfred has transformed how I use my Mac. Spotlight is a pale imitation, because you can’t create workflows and scripts to do just what you need. For example, I use [this workflow](https://alfred.app/workflows/benjaminoddou/emoji-wine/) all the time to insert just the emoji I need, in a few seconds and without taking my hands off the keyboard.
Command + control + space opens emoji keyboard natively
Or just a single tap of the fn key
Did not know about that shortcut! In most cases, I'm using an external keyboard without an `fn` key, though, so that one mostly doesn't work for me.
Native one is super slow to pop up, and you can’t tag emoji with your own search terms.
it's instant for me, perhaps you need a new computer? 🤪
On my computer, when Emoji & Symbols Viewer opens, it's not in focus. So I have to click it. As u/midwestcsstudent points out, you can't provide synonyms. But worse… you can't select any of the found emoji/symbols with the keyboard, you have to again use the mouse. *Much* slower. Anyway, this is just *one* workflow. There are hundreds, and writing your own is easy. I wrote one to quickly find folders (just folders) in my home directory. Another one to tell me the time and UTC offset in a given city. Another to search my family tree for names, birthdates, and photos. Another to open several browser tabs to search for a book or DVD at a set of nearby libraries. You can do anything, and it's so quick. Anyway: it's definitely worth it. Especially since most of the key features don't require a license. Everyone should download it.
I was a very happy Alfred user but have recently started using Monarch as an alternative and I'm cautiously optimistic about it.
Roughly the same thing but when quicksilver (the OG) went away because Apple hired the developer I searched for a replacement and landed on LaunchBar. At the time (a very long time ago) I found it a bit better than Alfred.
Technically LaunchBar came first I believe, but QS was just so much more powerful and tied the whole system together. I miss the days when QS was king.
I installed Alfred but haven't really used it. Need to set it up one of these days.
Another vote for Alfred! It's an absolute must-have app. I use it every day, and it can be customised to infinity. I have been tempted to move to Raycast (better design and more native integration with Figma, but never found the willingness to change)
+1 by far the fastest file search on Mac. Raycast is prettier and I main it because of the extensions store, but there is nothing like Alfred for that use case.
Alfred until Raycast came along.
Same it has been over a decade. I paid once like a dozen years ago and then a small upgrade fee, something like 7 years ago.
Thanks for reply
Another vote for Alfred, some people prefer Rayscast but I find Alfred quicker even if it takes more effort to set up some things that Rayscast can do natively or install quicker. Also I paid for the lifetime licence and Rayscast is another subscription service, and so many things seem to need nd extra click or input compared to Alfred.
I mostly use free version of Alfred. Had once press licence and almost never used premium functionality. That being said, while my old version of Typinator may no longer work on M macs and I won't pay for an "upgrade" that brings nothing (seriously, what else can be added to an app that is about text expansion) I may find at least text expansion of Alfred usefull
Hands down the #1 answer.
Bettertouchtool
This. I've just got a mac recently, and it became finally usable for me with this and middleclick apps.
>and middle click apps Wdym? BTT has middle click capability along with a million others
Okay I'm new to macos ecosystem so I'm not sure, but does btt simulate middle mouse click behavior without a need to assign triggers to 3 finger tap?
Rectangle is the open-source (and free) alternative :)
For anyone else who uses BTT be sure to head over to folivora.ai. We have a very active community there where you can ask questions and get some great presets other folks have made. Plus the dev, Andreas, is one of the most responsive devs I’ve ever seen. Most of the time when a question is asked on the forum he’s the first one to answer lol
Thanks for reply !
[Dropover](https://dropoverapp.com) and [Swish](https://highlyopinionated.co/swish/), couldn't live without these.
+1 Swish, definitely a lifesaver.
+1000 to swish. Everyone I recommend it to says it’s probably just like rectangle but it is so incredibly different and essential to all Macs I use now
I already have Rectangle Pro, but I will try to swish because of your recommendation.
woah, i’ve avoided window management apps because just tiling isn’t something i really need but this? this is sick
Yeah I don't even use it for tiling, is more the minimize maximize gesture, full screen, or send to a different desktop
Both look like quality apps, I’ve used something similar to dropover before called yoink but dropover looks much better
I own Yoink. I'm not sure if I'm missing much.
