Oct 29, '08 07:30:00AM • Contributed by: sune
Recently I got an iPod Touch / iPhone. Today I also got the $6 program FileMagnet for my iPod Touch. This program allows me to do wireless transfer of files to my iPod Touch (or iPhone) and view files on my iPod Touch (or iPhone) -- amazing! This was just what I needed to turn the iPod touch into my digital paper. Alas, it involves a number of steps to get a print of a complicated webpage onto the iPod. Consider my electronic flight ticket that I've just bought: First I need to print this one as a PDF from the web page where it's generated, then I need to locate the PDF, then I have to drag-and-drop it into FileMagnet, and then wait for next sync with my iPhone. Finally, I have to delete the generated PDF on my Mac if I do not need this one. That's five steps.
Well, it can be automated easily. Simply make a custom Automator Workflow, which will be empty to start. Add Open Finder Items to the flow, and select FileMagnet as the application. Then save the workflow in /Library/PDF Services -- I called mine Print to iPod Touch.
Now you can print to to FileMagnet from any app using the PDF pop-up menu in the lower left of the Print dialog, and selecting Print to iPod Touch. The file is printed and transferred to FileMagnet where it waits for next sync. That's two steps, and at the same time, it works around the bugs that my iPod has showing complicated doc/ppt/xls files, as it's a PDF that's transferred. (There are no files to be deleted, as the "printed" item goes into /private/tmp, which the system empties once in a while...but if you wish, the original file can be located by clicking the magnifying glass next to the file name in FileMagnet.) You can print to other formats as well if you wish -- but PDF works really well for the iPod Touch/iPhone -- and it insures that the filename of the printed document makes sense without further scripting.
Perfect for my use -- and I think a lot of others can use this too, as this turns our iPods/iPhones into digital paper.
