Description: Katapult is an application for KDE, written in C++, designed to allow faster access to applications, bookmarks, and other items. It is plugin-based, so it can launch anything that is has a plugin for. Its display is driven by plugins as well, so its appearance is completely customizable. It was inspired by Quicksilver for OS X.
Use alt+space and start typing - you'll be presented with an option to launch something depending on what you've typed.
For example, hit alt+space then type "a" "m" (hit the two keys - no spaces or quotes) and this should offer to launch amarok - hit enter to launch
If you have no notification-area icon - then hit alt+space then ctrl+c to bring up the case-sensitive menu to allow you to configure katapult
We now have a wiki - http://katapult.kde.org/wiki/Last changelog:
See http://sourceforge.net/project/shownotes.php?release_id=520152&group_id=132227[/url and <a href="http://sourceforge.net/project/shownotes.php?release_id=520130&group_id=132227">http://sourceforge.net/project/shownotes.php?release_id=520130&group_id=132227</a>
I wonder if this app is still maintained.
As far as I noticed KDE4 featured krunner.
I use to use Katapult on some of my desktops before, would love to get another chance but my configure fails with
"configure: error: The important program mcopidl was not found!
Please check whether you installed KDE correctly.
*** failed *** "
Did some googling and found out it's related to arts somehow, but I don't know where to find it.
Can anyone give a hand please?
This appears to be unmaintained, but I still use katapult as my main app launcher - forget menu driven launchers.
Are there any plans for a kde4 katapult?
alt+space work good until I upgrade my kde to version 3.5.7-2 (I think that is reason) and now it doesn't work. when I change it to super+space is ok but I like alt+space ;) what can I do?
Fedora Users will have this new release of katapult among their next updates.
http://clunixchit.blogspot.com/2007/07/katapult-0321-released-few-minutes-ago.html
I have the same problem with catalog. It seems like Katapult is able to start only programs that were installed after originally Katapult is there. Experiment with reinstalling Katapult and you'll get weird behaviour :(.
So, logic question here would be: how to add extra programs/folders etc. to catalog?
I haven't found a way to get Katapult to show all matches (like the second tab of bash completion) and I cannot get it to find most documents (only some .odt, but not even all of those, and no .txt). Can I add document types or locations to Document Catalog?
Katapult is a great app for somebody like me who is addicted to Quicksilver on the Mac and wanted something similar on Linux.
I just noticed that the web page:
http://www.thekatapult.org.uk/
is returning 404's though?
Hey guys! Thanks for developing katapult, I think it's really great! I was wondering if there was some way to do things like google and wikipedia searches directly from katapult. The kde minicli (alt-f2) for example allows you to do things like
gg: smokey the bear
for a google search, and i find myself using that all the time. In addition, they have shortcuts such as "wp:" for wikipedia, "en2fr:" for translations and such. The wiki seems to be down and i found information from google on katapult a bit sparse ^_^
Thanks!
Erik
great work and idea guys. I hate mouse and im i big fun of doing things with the keyboard using shortcuts.
I have one silly comment to make. Launch firefox takes a lot of typing because first tries to launch the "firefox central" so one has to type firefox W... until it resolves that it should be executed firefox web browser.
Once again, good work
had the same problem, you can bypass typing f [space] w. Katapult search for a program name beginning con f and as second name w: firefox web browser. Worked for me also with open office: op [space] s --> openoffice spreadsheet
When I try to compile I get:
...