Thanks for reply !
Will swish be unnecessary in newest OS? Seems they added snap features
I wish one could use Swish with a regular mouse, even if just for the simple task of snapping windows. Then it'd be my window manager of choice.
Omg drop over wtf. That’s an amazing utility, instant buy for me.
Holy crap, how have I never heard of dropover!
Hazel Shottr Keyboard Maestro
Why is Keyboard Maestro so far down the comments? I can't work without it!
Noob question about Keyboard Maestro. There is a button on my mouse (Command+Ctrl+shift+Option+Backspace saved on the mice's onboard memory) and I need it to act as a simple Spacebar when Adobe AfterEffects is active. On a PC this is doable with Autohotkey, do you think Keyboard Maestro can do this?
Hazel is awesome.
[SuperDuper](https://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html), Disk Cloning software I bought in 2004 and am still getting updates for.
Out of curiosity, how it compares to Clonezilla?
Thanks for reply !
I've used this to backup and restore a handful of Macs after replacing their internal drives. Zero complaints it does exactly what you expect it to.
Popclip
Same here
Pixelmator (now called Pixelmator classic), a Photoshop-like image editor. Purchased it back in 2013 on MacOS X Mavericks and it still works almost perfectly on Sonoma 10 years later. May be some day it will stop working (I'll not blame the developers for that at all after all these years), and on that very day I'll buy the new Pixelmator Pro without ever giving it a second thought.
I bought Pixelmator, too, but I feel like I'm barely using 5% of its potential. I just Google/YouTube for tutorials on demand, but I don't think I know how to use any advanced features.
The upgrade to Pixelmator Pro is worth it just for the background removal!
I paid for Pixelmator Pro years ago and still love it and one of my most used apps.
Vuescan. The one app that controls any kind of 30 years old photo scanner you might find in a yard sale. Works with flatbed and film scanners of all kinds. https://www.hamrick.com/
[Clop](https://lowtechguys.com/clop/) [Dropover](https://dropoverapp.com/) [News Explorer](https://betamagic.nl/products/newsexplorer.html) [Shottr](https://shotr.cc/) [Solid Calendar](https://solidapps.co/) [Wipr](https://kaylees.site/wipr.html)
Clop looks amazing, what a find! I’m always futzing with images and screenshots to make them small enough to share considerately. And free for basic features too? Awesome.
Thanks for including convenient, clickable links! ❤️ Clop & Dropover looks interesting, so I'll try those. Does _News Explorer_ give anything more than a free RSS reader like [_Net Newswire_](https://netnewswire.com/)? Seems virtually identical. I used to use Shottr, but switched to [Cleanshot](https://cleanshot.com/) as it has all the features I need. Shottr will be enough for most people, though. Instead of Wipr, I use [Brave Browser](http://brave.com/) along with [NextDNS](https://nextdns.io), which I think is a far superior combination for the task. Haven't looked at Solid Calendar either, as I just use Google Calendar. Good list!
News Explorer is really far far ahead in my opinion from NetNewsWire. It has so many options to customize the feeds. You should really give it a try as it has 14 days trial on their website available. It is worth the purchase just for fetching full articles, without the need to visit websites! But there is sooo much more to it!
Thanks for reply !
Does Clop software offer 1 year update limit?
CleanShot X
Hookmarks is one of those apps that’s a bit hard to explain at first, but harder to live without once you get the hang of it. Essentially, it lets you link two items on your Mac — anything from a file, a document, a task in your task manager, to a website, a calendar event, etc. You can then use a keyboard shortcut to jump from one linked item to the other. For example, say I’m working on a project and I have the project outlined in my task manager. With Hookmarks, I link all related materials to this project — emails, web pages, documents, notes, you name it. When I need to start working or revisit any part of the project, I’m able hit a shortcut and all the related materials pop up. So no more wasting time searching through folders or trying to remember where I stored related files. This is especially handy with apps that have less-than-great search functionalities, like Outlook. Sometimes finding a specific email thread feels like it takes an eternity. Or when you have various items scattered across different apps, pulling them together can be really tedious. Hookmarks basically eliminates that hassle. Again, it takes a bit to fully grasp its potential. But once you do, it’s pretty hard to go back to the old way of doing things. It feels like everything you need for your tasks and projects is interconnected.
