macosxhints.com application tips

Quick way to get artwork from currently playing iTunes track

Tue, 21 May 2013 07:30:00 -0700

iTunes makes it easy to retrieve the artwork from the currently playing song. Just drag & drop the artwork displayed in the iTunes LCD (the bar at the top of the iTunes window, showing artwork, progress bar, etc.) or the MiniPlayer to the Finder, or to any other application that you can drag images to. You'll get a graphic file of the current artwork.

Control iTunes AirPlay streaming with AppleScript

Mon, 20 May 2013 07:30:00 -0700

iTunes 11.0.3 provides AppleScript support for controlling AirPlay devices. Below is a basic script that illustrates how AirPlay devices can be selected and applied using some of the new iTunes AppleScript classes and properties:

tell application "iTunes"
	set apDevices to (get every AirPlay device whose available is true)
	if apDevices is {} then display dialog "No Airplay devices available." buttons {"Cancel"}
	set apNames to (get name of every AirPlay device whose available is true)
	set selAirplayDevices to (get name of every AirPlay device whose selected is true)
	set chosenNames to choose from list apNames default items selAirplayDevices with prompt "Select Airplay device:" with multiple selections allowed
	if chosenNames is false then return
	set apChoices to {}
	repeat with i from 1 to length of ...

Save disk space by deleting copies of Mail attachments

Fri, 17 May 2013 07:30:00 -0700

By default, Mail will keep file attachments that you've opened or viewed in your ~/Library/Mail Downloads folder, until you delete the associated email. You can save disk space by making the following switch:

In Mail's preferences, go to General, then set Remove unedited downloads to When Mail Quits. This does not remove the attachment from your email, just from your local cache of Mail Downloads.

On one machine I've got, I reclaimed nearly half a gigabyte after using the system for only a few months! I can't wait to see how much I get back on a system I've been using for 5 years!

[kirkmc adds: I find it odd that Mail keeps these attachments after you view them, since they're still in the emails. This is only an issue, however, if you save emails with attachments; if you delete them, then the default setting deletes the cached files as well.]

Set up Facebook chat in OS X Messages

Wed, 15 May 2013 06:30:00 -0700

You can set up Facebook chat in Messages. Since Facebook uses Jabber, all you need to know is your user name, and you can create an account.

Open Messages' preferences, and click on Accounts. Click on the + icon to create a new account. For Account Type, choose Jabber. For your account hem, you'll need to find your Facebook user name; this is the text after http://www.facebook.com/. The account name for the Jabber account should therefore be your_facebook_user_name@chat.facebook.com. Enter your Facebook password in the Password field, and click on Done.

Messages should log into the account, and you should see a message saying:

You are now Online to Chat | You are now Online to Chat. Please note that this also marks you as Online on facebook.com.

You can check Facebook to confirm this; you should see that you are online for chat when you visit Facebook.

H/t ...

Disable swipe gesture to go back and forward in Chrome

Tue, 14 May 2013 07:30:00 -0700

A Stack Exchange user asked a question a while back: is it possible to turn off the swipe gesture in Chrome that goes back or forward a page? If you're not familiar with this gesture - which works in most browsers on OS X - you use a two-finger swipe to the right to go back to the previous page you've viewed, and a swipe in the opposite direction to go forward again. But this use found it got in the way.

Fortunately, another user found a Terminal command that turns this feature off. Run this in Terminal, then relaunch Chrome for it to take effect:

defaults write com.google.Chrome.plist AppleEnableSwipeNavigateWithScrolls -bool FALSE

If you wish to reactivate it, run this command:

defaults write com.google.Chrome.plist AppleEnableSwipeNavigateWithScrolls -bool TRUE

Apparently you can issue this command ...

Quickly display SVG files in OS X using Firefox

Thu, 09 May 2013 07:30:00 -0700

Quick Look uses WebKit to render SVG (scalable vector graphics) flies, and Safari has a bug that mis-renders any isolated horizontal or vertical line segment making it useless. Most SVG graphics programs like Inkscape or Illustrator are very slow to launch. Fortunately Firefox works correctly and opens SVG files instantly. So if you need to view SVG files, you can drag them into a Firefox window, or onto the Firefox icon in the Dock, to view them.

[kirkmc adds: I tried opening some SVG files in both Safari and Firefox, but didn't find any that had isolated horizontal or vertical lines, so I haven't seen how this issues displays. YMMV.]

Sync files across computers with BitTorrent Sync

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 07:30:00 -0700

BitTorrent Labs has released BitTorrent Sync, a tool for syncing files across computers, using the BitTorrent peer-to-peer protocol. This app lets you choose a specific folder (or folders) to sync, and have it automatically synced on one or several computers. It runs on OS X, Windows and Linux.

