macosxhints.com 10.6 tips

A workaround for an iPhoto/set desktop bug

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 07:30:00 -0800

On both my Mac Pro and my iMac, I've run into a problem where the iPhoto library simply doesn't show up in the Desktop & Screen Saver System Preferences panel (in Mac OS X 10.6.x). Well, sometimes it shows up, but simply as a line reading iPhoto, but without any actual content.

When this happened the first time, I looked in Console and found the following entry for each time I'd tried to load the Desktop tab of the Desktop & Screen Saver panel:

1/12/12 9:09:36 AM    System Preferences[4134]    **** DesktopPref error: DSKiPhotoRootSource -loadData TIME OUT!!! There something wrong with iLife Media Browser

Googling on that error led to a number of pages, including iLife: Cannot See iP ...

10.6: Setting up the free iCloud account in Mail

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 07:30:00 -0800

This hint describes how to connect your free me.com iCloud account with Mail.app on Snow Leopard.

Open Mail and do the following:

Set a new account (+) (in prefs on Mail.app).
Set the new account to use IMAP (this is important).
Set the incoming mail server: imap.mail.me.com.
Set the outgoing mail server: p04-smtp.mail.me.com.
Set the user name: yourname@me.com.
Use the password associated with your AppleID.
Turn SSL on (port 993).

That should do it.

[crarko adds: I haven't tested this one, but it seems pretty straightforward. It sounds like you may have to try alternate server addresses. There is some more information to be found here, as well as this previous hint about setting up iCal in ...

10.6: Set a firmware password from the command line

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 07:30:00 -0700

I am in the middle of mass deploying thousands of new MacBook Airs at work, and all my previous tools to set the firmware password no longer work in late 2010 or newer models of Macs. This was due to some sort of change on firmware, but I haven't dug deep enough to know what exactly changed.

I needed a work around fast so I was looking into the Firmware Password Utility found on the Installer DVDs. There is a tool called setregproptool inside the package contents of this utility. This command line tool can be used to set the firmware password on your Mac.

My problem of course was that I did not have a new Installer DVD at all, in fact all I had were a few thousand of the USB OS X installer disks that ship with Macbook Airs. So, if you open up Terminal and browse the Mac OS X Install USB stick, you will see these contents:

$ cd /Volumes/Mac\ OS\ X\ Install
$ ls -l
total 8254080
-rw-r--r--@ 1 hadmin  staff    13447709 Dec  8   ...

10.6: Access DFS shares

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 07:30:00 -0700

The storage admins where I work have gone DFS mad. But if you're a Mac user, that would just make you plain old mad. That's because as great as DFS is for Windows users on an Active Directory domain, Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard doesn't know what to do with DFS paths.

The rumor is that Lion 10.7 due any day now will finally support DFS but that doesn't help me now. So I created a command line tool to help deal with Active Directory DFS shares from a Mac. Visit the dfstool homepage to download it and try it out.

[crarko adds: I don't have DFS-enabled servers to test the functionality of this with. I installed and ran the tool just fine. I put it in /usr/local/bin for ease of execution.]

10.6: Move files or folders in Finder (Cut/Paste)

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 07:30:00 -0700

In Finder there is no easy way to move files, similar to Windows cut and paste (Ctrl+X, Ctrl+V). I created a simple Automator Service, which does it for me.

To optimize it I created a macro in Keyboard Maestro.

When I select files or folders in Finder I call the macro and I can navigate to the target folder.

It's a pretty straightforward process:

Launch Automator and create a new Service.
The Service receives selected 'files or folders' in 'any application.'
Choose 'Get Selected Finder Items.'
Then choose 'Move Finder Items To: .'
Tick 'Show this action when the workflow runs' under Options.

In Keyboard Maestro create a macro which will Execute Automator Workflow.

[crarko adds: ...

10.6: Option-click audio menu extra to choose source

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 07:30:00 -0700

If you want an easy way to change the input or output sound source on your mac (say between the internal microphone and audio-in) in Mac OSX Snow Leopard you can simply option-click on the audio menu-extra in your menu bar.

This hint is actually from commenter Monoclast on MacUpdate.com from a review on the program SoundSource which adds a new Menu Extra to do exactly this.

[crarko adds: I tested this, and it works as described.]

10.6: Paste a file path directly into a Save dialog

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 07:30:00 -0700

A file/folder copied in Finder or a file/folder POSIX path string on the clipboard (such as '~/Documents/file.txt') can be pasted directly into a Save dialog by pressing ⌘V. The dialog will automatically open a Finder-style 'Go to the folder�' dialog and paste the path into it. Pressing enter will go to that location. It doesn't seem to work for Open dialogs, but pressing ⇧⌘G then ⌘V gives the same result.

