ALKOFOX  Wow, just wow.

I cannot understand why I did not find this incredible application sooner. It does almost everything. It has so many features that you may not have use for all features at the beginning. It took me awhile to set it up, but then, it was an absolute must on my computer. It's one of those "I wonder how I would survive without it" application.  
(Version 4.1.6)

TINGTING  This is an amazing application. I always heard about it and took so long to finally try it. It's wonderful. Launching Applescript with ease from the menubar is tiptop. Really cool and it helps me tons. So many other cool features too. Wow. Thanks for the excellent app.  
(Version 4.1.6)

BS0D  WOW. Just WOW!

This is a MASTERPIECE, everyone should have it!

I was able to configure everything I wanted in just 2 minutes, which I never could in QuickSilver.

Access anything you want in less than one second, all you need is to remember your shortcuts!

As long as you can use your brain, you can do ANYTHING YOU WANT in no time.

The only things I miss, and would like to see in Butler:

- Transparent smart search window (like the one for websearch, it's stupid but it looks nicer!)

- Possibility to execute terminal shell commands automatically by pasting it the same way as text.

One last thing: Thanks so much ManyTricks, you rock!  
(Version 4.1.6)

JAZZADDICT  Anyone know when 5.0 is gona' drop? I've been using Launchbar for awhile. I chose it over Butler long ago because of its intuitive nature, good documentation, and good support. This kind of app is essential to me so I never wanted to risk using freeware because it's sometimes not dependable when it comes to updates and support (understandably). But now that Butler is going shareware and there's gona' be a big overhaul, I'm definitely interested in checking it out. I don't really like Launchbar's UI. Not flexible enough. It tries to hard to be unobtrusive and ends up being to... I don't know... tiny. I have to refer to the documentation too much to figure out how to do stuff. Features are a bit too buried in my opinion. These apps are all about speed, unobtrusiveness, slickness, intuitive usability, and as I'm finding more need to use Launchbar as I become a more advanced computer user I find it's becoming harder and harder to use the app. Don't get me wrong. The app is still really sick and in my opinion at least as good as the current version of Butler. But I want more.  
(Version 4.1.6)

POLARIMETRIC  It would appear that my iTunes 7.7 problem was fixed with the iTunes 7.7.1 update. Yay! Now I can get the most out of this great piece of software. Keep up the good work; can't wait for version 5.  
(Version 4.1.6)

ACCOUNTCLOSED  A sweet app. One consistent glitch I've found is that any hot corner trigger brings up an unexpected momentary square rectangle in the relevant corner before the expected blue hot corner triangle indicator. Not a big deal, but it is distracting, a bit of aesthetic carelessness that clearly shouldn't be there. Two emails to the developer reporting this bug and explicitly asking that he acknowledge receiving the bug report have gone unanswered—amounting to "no comment" and what appears to be a lack of good breeding. Still, Butler is a useful and versatile enhancement to the GUI that lives up to its press here on MU. Made my donation promptly, and more than asked for, as it seemed like a civilized thing to do. Now if we can only get the developer to be a bit more civilized. . .  
(Version 4.1.6)

POLARIMETRIC  Fabulous app; been using it for over a year and couldn't live without it. However, it doesn't seem that the iTunes music library fully works with iTunes 7.7. You can still play albums and playlists, but it doesn't seem that you can play individual tracks anymore. It doesn't work for me, anyway. Anyone else having this problem?  
(Version 4.1.6)

RAMPANCY  Absolutely one of the most essential apps for my Mac and the first thing I install on every Mac I get. I donated as soon as this newest release was put out - I'm surprised it's still donationware, actually.   
(Version 4.1.6)

BONOBO  Since I met Butler about 2 years ago I've become dependent of this amazing, I repeat: AMAZING little program and I wouldn't want to use my Mac w/o Butler anymore.

Developer is responsive and not only his software but also his price models are very user-friendly.

Can't wait for v. 5.0 ...  
(Version 4.1.6)

KOFASETIC  The best jack-of-all mac launcher, controller, etc has gotten better. From the gate this app is THE one indespensible software that makes the mac experience even better. Extremely configurable.  
(Version 4.1.6)

JOHN SAWYER CJS  Butler is great--I've been using it for years. But the blog entry linked to above, doesn't really explain why the current versions of Butler are in a "transient" state, expiring frequently. There may be a reason, but they haven't explained it very well if at all. The basic reason is probably the standard one for software in transition--they're concerned about bugs (including ones they don't yet know about) in these transitional versions, causing trouble if people keep using them even after an official release version is available.  
(Version 4.1.5 Transient)

DONKEYOTAY  AFAIR the default key for Abbreviation is:

either Ctrl+Spacebar or Alt+Spacebar, but you can redo it to whatever you want in the configuration window.

HTH  
(Version 4.1.4 Transient)

ATA  I just switched to Butler from QuickSilver but one thing is driving me nuts. How do I assign a quick key to bring up the Abbreviation window? With QuickSilver I would just tap the 'control' key and up it popped. How can I have similar functionality in Butler?  
(Version 4.1.4 Transient)

RAMPANCY  FYI, this version expires on Jan. 1, 2008. I hope they keep this Tiger compatible...  
(Version 4.1.4 Transient)

ELEGRAPHY  Awesome-O! Look forward for Butler 5!  
(Version 4.1.3 Transient)

DOC RENAUD  Thanks very very much Sir for your good work, and for distributing this excellent utility for free. I can't imagine my Mac without Butler !  
(Version 4.1.3 Transient)

RWATTS  Great must-have app. But some functionality seems to be broken under Leopard, namely, being able to open a folder (from any active window) in finder via hotkey combination. Any one else have this issue? Otherwise works fine.   
(Version 4.1.2)

GEEPZ  One of my favorite programs (LaunchBar is good too). Does a lot of small things well and can be adapted to a variety of personal work styles. Works great on 10.2.8 too (despite the warning).

A couple examples: It can be used to create a Linux-style system menu or an Openbox-style floating system menu. It can be used to launch scripts or applications from menus or with keyboard shortcuts. It can be used to launch applications or navigate directories with abbreviations (LaunchBar is faster). It can be used to create and manage multiple clipboards, or custom clipboards. It can be used to navigate open applications. It can be used to put the computer to sleep. Etc.