.libs/programcatalog.o(.text+0xb2b): In function `ProgramCatalog::qt_cast(char c onst*)':
programcatalog.cpp: undefined reference to `strcmp'
.libs/programcatalog.o(.text+0xd0e): In function `__static_initialization_and_de struction_0(int, int)':
programcatalog.cpp: undefined reference to `__dso_handle'
.libs/programcatalog.o(.text+0xd26):programcatalog.cpp: undefined reference to ` __cxa_atexit'
.libs/programcatalog.o(.gnu.linkonce.t._ZN15KGenericFactoryI14ProgramCatalog7QOb jectE12createObjectEPS1_PKcS5_RK11QStringList+0x48): In function `KGenericFactor y::createObject(QObject*, char const*, char const*, QSt ringList const&)':
programcatalog.cpp: undefined reference to `strcmp'
.libs/program.o(.text+0x60b): In function `Program::qt_cast(char const*)':
program.cpp: undefined reference to `strcmp'
.libs/program.o(.text+0x75e): In function `__static_initialization_and_destructi on_0(int, int)':
program.cpp: undefined reference to `__dso_handle'
.libs/program.o(.text+0x776):program.cpp: undefined reference to `__cxa_atexit'
.libs/settings.o(.text+0xafb): In function `ProgramCatalogSettings::qt_cast(char const*)':
settings.cpp: undefined reference to `strcmp'
.libs/settings.o(.text+0xc7e): In function `__static_initialization_and_destruct ion_0(int, int)':
settings.cpp: undefined reference to `__dso_handle'
.libs/settings.o(.text+0xc96):settings.cpp: undefined reference to `__cxa_atexit '
collect2: ld returned 1 exit status
make[5]: *** [katapult_programcatalog.la] Error 1
make[5]: Leaving directory `/home/users/marcin/rpm/BUILD/katapult-0.3.1.4/katapu lt/plugins/catalogs/programcatalog'
make[4]: *** [all-recursive] Error 1
make[4]: Leaving directory `/home/users/marcin/rpm/BUILD/katapult-0.3.1.4/katapu lt/plugins/catalogs'
make[3]: *** [all-recursive] Error 1
make[3]: Leaving directory `/home/users/marcin/rpm/BUILD/katapult-0.3.1.4/katapu lt/plugins'
make[2]: *** [all-recursive] Error 1
make[2]: Leaving directory `/home/users/marcin/rpm/BUILD/katapult-0.3.1.4/katapu lt'
make[1]: *** [all-recursive] Error 1
make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/users/marcin/rpm/BUILD/katapult-0.3.1.4'
make: *** [all] Error 2
There's no such error in 0.3.1.4
Help, please! I need new katapult, because amarok plugin in 0.3.1.3 doesn't work for me.
Thanks for this amazing app! I wonder if it will learn which apps do i access the most. For example, i use more kmail than kmag, so [k][m][a] could lead to kmail automagically. Thanks a lot!!
Hi,
How do I add progrqams to the programs catalogue? When I do alt-space and type K M A I Kmail doesn't come up... Do I need ot somehow update the programs in a databese? Do Katapult only look in specific locations for programs?
Thanks,
YFarkash.
Amarok catalog becomes broken when using this new Amarok feature:
http://amarok.kde.org/wiki/Dynamic_Collection
The fix is easy, I just changed 4 lines in the katapult source and everything works again. Just keep that in mind.
I'm just here to say that this piece os SW is the second thing I install after KDE. Is too handy... I think that must be merged in KDE... or doing something like this.
(When I -rarely- use gnome, I use the Deskbar applet, which works too... but with less eyecandy... ;) )
A suggestion: real transparencies with composite? :P
Sorry, I've just read that you were allready planning to deliver all-query's-answers in the next release!
I've been fooled by the strange date sorting of the website!
Keep up the good dev' ;)
Katapult is definitely a great extension, especially with the catalogs (plugins allowing to use katapult for other things than launching a program. For exemple : as a calc or to search a song through your Amarok's music database ;) )
Though I have one question : is it possible, when you are typing a query, to change the catalog which is being used?
Here's what happens to me : I'm typing the name of a band I'd like to listen to but the band's name also exists in my bookmarks.
Because the "bookmark" catalog is before "amarok" catalog, Katapult finds the entry in the bookmarks, not in Amarok.