I discovered this by accident the other day. I'm on 10.6.7, I haven't tried it on other systems.

[crarko adds: I tested this, and it works as described. I did a search and did not find a duplicate, but this seems like something that may have been mentioned before. I tried it on 10.5, and it did not exhibit this behavior.]

Compiling a Universal Binary from Autogen sources

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 07:30:00 -0700

You can compile the package for more than one kind of computer at the same time, by placing the objects for each architecture in their own directory. To do this, you can use GNU make. Run cd to go to the directory where you want the object files and executables to wind up and run the configure script. Configure automatically checks for the source code in the directory that configure is in and in ..; this is known as a VPATH build.

With a non-GNU make, it is safer to compile the package for one architecture at a time in the source code directory. After you have installed the package for one architecture, use make distclean before reconfiguring a new architecture.

On MacOS X 10.5 and later systems, you can create libraries and executables that work on multiple system types (known as fat also universal binaries) by specifying multiple -arch options to the compiler but only a single -arch option to the preprocessor.
...

10.6: An Expos� feature in application switching

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 07:30:00 -0700

Here is another Expos� keyboard trick, this one available when doing Application Switching.

When Tab Switching between applications, besides Command+Tab, and Command+Shift+Tab (or Command+~); if you select the desired application, continue holding the Command key, and press 1, the selected application's windows are spread out Expos� style (from all Spaces).

[crarko adds: I tested this, and it works as described. Like this earlier hint and others, there are lots of keyboard shortcuts built into Expos� which are not expected. I'm sure Mission Control in Lion will be full of surprises, too.]

10.6: Sync folder icons with Dropbox

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 07:30:00 -0700

As you may know, with Dropbox all is kept in Sync between computers, but there is something that doesn't sync: Custom Folder Icons. To solve this I wrote an Automator Service.

With this Service you can select a number of folders (with custom icons) and launch the menu option 'Dropbox - Backup folder Icons' from the Services menu in Finder. Then when Dropbox does its next sync, in the other computer where you want to recover the icons, just launch the other Service: 'Dropbox - Recover folder Icons.'

INSTALL

Just expand the zip file after downloading and move the Services to your ~/Library/Services folder.

There is more information on how to install and use the Services (including screenshots) here.

NOTE: ...

10.6: Free up system resources using Automator

Fri, 10 Jun 2011 07:30:00 -0700

Given the popularity of utility programs that let you free up computer resources, it is worth noting that we can get the same effect free of charge using built-in system tools. The simple trick behind utilities that free up computer resources is the purge command. Instead of using any of these apps, it is enough to fire up Terminal.app, type in 'purge' (no quotes) and press Enter.

This may be of course a bit cumbersome if we repeat this task often. In order to speed up the process and limit the procedure to a single click, we can use Automator to make a small app or a service to execute the 'purge' command.

Do do so we have to:

Open Automator and select 'Application' or 'Service' as our workflow.
Drag the 'Run Shell Script' action to our workflow from the Utilities section of the Actions Library.
Type in 'pu ...

10.6: Completely Disable Virtual Memory in Snow Leopard

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 07:30:00 -0700

This hint is the result of an experience I tried in the last few days. It involves disabling the dynamic pager daemon and stop using virtual memory at all in Snow Leopard. I don't recommend doing it in previous OSX versions, or if don't want to take risks. Advantages, in my case, are obvious, and, so far, with no issues at all.

My MacBook Pro, Core i5, 4 GB RAM, 320 GB HD, has been a real pleasure to use; my previous machine was an old PowerBook G4, as slow as you can imagine. But even with the MBP, some slowness seems to sometimes appear in everyday usage (Parallels 6/Windows7, Firefox, Photoshop, Mail, iTunes always opened), specifically related to the disk activity (a 5400 RPM 320 GB, Hitachi drive). I suspected the paging activities of OSX to be responsible for the general system slowdown. If so, no doubt the disk drive is the weak side of the ...

Get Safe Downloads List last update time and current version

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 07:30:00 -0700

Whether you are an IT admin or a vigilant home user who wants to know when the Safe Downloads list (used with Safari) was last updated, here's the Terminal command to do that.

Date and Time (GMT):

defaults read /System/Library/CoreServices/CoreTypes.bundle/Contents/Resources/XProtect.meta LastModification

Version Number:

defaults read /System/Library/CoreServices/CoreTypes.bundle/Contents/Resources/XProtect.meta Version

[crarko adds: I tested this, and it work ...

