Create a keyboard shortcut for All Events in iPhoto '08

Aug 22, '07 07:30:04AM

Contributed by: ptone

I like the new events paradigm in iPhoto, but it bugs me that when you are looking at the photos within an event, the only way to return to the All Events view is to grab the mouse and click the little iTunes-Store-like button near the top of the screen.

I could not find any keyboard shortcut built into iPhoto, and Apple has not updated iPhoto's AppleScript library with a view (or really any concept of events). So this is more of a hack than revealing a hidden feature. The following AppleScript, attached to your favorite hot key utility (Butler, etc.) will return you to the All Events view.

tell application "iPhoto"
  activate
  select album "photos"
  tell application "System Events" to tell process "iPhoto"
    delay 0.25
    key code 48 --tab
    key code 126 --up arrow
    key code 5 --G scroll selected event into view
  end tell
end tell
[robg adds: I am pleased to report this works as expected (you might have to play with the delay line, changing the value based on the speed of your machine). Judging from many of Apple's recent apps, apparently nobody there uses a keyboard to do anything, it seems: in many programs, there are basic things that you cannot do without touching the mouse, and this was one of the more annoying examples of such things.

If you'd like a full explanation on how to implement this hint in Butler, keep reading. Note that you'll be reading my words, not those of the hint author, ptone.]

To create this AppleScript as a Butler keyboard shortcut, activate Butler's customization screen (Butler menu bar icon, Butler » Customize). Click Configuration in the toolbar, then expand the Hidden section, and click somewhere within it.

Click the Plus sign at the lower left of the screen, and select Smart Item » AppleScript » AppleScript from the pop-up menu. In the area to the right of the list of commands, you'll see a box (AppleScript) and four tabs below that. Change AppleScript to something obvious (Back to All Events - iPhoto). Select the Source Code tab, and paste the above script. Select the Triggers tab, and in the Hot Key box, enter your desired shortcut -- I used Control-Option-E. When you enter a shortcut, a new Exceptions pop-up menu and box appear. Change the pop-up to Only, and then type iPhoto in the text box.

That's it; you've created an AppleScript hotkey shortcut in Butler. Switch to iPhoto (no app restart required) and try it out.

Comments (6)


Mac OS X Hints
http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20070821062518429