It's not the fastest interface utility, but it's by far the most flexible. Great stuff.  
(Version 4.1.2)

ALJUK  Everything QS can give me Butler gives me quicker and easier, and in a more organised and task-friendly fashion. Makes Quicksilver seem positively archaic.  
(Version 4.1.2)

ALAN  tried out dragthing but couldn't get to like it; too complicated, i think. been using butler and been happy ever since. one thing though: after quitting itunes, butler freezes for some time (spinning beach ball). any fix? otherwise, perfect and irreplaceable.

p.s.

one year and no further development. i hope, it's not abandoned.  
(Version 4.1.2)

UNDERTOW  Great app. Other reviewers have covered the main points of this app. One thing that I haven't heard from reviewers is the great option of having a "docklet".

My menu bar is already filled up with other items, so the option to use a docklet for everything is awesome. I postioned it vertical in the upper right hand corner away from everything.

One minor suggestion would be a icon size option in the docklet. Keep up the great work!  
(Version 4.1.2)

DONKEYOTAY  I started out with Butler; used Quicksilver for a long while, but have come back to Butler. In one application I have an App Launcher, a document finder, an applescript launcher, a multi-clipboard manager, a custom text inserter, a Bookmarks manager (that works with whichever browser I'm using at the time), gives access to Sys Prefs, folders & Music, gives access to the Menubar, allows search engine specific searches from any application, allows access & searches of the Address Book… I could go on.

I found that QS was quite slow on my macmini 1.66 w/1GB RAM but Butler is very zippy.

In fact, I'm so happy with it, I've donated to the developer & encourage you to do so too.  
(Version 4.1.2)

N. SILVA  I liked Quicksilver but it kept dying and I would have to restart it several times a day.

So now I'm trying Butler and it can do everything that I was doing with Quicksilver, including custom-defined web searches, and indexing various document folders that I need to quickly reference.

Although other users (below) report that Butler is slow, for me it works just as fast, if not faster, than Quicksilver. I'm using a MacBook Pro with 2 GB RAM.  
(Version 4.1.2)

PIZZACAKE  I wanted to add the following to my menu bar:

-choose from running applications

-buttons for expose

-multiple clipboard

-iTunes controls

-text shortcuts

Butler gave me all this and a Spotlight query window eliminating the annoying delay the search whilst you type feature can sometimes produce.

I have a Mac Mini G4 1.25GHz, no speed demon, and Butler runs great.  
(Version 4.1.2)

BUGSMI0  First impression it sucks, extremely slow and more often than not the beach ball of death appears when trying to use butler,

it looks good on the outside but it takes up more power and also many of the featrues butler offers is already provided by MAC

conclusion, better to stay with what you have on your mac, get quicksilver this is all you'll ever want its 10 times faster and better than butler.  
(Version 4.1.2)

BETATESTER  I tried it again...

Deleted all old files and preferences and installed Butler 4.1.2 new.

Still it uses 250 MB memory after the first start on my iMac Intel and I haven't found a way to change this (preferences).

Since I never got a response from the developer, but also never read from anybody with the same problem, I again want to ask here, if this should be normal on a mac intel, because it's not ok for me...  
(Version 4.1.2)

MACLOVER1.1  Butler is one of the must have pieces of finderlore. I tried Quicksilver which can do wonders but can be a little scary and conducive to disasters quickly, so for all the types of launching I need Butler is WAY more than enough, very customizable, And the icon is the cutest thing LOL  
(Version 4.1.2)

ROADTRIPDK  First impressions are extremely positive. Here is a wish list based on my impressions:

1) The ability to nest both Apple (Bluetooth, Airport, Display, Keyboard input method) and third-party (DockFun, Alarm Clock 2, Amnesty, Sticky Windows) in groups under one menu item to save some menu real estate.

2) More bookmark management abilities, such as the ability to use one set of bookmarks (Safari or Firefox) as default and to sync or modify the other sets (Camino, Opera, Shiira) to look the same/contain the same bookmarks in the same places.

3) Ability to manage news, RSS and Atom bookmarks from Viena or RSSOwl.

4) Ability to bookmark non-Internet related items such as in Halon.

5) The ability to switch on or off viewing containers in nested (hierarchical) view from the menu bar.

Absolutely a must have utility.  
(Version 4.1.2)

ORION MK. V  Continues it's reign of great tool at a great price (free). Thanks Peter!  
(Version 4.1.2)

GHARDING  I love Butler, but for some reason, the latest version broke my application launcher. It no longer indexes my programs so they can't be found in the launcher. I've tried ditching the configuration, but it doesn't seem to help.  
(Version 4.1.1)

SHOTGUNWEDDINGS  After 6 updates, I'm still amazed at how stable and how great this gem works!

I agree with with everyone when they say NOTHING touches this one.

It's free, it's solid as a rock (for me 100%) , the interface is good and the documentation is very helpful!

Wow, keep up the excellent work Peter Maurer!

Maybe Apple will finally bundle it with all new Mac's since it fills the void where Finder eaves off!  
(Version 4.1.1)

INFORMATIX  Excellent, marvelous.

Takes a little time to sort out the interface. But that is not to say that the interface needs to be improved. It's only the mass of available features that overwhelms at first.

Usually I stay away from "swiss-army-knife" software that tries to do everything rather than just one thing. But Butler does a lot of things and does them all right. Despite the many features Butler is not bloated.

Thanks, Peter Maurer.

One issue: Files with umlauts are not recognized properly. So typing "Hägar" will give me only "www.hägar.com", not the various files with "Hägar" in their name.  
(Version 4.1.1)

FLASHVIPE  This is by far the best launcher/hotkey program on the mac.

Very fast and stable - I agree with other reviews: This app is definitley worth the time to learn and customize.

Love the little itunes controls - couldn't do without it anymore (although I only tent to use is to skip tracks instead of browsing my entire music library which is a little slow..)

Keep up the good work Peter!  
(Version 4.1)

DFK  The best launcher/hotkey program on the mac. Fast, stable and uses minimal resources -- definitley worth the time to learn and customize it. Thanks Peter!  
(Version 4.1)

MUDFLAPPER  What can I say. The best freeware app for Mac of all time. Peter is a gifted developer and interface designer. Gorgeous. Rock-solid.

This is one tool that does it all, without sacrificing functionality or ease-of-use.

m  
(Version 4.1)

FREESE1  Simply the best tool outthere for your mac. It's a launcher, a data finder, itunes controller, ICal and Adressbook manager.--all in one, but rock solid.

It spares me huge amouts of time...

Go try it, don't have nothing to loose it's free...  
(Version 4.1)

RADDLE  *The* launch solution for the Mac. Easy to set-up and start using, phenomenal power to be discovered as you get used to it. Solid as a rock, with a responsive developer. I would hate to have to use a Mac without Butler now.   
(Version 4.0.1)

ARES  Applications, iTunes controls and the pasteboard are great features. Butler is stable and I've never experienced a crash, so far so good.  
(Version 4.0.1)

SCOTT L  Help w/ Butler Crashing?