10.6: A script to display available Apple software updates

Fri, 27 May 2011 07:30:00 -0700

This is a script that is supposed to be used with GeekTool if you are running as a non-admin user (as I am) and thus no longer get to see when new software is available from Apple.

I grew tired of being a good user and not run as admin anymore, but then not getting info about new software from Apple. Therefore I wrote 'SoftwareUpdateCheck.sh,' a bash-script that gathers info from the command-line utility 'softwareupdate' and presents it.

In short:

It checks the software update every six hours.
It updates the presentation every fifteen minutes.
The script checks for a new version of itself every two weeks and automatically updates itself.

You can find all about it the options and functionality of the script ...

10.6: Combining Spaces and Expos� in a single swipe

Thu, 26 May 2011 07:30:00 -0700

This hint shows how to combine Spaces and Expos� to show all open windows on all workspaces, using AppleScript and BetterTouchTool.

Lion may have Mission Control but for Leopard/Snow Leopard users, it can be a pain to find a particular window among all the workspaces. The following AppleScript activates Spaces and Expos� together and orders windows by alphabetical order:

tell application "System Events"
  key code 100 -- F8 - Spaces
  key code 101 -- F9 - Expos� All Windows
  keystroke "1" using {command down}
end tell

It assumes you're using the default keys for Spaces and Expos�. Copy and Paste the script into AppleScript ...

10.6.7: Set up encrypted Backup in Time Machine for FileVault

Mon, 09 May 2011 07:30:00 -0700

This is how to set up Time Machine to work with FileVault, producing a proper incremental backup of each file in your home folder, and have that backup encrypted. If you use this technique, you should also have a second backup, preferably a clone of your hard drive.

Throughout this hint, replace $computername with the name of your computer, $username with the short name of your FileVault user, and $backupdrive with the name of your hard drive.

[crarko adds: Please treat the following process as experimental, and be dead sure you have a complete backup of any system you try this on.] Here is the procedure:

Step 1: Prepare the Disk Image

To create the image: Open Disk Utility, click 'New Image,' and enter the following:

Save the image as $computername.spar ...

10.6: Install Battery Update 1.4 under Snow Leopard

Mon, 02 May 2011 07:30:00 -0700

As of April 30, 2011, Apple is selling MacBook battery model A1185, which has a known but correctable flaw that affects the battery's ability to maintain a charge when the Mac is turned off, as new in Apple Retail Stores with the following specs:

Model Information:

Manufacturer: DP
Device name: ASMB016
Pack Lot Code: 0002
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 0110
Hardware Revision: 0500
Cell Revision: 0102

Battery Update 1.4 is designed to rectify a defect in MacBook battery model A1185 that causes the battery to prematurely lose charge capacity. After the battery firmware update is successfully applied, the Pack Lot Code is changed to 0003.

Battery Update 1.4 is designed to only run under OS X 10.5.5 or later EX ...

10.6: Use the pcastaction command to manipulate video files

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 07:30:00 -0700

The command pcastaction is a tool included in Snow Leopard to manipulate QuickTime and MPEG movies in a lot of ways: trim, append, extract soundtrack, watermark, and so forth.

The command is used by Podcast Capture to handle video to send to a MacOSX Server (Podcast Producer) but can also be used standalone. It is written in Ruby and uses Apple QTKit.

A few preliminary notes:

All paths must be absolute (start from /). You can use `pwd` (with back quotes) in a shell to specify current directory path (see examples below).
Most commands create 'reference movies' (with references to other files) which are not self-sufficient and can break if you move the original files. You should 'flatten' these with pcastaction or open them in QuickTime Player and save them to get a fully independent movie.

10.6: Create new AppleScript document Service

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 07:30:00 -0700

I got tired of copy-pasting AppleScripts I found online into the AppleScript Editor, so I made a simple Automator Service to do it for me.

Just launch Automator, choose new service (that receives text), add the Run AppleScript action and replace the script body with this:

on run {input, parameters}
  
  tell application "AppleScript Editor"
    activate
    if contents of document 1 is "" then
      set contents of document 1 to (input as string)
    else
      make new document with properties {contents:(input as string)}
    end if
  end tell
  
  return input
end run

Save it as 'New AppleScript Document with selection' or whatever name you prefer.

...

10.6: Dictionary Wikipedia Bug Fixed in 10.6.7

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 07:30:00 -0700

Just a note that the 10.6.7 update fixes this previously mentioned Dictionary bug in which the Wikipedia section had a scrolling issue:

When you try to scroll down for more info [of a Wikipedia entry within Dictionary] there will be no scroll bars. Likewise if you enlarge your window you will get only white space.

[crarko adds: I tested this, and it works as described. Nice to see noticeable bug fixes in an update.]