There’s a fairly common issue of Calendar accounts in iCal/Calendar (often Exchange based) not syncing and giving odd errors about the user not having permission to edit the calendar While it’s no always a permanent fix, the simplest thing to do is remove the Calendar Cache file, which in some cases becomes duplicated and corrupted.
This script removes any Calendar Cache files so things can get going again. Comments, Questions, Suggestions? I’m here to help and always looking for feedback!
Hangouts in Fantastical
I recently began working for a company that’s heavy on the Google and 37Signals solutions. This is great, since I use the same things personally, and love the tools.
However, I hit a snag when it came to calendar management. I use Fantastical from @Flexibits, which I absolutely love, but it doesn’t show Google Hangout links (and to be fair, neither does Apple Calendar, Outlook, or most calendar clients). Sure, I could just fire up my Google Calendar in a browser, but since I do everything else in FanCal it’s annoying enough to bother me.
So, I pulled up Applescript and got to work. Turns out, to my favor, the hangout link is stored in the ICS file that Apple Calendar keeps in a folder, which means the information is all there waiting.
I scripted pulling that field out whenever a new event is added automatically (using a folder action), and added it to the same event’s description (notes) field, which is visible in FanCal. I tried adding it to the URL, which FanCal also displays from the menubar, but no joy, it doesn’t show for some reason.
Anyway, now I can go to the same place for everything, another first world problem solved with Applescript, and valuable time saved. You can download the script below, which includes a setup help, so just follow the included instructions and you’ll be good to go!
Comments, Questions, Suggestions? I’m here to help and always looking for feedback!
New Macbook Pro “Dr Who” Decal + Applescript = Pure Awesome.
Open Applescript Apps Droplet
Once I’ve made an Applescript an App, you can’t just double click it to reopen in Applescript. This can be a bit frustrating, especially with apps I haven’t had open recently in Applescript.
So this little droplet (which I keep on my dock), taks any applescript app file you drop on it, and opens it in Applescript Editor (or in my case Script Debugger), like it would any script file. Very convenient and time saving.
Comments, Questions, Suggestions? I’m here to help and always looking for feedback!
Auto Batch Convert EPS to PNG
I had a client with a ridiculous amount EPS files that needed to be PNG files. Sure, you could do an export, but that’s just silly. Why not have a folder action? Just drop files into the folder, and voila, a new folder is created with all the converted files in it.
It even has a nifty progress bar! To use that feature with the Folder Action, you’ll need to move the SKProgressBar.app file in the zip bundle to your Users application folder. The manual version of the app doesn’t require any additional steps, just run the thing.
It could easily be modified to work as a droplet, and I’ve included a second link to run it manually.
Comments, Questions, Suggestions? I’m here to help and always looking for feedback!
Double GUI Scripts for Programmers!
Just wrote these up for a programmer friend of mine. Keep in mind they are both GUI scripts, so rather than run in the background, it will run front and center, but make the changes automatically.
Caps Lock Toggle (click here to get it)
This little guy will switches the Caps Lock function from standard Caps Lock to the Control key. Should help any devs dependent on that switching for easier development on a Mac.
Natural Scrolling Toggle (click here to get it)
Have a need for Natural Scrolling to be on every once in awhile? This one switches it back and forth between states. Personally, I despise the feature, but who am I to judge the all natural, whole grain, hippie scrolling weirdos…
Comments, Questions, Suggestions? I’m here to help and always looking for feedback!
Mac Warranty Status Script
For so long, I’ve wanted a script that got me the warranty status of the Mac I’m working on. Granted, it’s not that hard to open the support page and put in the serial, but I do it enough that it gets frustrating.
Thanks to some JavaScript advice from a friend, I finally have it working! When you run the little app, you’re given the option to check the status of the Mac you’re on, or manually enter a Serial Number.
Then, it opens a page in Safari, submits the information (after a few seconds delay), and pulls up the response. Make sure that you wait when you run it, don’t think it’s not working just because it waits.
So thanks to Tim the Tool Man for his help, and enjoy the automation!
Minimize It For Me!
When I’m at work, I have a second monitor, and I use it for very important, and very lucrative things (more or less). However, when I’m ready to go home, I no longer need the extra real estate, so I minimize any open window on the second screen, to reopen the next day when I return to work.
The tragedy is that I have to do all this by hand, and it’s annoying! Sure, it’s not that annoying or time consuming, but it’s something else I have to do that should be done in a single click…
Enter MinimizeIt!, the super fantastic script I wrote that will automatically send any windows on the second display to the dock. It has a few limitations, like certain applications that don’t recognize it’s siren song of minimization, but otherwise is rather helpful.
Comments, Questions, Suggestions? I’m here to help and always looking for feedback!
Change Back Time!
Lion is an amazing OS, but there’s a few things that seem to be bugging people, leaving them longing for the old days. Here’s a few tips to help set things right:
Change Mac Mail back to it’s original orientation
The changes to Mac Mail, are in my humble opinion, great. I love the new layout, it goes along perfectly with iOS. However, that’s not the case for everyone. If you’d like to see things they way they were before, just do the following:
1. From the Mail menu in the upper left corner, select Preferences.
2. Click the Viewing tab.
3. Select the first check box “Use classic layout”
Now things are back to the way they were before and all is well.
Fix my scrolling!
I mentioned in a previous post how Natural Scrolling as Apple calls it was causing some problems for users. No problem, you can reverse the natural curse and set things back to the way they were by doing the following:
1. Open System Preferences (located under the Apple menu in the upper left corner of your screen).
2. Select the Trackpad pane if you use a Trackpad.
a. Within the Trackpad pane, select the Scroll & Zoom tab.
b. Uncheck the first checkbox, “Scroll Direction”
3. Select the Mouse pane if you use and external Mouse.
a. In the mouse pane, uncheck the first box “Move content in the direction…”
A quick note on this, if you use both a mouse and trackpad, unchecking either of the boxes I mentioned, will automatically uncheck the other, so you don’t have to manually uncheck both.
If you manage users, or support your friends and family, it can be helpful to quickly get information about their Mac. It’s not too difficult to ask them how much hard drive space they have free, or how much RAM their machine has, but getting stuff like their MAC address or serial number is tricky.
Hence the above script, which will do all that for you! The user simply runs the app, which will prompt them for an email. They put in your email address, or whoever needs to receive the info, and then off it goes.
Here’s what it grabs:
MAC Address
Serial Number
Model Number
Network/Shared Name
Sure, there are other important items, and it’s a fairly easy edit to add others, but again, my main goal was to get the information it’s difficult to describe getting to the non-geek inclined.
Comments, Questions, Suggestions? I’m here to help and always looking for feedback!
