Commands

A QSCommand is something that contains a direct object, an action, and an indirect object. In other words, it encapsulates something you would normally put together in Quicksilver's interface.

Commands can be created by users (using the ⌃↩ "encapsulate" keystroke), by code (using methods from the QSCommand class), and in a plug-ins Info.plist (Under QSRegistration → QSCommands). Triggers refer to commands for obvious reasons.

One thing to note is that commands don't require either a direct or indirect object. For example, the iTunes plug-in comes with a number of predefined triggers like "Play", "Increase Volume", "Increase Rating", etc. These always do the same thing. There's no need to specify an object for them to act on. As a result, the commands these triggers refer to contain only an action.

When defining commands in the property list, the contents will vary greatly depending on the actionID. The actionID can refer to any action, but there are only a few that make sense. Below are examples of three common types.

For commands that call an Objective-C method somewhere, use "QSObjCSendMessageAction":

<key>QSiTunesMute</key>
<dict>
  <key>command</key>
  <dict>
    <key>actionID</key>
    <string>QSObjCSendMessageAction</string>
    <key>directArchive</key>
    <dict>
      <key>data</key>
      <dict>
        <key>qs.action</key>
        <dict>
          <key>actionClass</key>
          <string>QSiTunesControlProvider</string>
          <key>actionSelector</key>
          <string>volumeMute</string>
          <key>icon</key>
          <string>iTunesIcon</string>
          <key>name</key>
          <string>Mute</string>
        </dict>
      </dict>
    </dict>
    <key>directID</key>
    <string>QSiTunesVolumeMute</string>
  </dict>
</dict>

Be sure the key and directID are not the same.

For commands that should invoke Quicksilver, and allow searching a specific subset of objects, use "QSObjectSearchChildrenAction":

<key>QSiTunesSearchArtists</key>
<dict>
  <key>command</key>
  <dict>
    <key>actionID</key>
    <string>QSObjectSearchChildrenAction</string>
    <key>directArchive</key>
    <dict>
      <key>data</key>
      <dict>
        <key>com.apple.itunes.qsbrowsercriteria</key>
        <dict>
          <key>Result</key>
          <string>Artist</string>
          <key>Type</key>
          <string>Artist</string>
        </dict>
      </dict>
    </dict>
  </dict>
  <key>name</key>
  <string>Search Artists</string>
</dict>

For commands that are handled by an AppleScript file somewhere, use "AppleScriptRunAction":

<key>QSiTunesMute</key>
<dict>
  <key>command</key>
  <dict>
    <key>actionID</key>
    <string>AppleScriptRunAction</string>
    <key>directResource</key>
    <dict>
      <key>bundle</key>
      <string>com.blacktree.Quicksilver.QSiTunesPlugIn</string>
      <key>path</key>
      <string>Contents/Resources/Scripts/Mute.scpt</string>
    </dict>
  </dict>
</dict>