Can the developer or a kind-hearted Butler user help me sort out a problem w/ Butler crashing. I was in the first few days of trying it out when it crashed on me (no software or system changes had been made during this time.) After removing Preferences, uninstalling, reinstalling, etc., etc., etc., here's the Console report I continue to get:

Butler(625,0xa000ed68) malloc: *** error for object 0x38c9d80: incorrect checksum for freed object - object was probably modified after being freed, break at szone_error to debug

Butler(625,0xa000ed68) malloc: *** set a breakpoint in szone_error to debug

Feb 25 20:03:53 Buddy-Roe's-Computer crashdump[633]: Butler crashed

Any help would be greatly appreciated - Butler appears to be really useful and I'm keen to delve into it a little further. Thanks.  
(Version 4.0.1)

BETATESTER  .... nice, like everybody says.

But it uses 250physic./625virt. MB memory on my iMacIntel, right after the first start.

Seems to much for me....  
(Version 4.0.1)

G8TGOD  This is a great program. I think QuickSilver is faster and easier to set up, but the bookmark manager in Butler is the feature that made me switch; it's great to be able to keep the bookmarks in one place, outside of any browser.

On that subject, my Butler menu bar icons seem to be missing in Firefox. This is not true for Camino, Safari, or Opera. Is Butler incompatible with Firefox?

My setup is OSX 10.4.5, Firefox 1.5.0.1, Butler 4.0.1.  
(Version 4.0.1)

INGENIOUS1  The disk image will not open after download. I can't get the app.  
(Version 4.0.1)

ORION MK. V  Butler, Textpander and Service Scrubber are indespensible gizmos from Peter. Thanks for the fine freeware.  
(Version 4.0)

MRHOOKS  Others have had problems with Butler hanging after installing 10.4.4 or QuickTime 7.0.4. I wasn't specifically paying attention for it, but I didn't notice any hanging after restarting my machine after installing QT. Anyone else have any problems?  
(Version 4.0b29)

BURKI  that what i was looking for, the get my Alt-F2 linux-kde quickstart command back!

Great Work!!!

Thanks  
(Version 4.0b29)

BALTHAMOS89  Butler is indeed a very nice program, but I, being a long time Quicksilver user, found it not as much for the keyboard hardcore people. With Quicksilver, you can move files and whatnot all through the keyboard, and move quickly through folders (Butler can move through files as well, but I Quicksilver did a better job in that part.

I wish the apps were combined, because both have what I want, and each have their own flaws.

So the final verdict? If you want all out keyboard, go with Quicksilver. If you want lots of functionality, go with Butler.  
(Version 4.0b29)

ANONYMOUS  Lots of other apps try to do pieces of what this one does. Don't be confused; this is the one you want!   
(Version 4.0b29)

ANONYMOUS  Simply the best. You will wonder how you lived without it.

I would love a feature that scrolls the currently playing itunes song across the menu bar right beside the butler icons.

perfect.

keep up the good work.  
(Version 4.0b29)

ANONYMOUS  wow its the best nice & esey  
(Version 4.0b29)

ANONYMOUS  Butler kicks !!!  
(Version 4.0b28)

MINIMAL DESIGN  If you're not using it, you're missing out on the BEST utility for OS X. Yes, LauchBar's cool, Quicksilver's sexy and different, dragthing has its own retro charm and is a cool way to have your trash back on the desktop ;) But you don't need any of these once you master Butler (which should take about 20 minutes...). One of the very few freeware I donated for.

I only wish the developer would write more apps for OS X, he's clearly more gifted for coding than a bunch of other developers on here...

hint: if you have a wacom tablet, assign each top button to a shortcut to trigger custom drop down menus and you got yourself a completely custom alternate menubar... That's how I get everything done, it's so fast!

I love Butler :)  
(Version 4.0b28)

ANONYMOUS  Amazing app. I think I'm quitting using LaunchBar on moving on to Butler. It's so quick and easy. I compared LB and Butler and Butler finds what I want surely faster.

Thanks for this wonderful free piece of soft.  
(Version 4.0b28)

KAROL  You sir, are a gift to humanity. I love this program, and it keeps getting better and better. Ignore the beta, this is top notch software.

What I didn't realise at first is that you don't need to set up a list of abbreviations, it'll do that automatically. It'll find your apps faster than spotlight too.

Once you get used to it, you'll wonder how you lived without it. For instance, say I want to e-mail "Fred", I'd have to click/alt-tab Mail, click new, enter the name. With butler, I press ctrl-space and type fred and press enter. If you do that 100 times a day, it's so much quicker.

Kudos!  
(Version 4.0b28)

ANONYMOUS  The best keeps getting better. Well worth a donation.  
(Version 4.0b28)

ANONYMOUS  Great tool.

Launch Bar is not free, and not better.  
(Version 4.0b28)

MINIMAL  Ok. It's free.

But i can't understand why anyone could try both launchbar and butler, and end up using butler. LaunchBar is by far a much smaller, simpler approach to a even simpler way of launching apps, opening files, adresses and what not.

I'd say butler is quite clunky.  
(Version 4.0b28)

ANONYMOUS  Amazing an free. Thank you (x1000)  
(Version 4.0b27)

MINIMAL DESIGN  This and TextMate are by far the 2 apps I use the most on my Mac. Wouldn't be able to live without it.

The "what's new" doesn't mention anything about that but the startup time is way faster after this update for me somehow... cool.

Thanks again Peter.  
(Version 4.0b27)

ROB  The Best!!

Thank you! Thank you!  
(Version 4.0b27)

MIXEL  Wow! I had a problem with one of the old version's regressions, and had an issue with the way it was handling pop up menus.. Now in this update he's fixed the first problem and added a new option that fixes the second one too.. Brilliant support! :D  
(Version 4.0b27)

HENRIK OF SWEDEN  This is simply THE coolest free/donationware application I have ever seen for the Mac. There are SO many ways in which you can use Butler in your daily workflow, that one could easily spend a year or two writing an essay about it. Much easier, tough:

Download it now and try it out for yourself. You will never get rid of this, once you've got the hang of it. And it's very easy to set it up, since all functions are really logical and straightforward.

The developer of Butler is a real genious and It's amazing and at the same time a bit riddling to me, that he doesn't charge major bucks for it. It's like saying no to a fortune of becoming economically independent. But what do I know. Either he is independent of cash, OR... he's an angel.