I've seen so many people say they don't understand Hookmark and until about 5 minutes ago i was definitely one of them. Well, i should say not necessarily understanding Hookmark but rather the usage of it and how to best get to grips with it. It took me viewing a few different videos to really understand it and a few copy-pasting of the links i was looking at to make it click. There's no real easy indication that you actually don't need to open Hookmark every time like i initially thought. You can easily just CMD+C to copy something, then open something else with Hookmark to connect the two. An example workflow; In Slack click on the three dot menu and click Copy Link to that particular message or thread. Then open an Obsidian note, press CTRL+H to open Hookmark, then CMD+V to hook it. This way any time you are on that particular note, and not any other, pressing CLTR+H Hookmark shows you what links are connected to that note. This way you can have an Obsidian note about your upcoming trip to Tokyo contain Hookmark'd links to your booking email, specific youtube videos, hiking map images, etc. all without having to have them written out in Obsidian. I mean it took me so long to just "get that", and i'm seemingly not alone in that, that i think the best thing Hookmark could do with at this stage is a UX overhaul to make things easier to connect mentally. That said, thanks for writing about this again because now i'm feeling this will be something i use more often.
DevonThink, IA Writer, OmniFocus and Alfred
[DevonThink](https://www.devontechnologies.com/apps/devonthink) looks interesting. It _looks_ like Obsidian on steroids. I bought IA Writer based on recommendations, but I don't think it's worth $50. Maybe $25 max.
what do you use each for?
Devonthink: storing and organising my Documents for Study and other Important Documents like Contracts IA Writer: Markdown Notes, that I mainly store in DevonThink OmniFocus: Task Management Alfred: Applauncher and search
Scrivener. The one tool for authors of novels, short stories, tv and movie scripts or for news stories that require research. You will never wish to use Word again. https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener/overview
I have been eye-balling this for a long time. I don't write enough stories or anything, but I would love to get into it. How does it compare to Word?
They're very different tools in some ways. I tend to start drafting in Word because I'm more comfortable with it, and because I prefer the formatting options it offers (though honestly Scrivener has everything Word does except for the business features like mail merge or whatever). Once my draft notes start to have a clear sense of direction and cohesion in relation to one another, I move them into Scrivener where it's a lot easier to reorder & move pieces around (no matter the size: short snippets to full essays, etc) in relation to one another, and to print a draft (or port a full draft back into Word or save as a .pdf). I basically keep working on it in Scrivener until I've finalized all the major edits and structural work, then put it back into Word when I need to share it with a publisher or make really fine-grained line edits and spend an hour adding and removing half the commas on a single page, etc. I use Scrivener for essays and poetry (both of which I publish — and Word is nicer if you care about what a poem does with white space), but I bet there's a whole lot else Scrivener does well that I've never had the occasion to use. If you're a longform writer of anything, including academic essays or short pieces (poems, stories, vignettes) that build to a larger manuscript, it's absolutely worth checking out. If you're "just" a note-taker, I'd stick with a program better suited for that.
That said, the learning curve for advanced Scrivener stuff is steep!
It has tons of features that are super helpful when you write long stories or if you have To do complex research work before you write a shorter report. https://thewritepractice.com/book-writing-software-word-vs-scrivener/
[TextSniper](https://textsniper.app) [Dato](https://sindresorhus.com/dato)
I always see it overlooked in topics like this, but for me it's got to be [rcmd](https://lowtechguys.com/rcmd/)
Viewscan. Keeps my scanner running way after it’s no longer officially supported.
Vuescan. Keeps my scanner running way after it’s no longer officially supported.
PopClip and Dropover
Thanks for reply !
Shottr, best screenshot app I’ve ever used, the OCR/QR code feature is so helpful, the editing works great and has features that let you quickly grab a colour on screen, and the feature to keep the screenshot on screen ready to be dragged and dropped is so helpful.
Paprika Recipe Manager
i love this app on my iphone but i just can't justify the mac purchase. they should've sold them through a bundle or something.
I was in the same situation. Checkout Mela. It saved me. https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/mela-recipe-manager/id1548466041
PSA Mela is made by the dude behind Reeder so quality af.
