Arbitrary but essential feature suggestions

[andy4222]

A few features Alfred should be provide right from the launcher rather than going into the "Alfred Preferences" or installing a workflow. 

- Create new workflow from Alfred launcher

- Export/Enable/Disable Snippets

- Enable/Disable workflows

- Toggle system settings like bluetooth, toggle wifi, connect to a network

- Install/delete workflows (Workflow library integrated right into the launcher, and shows number of downloads for ratings)

- Apple "About" menu, battery info.

- Set input/output device

- Some natural language conversion (days since 01/01/2021 etc. These things might not even need external API calls)

- Create events in Calendar

- FaceTime and message contacts

- Copy 2FA codes from Messages

- Screen recording (start right away)

- Screenshot (ability to set full screen or frontmost window or cross hair selector)

 

Others:

- Better dictionary support. It only shows a few words. Maybe should allow to drill down and see the full meaning with example sentences from dictionary.app. 

- Ability to take in multiple text inputs (form style, rather than splitting text input or using multiple script filters)

- Ability to show more info about results, like an info pane on the right side of results

- Bookmark integration with all browser. (Edge, Brave)

- Ability to open bookmarks in a different browser if needed

 

Although a few of these feature might have workflows,  but I think they should be part of the core product.

Edited October 30, 2022 by andy4222

[vitor]

8 hours ago, andy4222 said:

Although a few of these feature might have workflows

 

Not just a few, but most. Others have direct Automation Tasks for it (e.g. the screenshots, in all configurations).

 

8 hours ago, andy4222 said:

but I think they should be part of the core product.

 

Think about what that means: it entails spending development and debugging time which could be used on improving Alfred itself on duplicating features which are already done in workflows in different ways. For example: for the About information there at least two workflows which show different information. Adding that to Alfred’s core would mean yet a third way which won’t fit everyone’s needs. The dictionary suggestion is another example—I’m picky with my dictionaries and thesaurus yet my usage doesn’t overlap with your suggestion. Which is not a judgement on your idea (which has value), it’s just different. And that’s why it makes sense as a workflow: part of their power is that you can set them exactly as you want.

It’s also important to note everyone has their own set of features they think should be part of the core, which is why the right approach is to have them be workflows and spend development time on improving Alfred itself. We release workflows officially! That allows for a lot of flexibility in feature support (plus users can fork them or contribute directly) and allows us to push the boundaries of what’s possible with workflows and gain insights into where they should be extended. Workflows make Alfred and other workflows better in ways that shoving every minor feature to the core can’t.

[andy4222]

Thanks. I didn't even know about the official workflows until this moment . Would be great if you we can announce these on Twitter or the blog as they are official and would cater to a wider set of users which might not be the case for new workflow being posted in this forum

[vitor]

They are often covered on the blog: TinyPNG; Google Drive; 1Password. Blog posts are announced on Twitter.

[andy4222]

 

On 10/29/2022 at 9:34 PM, andy4222 said:

- Some natural language conversion (days since 01/01/2021 etc. These things might not even need external API calls)

 

 

Is there a reliable workflow for this. Most of them I checked don't parse/understand things the tokens correctly. Something like this would be awesome. The first one doesn't require network access as well. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[vitor]

There is the SoulverCore workflow by @cprecioso (though it includes an unsigned binary) and the Soulver workflow which ships with the app.

 

Edited November 1, 2022 by vitor

[andy4222]

I think I'm gonna have to just use spotlight for this feature 😔 (Trying avoid dependencies on un-vetted binaries).

 

Not sure if macOS has an API for these features.....Alfred could integrate with those? Or, integrate with a similar framework so this feature is offered out of the box like the calculator.

Edited November 2, 2022 by andy4222