In any case, this program is a must get for everyone. Especially those who love and worship the Mac philosophy of usability and straightforwardness in combination with splendid visual appeal.

I have been using Butler for 1.5 or so years now and I have never had any problems or bugs with it that I can recall.  
(Version 4.0b26)

ANONYMOUS  I love this app. Install it on every machine I use. We need a new beta version though. b26 seems to have a memory leak. It continues to suck up RAM while it's open. The app and my entire system starts to slow down. I have to quit and relaunch it every so often because it starts to use more memory than Photoshop!   
(Version 4.0b26)

ANONYMOUS  Would it be possible to have a docklet that expands (and remains expanded) when clicked, and collapses when clicked again? (like the strip in mac os 9, for example)

Butler is wonderful, thanks to the developper!  
(Version 4.0b26)

ANONYMOUS  the latest version doesn't seem to be able to search the Address Book for phone numbers  
(Version 4.0b26)

ANONYMOUS  I am lost with the new version. I used to be able to find stuff with the previous versions. This one seems more complicated now.  
(Version 4.0b26)

ANONYMOUS  To the author:

Thank You. This is a wonderful piece of software.  
(Version 4.0b26)

LYG  I love Butler! I donated and look forward to future releases.  
(Version 4.0b26)

ANONYMOUS  Absolutely astonishing application. I can't believe this is freeware. The developer could esily earn a fortune on this thing. I'll try to donate as soon as I can.

5 stars.

This is one of my top 3 must-get-applications for OS X.  
(Version 4.0b26)

ARVID  I just updated to b26 - And i like the new stuff butler continues to be awesome.

But now no matter what i do (in the config window), my recent pasteboards always change their order when pasting. I've gone back to 4.0b25 for the moment and the pasteboards keep their order as i like them to. I'm on 10.3.9 and have my pasteboard menu directly in the menu bar in case that helps diagnose the issue.

Thanks!  
(Version 4.0b26)

MIXEL  In the latest beta I don't seem to be able to drag files into my docklet submenus anymore.

Is there a new option regarding this behaviour?

I'm running Tiger..

I'll try rebooting anyway..

The ability to have the docklet AND menubar is great though! :)  
(Version 4.0b26)

BANANAMAN  Couldn't live without it! Can't recommend it highly enough!

I've got no idea how people use a Mac without this!!!  
(Version 4.0b26)

ARVID  great! Love it, and still only 900k download!

the abbreviations and pasteboard are top notch (especially with a key command set for activating the pasteboard - just beautiful). Dunno how i did without it before.

Have gotten occasional crashes in b25, but hopefully b26 will ameliorate these issues.

My best to the developer.   
(Version 4.0b26)

ANONYMOUS  Amazing freeware to access hdd, applications, control iTunes from the menu bar, use multiple pasteboards... Easy to use. Stable. Works fine in 10.4.2. P-e-r-f-e-c-t !!!  
(Version 4.0b25)

ANONYMOUS  Unable to find any application in 10.4.2 for a non-admin user... :(  
(Version 4.0b25)

BENOIT  How could I live without Butler until now?  
(Version 4.0b25)

BRILDENLANCH  Only thing I use it for is the clipboard, and for that it gets 5 stars (mostly).  
(Version 4.0b25)

DJKALIMA  My "Hands-down-most-used" utility.

What an excellent product! I STILL find more and more ways to streamline my workflow with Butler.

I've been using Peter Maurer's software since it's birth as Another Launcher. How long has that been? Two years? This thing has so many features that I continue to find new ones!

The developer is not only generous (free!), but responsive to questions and suggestions. You know they're paying attention when they reply to your emails and your issue is resolved in the next update.

Thanks so much for this app. It is invaluable.  
(Version 4.0b25)

KRZAKPTAK  great app but it's exremally hard to customize menu on top level, I did it once in AnotherLauncher but cant repeat it with Buttler. All i can create is subentry.  
(Version 4.0b25)

ANONYMOUS  Hint for the "Building Menus..." freeze:

(Force) Quit Butler, then remove "Pasteboards.plist" from "~/Library/Application Support/Butler"

Relaunch Butler.

It worked for me, at least. Please give your feedback.  
(Version 4.0b24)

DAVID  Excellent app... much more user friendly and cleaner than Quicksilver. Now just add Growl support!  
(Version 4.0b24)

ANONYMOUS  Bug:

I have a container with a set of scripts inside. It is set for Cmd-F2, and only for Finder, but it displays in any other apps. I have 10.3.9, and I know that this worked in the previous versions.

This is a minor bug, so please don't ask why I gave this 5 5 5 5.   
(Version 4.0b24)

ANONYMOUS  Been using for over a year. One of Top 5 programs on my Mac -- that says a lot

Latest version crashed when switching search engines from within the search window (going from Google to, say, Amazon).

Other than that -- Love it.  
(Version 4.0b24)

SIMI CHAVEL  It is simply not to be believed how much this little app can do; how intuitively it is designed, in terms of both use and appearance; and how it does not cost a dime. What an absolute gem!  
(Version 4.0b24)

ANONYMOUS  the menu switching speed is indeed slightly slower, but still much faster than not having butler ;) plus you get a nice fade out as an added bonus when you roll out of the menu :)  
(Version 4.0b24)

ANONYMOUS  Yeah!!!!!!! Now my Mac is useful again! :) To be honest, I was starting to wonder if Butler was a goner... I'm so glad it's back - my dragthing + quicksilver replacement didn't even come close...  
(Version 4.0b24)

AE ROPPON  love the app. quick, clean, and super useful.  
(Version 4.0b24)

ANONYMOUS  Three Cheers for Peter! Butler is a great app. I really became aware of how often I use it when it started getting buggy in tiger and would crash. I was constantly looking for it in the menu bar and would even log out just to get it back up again. Thanks for the update!  
(Version 4.0b24)

PETER MAURER  Here's the update some of you have been waiting for quite anxiously. I'm sorry about the delay. In fact, I have been working on this bug-fix release for a while. I just couldn't reply to your bug reports because the computer that was responsible for handling my e-mail correspondence was having severe problems.