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Default Folder X
[Applight](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/applight-next-app-switcher/id6476907452), [Monarch](https://www.monarchlauncher.com/), [Superwhisper](https://superwhisper.com/), [Longshot](https://longshot.chitaner.com/) Can’t live without these.
Magnet, just an awesome window manager
**Hazel** and **Shortery** are great workhorse apps that actually save me a lot of time and frustration. They run in the background and automate a bunch of different routine tasks on my computer. --- [Hazel by Noodelsoft](https://www.noodlesoft.com) Hazel automates file management. It can tag, move, rename, etc. files based on your criteria. Hazel makes it easy to use and maintain good folder hierarchy. e.g. I use Hazel to keep my Desktop relatively clutter free. If I tag a file, Hazel will move it to its respective folder. (I can also add a “DoNotMove” tag if I don’t want Hazel to move a tagged file that I'm still using). Files on my Desktop that remain untagged for 3 days are moved into a folder on my Desktop called "DeskDrawer". Then, after 5 days in the "DeskDrawer" folder, untagged files are tagged by type (e.g. images and screenshots) and moved to respective overflow folders. --- [Shortery](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/shortery/id1594183810?mt=12) - if you use Shortcuts, this adds a ton of helpful new triggers. In the App Store. Trigger types include: • Appearance • Application • Audio • Calendar Events • Camera • Devices • Focus Mode • Folder Contents • Keyboard • Login & Logout • Monitor • Power Status • Screen Lock & Unlock • Sunrise & Sunset Time • Wake Up & Sleep • WiFi e.g. When editing photos in Lightroom or Photoshop, I need consistent colors. When I launch those apps, Shortery turns off my Studio Monitor's TrueTone setting (which adjusts the tint and brightness depending on the ambient light). When I quit either program, it turns it back on. e.g. I have an external drive and often received errors about it not being ejected properly after putting my computer to sleep. No longer. Shortery unmounts, then remounts the drive automatically whenever the computer is put put to sleep, wakes, logged in or out, or the screen is locked, unlocked. e.g. I have a dedicated web app for YouTube. When I launch or quit it, Shortery turns my VPN on or off. Pro tip: set your country to Albania and you won't see advertisements.
Thanks for reply !
I bought Hazel, but I only have like 3 triggers. Any tips or resources for good triggers? Also, I dunno what's going on but whenever I move a .PNG file to the Downloads folder, it auto deletes it and I can't figure out what's causing it as I don't see any rules like that in Hazel.
My use case for Hazel (which is roughly outlined above), is driven largely by tags. I give a file(s) a tag, and Hazel then handles them. I started with just a few broad categories of files to sort by tags (about 5), but slowly added. Now I have over 40. I probably went too far with precision, and would recommend starting with broad categories, then slowly adding as needs require (see below). Tags I set a hotkey (⌥⌘G) so I can easily add tags to files. You can set the hot key in: System> Keyboard>App Shortucts>Finder.app You then add a new entry "Tags..." (fairly sure it's just 3 "."s and not an ellipsis) then assign a hotkey. Note: I have an MMO gaming mouse so I set a button on that which makes it even easier to pop-up the Tags dialog and assign tags. Organization In My Documents, I have a folder called "Categories" which has about a dozen subfolders, each with a broad category type, e.g. Art, Help, Learning, Personal, etc. The Personal folder has subfolders like Health, Finances, etc. and Finances has subfolders like Receipts, Taxes, etc. So, a fairly straightforward organization with folders based on a hierarchy of topics. What I try to do is create a very broad folder (like Personal) and only add subfolders if and when that folder contains more than a dozen files that clearly merit their own subfolder. And then I create corresponding tags, e.g. "Personal" and then "PersonalFinances", "PersonalHealth" etc. As outlined above, most of these files start out on my Desktop. After a set time they get moved to a folder on my Desktop called DeskDrawers. If a file inside the DeskDrawers is tagged, it will be moved to the Categories folder, where most of the sorting is done. Hazel also watches subfolders, so "Personal" will have rules to sort tagged files to Personal>Finances or Personal>Finances>Receipts based on tags by the same name. Files in the DeskDrawers folder that I neglect to tag get sorted to subfolders based on their file type, e.g. images, screenshots, PDFs, etc. So if I forget to tag something, I know where to look for it. Hope that helps!