Are you planning to let user browse through different plugins? For example by typing the "up" or "down" key on the keyboard. It will give the ability to see all different actions associated with the query.
In all cases, "bravo" for your app, this is a great piece of software!
Ratings & Comments
116 Comments
I wonder if this app is still maintained. As far as I noticed KDE4 featured krunner. I use to use Katapult on some of my desktops before, would love to get another chance but my configure fails with "configure: error: The important program mcopidl was not found! Please check whether you installed KDE correctly. *** failed *** " Did some googling and found out it's related to arts somehow, but I don't know where to find it. Can anyone give a hand please?
This appears to be unmaintained, but I still use katapult as my main app launcher - forget menu driven launchers. Are there any plans for a kde4 katapult?
alt+space work good until I upgrade my kde to version 3.5.7-2 (I think that is reason) and now it doesn't work. when I change it to super+space is ok but I like alt+space ;) what can I do?
Fedora Users will have this new release of katapult among their next updates. http://clunixchit.blogspot.com/2007/07/katapult-0321-released-few-minutes-ago.html
Thanks for reviving this app, it's one of my favorites. By the way, the first link to the changelog is missing a closing ].
Very useful time-saver. One thing missing-if no results, it should run written text as a command.
Thank you for this application! It saves me to configure a lot of keyboard shortcuts!
Since I have a compositing window manager (beryl), the faux-transparency katapult uses is a bit weak/annoying... can I shut it off?
If my mouse is on center screen and I hit alt-space, katapult doesn't work. When I type anything, it immediately fades out. Makes no sense.
I have the same problem with catalog. It seems like Katapult is able to start only programs that were installed after originally Katapult is there. Experiment with reinstalling Katapult and you'll get weird behaviour :(. So, logic question here would be: how to add extra programs/folders etc. to catalog?
I haven't found a way to get Katapult to show all matches (like the second tab of bash completion) and I cannot get it to find most documents (only some .odt, but not even all of those, and no .txt). Can I add document types or locations to Document Catalog?
Katapult is a great app for somebody like me who is addicted to Quicksilver on the Mac and wanted something similar on Linux. I just noticed that the web page: http://www.thekatapult.org.uk/ is returning 404's though?
Hey guys! Thanks for developing katapult, I think it's really great! I was wondering if there was some way to do things like google and wikipedia searches directly from katapult. The kde minicli (alt-f2) for example allows you to do things like gg: smokey the bear for a google search, and i find myself using that all the time. In addition, they have shortcuts such as "wp:" for wikipedia, "en2fr:" for translations and such. The wiki seems to be down and i found information from google on katapult a bit sparse ^_^ Thanks! Erik
great work and idea guys. I hate mouse and im i big fun of doing things with the keyboard using shortcuts. I have one silly comment to make. Launch firefox takes a lot of typing because first tries to launch the "firefox central" so one has to type firefox W... until it resolves that it should be executed firefox web browser. Once again, good work
had the same problem, you can bypass typing f [space] w. Katapult search for a program name beginning con f and as second name w: firefox web browser. Worked for me also with open office: op [space] s --> openoffice spreadsheet
Thanks for the tip. It seems it is even better well thought this program! bye