Please note that Butler 4.0b24 has only been tested on Mac OS X 10.4.1 so far. Reports on bugs and/or regressions on earlier operating systems are very welcome. (Yes, I'm able to receive e-mails again. Yay!)  
(Version 4.0b24)

KENNYMCKORMICK  Butler is one of my must have apps that're open at all times for iTunes control, the pasteboard, and the screensaver button.  
(Version 4.0b23)

ANONYMOUS  what the hell is going on with butler & 10.4.1 ??? butler keeps crashing. pls release update!  
(Version 4.0b23)

ANONYMOUS  so is this program not going to be updated? should i find something new to do what it did???

if the programmer could just say if it is going to be updated for tiger or not that would be great.  
(Version 4.0b23)

ANONYMOUS  TIGER TIGER TIGER!!!

update update update!!!  
(Version 4.0b23)

ANONYMOUS  Butler is stable for me in 10.4, but the keyboard macro function (my favorite part) is broken.  
(Version 4.0b23)

ANONYMOUS  anxiously awaiting a tiger update... i have been without this program for too long now.  
(Version 4.0b23)

ANONYMOUS  This program is a winner, takes a few minutes to figure out the prefs, but once you do, you'll add it to your must have list.

I'll have to agree with some of the other posts. I too very rarely contribute to donationware, but I'm logging onto PayPal as soon I press the 'Post Review' button here and make that $18.00 donation to encourage further development.  
(Version 4.0b23)

ANONYMOUS  brilliant program. absolutely genius. unfortunately it is unstable in Tiger and quits arbitrarily... so i haven't been using it, which has made me realise how much i actually used it - A LOT!

an aside... i think the file/app/folder/ searcher in Butler is FASTER/BETTER then apple's brand new SPOTLIGHT! hilarious

TIGER update would be really nice.  
(Version 4.0b23)

ARDENTTALKER  This is one of the best pieces of software I have on my Mac (definitely in the Top 10) and it's free!!

The only wish I have for next version is to allow for the iTunes display to control how many seconds you want it to stay on the screen -- i find that the default 3 sec is too long for me. I wish it was 2 seconds (maybe some people want 5-7 etc.)

That's all I have! Everything else is PERFECT. I nominate this as FREEWARE product of 2004-2005.

(been using it since summer of 2004)  
(Version 4.0b23)

FRANCESCO  I coundn't do without, but sometimes Butler quits unexpectedly and cannot be restarted.

You have to re-log on to make it work again  
(Version 4.0b23)

MUDFLAP  Fantastic app. Absolutely stellar. This and Default Folder should just be part of the OS. Peter is a gifted programmer and interface designer.

Still having one problem: Butler hangs when copying text from Microsoft Word to Quark XPress 6. Doesn't matter if I change the clipboard settings, Butler will just get stuck and I'll either have to force quit it, or it quits on its own.  
(Version 4.0b23)

JP  Is there a way to close the front-most window of a Microsoft app? I can do it in all other apps but not in Microsoft.

Thanks!  
(Version 4.0b22)

ALCIUM  keep up the great work !!!

one of the best extension for OS X for now  
(Version 4.0b22)

ANONYMOUS  love the app, i use it all the time and don't know what i'd do without it.

a few things: when i do the serach for programs and files winow, it only shows files, no apps or anything>???

it would be great if you could customize the itunes info that pops up when the song changes, like make the album art bigge ect.

keep up the great work  
(Version 4.0b22)

ANONYMOUS  Starting to warm up to this laucher...

Two things about the iTunes controller:

1. Can't lauch radio from Butler, have to open iTunes and do it from there.

2. Would be GREAT to have volume control!

I'm finding this very useful. I'm giving 4 stars across the board (except for value) because there are some details that get in the way, eg. no volume or radio control for iTunes, the app has quit on me several times while working on something, and overall, the interface isn't quite user-friendly, but I'm getting used to it now.  
(Version 4.0b22)

KAMRAN KAZEMPOUR  Any idea when or why bulter will work with Tiger. It just hangs at the Building Menus stage.   
(Version 4.0b22)

KAMRAN  Probally the best software that I have seen. Has incresed my producity so much! Well done. Worth the download and the donation.   
(Version 4.0b22)

ANONYMOUS  Is there any way to include Volume in iTunes Controls??  
(Version 4.0b22)

J.P.  Butler periodically quits while working on something, and freezes the hidden dock. I have to unhide the dock from the Apple icon to access it, then lauch Butler again.

Also, it seems I can't play a selection randomly from the iTunes list -- will only start playing from the first piece of a playlist, and if I want to go to another one, I have to use the "next" arrows. This seems pretty limiting. I must be doing something wrong.  
(Version 4.0b22)

J.P.  Is it possible to create menus and submenus within the All Applications folder? It would minimize scrolling through the whole list and allow me to access apps faster.  
(Version 4.0b22)

ANONYMOUS  The applescript menu doesn't follow the original ones options. For instance you can turn off the Library Scripts and also show the current applications list of scripts underneath.

I would also like to have application only options or menus as a feature and maybe the option to have items in the docklet and in the menu bar at the same time.

Customisable corner pictures would be good too.

And to have icons in really small fonts (have an option like in the column view preferences for turning icons off).  
(Version 4.0b22)

MARC  Butler is a very good app for what it is but there are 2 main flaws that id like to address

1. the memory usage, its way too much.

2. i had it as a start up item and i usually use my computer for most of the day, about an hour or so in of using my computer i wanted to search with google using butler but i got the spinning beech ball, and was not able to use butler again.

so for the time being, ill stick with quicksilver and piquant menu, but butler does hav some advantages but its a RAM hog!  
(Version 4.0b22)

DMC  I used butler a long time, it let me open prefpanes directly and was useful in other ways too - but it consumed huge amounts of memory which of course wasn't released without restarting butler - checking with top I found out that butler's VSIZE was whopping 1.33 gigs! That's when I quit and deleted butler. I'll keep an eye on it, though, if there's any improvements on memory usage.  
(Version 4.0b22)

AM  I have used Butler for over a year now - and today I switched to Quicksilver. and only because of one feature or lack thereof in Butler - the ability to search Addresses/Phone Numbers etc AND copy to clipboard for later use. I requested this f the developer a few months back and I was hoping it would show up (did it and I missed it?)

Now - having switched to QS - I find Butler relatively too complicated - especially the Preferences area. Perhaps it needs to be - for all that it does.

Butler is fast and works well - but it lacked critical features I needed... for good measure Quicksilver is also free (donationware)

AM  
(Version 4.0b22)

THEBRIX  Unbelievable application. With 10 minutes of configuration it has rendered URL Manager Pro, Synergy, Himmelbar and bits and pieces of OS X redundant, and DragThing might eventually be in danger too!  
(Version 4.0b22)

13TH.BUDDAH  Sorry, it seems to be working now, don't know why it didn't before.  
(Version 4.0b22)

ENCRO  Thankfully b22 has fixed the excruciating delayed search from the last 4 versions. I was considering removing Butler from my login items because it had basically become almost unusable for its main task. I don't need to do that now as this version is much improved!!!

