Opening the palette
Press ⌘K (Mac) or Ctrl K (Windows/Linux) on any new tab to open the Launcher. The search bar at the top of the new tab page also opens it on click. From any other tab, ⌘⇧K opens the Quick Palette — a lighter version that stays contextual to where you are.
What it searches
As you type, the palette queries all of these simultaneously:
- Open tabs — every window, every tab group. Switch without touching the mouse.
- Bookmarks — your full bookmark library, searchable by title and URL.
- History — recent pages you've visited, ranked by recency.
- Downloads — recently downloaded files, openable directly.
- Snippets — your saved text expansions. Type a keyword, hit Enter to copy.
- URL aliases — custom shortcuts you've defined (e.g., "gh" → GitHub).
- Commands — Pinodock actions like opening settings, toggling theme, or starting a focus session.
- Google search — anything that doesn't match a local result becomes a live Google query.
Color-coded result types
When you have 30 tabs open and a search returns a mix of bookmarks, tabs, and history entries, it's easy to click the wrong thing. Pinodock solves this by tagging every result with a color-coded type badge:
- 🔵 Search — Google web search
- 🟢 Tab — currently open tab
- 🟡 Bookmark — saved bookmark
- 🟣 History — previously visited page
- ⚫ Download — recent file download
- 🩵 Snippet — text expansion
- 🩷 Command — Pinodock action
- 🔷 Alias — custom URL shortcut
The badge sits to the right of each result, so at a glance you know whether you're about to switch to an open tab or navigate to a bookmark from last month.
Keyboard-first navigation
The palette is designed to keep your hands on the keyboard:
- ↑ ↓ — move between results
- Enter — open / execute the selected result
- ⌥ Enter — copy URL to clipboard instead of navigating
- Space — preview the page in a tooltip before committing
- Esc — close the palette
The Quick Palette on active tabs
The full Launcher lives on the new tab. But you're often on another tab when you need it. ⌘⇧K opens the Quick Palette as an overlay on whatever tab you're currently viewing — same search, same color badges, no navigation required to reach it.
Calculation mode
Type a mathematical expression directly into the palette — 1200 * 12, 15% of 840, or (45 + 67) / 3 — and the result appears instantly as a Calc result you can copy with one keystroke.
The "search or type a command" bar on the new tab
The search bar visible on your new tab dashboard is the same palette, triggered by click. It sits in a solid-background card so it stays legible against any background image. Typing in it immediately opens the full Launcher with your query pre-filled.