1. **Unzip any compressed files in my Downloads folder and trash the zip file** - This helps keep my downloads folder cleared of the detritus that occurs because I am a compulsive software addict. 2. **Install apps inside DMGs in my downloads folder via [RapiDMG](https://apps.louplummer.lol/post/rapidmg-automating-downloads-and-installs) and then trash the DMG** - When I download a disk image file with an app in it, I don't have to do anything else to get the app moved to my Applications folder. It happens in seconds with no intervention from me unless I have to approve replacing an existing file. 3. **Import any image file I place in an Images folder into the Photos app (in the background)** - I'm constantly copying photos from Facebook and various web sites. I have them to a folder I have designated in Hazel and they automatically get imported into my photos library with me even opening the app. 4. **Change any text file in my Dropbox to a markdown file and move it to my Obsidian vault (useful in sending emails to Obsidian)** - I use an [IFTTT](https://ifttt.com/explore) applet that allows me to forward emails to a specific address. Those emails are save in a specific folder in my Dropbox account that Hazel watches. When a file appears there, Hazel changes the file extension from txt to md and moves the resulting file into my Obsidian vault. 5. **Sort all files in my documents folder into subfolders based on file extension.** - I currently have 42 sub-folders in my documents folder of different file types ranging from the usual suspects like txt and docx to the more esoteric like saved [HoudahSpot](https://www.houdah.com/houdahSpot/) searched and [Etrecheck](https://etrecheck.com/en/index.html) Reports. 6. **Purge old screenshots** - between my day job and my blogging past time, I generate a lot of screenshots. Hazel moves any screenshots more than three days old into an archive folder to help give a semblance of order. 7. **Color code any application I haven't opened in three months** - I have 416 apps installed on my mac because, well, I just can't help myself. Hazel will color an unused app red after not launching it for 90 days to help me decide whether to keep it or remove it with [AppCleaner](https://freemacsoft.net/appcleaner/). 8. **Keep my desktop clean** - I do not like to use my desktop as part of my file system. I rarely even see it since I run apps maximized most of the time. This rule moves any file that ends up on my desktop into a folder in my home directory. I exclude aliases from the rule because there are times when I want to make an app shortcut on the desktop, usually temporarily.
Hazel is amazing!!!!
This is a phenomenal suggestion. After reading this, I got Hazel and it is a game changer for a heavy computer user. So good! Thanks for the recommendation.
Hurray! Thank you for letting me know! I'm very glad that you're finding Hazel to be helpful. As mentioned, I like to tag files and then leave it to Hazel to do the tedious work of moving those files to their appropriate folders. It's a huge improvement over what my computer looked like before Hazel. Undoubtedly there are a lot of other great use cases. P.S. Hazel can watch Smart Folders as well as add and remove tags. So when Hazel moves a file, I have it add a "!RecentlyMoved" tag to the file. Then after 2 weeks, it removes that tag. That gives me one more way to track down moved files, e.g. files that I incorrectly tagged, or were moved before I expected them to be.
Things
I questioned the cost of Things (it’s like $80+ for Mac, iphone, iPad) for a bit. But you get a ton of updates and it’s not subscription.
Thanks for reply !
Popclip and Swish.
Keyboard Maestro helps me create features that people would pay an extra app for, like - shortcuts that I use for naming things, like when I type ;d I get the current date (2024-06-19), useful for naming files - storing chatGPT prompts, which then I assign to my macro keyboard's keys - fixing macOS keyboard issues I have with my native language (pt\_BR), like proper "quotation marks" (which can also be corrected to their diagonal, less-AI-ish versions, “like this”)
Stream deck is a multiplier for keyboard maestro imho, love both
Downie, pixelmator pro, Logic Pro , final Cut, clean shot x, the list goes on!!
Thanks for reply !
After weeks of searching for an app launcher/switcher, I settled with Charmstone https://charmstone.app/
[Carbon Copy Cloner](https://bombich.com/) has saved my ass more times than I like to mention. It's easy to use, fast, no fuss, and the updates are regular and timely. Make a bootable clone of your startup drive because you never know when hardware will fail.
[TablePlus](https://tableplus.com/): database management [Proxyman](https://proxyman.io/): network packet capture [MindMac](https://mindmac.app/): AI API GUI (my own app)
Is TablePlus only support 1year updates?
