Mastering Sliprail: Boost Your Desktop Efficiency in Simple Steps

You've learned about Sliprail, a tool designed to enhance your efficiency on Windows and macOS through "shortcut commands". It consolidates your frequently used operations, app launches, system functions, and various shortcuts into a unified interface, letting you say goodbye to tedious mouse clicks.

So, how do you actually use Sliprail to streamline your daily workflow? It's incredibly simple. Sliprail's core interaction follows an extremely intuitive, natural logic.

Step 1: Open Sliprail

No matter what you're working on, just press the global hotkey (there's a default set upon installation, which you can customize in settings) to instantly bring up the Sliprail main window. This window is your gateway to efficient operations.

Step 2: Core Interaction - Input and Selection

The Sliprail main window is very clean and simple, mainly containing an input box and a results list. It works as follows:

As you start typing in the input field, the list below updates instantly, filtering based on your input (supports keyword matching, potentially fuzzy search) and prioritizing the best matches. These items typically include:

  • Applications installed on your computer.
  • Sliprail's available shortcuts (like system actions "Sleep", "Shutdown", etc.).
  • Currently open application windows (for quick switching).

Sliprail cleverly uses two operational modes, automatically switching between them based on whether you type a space.

Mode 1: Direct Search & Execute (Default Mode)

This is Sliprail's most common mode, designed for speed.

  • Action: Type the keyword for the item you want to find or execute directly into the input field.
  • Important Rule: The keyword itself should not contain spaces. For an application named "Google Chrome", type GoogleChrome or, more simply, chrome. Sliprail's smart matching will handle it. For shortcuts like sleep or shutdown, enter their standard shortcut keyword (e.g., Sleep, Shutdown).
  • Selection: Use Tab / Shift+Tab or ↓ / ↑ arrow keys if needed to highlight the correct item in the filtered list. Often, the top item is the one you want.
  • Execution: Press Enter.
  • Result: Sliprail immediately performs the action: launching the app, executing the shortcut, or switching to the chosen window.

Mode 2: Parameter Mode (Activates Automatically After Typing a Space)

This mode is used when you need to provide additional information to a shortcut or application.

  • Activation: It triggers automatically as soon as you type the first word (the shortcut or item keyword, without spaces) and then press the Spacebar.
  • Action Sequence:
  1. Type the standard, space-free keyword for the shortcut or app.
  2. Press the Spacebar. This acts as a separator.
  3. After the space, type the parameter(s) you want to pass (the parameter itself can contain spaces).
  4. Press Enter.
  • Result: Sliprail executes the shortcut or launches the app, passing everything you typed after the space as parameters. This is useful for shortcuts requiring input or for launching apps with specific arguments (if they support it).

!!! CRITICAL TIP !!!

Understand the spacebar's role: It's the crucial separator that distinguishes between the "shortcut/item" and its "parameters".

  • No Space Typed: You're in Direct Execution Mode. The entire input (without spaces) is treated as the target keyword.
  • Space Typed: You switch to Parameter Mode. Everything before the first space is the shortcut/target; everything after is the parameter.

Therefore, to launch "Visual Studio Code", type vscode or visualstudiocode then Enter. Do NOT type Visual Studio<space>Code. Sliprail would incorrectly try to run a shortcut named Visual with Studio Code as parameters.

Quick Operation Tips

Master these quick operation tips to make your Sliprail usage even more efficient:

Filter Shortcuts

Type / to specifically filter shortcuts. This helps you quickly find system operations, custom commands, and other functions. The filter character can appear anywhere in your input - for example, you can type /restart, restart/, or even res/tart to achieve the same filtering effect.

Filter Windows

Type [ to specifically filter currently open windows. This is very useful for quickly switching between multiple applications. Similar to shortcut filtering, the [ character can be positioned anywhere in your input text.

Filter Apps

Type # to specifically filter applications. When you specifically want to launch an app, this feature can reduce the search scope and improve matching accuracy. The # filter character works flexibly and can be placed at any position within your input.

Hide Apps

In search results, you can quickly add unwanted applications to your hidden list using the right-click menu. Hidden applications won't appear in future search results, helping you maintain a clean and focused search interface. This feature is especially useful for applications you rarely use but don't want to completely uninstall.

Navigate Selection

  • Use Tab / Shift+Tab or ↓ / ↑ arrow keys to navigate through the results list.
  • This allows you to quickly browse and select target items without using the mouse.

View Sub-shortcuts

Press the Spacebar to view sub-shortcuts. Some complex shortcuts may contain multiple sub-operations, and the spacebar can help you expand these options. For shortcuts that support two-level parameter input, the interaction is even more flexible. For example, with an encoding tool extension, first type encoding and press the spacebar to reveal a list of sub-shortcuts containing options like base64, url encoding, and more. The system remains in filter mode during this process, allowing you to continue typing keywords to quickly narrow down the encoding tool you need. Once you've selected your target tool, press the spacebar again to confirm your selection, then input the specific content you want to encode or decode to perform the operation.

Run Shortcut

Press Enter to execute the currently selected shortcut or open the application.

Ask Nora

Type nora [your question] and press Enter to ask Sliprail's intelligent assistant Nora questions. For example:

  • nora how to set scheduled shutdown
  • nora how to clean system junk
  • nora recommend efficiency apps

Sliprail's Design Philosophy: Intuitive and Easy to Use

As you can see, the core usage pattern is straightforward:

Hotkey to open search window -> Type Keyword (No Spaces) -> (Enter to Execute / OR Space + Parameters + Enter)

Sliprail aims for a "think it, do it" experience. The combination of real-time search and the automatic mode switching based on the spacebar allows for both power and simplicity.

Summary

You've now grasped the fundamental usage of Sliprail. The key takeaway is the special role of the spacebar: it switches from Direct Execution Mode to Parameter Mode, and the keyword in Direct Execution Mode must be space-free.

Why not start now?

  1. Press the global hotkey to open Sliprail.
  2. Try typing the space-free name or abbreviation of your common apps (e.g., chrome, slack, vscode) and press Enter to launch them.
  3. Explore available shortcuts; try typing shortcut keywords like Sleep, Shutdown, Restart, and press Enter.
  4. Try the filtering features: type / to view shortcuts, type [ to view open windows, type # to view applications. Remember that these filter characters can appear anywhere in your input.
  5. Experience the intelligent assistant: type nora your question to get help.
  6. Practice switching windows – type a space-free keyword for an app to quickly find its open windows.
  7. Try right-clicking on applications in search results to add them to your hidden list and keep your search interface clean.

Start enjoying the fluidity and efficiency Sliprail brings! Remember these simple operation rules, and it will become your indispensable desktop assistant.