I find this an interesting tool. While I use Dropbox regularly, and depend on it for collaboration, and to sync a number of files between my two Macs, there is a limit in the amount of space available. (With the free version, it's 2 GB; paid subscriptions are available if you want more storage.) But also, Dropbox requires that anything you sync be put in its own folder. You can use symbolic links in a Dropbox folder, but if you want to sync the contents of a specific folder on your Mac to another Mac, this gets a bit complicated. ...

Keep your keyboard's keys from getting worn out

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 07:30:00 -0700

If you type a lot, you may find that the letters on the keys of your Mac's keyboard will slowly fade away. In my case, not only do they fade away, but one key - the D key, which, since I use a Dvorak layout, is the E key - actually has some of the plastic worn away. And this is on a wireless Apple keyboard that's only about a year old. (Note that since I touch-type, it really doesn't matter whether I see the keys or not�)

Topher Kessler, writing at CNet, posted an article with some ways to keep the letters from fading. He suggests possibly using a silicone keyboard cover, but I don't think that would be comfortable. But he also recommends using standard cellophane tape, cut into squares that cover the keys.

You probably wouldn't want to do this to all the keys on your keyboard: the most commonly-used ones are those most in need of protection: E ...

How to show or hide panels in Adobe Acrobat Pro XI v.11.0.2

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 07:30:00 -0700

Sometimes clicking the "Show or hide panels" (the top-right icon on right pane for Tools or Comments) in Adobe Acrobat Pro XI v.11.0.2 on OS X 10.8.3 does no work. Clicking it does nothing. Here is the fix:

1. Select View > Read Mode.
2. Select View > Full Screen Mode
3. Press the Escape key

[kirkmc adds: I don�t have Acrobat Pro, so I can�t test this.]

Download iTunes Store purchases later

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 07:30:00 -0700

If you've ever been irked by the need to download iTunes Store purchases right away, or by seeing them constantly pop up in your Downloads queue until you download them, you'll be happy to know that Apple has changed this. You can now choose to download iTunes Store purchases later, as long as you're in a country which has iTunes in the Cloud. If you choose to download the content - a movie, TV show, or other large download - at a later date, it will simply be added to your Purchased list and you'll be able to download it later. Or not. Because in some cases, you may want to buy something on, say, an iPhone, but watch it on an Apple TV, and never actually download it locally. This will save a lot of time and bandwidth.

Quickly type domains for different countries in iOS

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 07:30:00 -0700

You may be familiar with the fact that, when typing on iOS, you can press and hold the . (period) key, or the .com key, to get a popup with a handful of top-level domains, such as .com, .org, .edu, etc. If your iOS device is set up with a country other than the US, you'll have these, plus others, such as .co.uk if you're in the UK, or .de if you're in Germany.

OS X Daily recently pointed out that you can also quickly type other top-level domains by simply adding international keyboards to your iOS device. To do this, go to Settings > General > International > Keyboards, then tap on Add New Keyboard. Tap the keyboard for the country you want to use. When you next go to type text, you can press and hold the . (period) key in, say, Mail, or the .com key in Safari, and access additional top-level domains.

Interestingly, when I did this, I found a surprising change. I added a UK keyboard to b ...

Reduce FaceTime CPU when only using voice

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 07:30:00 -0700

FaceTime uses 100% CPU when in a call, probably because of video encoding. Yet it's possible to reduce CPU usage to 20% when you only need voice, extending battery life when mobile.

To stop FaceTime from encoding video when in a call, make it fullscreen and it will move into its own space. Then switch back to your main desktop space with a four finger swipe to the right (or by simply switching to an app in that space). Although your camera LED stays on, this actually pauses the video, reducing your CPU from 100% to around 20%. You will also find that voice quality improves with less drop-outs and cracks because now your CPU is prioritized on encoding audio.

Update: As mentioned in the comments, it's seems to be sufficient to just have FaceTime in a space and move to a different space, or to minimize the FaceTime window to the Dock.

[kirkmc adds: I don't use FaceTime often, choosing rather to use Messages video chats or Skype, so I can't confirm ...

Regular expression reference for BBEdit

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 07:30:00 -0700

If you use BBEdit to work with text files, you're certainly aware of its powerful regular expression feature for searching and replacing text. Based on the PCRE (Perl Compatible Regular Expressions) engine, the BBEdit regex language can find and replace pretty much anything.

GitHub user ccstone has published a BBEdit Regular Expression Cheat Sheet, which shows all the standard regex meta-characters, those used for non-visible characters (such as tabs and returns), and classes (such as digits, lower-case letters or alphanumeric characters).

If you use BBEdit to find and replace text, and especially if you're not familiar with using regular expressions, you should bookmark this page.