When I try to compile I get: ... .libs/programcatalog.o(.text+0xb2b): In function `ProgramCatalog::qt_cast(char c onst*)': programcatalog.cpp: undefined reference to `strcmp' .libs/programcatalog.o(.text+0xd0e): In function `__static_initialization_and_de struction_0(int, int)': programcatalog.cpp: undefined reference to `__dso_handle' .libs/programcatalog.o(.text+0xd26):programcatalog.cpp: undefined reference to ` __cxa_atexit' .libs/programcatalog.o(.gnu.linkonce.t._ZN15KGenericFactoryI14ProgramCatalog7QOb jectE12createObjectEPS1_PKcS5_RK11QStringList+0x48): In function `KGenericFactor y::createObject(QObject*, char const*, char const*, QSt ringList const&)': programcatalog.cpp: undefined reference to `strcmp' .libs/program.o(.text+0x60b): In function `Program::qt_cast(char const*)': program.cpp: undefined reference to `strcmp' .libs/program.o(.text+0x75e): In function `__static_initialization_and_destructi on_0(int, int)': program.cpp: undefined reference to `__dso_handle' .libs/program.o(.text+0x776):program.cpp: undefined reference to `__cxa_atexit' .libs/settings.o(.text+0xafb): In function `ProgramCatalogSettings::qt_cast(char const*)': settings.cpp: undefined reference to `strcmp' .libs/settings.o(.text+0xc7e): In function `__static_initialization_and_destruct ion_0(int, int)': settings.cpp: undefined reference to `__dso_handle' .libs/settings.o(.text+0xc96):settings.cpp: undefined reference to `__cxa_atexit ' collect2: ld returned 1 exit status make[5]: *** [katapult_programcatalog.la] Error 1 make[5]: Leaving directory `/home/users/marcin/rpm/BUILD/katapult-0.3.1.4/katapu lt/plugins/catalogs/programcatalog' make[4]: *** [all-recursive] Error 1 make[4]: Leaving directory `/home/users/marcin/rpm/BUILD/katapult-0.3.1.4/katapu lt/plugins/catalogs' make[3]: *** [all-recursive] Error 1 make[3]: Leaving directory `/home/users/marcin/rpm/BUILD/katapult-0.3.1.4/katapu lt/plugins' make[2]: *** [all-recursive] Error 1 make[2]: Leaving directory `/home/users/marcin/rpm/BUILD/katapult-0.3.1.4/katapu lt' make[1]: *** [all-recursive] Error 1 make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/users/marcin/rpm/BUILD/katapult-0.3.1.4' make: *** [all] Error 2 There's no such error in 0.3.1.4 Help, please! I need new katapult, because amarok plugin in 0.3.1.3 doesn't work for me.
Thanks for this amazing app! I wonder if it will learn which apps do i access the most. For example, i use more kmail than kmag, so [k][m][a] could lead to kmail automagically. Thanks a lot!!
Hi, How do I add progrqams to the programs catalogue? When I do alt-space and type K M A I Kmail doesn't come up... Do I need ot somehow update the programs in a databese? Do Katapult only look in specific locations for programs? Thanks, YFarkash.
Add to the Kmenu. :)
Amarok catalog becomes broken when using this new Amarok feature: http://amarok.kde.org/wiki/Dynamic_Collection The fix is easy, I just changed 4 lines in the katapult source and everything works again. Just keep that in mind.
I'm just here to say that this piece os SW is the second thing I install after KDE. Is too handy... I think that must be merged in KDE... or doing something like this. (When I -rarely- use gnome, I use the Deskbar applet, which works too... but with less eyecandy... ;) ) A suggestion: real transparencies with composite? :P
Great tool, good work. It is inevitable that people will recommend Katapult to all their friends :)
Sorry, I've just read that you were allready planning to deliver all-query's-answers in the next release! I've been fooled by the strange date sorting of the website! Keep up the good dev' ;)
Katapult is definitely a great extension, especially with the catalogs (plugins allowing to use katapult for other things than launching a program. For exemple : as a calc or to search a song through your Amarok's music database ;) ) Though I have one question : is it possible, when you are typing a query, to change the catalog which is being used? Here's what happens to me : I'm typing the name of a band I'd like to listen to but the band's name also exists in my bookmarks. Because the "bookmark" catalog is before "amarok" catalog, Katapult finds the entry in the bookmarks, not in Amarok. Are you planning to let user browse through different plugins? For example by typing the "up" or "down" key on the keyboard. It will give the ability to see all different actions associated with the query. In all cases, "bravo" for your app, this is a great piece of software!