Mac Power User Tips: Hidden Features in Alfred, Raycast, Things 3, Keyboard Maestro, and BetterTouchTool

Most people use a fraction of the apps they pay for. Alfred becomes an app launcher, Things becomes a checklist, and Keyboard Maestro sits in the menu bar running one macro. The features that save real time are usually one setting or one shortcut away.

Here are specific tips for five popular Mac productivity apps, each checked against the developer's own documentation in October 2026.

Quick Takeaway

• Alfred: turn on Clipboard History, then use Universal Actions and the File Buffer to act on text and files without opening Finder.
• Raycast: clipboard history, snippets, and window management are in the free plan.
• Things 3: Quick Entry with Autofill grabs the current web page or email into a to-do, and the When field understands typed dates.
• Keyboard Maestro: look beyond hotkeys to typed-string, Wi-Fi, USB, and time-of-day triggers.
• BetterTouchTool: window snapping, floating menus, and a new launcher, not the Touch Bar.

Alfred: Clipboard, Actions, and the File Buffer

Alfred opens with ⌥ Space by default. The free version is a capable launcher and file search, but most of the tips below need the Powerpack (£34 for a single license, or £59 for the Mega Supporter license with free lifetime upgrades). Alfred's shop says buying now includes a free upgrade to Alfred 6, which is announced for this autumn.

• Turn on Clipboard History. It's off by default. Enable it in Features > Clipboard, then press ⌘⌥C to open the viewer. In the viewer, ⌘S saves a clip as a reusable snippet.
• Use Snippets with keywords. Give each snippet a keyword and turn on auto-expansion, and Alfred types the full text when you type the keyword anywhere. Alfred suggests keywords you'd never type by accident, like "ttime".
• Act on any result with Universal Actions. Press the right arrow on a file, URL, or text result to see actions like copy, open with, or email. Select text in any app and press ⌘ / to send it to Alfred's actions.
• Collect files with the File Buffer. In a file search, press ⌥↑ to add a file to the buffer, repeat for others, then ⌥→ to act on all of them at once (move, copy, email). ⌥⌫ clears the buffer.
• Navigate like a terminal. In file search, type / to jump to the root of your disk or ~ to start in your home folder.

Workflows, Alfred's visual automations, are also Powerpack-only. Browse the Alfred Gallery for ready-made workflows before building your own.

Raycast: The Free Power Features

Raycast also defaults to ⌥ Space, and you can assign ⌘ Space to replace Spotlight. Its free plan includes:

• Clipboard History, kept for 3 months on the free plan (unlimited on Pro).
• Snippets with keyword expansion.
• Window Management commands for halves, thirds, and other layouts, which you can bind to hotkeys.
• Quicklinks to open a URL or search a site with what you type, such as a Jira ticket number.

Pro costs $10/month (or $96/year) and adds unlimited AI, custom window management commands, and longer clipboard history. If you're choosing between the two launchers, our Raycast vs Alfred vs LaunchBar comparison covers the differences.

Things 3: Capture Faster, Schedule in Plain Language

Things 3 costs $49.99 on the Mac App Store. Its best features are about getting tasks in quickly.

• Quick Entry from anywhere. Press ⌃ Space in any app to open a new to-do without switching to Things.
• Quick Entry with Autofill. Press ⌃⌥ Space instead, and Things adds a link to the current Safari page, Mail message, or Finder file to the to-do's notes. Turn it on in Settings > Quick Entry (it needs a small helper to be installed).
• Type dates the way you say them. Press ⌘S to open the When field and type things like "tues 8am", "17d" (17 days from now), or "2p". ⇧⌘D sets a deadline the same way.
• Mail to Things. With Things Cloud, you get a private address; forward an email to it and the subject becomes the to-do title and the body the note. Attachments aren't carried over, and there's a limit of 100 emails per 24 hours.
• Automate with Shortcuts or the URL scheme. Things has official Shortcuts actions and a things:/// URL scheme, so other apps and scripts can create to-dos and projects.

For how Things compares with its rivals, see Things 3 vs Todoist vs TickTick vs OmniFocus.

Keyboard Maestro: Triggers Beyond Hotkeys

Keyboard Maestro 11 is a one-time purchase of $36 (upgrades from earlier versions are $25), with a free trial. Most people start with hotkey macros, but its triggers are the hidden strength:

• Typed String: run a macro when you type a phrase. This also gives you text expansion without a separate app.
• Application: run a macro when an app launches, quits, or comes to the front, for example to arrange its windows.
• Wireless Network: run a macro when you join your office or home Wi-Fi, such as muting the volume at work.
• USB Device: run a macro when a device connects, like opening your audio app when a microphone is plugged in.
• Time of Day: schedule macros, such as opening your daily planning apps at 9am.

Two more features worth knowing: the Clipboard History Switcher (⌃⇧⌘V by default) and palettes, floating panels of macros that can appear only in a specific app. For how Keyboard Maestro compares with Shortcuts and Hazel, see our Mac automation showdown.

BetterTouchTool: Gestures, Snapping, and a New Launcher

BetterTouchTool used to be known for customizing the Touch Bar, but no Mac sold today has one. Its current focus is gestures, keyboard shortcuts, and window control. It costs $15 for a license with two years of updates or $25 for a lifetime license (prices vary by country and taxes), has a 45-day free trial, and is also included with Setapp.

• Custom trackpad and Magic Mouse gestures. Assign any of its 600+ actions to taps, swipes, and multi-finger clicks, globally or per app.
• Window snapping. Drag a window to a screen edge to snap it, or use the "TipTap" gesture near a window edge to snap and resize.
• Floating menus and widgets. Build small, always-available panels of buttons for the actions you use most.
• Spotlight-style launcher. New in recent versions: a launcher that searches apps, windows, files, and calendar events, browses the clipboard, and runs any BetterTouchTool trigger.
• Stream Deck and mouse buttons. It can also drive a Stream Deck and remap extra buttons on many mice.

If BetterTouchTool feels like too much, our BetterTouchTool alternatives post covers simpler single-purpose apps.

Where to Start

Pick one tip per app and use it for a week before adding more. The biggest wins for most people are clipboard history (Alfred or Raycast), Quick Entry in Things, and one Keyboard Maestro trigger that automates something you do every day.

Final Verdict

These apps are worth their price only if you use more than the obvious feature. Alfred and Raycast cover launching, clipboard history, and snippets; Things handles fast capture; Keyboard Maestro automates the rest; and BetterTouchTool makes your trackpad and windows work the way you want. Start with the free trials or free plans, and pay for the ones you use every day.

Catch these apps on sale: many paid Mac apps, including productivity and automation apps, run discounts at least once a year, most often around Black Friday. Subscribe to the Apps.Deals newsletter to hear when the deals arrive.

Note: First published in January 2025 and updated in October 2026. Features and prices are current as of October 2026 and can change; verify them on each official site before buying.

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