5 Mac OS X Apps for Everyone that Nobody Talks About

August 12th, 2015 |

#OS X

2015-08-12

I've gotten sick of app lists and what-I-use posts that list the excellent but expected culprits (1Password, Marked, Bartender, iStat Menus, Omnifocus, and so on), so here's a quick rundown of some neglected gems.

Screenfloat:

Screenfloat allows you to take a crosshair-selection screenshot that floats above other windows. I use it every day when I want to reference a part of my work when I have Siracusan number of windows and tabs open (which is most of the time).

Dropzone 3.

Pick up a file and drag it to the very top of the screen, and Dropzone appears, ready to perform actions on your file. It is very extensible with a Ruby API, but I mostly just use this utility as a more convenient way of putting new apps into the /Applications folder, which I might do 10-15 times a day.

Shortcat

Activating Shortcat with a hotkey puts a textbox below your current window that is used to select any UI element on that window using just the keyboard. I've had this app for a while, but I still have to work it into my muscle memory. I hope by mentioning it hear I can give it some love.

Eaglefiler

I never have been able to get into DevonThink, scared off by it's price and ugliness. Together 3 is crash-prone, Barebones's Yojimbo has proprietary paid sync and does not allow for multiple libraries, and while it's easy to stuff things into Evernote, it is difficult to get them out without some scripting wizardry and prayer. Eaglefiler is mostly known as great software to archive email, but it suits my needs as a rock-stable and simple organizer. I make multiple libraries for different areas of life, throw them into Dropbox, and the database ensures file integrity. It's wonderfully documented by a developer who writes the best damn link blog for Apple programmers.

Sketch 3

This app is mentioned a lot in the designer and developer communities. However, Sketch 3 is also an excellent app for the average Joe who wants to make quick-and-dirty graphics that look great at any size. It's easy and delightful to use.