Into the Fast Lane with Synapse

One of the differences between average users and “power” users is efficiency. Power users are concerned not just with getting a task done but also with getting it done with as little effort as possible in the shortest amount of time. One way that advanced users often speed up their work is with automation. Synapse puts the pedal to the metal a different way: reducing the need to switch between the keyboard and the mouse.

Unless you are using KDE or some type of minimalist desktop, you have a wonderful piece of search technology called Zeitgeist working behind the scenes. Zeitgeist is a framework which works a bit like a butler, observing which files you open and which programs you run most. It does not, however, spy on you or what is in your documents. Instead, Synapse gives you a way to search this information to open a document, run a program, and much more.

Setting Up

Installing Synapse is no different from any other program. It can be easily found in Software Manager. More advanced users will probably install it as the synapse package in Synaptic Package Manager or from the command prompt.

Following installation, it will need to be initially run manually so the fun can begin. It can be found in the Accessories category in the Start menu. As an alternative, pressing Alt+F2 should bring up a window to run an arbitrary command where you can just type synapse and press Enter to fire it up.

First Steps

Synapse is meant to be used from the keyboard. At the top are headings which filter your search results: Actions, Audio, Applications, All, Places, Documents, Images, Video, and Internet. All is the default and searches all of the available categories. Using a filter is a matter of pressing the left or right arrow key to get to the desired category and you can change the filter at any time. Regular typing will start your search within that category. Pressing the Escape key will cause the window to disappear and Synapse will run in the background. While it is running, you can press Ctrl+Space to open the search window again.

Using Synapse has a basic workflow which goes something like this:

1. Open Synapse with Ctrl+Space or your customized keyboard shortcut.
2. Optional: choose a search filter using the Left or Right arrow key.
3. Start typing your search terms.
4. Use the Up and Down arrow keys to select a result. Page Up and Page Down also work for searches with many hits.
5. Optional: press the Tab key followed by the Up and Down arrow keys to select an action to perform on the selected result. Shift+Tab will take you back to the results list if you change your mind.
6. Press Enter to open your file with the selected action if you pressed Tab or the default action if you didn't.

Customizing Synapse

A lot of flexibility hides behind the relatively simple main window. In the top right corner of the Synapse window is a circular button which accesses the program's menu. The menu does not hide much: access to the program's preferences, an about window, and a way to completely quit Synapse. It is worth the time going into the preferences because it allows you to customize how you work with Synapse and also learn some of the less-than-obvious tricks that it can do.

The Preferences window packages all of the settings into two tabs: General and Plugins. The General tab will enable you to change the keyboard shortcuts, to change the look of the main window, to choose to run Synapse when you log in -- highly encouraged, and also to show or hide Synapse's icon in the system tray. The Plugins tab holds a list of add-ons which enhance Synapse's abilities. Here is a list of the ones enabled by default:

• Search for and run programs
• Control the Banshee music player and add music to playlists
• Act as a basic calculator
• Run arbitrary commands as if run from the command prompt
• Search developer documentation (requires installation of DevHelp)
• Look up word definitions (requires installation of gnome-dictionary)
• Open specific folders on the disk
• Log out
• Upload a picture to the imgur picture-sharing service
• Search Google or Google Maps

Synapse's plugins are the source of its power. Some of them are easy to figure out. Using the calculator plugin, for example, is just a matter of typing in numbers, and it even copies the result to the clipboard for you. Others, on the other hand, are not. The imgur plugin, for example, requires you to first search for an image, press Tab to show actions for that image, and then select Upload to imgur. It then uploads it and copies the web address for the picture to the clipboard. The dictionary plugin works the same way.

Concluding Thoughts

It doesn't take much to start with Synapse. The power it offers is well worth the small amount of time needed to install it and play with it a bit. As productivity tools go, it is one you should have in your bag, and the best part is that the more you use it, the better it gets.