How to email a file with Google Quick Search Box

Several readers have posted in the comments of an earlier post, asking how to email a file using Google’s Quick Search Box (QSB) utility.

It was much easier to know to do this in Quicksilver using a trigger.

In QSB it’s not as obvious, but it’s easy.

First you need to have QSB itself loaded and Martin Kühl’s Services plugin (see earlier Hawk Wings post).

Select the file that you want to email in Finder or on your Desktop or wherever.

Activate QSB. Type Command-G (⌘-G) to “get current selection”:

Type “email” into the dialog:

Hit the tab key to advance to the next screen:

Hit the Enter key to select “Perform Service” and — violà — a new email appears the file attached:

What could be simpler? QSB is not in Quicksilver’s league yet, but I have high hopes.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Tags: Apple Mail, apple mail tips, google quick search box, mail.app, QSB, quicksilver

Related posts

• Three Quicksilver Tutorial Screencasts
• Secrets Updated for Snow Leopard
• Secrets is back: Clever Preference tweaking
• Script to archive emails into Evernote
• Roll your own Mail Stamp icon

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 8:56 pm and is filed under Apple Mail Tips, Productivity. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

6 Responses to “How to email a file with Google Quick Search Box”

1. Peter Garner says:

   11 November 2009, 1:22 am at 1:22 am

   Not sure what I’m doing wrong, but I can’t get this to work. I tried to get the services plugin working after your first post on the subject, and again today. No effect either time. Copied the Services.hgs file to ~/Library/Application Support/Google/Quick Search Box/PlugIns and relaunched QSB, but as far as I can tell, QSB is no different.

   In any case, with Snow Leopard, it is much easier and quicker to simply set up a keyboard shortcut for the existing New Email with Attachment service (in the Keyboard Shortcuts preference pane under Services>Messaging). Just select the file, invoke the keyboard shortcut and voila: same result as the multi-keystroke QSB solution above.
2. Droz says:

   11 November 2009, 12:19 pm at 12:19 pm

   This isn’t working for me either, though I know that the services plugin does *something* because it asks me for access at the beginning of QSB.

   I can’t, however, get the “email” command to do anything at all after the file is selected and CMD-G’d.

   is there something I have to activate first in the QSB settings, or some script I have to throw in somewhere?

   Cheers…
3. Droz says:

   11 November 2009, 12:20 pm at 12:20 pm

   I’m on 10.5.8 btw…
4. Sherman says:

   15 November 2009, 4:10 am at 4:10 am

   Nope, not working for me either. The Service GQSB plug-in is installed.
5. Jon says:

   4 December 2009, 6:51 am at 6:51 am

   I’m with you fellas – don’t work for me either. I’m on 10.6.2
6. Yura says:

   18 December 2009, 7:49 pm at 7:49 pm

   I was not able to invoke the New Email with Attachment service via typing ‘email’ on 10.6.2. Maybe, there is some step or necessary component missed in the description?