I really appreciate the work your doing Peter and I'm glad I donated :) Butler is a fantastic utility and Witch is also very handy.  
(Version 4.0b22)

ALEX KADIS  I like butler, but I have to say there is one thing in my mind that absolutely confused me. In the Preferences > General

the "search these folders for applications...." should be "search these folders...." it took me 1/2 an hour to figure out how to search my 'documents' folder, all I had to do was add it to the "applications folders" list .... Not everything people want to search for are applications, and butler finds other stuff if you add it to that list. So don't complicate it by saying "applications" if it is for more than just those.

For making it so nonintuitive I am giving it a low "Ease of Use" rating.

I think it is nice, but as a quicksilver user I think it may be need a few of my favorite features before I could switch over...

In QS I can open something, reveal it in finder, rename it, get info, even copy or paste it somewhere else.. As far as I can tell, this isn't available in Butler.

And my all time favorite QS feature is when searching for a folder in QS, I can arrow over and view its contents and quickly go through directories... or if I search for a document, I can easily view it and the documents next to it in the directory. Butler. seems to ignore directory structure entirely!

Please say that I am wrong, I like butler, and I could even replace QS. But these features are WAY too essential to me! And if they do exist, they aren't easy to find -- big no no in my book! So I am giving it a low features rating.

If I do in fact find that I am wrong, I will give a new rating to cancel this out, and tell future downloaders!  
(Version 4.0b22)

13TH.BUDDAH  this program is cool now that i know what to do, but originally i was like "...what???" and i was confoozled.

I love the ability to control iTunes with it, but it needs some work. When i go to my menu bar, then the computer butler icon, then music, i see....

Now Playing

Green Day

Holiday

American Idiot >

so i go into "american idiot" the album, and it says empty, when there are clearly other american idiot songs i have, in iTunes and their album labled as "American Idiot" so why are there no songs there?

Great Program tho. :)  
(Version 4.0b22)

ANONYMOUS  would love the ability to drag other menu items into the drop-down so, for instance, I could get me BluePhoneElite, TimeLog, Battery, iScrobbler and Temperature Lite apps appearing as menu items in the Butler icon.

That plus a replacement for app launching as good as QuickSilver (which is awesome) and a del.icio.us interface ... it would be perfect !  
(Version 4.0b21)

MIKURO  Wonderful app. I'd been using LaunchBar since I started using OS X, but I just tried this, and LaunchBar is out. Butler is fast, it's clean, and it has features comin' out the wazoo.

Granted, I don't actually use most of its features, but the LaunchBar-esque app searching and menubar search field (that lets me lookup words at dictionary.com, search for apps on MacUpdate, or use many other web sites) is enough to make it indispensible.

The only problem is that configuration is confusing as heck when you first start using it. For a while I couldn't figure out how to type to find things like I used to in LaunchBar. But it didn't take too long to figure out, and now it's configured just the way I want it and all that confusion is behind me.

HIGHLY recommended.  
(Version 4.0b21)

CLEZ  First of all, this is a great app!

It is light on user guides though. Sooo, has anyone figured out how to configure this app to search folders and files ala Quicksilver? I want very much to go with Butler and not run both apps.   
(Version 4.0b21)

GUY  This is the first program I have EVER taken the time to write a review on, and I have downloaded HUNDREDS of programs from all kinds of places.

This is what completes Jaguar, Panther, and hopefully Tiger. it is the missing piece. This program is fantastic!

I pay for my programs (Adobe, Macromedia, Apple, etc) And I am known to never make donations, but this is a program that I will be making a donation to.

Keep it free!!! and I encourage users to donate. I have seen other programs that do parts of what this program does, and the price for all of them add up to $50. This program puts all them together and only asks for your donation.

I will give 100 Stars for this program.  
(Version 4.0b21)

ANONYMOUS  Really needs better documentation. I can't for the life of me figure out what some of the options (like "only include direct configuration members") do  
(Version 4.0b21)

D-TRIX  just downloaded Butler last night and already i am in love with it. this is undoubtedly one of the most elegant, professional, customizeable, and user-friendly apps i've ever used - and for free no less! however, there are several improvements i'd like to see:

-i wish i would get a system error window when Butler crashes. it did so two or three times while i was playing around with the plethora of options. while i don't mind a little instability in a beta app, and Butler more than makes up for it, it can be kind of confusing since Butler runs hidden in the background anyway.

-make the docklet scalable; i would like to be able to size the icons similarly to those in the Dock.

-i love having the itunes menu (with controls, playlists, and library) at my top level for easy access, but why won't it give me access to my iPod library and playlists? nearly all of my music is on the Pod and not my HD to save space, so Butler's menu is only half-useful unless i can get at my iPod through it.

-when Butler is being displayed in the menu bar and an application has enough menus to encroach on Butler's space, all of the Butler icons disappear! it would be great if the search box resized itself, or if the menus collapsed into a single icon (that perhaps would open in a docklet beneath the menu bar accordion-mode-style when moused over) when this occurred.

-i appreciate that the Bookmarks menu recognizes which of my bookmark groups are set to open in tabs in Safari, and gives me the Launch Group menu option; but it would be much better if they actually launched in one tabbed window as Safari would do, rather than in a pile of separate windows.

-finally, i would like it if the SmartItems for Application controls (Hide Frontmost, Hide Others, Quit/Kill Frontmost, etc.) picked up the name of whatever application is frontmost at the time (Hide Safari, eg).

Butler rocks, thank you so much!  
(Version 4.0b21)

ANONYMOUS  Beautiful work; can't Mac without it. Not only vitally useful, it's also very stingy in file size and resource usage. Apple should hire this guy.  
(Version 4.0b21)

MURRAY  the best peice of mac software bar none. The first donation product i ever paid for. Does launchbar, quicksilver, and ikeys - and impliments it better than each. though i paid i beg you keep this free - it is the kind of reason i use a mac and not a pc  
(Version 4.0b21)

ANONYMOUS  I just wish there was a way to explicitly set the menu items' positions, and have them be non-contiguous. I'd like to use the FUS module (and remove yet another 3rd party utility I'm running), but I'd also like it to be on the right end of the menu bar.

And, yes, I know this isn't Butler's fault :(  
(Version 4.0b21)

HOTCHILI  Kick ass, so damn usefui it's hard to believe it's free.  
(Version 4.0b21)

ANONYMOUS  Cant download. I always get garbled text.

