Open AppleScripts when missing an application

May 06, '04 10:25:00AM

Contributed by: robg

Today, while trying to look at the script referenced in this hint, I was temporarily stuck -- if you don't have Mailsmith installed, Script Editor won't open the script (you get a "Where is Mailsmith?" dialog box instead). I've had this happen before, and just assumed that I was stuck unless I wanted to install the application that the script was looking for.

Thinking that there had to be a solution, I tried a simple workaround, and was somewhat surprised when it worked. All you need to do is duplicate any existing application and rename it! I chose TextEdit, renamed it to MailSmith, and the script then opened as expected. Obviously, I couldn't run it, but I just wanted to view the source, and this trick worked perfectly for that purpose.

Edit: See comments for an even easier workaround. Not sure why I didn't think to try just clicking any app in the list!

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Mac OS X Hints
http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20040506072529576