Windows has a very convenient Run box (WinKey + R) that
- from one box, can
- can launch programs by exact path to the executable
- launch any program in the
PATH
directories by executable name - open files in default applications
- open an Explorer window into a local directory
- open an Explorer window into a network share
- open any URL with its default handler (e.g. a browser)
- has tab completion (well, really up/down arrow completion)
- has a history function
This is an amazing time saver for any power user, and I'm looking for something equivalent for a Mac. I know that there are some utilities that have some of the features (e.g. the "Open Directory" command in Finder, Spotlight, Quicksilver), but I haven't found any one that does everything or almost everything.
Does anyone know of some close equivalent?
Best Answer
It doesn't, but Terminal is very similar to both the run box and the command prompt (cmd) in Windows. In Terminal,
open
is your friend.In Terminal, you can use
open -a Application.app
to launch an application that lives in the /Applications folder, oropen <exact path to applcation>
to launch an application that is anywhere on your computer.Just us
open <file>
.open song.mp3
will open song.mp3 in the default audio player (in my case iTunes)open /Path/to/dir/
will launch the folder in Finderopen http://google.com
will launch the default browser and open the url. It also works for FTP (but i have not tested anything else)For more, just run
man open
in Terminal or see this page.