Fix iOS SpringBoard home screen crash

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 07:30:00 -0700

Over at the Mac Observer, Dave Hamilton told of an iPod touch whose SpringBoard would repeatedly crash. (SpringBoard is the iOS equivalent of the Finder.) After trying a number of troubleshooting procedures, he narrowed it down to an iCloud issue, where corrupt data was causing the crash. Hamilton found info in crash logs indications of what was causing the crash. He eventually deleted a folder on the Mac that was linked to the iPod (com~apple~TextInput) and this resolved the issue.

iCloud has been, for me, a common source of dismay. I've not found it to be reliable enough to entrust any important data to it - though for some data, such as contacts and calendars, you have no choice. I've had to go through complicated procedures to reset different types of iCloud data several times to resolve syncing issues. This crashing problem is just another of the issues ...

Manage site-specific Java settings in Safari

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 07:30:00 -0700

Apple has released Safari 6.0.4, and 5.1.9, which, together with a recent update to Java, provides site-specific settings for activating Java. As Java has become a widely-exploited vector for malware attacks, it's a good idea to keep it turned off if you don't need it. The problem is, however, that many people do need it, and the safest way to protect from drive-by attacks on malicious websites is to provide a site-specific activation method.

Safari 6.0.4 offers this. If you visit a website that tries to load a Java applet, a dialog will ask if you want to block or allow the applet. You can later go to Safari > Preferences > Security, and click on Manage Website Settings (just after the Allow Java option) to view a list of websites which have attempted to load Java applets. You can then change the behavior for each of those sites.

Get more info about Java and Safari in Apple's technical note.

Amnesty Goes Open Source and Free

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 09:30:00 -0700

Amnesty, the reverse engineered version of Apple's Dashboard that allows widgets to run on the desktop with Konfabulator-like abilities, has been made open-source and is now freeware.

Originally released in 2005, days after Apple introduced Dashboard with its release of OS X Tiger, Amnesty was built around an engine allowing it run widgets independently of Dashboard, and thus could give additional capabilities to widgets including adjustable desktop level and opacity. The engine also allowed users of OS X Panther to run Dashboard widgets.

Amnesty was released to many positive reviews, including a sidebar mention in David Pogue's Missing Manual for Tiger, but as the interest in widgets waned in the past few years, its popularity and sales began to decline.

Developer Danny Espinoza, who had recently stopped releasing updates for his products sold under the name Mesa Dynamics, felt it was best to release all his software products, including Amnesty (and Amne ...

10.8: Automatically open the Messages chat window

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 09:12:00 -0700

I was annoyed by a behavior of Messages.app. When a friend sends me a message the chat window will not open automatically. Instead the Messages app icon will get a badge and bounce a couple of times in the dock.

But if I'm not currently at the computer, and since I do not use the Dock to launch apps and I have the Dock always hidden, I could easily miss a message for a long time. So I came up with the following solution.

First open /Utilities/AppleScript.app and paste the following into the script editor:

using terms from application "Messages"
	on message received theText from theBuddy for theChat
		set visible of window "Messages" to true
	end message received	
end using terms from

Pick a name and save the script in the scripts folder ~/Library/Scripts.
...

Select lines by numbers in TextEdit

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 07:30:00 -0700

TextEdit has a dialog that lets you select lines. You can invoke the Select Line window by pressing Command-L. In this window, you can enter a single line number, but you can also enter relative selections or ranges. For example, enter the following:

2: selects line 2.

+2: selects the second line after the line where the cursor is.

-2: selects the second line before the line where the cursor is.

12-14: selects lines 12, 13 and 14.

+2-4: selects 3 lines, 2 lines after the line where the cursor is.

-2-4: selects 3 lines, 2 lines before the line where the cursor is

Show the total number of messages in Mail mailboxes

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 07:30:00 -0700

Mail lets you choose to show the number of unread messages in mailboxes, but there's no way to show the total number of messages in your mailboxes. While most people may not want this, you might want to know how many messages are in certain mailboxes.

There's an interesting solution to this problem over at Stack Exchange, where user jaume presents two AppleScripts to accomplish this. The idea is to use the AppleScript to count the number of messages in the mailbox, then change the name accordingly, to something like "Messages (23)." The two scripts either change the names of a number of specified mailboxes, or of mailboxes whose names begin with the @ character. The script can be set to run via a Mail rule, such as every time new messages are received.

This is a nifty solution to a problem that many people wouldn't think of, but that ...

Fix Dropbox Permissions Denied errors

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 07:30:00 -0700

I use Dropbox to sync a backup of a number of local folders, and run a backup script every evening. When I got up the other morning, Dropbox was still running hard, and my Mac mini's fan was spinning. I clicked on the Dropbox menu item, and then on the gear button (this is with Dropbox 2), and saw that some files couldn't be copied because of "permissions denied" errors.

It turns out that Dropbox has a hidden feature to fix such things. Open the Dropbox preferences, click on Account, then press the Option key. The Unlink This Computer button will change to Fix Permissions. Click that button and let Dropbox go through your files.