Butler for Mac
Butler for Mac
Editors' Review
Butler for Mac allows you to create a number of custom menus, shortcuts, and abbreviations for your Mac's desktop that speed up how you use your computer. From adding search interfaces to the menu bar to creating shortcuts that actually learn as you use your machine, Butler's goal is to make your Mac easier to use for you.
Pros
Wide range of customizations: Butler's customization options are plentiful. The file launcher is found in many other apps, but in Butler it learns from your uses and starts providing shorter and more accurate abbreviation support. Combined with a central bookmark manager, menu-based Web search, and extended clipboard so you can store multiple things at once, it's a very useful tool.
Fast and lightweight: In our tests, Butler had a minimal impact on performance or battery life. It sits in the background and only appears when the selected hotkeys were pressed. This made for a very interactive, but unobtrusive support tool.
Cons
Interface needs work: Built into Mac's preferences template, Butler doesn't look all that pretty when you open it to make adjustments. Finding specific options can be hard as well, and Help menus often look like blocks of text. It's not impenetrable, but it will take time to set up your shortcuts, initially.
Bottom Line
With the exception of the sometimes cumbersome menu, Butler is a fast, incredibly handy tool that offers a range of solutions to problems that you might have with your Mac. Combining the touch key tools that many other apps have into one solution, Butler is a must try for anyone who wants to be more efficient on their Mac.
Editors' note: This is a review of the trial version of Butler for Mac 4.1.17
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Editors' Review
Butler for Mac allows you to create a number of custom menus, shortcuts, and abbreviations for your Mac's desktop that speed up how you use your computer. From adding search interfaces to the menu bar to creating shortcuts that actually learn as you use your machine, Butler's goal is to make your Mac easier to use for you.
Pros
Wide range of customizations: Butler's customization options are plentiful. The file launcher is found in many other apps, but in Butler it learns from your uses and starts providing shorter and more accurate abbreviation support. Combined with a central bookmark manager, menu-based Web search, and extended clipboard so you can store multiple things at once, it's a very useful tool.
Fast and lightweight: In our tests, Butler had a minimal impact on performance or battery life. It sits in the background and only appears when the selected hotkeys were pressed. This made for a very interactive, but unobtrusive support tool.
Cons
Interface needs work: Built into Mac's preferences template, Butler doesn't look all that pretty when you open it to make adjustments. Finding specific options can be hard as well, and Help menus often look like blocks of text. It's not impenetrable, but it will take time to set up your shortcuts, initially.
Bottom Line
With the exception of the sometimes cumbersome menu, Butler is a fast, incredibly handy tool that offers a range of solutions to problems that you might have with your Mac. Combining the touch key tools that many other apps have into one solution, Butler is a must try for anyone who wants to be more efficient on their Mac.
Editors' note: This is a review of the trial version of Butler for Mac 4.1.17
