shortcut to create a new email from anywhere from within os x (aka stupid shortcut hack #145)

It's come to this, blogging stupid Mac desktop shortcut productivity hacks. But since "sharing is caring" and I really do care, here's a quick little thing that I'm sharing with you.

Problem: Help! I'm in a random application and I need to send a quick email and I'm just too lazy to mouse or cmd-tab over to mail.app and find that new message button; I want to do it now! Right now! Because every second counts! (And oh -- I'm one of the three people who care about stuff like this but don't already run Quicksilver![1])

Solution: A "mailto:" webloc file and Spotlight.

1. Go bookmark a site in Safari. Any site.
2. Switch to the bookmark management view by clicking Bookmarks > Show All Bookmarks
3. Edit the name of the bookmark you just created to "msg" (or "email" or "create an obligation to reply for someone you love")
4. Edit the address of the bookmark to "mailto:" (without the quotes, and don't forget the colon).
5. Drag that bookmark to your desktop, where it will create a msg.webloc file.
6. Then go file it away somewhere in your Documents, since I'm sure you're one of those people who care about what's on your desktop.
7. There is no step 7!

As long as you have Spotlight configured to index webloc files, all you need to do is hotkey your way to the spotlight window and type "msg" (or your trigger word of choice) and voila, instant access to a new email message from wherever you are.

So there, go enjoy your faster emailing.

[1] If you're one of those three people, Hi! We should have lunch sometime.

Comments

[Margaret Sippey]

This is good and helpful!

[Michael Sippey]

thanks, meg! (at least my sister found it helpful. +1 for families reading blogs.)

[bryan]

Quicksilver, much [1]? No, seriously, it's better than spotlight.

[1] http://www.blacktree.com/ [2]
[2] "This blog does not allow HTML comments."

[toppledwagon]

Pulling up Spotlight is painful. Let's just drop that msg.webloc in your dock (on the docs side) and it'll be right there for you too.

Nice hint.

[Michael Sippey]

@bryan -- i used to use quicksilver all the time. and then, unexplainedly, it started to be really really flaky, chew up tons of system resources, and all i was doing with it was launching apps. and spotlight is just fine for that.

@david -- i love keyboard shortcuts and avoid using the mouse. but yes -- dropping it into the dock is a great idea as well...

[ginevra]

nifty trick!

and I just can't wrap my head around Quicksilver. I know everyone says it's the best thing since sliced bread, but, srsly. I use Text Expander to write common phrases (titles, greetings, conference call numbers) with a few keystrokes, and that's really all I've ever needed.