Setting up environment variables for GUI apps? Transitioning from Windows to the Mac. In Windows, I had a lot of environmental variables set-up that I used to speed up my work. Thinks like 

DEVDIR=C:\WORKDOCS\DOCS_jaravj\PROJ\dev
DOCDIR=C:\WORKDOCS\DOCS_jaravj
PERS=C:\WORKDOCS\DOCS_jaravj\Personal
PROD=C:\WORKDOCS\DOCS_jaravj\PROJ\PROD
SVN=C:\WORKDOCS\DOCS_jaravj\PROJ\SVN_CO_Tort


etc...

That, and the "magic" of autocompletion in the "Run" box and in the file save/open dialogs, allowed me to move around very quickly.

I've set up the equivalent env. variables in the shell, and I can cd and mv etc to the proper directories, but I haven't found a way to do something similar for the GUI apps, so that I can use the same shortcuts in the applications...

I've followed the tips in https://stackoverflow.com/questions/135688/setting-environment-variables-in-os-x to add the env vars to /etc/launchd.conf but when I am going to save a file (for example), I can't use $PROJ in the "directory selector" and have the file be saved there...
I don't believe variables set in the environment are going to work in the Open &amp; Save dialog box (OSDB). It's a nice idea, but you'd have to admit, kinda neckbeardy. 

The Macintosh way would be to use the Favorites list presented on the left of the OSDB. Drag your often used directories there and you have one-click access. 

A much more powerful alternative is Default Folder X. This gives you an incredible degree of short-cutting and changes of default behaviors in the OSDB.