SWC Computer Services

You can perform many useful tasks using the icon in the title bar of many OS X applications (known as the proxy icon), in both Apple-bundled (TextEdit, Preview, etc.) and third party (BBEdit, Path Finder, and numerous others) applications.

For this to work, you need to be using a file that has had its latest changes saved (otherwise, the icon will be grayed out). Normally, when you click-and-drag on the title bar of a window, you just drag the window around. However, if you click-and-hold directly on the proxy icon, and optionally add a modifier key, you can access other useful functions. Here’s what happens in most applications, including TextEdit and Preview:

• Drag icon: If you drag the proxy icon to a Finder window or your Desktop, an alias to the open file will be created at the location where you drop the icon.
• Option-drag icon: Hold down the Option (Alt) key prior to dragging, and you’ll create a copy instead of an alias.
• Command or Control: …

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Go to Source

I haven’t seen this documented anywhere, but I discovered that you can select an entire paragraph of text by quadruple-tapping on it when entering text in the iPhone. For instance, when replying to an email, you can quadruple-tap on paragraphs in the quoted reply, then cut them.

You have to do it pretty quickly, and take care not to move your finger too much between taps. Try it a few times, though, and you’ll get the hang of it. And yes, I know it might sound weird, but I actually find it quite useful sometimes.

[robg adds: This works, and isn't covered in the iPhone user's guide.]

Go to Source

Here’s a simple workaround that will let you modify your own iWeb website from multiple locations and machines: Carry the original files on a USB stick, and trick the local machines into using the USB stick instead of the local file by using an alias. Important to make this workaround work is that the alias file is set with its ‘Open With’ set to ‘iWeb.’ Detailed steps are below.

This workaround assumes that the data for all websites created by your machine are on your USB stick. (For management of multiple websites, see this older hint).

First, generate your website with iWeb. iWeb stores all information in your user’s Library » Application Support » iWeb folder, in a file named domain.sites2. Navigate to this file in the Finder, then:

1. Copy the file domain.sites2 to a USB stick.
2. Create an alias of domain.sites2 (will be called …

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Go to Source

This hint shows how to utilize OpenMeta tagging to attach a set of multiple, often-changing files to an iCal event. Although it may work with other tag managers out here, I’m using TagoMan2 for this purpose, which allows me to refer to a tag using a tag:// URL scheme:

1. Edit an event in iCal
2. Enter tag://Name_of_tag into the URL field.
3. Click on the link you just created; this will open up an empty window you can drag your files into.
4. Drag in your files.

The way this works is that TagoMan will associate a tag (e.g. Name_of_tag) to every file you drag in. When you click on the link again, TagoMan will search for all files using this tag — any newly-tagged files that match Name_of_tag will show up in the list. Tags are Spotlight-aware, and this tag:// URL may be used in any app which support URLs. …

Go to Source

Snow Leopard has an built-in grammar checker (in Cocoa and other certain apps) that will place green dotted lines under any possible grammatical errors it detects. (You may have to enable this first, in Edit » Spelling and Grammar » Check Grammar With Spelling.) However, accessing the corrections panel using Control-Click » Spelling and Grammar » Show Spelling and Grammar has always seemed cumbersome.

Now I’ve discovered that simply hovering the mouse over the underlined word pops up a tool tip description of the error.

[robg adds: The first option in the contextual menu will be the replacement suggestion, but the Spelling and Grammar box will typically have more information. Given you probably want to make the suggested change anyway, I prefer the contextual menu, so I can see and replace; the tool tip merely …

Go to Source

Sometimes, like today, I’m particularly interested in the Apple Store’s status…as in, when is it back up so that I can order whatever it is I’m waiting to order. While sitting around pressing Command-R this morning, I figured there must be a better way. After a few minutes with curl and GeekTool, I had the solution.

Because I didn’t have very long this morning, I just created a new ‘Shell’ Geeklet in GeekTool, with the refresh set to every five seconds, that showed the output of this command:

curl -s http://store.apple.com/us | grep backsoon | grep australia

Note that the above is specific both to the US Apple Store, and to the current version of that store. You may have to modify it for other geographies, or for future store site changes. Basically, what the command does is grab the Apple Store page via curl, suppresses the normal output (-s), and then searches for…

Go to Source

Sometimes I visit a website on my iPod Touch that is almost unreadable due to the expected size of a screen on a desktop computer. Even when zoomed in, some sites have the text continue off screen, meaning I’d have to scroll left and right to read a whole line of text.

I have MobileMe and sync my bookmarks between computers and my iPod Touch. And one day I happened across just such a too-small site. Frustrated, I decided to just try my Readability bookmarklet, and was happy to see it worked!

You’ll need either an iPhone or iPod Touch and a computer that you sync your device to via USB or MobileMe. From a computer, navigate to Readability and set your desired options. I like Inverse, Extra Large text, and Extra Narrow margins, but pick what you like. Drag your bookmarklet to your bookmark bar, as the site instructs. (You can move it to your Bookmarks menu, anywhere, or into the sidebar of Safari’s Bookmark …

Go to Source

The titles iPhoto chooses for just-added photos is the annoying “IMG_nnnn” serial number from the camera. This AppleScript simply takes the date of the photo (EXIF info that iPhoto knows very well) and uses it as the photo title. The format is: yyyy-mm-dd-hh.mm.ss, so it’s a bit easier to read than the ISO version, but also easily sortable.

Here’s the code:

tell application "iPhoto"

  --  activate -- bring iPhoto back to front

  copy (my selected_images()) to these_images

  if these_images is {} then error "Please select some images before using this script."

  set thename to ""

  set thepaths to ""

  set thedates to ""

  repeat with i from 1 to the count of these_images

    set this_image to item i of these_images
    --set this_file to the image path of this_image

    set thename ...
  

  

  

  

  







Go to Source