Always wanted to download this, but until the developer decides on a better compression system, I will not be able to use it.  
(Version 4.0b21)

ANONYMOUS  I never thought anything could pry me away from Launchbar, since (I thought) all I wanted from this sort of thing was to open stuff. Seeing Quicksilver only confirmed that. But Butler has so many useful and just plain right features I've been using it for the past month or so. Wonderful, wonderful utility  
(Version 4.0b21)

ANONYMOUS  A must !

Tks so muttttch.impeccabolo !

un petit Versailles koi :-)  
(Version 4.0b21)

ANONYMOUS  I've been in the Mac biz for 10+ years and this is easily one of the best pieces of software, commercial or otherwise, I've ever come across. I can't believe the functionality and the constant improvements. Keep up the awesome work, Peter. Donate if you can!  
(Version 4.0b21)

TEL  Bit confusing trying to configure the settings at first as there's so much to choose from but after the first five minutes it becomes a joy to use and the flexibility on offer is great...and to get all this for free..fantastic!  
(Version 4.0b20)

KILIAN  Up until now I was a total Launchbar zealot.

I couldn't live with Quicksilver either despite it being free.

Now after using it for 1 day, I already have to admit that Butler is the king of the hill. Especially with this price tag!  
(Version 4.0b20)

NICHOLAS ADAMS  Wow!! Butler is like, totally awsome!! I just got rid of 3 (shareware) apps. Haven't seen anything like this ever. Just amazing. Live the iTunes intergration, and the floater! Okay, make that 5 apps, no 6. Okay make that one app I didn't need to download. One more app I don't need. WOW!!

So Apps I've removed (general functions, not names):

Fast User Switching Tool

Preference Panel Launcher

Safari Bookmarks List

Drive Listings

File Listing

App Menu

iTunes Menu Controller

I never though I'd need a clipboard utility, but now I have one!!  
(Version 4.0b20)

ANONYMOUS  I always trashed this after a few minutes because it ran too slow, but I cranked the folder cache all the way up and it seems pretty snappy now. Looks like it'll be hanging around for a few days, duking it out with LaunchBar.  
(Version 4.0b20)

SEAN  This guy's work is great!!  
(Version 4.0b20)

ANONYMOUS  AWESOME!!! a must-have!

great german localization!

(AND contrary to some comment below I think it VERY easy to configure)  
(Version 4.0b20)

ANONYMOUS  My reaction to butler was nearly the same as the one I had with the scrollwheel on the mouse: At a first glance I thought "Nice little tool, but do I really need it?" But after a short while it has become indespensable to me. This little tool is an afterburner for my workflow needs. Everything I need, may it be a file, a web page, a search engine, an applescript, an adress form my adressbook is just a few keystrokes away.

Thanks for this incredible tool. Keep it on!  
(Version 4.0b19)

MR. X  quicksilver is the only app that I could try to compare to Butler.

But Butler is still light years ahead at this point. I have to agree w/ all the people who don't fin Butler so intuitive... But it is NOT because of a usability design flaw, it is because of the crazy gazillion features it's packed with.

I don't see anyone giving bad ratings to Photoshop or Maya 'cause they can't make the latest Pixar animation after using them for 30 mn... ;)

Give Butler a serious try - read the doc if you're not too computer savvy (I'm a web designer so I might not be the most representative standard user?) and try customize it for a couple hours - you'll be happy you did. Yes you can find files fast, but you can also keep all your bookmarks system wide, you can have a huge multi-clipboard, a bunch of recorded keystrokes, unlimited completely customized menubar dropdown menus, etc...

One of the very few freeware I donated $20 for (I'm ceap ;).

Only super minor thing I found was that javascript saved as bookmark doesn't work from Butler - I can live w/ that though :)  
(Version 4.0b19)

TOM SAWYER  I'll preface my comments by stating I've used LaunchBar for months. I gave Butler a try after reading a hearty parcel of glowing reviews, but configuring it was not a whole lot of fun. Unfortunately, I found the manual of little assistance. If you haven't ever used a program like Butler or LB before I recommend trying both, however.  
(Version 4.0b19)

ANONYMOUS  user switch doesnt work in 10.2.8  
(Version 4.0b19)

ANONYMOUS  I don't know what all the praise is about. I found this program fairly unintuitive to set things up. But what made trash it was inability to find any files inside my Documents folder. I tried various things to get it to work, but no success.

I open LaunchBar and start typing the name of the document I'm looking for and LB finds it immediately.

I pick LaunchBar.  
(Version 4.0b19)

ANONYMOUS  very good and full of features,

cons: no filtered app menu.

I dont need my 122 applications to show in menu and scroll forever.

Himmelbar is my current choice.  
(Version 4.0b19)

ANONYMOUS  Butler has the potential to be the best of its kind, but it just runs to slow. Strangely enough, the abbreviations feature runs about the same on my 350mhz G3 ibook running panther and my dual 2.5 G5 running tiger preview; that is to say, incredibly fast if you only have a few items present, but unbelievebly slow if you want to have many things. Just to make sure it wasn't something on my setup, i ran it under similar conditions on the 1.25ghz eMac running panther at the local library. Same exact speed as the much slower and much faster computers I own.

I would honestly expect the dual 2.5 to signifigantly outperform a 350mhz ibook.

Other than that, great job! The only real competition to this utility is apple's own spotlight feature, and believe me, it doesnt nearly cut it. With butler, abbreviations are all that are required. With Spotlight, misspell even the slightest thing, it wont be displayed. Quicksilver, while it could be made much better over time, requires you to "type blind". You have to heavily tweak the prefs in order to se what you are typing as you type, and even when you do, pressing the backspace resets the search, making it feel very unintuitive. Apple and butler, and to a certain extent, launchbar, have this issue under control. If quicksilver featured a text enry field, it might pose some competition, but as for now, it doesnt.

One thing I wish was added, and i think this has been mentioned before, is the ability to quit running applications via submenus if the applications are listed in menus. I know that this works if they are listed on the top level, but not if they are in menus.

For now, Butler completely blows away the competition!  
(Version 4.0b18)

CRAZYSWEDISHGUY  Unfortunately, I am sad to say that Butler was recently demoted on my list of best launchers. I used Butler for several months (almost a year), testing it every so often against its competitors (Quicksilver, Launchbar, etc.). I liked it so much I actually donated $$ to the developer. Nothing could beat it... until recently.

Now Quicksilver has become absolutely AMAZING... Its faster and neater for one thing. It integrates the itunes library too... it's just amazing. try it.