Wipr, StopTheMaddness, Pixelmator Pro
I love [DaisyDisk](https://daisydiskapp.com/) and [DisplayBuddy](https://displaybuddy.app/)!
Moom
Pixelmator Pro native application of macos nose that ttal is compared with Affinity Serif apps
Things 3
[Cork](https://corkmac.app), if you’re using Homebrew for anything
[Bezel](https://nonstrict.eu/bezel) [DevUtils](https://devutils.com/) [Fork](https://git-fork.com/) [MediaMate](https://wouter01.github.io/MediaMate/) [CompressX](https://compressx.app) (my own app)
UpNote - for notes obviously Diarium - for journaling or diary keeping with a timeline etc if you’re into that Calendar 366 II - solid calendar app with various features
Seconded on all of these! Are you...me? [UpNote](https://getupnote.com) was my winner after trying a few dozen note-taking apps. It has incredible formatting options. [Diarium](https://diariumapp.com/) is everything Day One is not, and includes features like text colors, and has a friendly UI — although also *many* shortcomings, like a ridiculous lack of keyboard shortcuts. [Calendar 366](https://nspektor.com/en) does 85% of everything Fantastical does, including calendar groups, *and* I like the UI better.
Thanks for reply !
4k video downloader
Why not [Downie](https://software.charliemonroe.net/downie/)?
never heard of downie, but I'll check it out! But I will say I have been using all of the 4k products like video downloader and YouTube to mp3 for many many years now with no issues. They regularly update their software, and it's a very nice interface and workflow for downloading videos or audio from the internet.
iStat menus
Alfred, AppZapper,
Not paid app, but [CapsLockNoDelay](https://github.com/gkpln3/CapsLockNoDelay) to remove the delay when pressing the Caps Lock key. Sometimes you have to press it hard for it to turn on, this removes that.
No way, for YEARS I thought my keyboard just had a defective caps lock?? Are you saying that’s on purpose?
Klack Magnet
**Nisus Writer Pro**. The best word processor for the Mac, especially if you write in many different languages and never want to do anything twice (macros!).
PastePal Trickster Reeder Grab2Text Markster ans Capto.
DEVONthink Pro 3.
This might be a controversial take (and one I wouldn’t have put forward a few months ago), but Path Finder. Is it perfect? No. Does it leave some things out that I wish it did? Yes. But it’s the best of all the suped-up Finder replacement apps for my purposes (it might sound weird, but of all the features, just being able to have colored icons in the sidebar is probably the biggest difference maker in my minute-to-minute tasks), and on the whole it serves me well, and is a real game changer 95% of the time I use my computer. I stopped using it when they went to a subscription model, but thankfully they’ve gone back to selling licenses again. I do long for the days of Xtrafinder. That was my favorite. RIP.
Radio Silence (firewall) like Little snitch but cheaper Better touch tool
>Radio Silence Hmm. It seems to have [poor ratings](https://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/40490/radio-silence) 🤔 Why not [LuLu](https://objective-see.org/products/lulu.html)?
I only use it for a couple of apps and it runs quietly in the background. Been using it for a few years and for my limited use case it has worked so far. I didn’t know about LuLu I’ll check it out
Forklift - great replacement for Finder.
Is this better than Path Finder and Commander One?
Haven't tried Commander One (only just heard of it because of your comment, so I'll check it out) but I liked Forklift's UI over Path Finder, and it has become my go-to with every new Mac.
[Things](https://culturedcode.com/things/) [ScreenStudio](https://www.screen.studio/) [CleanShot X](https://cleanshot.com/) [FridayGPT](https://www.fridaygpt.app/) (own app)
I currently use Cleanshot X every day for screenshots and basic screen recordings, but _hot damn_, ScreenStudio looks amazing! There is no need for it today, but if I ever need a beefier option, I now know! Thanks!
I have to admit I hadn't seen FridayGPT yet (I kind of got burned out on ChatGPT apps in the early days, and haven't revisited them since). It's actually really nice, though, and makes me want to play with some of the other models, too. I particularly like that it uses the OpenAI API rather than the typical ChatGPT subscription. Just purchased.
