There are many ways to launch an application in Apple OSX. Double click the app in the applications folder. Click an app icon on the dock. In Mac OSX Lion, you can start Launch Pad to open an iOS-like icon grid that you can use to start an app with one click.
You can use keyboard shortcuts to launch any application.
But there’s a keyboard shortcut that can be used by those running OSX Leopard, Snow Leopard, and Lion. It’s quick, convenient, and actually, easy to remember.
Read more after the jump.
Opening an app in Leopard, Snow Leopard, and Lion is easy with a few keyboard strokes.
- Activate Spotlight by pressing Command + Space on the keyboard
- Start typing the name of the application. Spotlight will start showing you the results, including the app you are looking for.
- Click on the app in Spotlight results.
If you’ve never used this method to open apps before, you’ll be surprised. The search results are usually quick and accurate. If you are using G4 Macs or older, results can be a little slow in appearing. For older Macs, I highly recommend Quicksilver which is free and speedy and actually sports a lovely minimalist interface.
- Learn more about Quicksilver
- Download Quicksilver
As for Spotlight, it can also be used to look for documents, photos, songs, movies, and others. The beauty of using the keyboard shortcut is that it gives you quick access to your apps.
Of course, this method of using Spotlight is not much help if you tend to forget the name of the application you want to launch. That’s why the Dock, Launch Pad, and the Applications folder are still useful for opening apps. You can always switch from one method to another for launching apps, depending on the mood you’re in at the moment.
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