Sorry for Butler, but I'm sure you'll catch up.  
(Version 4.0b18)

ANONYMOUS  Fantastic -- easy to use for basic functionality. Just a little time using and you start looking into the many advanced and truly usefull features.

you miss it whenever you use a computer that doesn't have it.  
(Version 4.0b18)

ANONYMOUS  butler's being a hog on my 1.33 g4. i hit command-space and sometimes it takes more than 15 seconds to pop up. note that it's usually fast, only 1 try out of 20 or so is slow. i'm trying to figure out what i can do to fix it or i'll have to downgrade to an inferior yet faster launch app.  
(Version 4.0b18)

ANONYMOUS  This is a fantastic application that has changed the way I use my Mac. It combines features of Launch Bar and Himmel Bar and gives you vast flexibility in terms of configuring to your own needs and wants. You can make the menu items simple like Himmel Bar, or more detailed and complex. The Pasteboard feature is reason alone to download Butler.

The developer also deserves praise for making this donation ware, allowing people to pay what they can afford to pay. Butler is easily worth the suggested donation of $18. But if $5 is all you have, you can still fully enjoy Butler.

Butler is the single best piece of freeware/shareware I've ever downloaded. Has been very stable in my experience.  
(Version 4.0b18)

BXLBJORN  A recently added feature is the address book shortcut. I no longer have to launch Apple Addressbook to retreive any info or autmatically send a mail.

A cool added feature however would be having my contact pictures displayed aswell. This just as a tip to the develloper(s).

Keep on the good work !!  
(Version 4.0b18)

KMACLEOD  Great update!

The issue with drag and drop on menus under Tiger preview still persists, but that isnt the developers fault anyways, and I can't really complain about it.

The one feature I would really love to see, above all else, is the ability to have submenus for running applications listed in menus. These submenus would contain the exact same things as the contextual menus do if you right click running applications in the menu bar (hide, Quit, etc.)

Excellent update! Keep up the good work!  
(Version 4.0b18)

AM  Absolutely the best and the least expensive of any of the launchers. Peter is also very responsive to suggestions.

AM  
(Version 4.0b18)

ANONYMOUS  Reminds me of a bmw 7 series of 1998 loaded with top cd player but to change cd you had to "stop" the car to do it. loaded bu9t sloooow.  
(Version 4.0b18)

ANONYMOUS  this isn't as fast and clean as QuickSilver. Although Butler does a lot more, it's a CPU hog, slow and cumbersome. I can't recommend it for people with systems slower than 1 GHZ.

Maybe after it's caching gets going it's better, but the first time I used it, I set it to minimal settings and it was just a bogger. Got hung and had to be quit from Activity Viewer.

Back to QuickSilver (best out of Butler, LaunchBar, QuickSilver).  
(Version 4.0b17)

KMACLEOD  Butler works almost perfect under Tiger, but I have noticed one small issue:

When dragging items over butler menus in the menu bar, and then releasing, the menu is supposed to pop down and give you the option to move or copy the item to different folders. It Tiger, it tries to open the file, fails, and then hangs for about ten seconds.  
(Version 4.0b17)

KMACLEOD  I just downloaded a program called Inquisitor, which is a floating google search window with a catch; It has live updating results, similar to using Butler's abbreviations functionality. Any chance we could see some sort of live web searching in butler any time soon, maybe accessable from the abbreviations window?

Also, I was giving Calendarclock a try, and i noticed that it can only position itself in the beginning or end of the menubar. Any chance we can see the ability to move it around with butler's configuration window? If not, maybe you could add a preference to butler where we could set the title to any menu to be the current time, like we can do for IP addresses and user names now. That way, we could add the calendar toggle item, and title it with the time, effectively creating a smart item for Calendarclock in butler.

Just a few ideas, great job on the update! 5 stars!  
(Version 4.0b17)

EEUU  It's very useful, customizable, and it serves multiple purposes. I just wish it had star-up and star-down Smart Items for iTunes song rankings. Try Butler out!  
(Version 4.0b17)

PAUL LIEBER  The best keeps on getting better. Once fully customized, Butler is a menu bar dynamo(!).

If you haven't downloaded this application yet, you're sorely missing out.   
(Version 4.0b17)

ANONYMOUS  Forgot the stars.  
(Version 4.0b17)

ANONYMOUS  Awesome! Been using it for about 6 months and I love it. The program is the best out there. System is 10.3.4 and it works great. Keep up the good work and the great price!  
(Version 4.0b17)

KMACLEOD  I was using Butler on my ibook yesterday, and whenever Photoshop was active, its menus would cause butler to stop being displayed, since there wasnt enugh space in the menubar. I understand that this is part of the system, and there oribably int anything that can be done to keep these items in the menubar, but I think I have a solution.

How about making a preference where any time the menubar items would be covered, butler automatically switches to dock mode until it has enough space in the menubar, at which point it would switch back.

That would solve the problem!  
(Version 4.0b16)

ANONYMOUS  I adore butler, but lately it's been a pain in the neck, because the docklet will expand when I hold my mouse over it, but I can't click on any of the items in it. The only way to fix this is to hit control space, go through butler to quit butler, and start it up. And then it happens all over again! Very frustrating. Also, I'd love it if I could customize a few visuals a bit more-I want to get rid of my old PTHitunes notifier, love it though I do, but I can't get the butler window that shows the song title, etc. to look nearly as elegant as in notifier. The whole, fade in slowly, fade out, white on black, semi-transparent, and of course, size, font, and order of information that I want.... it keeps me using PTH. But it's so far past the OS that was built for, I can't imagine that some of my system's bugs aren't caused by it.

But mostly, why can't butler work normally!!! I miss it.  
(Version 4.0b16)

JOHNWILTBANK  This is very good software. I particulary like having a menu of my hard disk contents, and also having the icons of the open applications lined up across the menubar like I had set up with an extension in System 7.

You do have to watch out for one issue I've found. If you're playing a game and press the command(Apple) key and space bar and the same time (which is a common situation...hey, sometimes you've got to jump and shoot at the same time to rescue that princess), you'll activate Butler's application switcher. So you may wish to change the keystroke of Butler or your games to be compatible.  
(Version 4.0b15)

JOHN FEDERICO  Before Butler, I've used both Launchbar and beta versions of Quicksilver.

Butler, by far, is a much better application based on features, speed, configurability and yes, price.  
(Version 4.0b15)

LARRY KLEIN  Apple should take this idea and make the finder icon in the dock preform like this app.  
(Version 4.0b15)