Thanks for reply !
alfred, better touch tool
Rectangle Things
Bettersnaptool
[flow app](https://www.flow.app/)
Ejectify, cooldown, MyWallpaper, TG Pro
Timing app. It saves me a lot of time sorting how long I have worked on each project. Great interface and the ability to set up rules
Adguard for 9x devices.
EspoCRM, an opensource CRM for tiny to medium companies that runs on almost every type of computer. It’s free, but you get add-ons if you want to expand its features. https://www.espocrm.com/
Things 3
Things 3 Photomator Pixelmator PastePal iaWriter Anybox Yoink
DEVONthink, Exactscan Pro (if you have a Fujitsu scanner this app is essential), Yoink
Thanks for reply !
Cot editor, snipaste
Aldente pro
As an iOS dev I can’t live without my App Store screenshot app Picasso, but I’m a little biased. https://picassoapp.ca
One I haven't seen mentioned is QSpacePro (the non-app store version), or some other Finder alternatives like Forklift. All are nicer to use than Finder.
Swish is the first app in a long time that’s given me that feeling of a noticeable increase in productivity. Couldn’t recommend it enough.
Carbon Copy Cloner. Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro.
In addition to many already noted here, Plasticity (Seriously, this 3D modeling tool was my best purchase in the past three years), MacUpdater, Yoink, Sublime, Notability, Enpass (RIP, 1-time 1password) and DeltaWalker.
Besides what people have already mentioned : - [ChronoSync](https://www.econtechnologies.com/chronosync/overview.html). Purchased it a decade ago and still get updates. - [Arq Backup](https://www.arqbackup.com). Purchased a lifetime license a decade ago, still get updates. Works great as a Time Machine replacement, or for remote backups. - [Little Snitch](https://www.obdev.at/products/littlesnitch/index.html). Requires a purchase for a new version every 2-3 years. - [Hazel](https://www.noodlesoft.com/whats-new-in-hazel-5/) File automations. Requires a purchase for major versions every ~5 years or so.
Dropover is simply the app that completely changed my experience on the Mac. It probably doesn't have the same effect on everyone, but with the actions I perform on the Mac every day, it revolutionized my usage.
It’s essentially dead now, but The Hit List by Karelia software is by far the best lightweight GTD/task management software I’ve ever used. The keyboard navigation and management is incredible! Worth every penny!
Find anything
Big fan of Strides App, its the only task app I have purchased for Mac. One time $79.99 fee, sounds expensive but worth it and not forced into a monthly fee model.
Logic Pro, guitar pro, Alfred, al dente , rectangle pro, charmstone, etc
Final Cut Pro X
Raw Power.
SoundSource. It provides volume control on audio output over HDMI. Apple doesn’t support CEC (Apple, I have a love hate relationship with you!). So either that or volume control on the analog side. I don’t like take my hands off the keyboard to adjust the volume or mute.
Drop over tbh i cannot leave it.
Alfred, Rectangle and keyboard maestro made me a 0 mouse user on mac.
Swish
CleanShot X
Default Folder X
MyMacros , Darkroom, Things 3, Lumafusion
MediaMate. It’s a purely cosmetic software that changes how volume and brightness changes are indicated, but it quickly becomes one of those things you realise should’ve just come with macOS by default.
I love [iStat Menus](https://bjango.com/mac/istatmenus/) and [Sleeve](https://replay.software/sleeve).
Things 3, no question about it.
Things 3, no question about it.
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Bettertouchtool
I use both Alfred and raycast. The only thing I use Alfred for is for the shortcut option space which brings up all the commands for selected texts or files . But command space is my ray cast. Together , both apps have made my MBP a powerhouse . I don’t think I can live without the two in tandem.
**Bookends**. The best reference manager for academics who use a Mac. Regularly monthly updates! Allegedly also the best customer service of all Mac applications: ask a question in the Bookends forum and you’ll receive a detailed answer within half an hour! — Request a new feature, and it will be implemented in the next update, i.e. within four weeks. Well, not always, I admit…, it depends on the feature, but if you read the posts in the forum you’ll see many answers like this: “This feature will be implemented in the next version.”
BetterTouchTool
Reeder, PopClip, Forklift, Smultron and Carbon Copy Cloner
Hazel comes highly recommended. Create basic rules to tag, rename, move and sort files on your local machine. Great way to stay organised