Ahoy Product Hunt friends,
Last you heard from us, we showcased a brand new way to work with your cloud apps. We built a low-latency file system to unify your apps (like Google Drive, Notion, Linear, etc.), letting you do things like search, browse and even create things.
From the start, our focus here has been about speed.
We built unique infrastructure to make Slapdash low-latency and now we've built the fastest interface in the world to complement it: the Command Bar.
It’s like Spotlight on the Mac, except it's clever to your cloud apps, it's fully programmable and it's designed to help you move fast.
To open the Command Bar, just type Command + J on Mac, or Control + J on Windows and Linux.
What’s the fastest way to open a Notion document? Open the Command Bar, type the partial name, and hit Enter. We’ll even open it in the native Notion app if it's installed.
What’s the fastest way to launch your next meeting? Open the Command Bar and you'll see your next meeting at the top. Hit Enter and jump directly to the Zoom call.
What's the fastest way to file an issue? Open the Command Bar, run a command, quickly fill in the fields and be on your way. No browser or mouse required.
When we say the Command Bar is the fastest, we're not just being cheeky. We measure the speed with an HCI methodology called the GOMS model.
We didn't arrive at the current Command Bar overnight, and along the way we learned a lot about what makes an interface fast:
🔮 Predictable
Our first generation Command Bar taught us the value of predictability. If the Command Bar interaction model is not predictable, a person can't habituate, meaning the interface can never move to the background and be used in-flow.
🤹♂️ Modeless
Our second generation Command Bar taught us about minimizing modes. We used to have search mode and command mode. We learned that choosing a mode ahead of time is error prone and leads to wasted time correcting the input.
🎷 Expressive
Our third generation Command Bar taught us the value of expressiveness, or being able to do things in more ways than one. To pull it off, we extended the command palette pattern with a new dimension: movement. With movement, the same task can be completed from different starting points, mapping more naturally to how people plan tasks in their head.
One more thing --
Today, we are also opening up our development platform. Now anyone can build fully custom, interactive commands and share them with others.
Like some of the companies using the Command Bar, you can build high-utility commands to dramatically speed up common workflows (customer lookup, entering something into a database, searching company records, etc.).
Or, you can just build some toys to make using the computer a little easier and a lot more fun.
Thanks for reading, and we hope you enjoy playing with the Command Bar.
@thomas_de_weekendr glad you're enjoying Slapdash.
There is a "Search Files" command that you can find in the Command Bar (macOS only). Run it, enter the keywords and you should see the matched files.
Let us know if you're having any issues or have other feature requests or feedback.
Cheers!
@thomas_de_weekendr - We don't include finder results in the main view, but you can run "Search Files" command to search finder.
In this case, the workflow is tad slower than Spotlight, but we have plans to decrease the speed gap here.
@kanevski Thanks for your answer :) If it could replace Spotlight it would be awesome! Plus if it was possible to customize the default view order (Would love to have the last opened items first)
@thomas_de_weekendr - we rank the commands that show based on frequency and recency of usage, but it makes sense to also include some of the latest items you opened via search too.
I've been using Slapdash on and off for a year. Raycast challenged my loyalty with its predictability. That said, it's incredible to see how subtle updates make all the difference! Definitely getting back into Slapdash.
Please, please, implement Google Drive filtering. I have tons of irrelevant small files which are just polluting my results. ?makers
Otherwise, great product!
@naydenovstoyan what kind of filters would you like to see for Google Drive?
Today, you can filter by the file type (e.g. Google Doc, Google Sheet, Google Slide) and keywords.
Pro tip: try creating a Magic Space that will visualise your search query (e.g. Google Docs that contain "demo"). This way you can have a quick way to access commonly used search queries.
@jelveh - Alfred's awesome. At this point, we can do close to everything it can (and if not, it can likely be expressed on our dev platform).
The biggest material differences are:
* We have more of a cloud / work focus, with amazing universal search and cloud app integrations. Alfred is better with local file search at the moment.
* You can use Slapdash as a team and you can actually share commands with others (this is useful and fun!)
* Our development platform is open source
* You can access Slapdash in a browser too if need be
Dev platform sounds really exciting! I’m using Slapdash in my day to day job, and … it’s a game changer for me in terms of GitHub search across the repos, custom commands and fast slack message search in your command bar! Thanks everyone who are working on this product !!
i use it constantly as the central place for me to pull up any app, any file, any search - game changer in terms of speed and enjoyment working across my work apps
@mohamed_habib1 - You can take the setup at your pace. If you don't connect apps, you can just download the desktop app and use it like like a launcher (i.e. Spotlight / Alfred).
Think of it like setting up a new computer, at some point you have to take the time to install apps for it to be useful.
Slapdash