Menu Close

Category: Applications (page 1 of 29)

BBEdit to MarsEdit (AppleScript)

You can never own too many text editors. Okay, I can never own too many text editors. I recently splurged on BBEdit, the venerable HTML and text editor for the Mac. There’s something pleasurable about tweaking BBEdit to use it as a blogging tool. One such tool I hacked together is an AppleScript to send a post from BBEdit to MarsEdit for final publishing. Here’s how you do it.

Paste the following text into the Script Editor app on your Mac (warning: I’m no coder, and did this through trial and error based on other scripts, so this script probably contains some completely unnecessary code):

on run
	tell application "BBEdit" to set theFile to file of document 1
	
	
	set appleScriptPath to theFile as text
	set currentURL to POSIX path of appleScriptPath
	set currentURL to ("file://" & currentURL)
	
	tell application "MarsEdit"
		activate
		make new document
		tell document 1
			set body to theFile
		end tell
		activate
	end tell
end run

Compile then save the AppleScript. For the final step, you need to move this AppleScript to the BBEdit scripts folder. Get there by clicking on the Scripts icon near the far right of the BBEdit menu, and choosing “Open Scripts Folder.”

BBEdit menu item - Scripts folder

Once the AppleScript is in place, it will appear at the bottom of the dropdown when you click on the Scripts icon. Selecting it will take the text in BBEdit, and open it in a new MarsEdit document. I wrote the initial draft of this post in BBEdit, before using the AppleScript to send it to MarsEdit for final edits, adding of the image, assigning tags and categories, and sending off to WordPress.


Scrivener Beta Expands

Scrivener is a fantastic writing tool. If you’re a lawyer, it’s even great for writing briefs. Scrievener currently lacks an iOS app, but that should change soon. In April, Scrivener for iOS entered closed beta. Now, it sounds like the release is getting even closer.

Scrivener for iOS has been in closed beta with around 75 people for the past month. We’re now looking to expand the beta group, so are throwing open the doors to volunteers. If you’re interested in helping test Scrivener for iOS, read on!
.
.
We only have a limited number of beta testing spots available, and right now we’re looking to add between 200 and 250 new people to the pool.
.
.
The beta so far has been going great, with beta testers using Scrivener for iOS every day without any real problems.

I can’t wait to see this, but I’m not going to apply for the beta test – they need people to truly contribute to find bugs, etc., and I’d worry I’d just want an early peek at the app.

Guinea Pigs Wanted! – The Cellar Door


DEVONthink To Go 2 Beta Test With New Sync Starts

DEVONthink-To-Go-sync-settings New-document-assistant

I’m a heavy user of DEVONthink, and one of the few who seems to really like the DEVONthink iOS app, DEVONthink To Go. I was pretty happy to see today’s news that the developer of DEVONthink has started a Beta test of version 2 of DEVONthink To Go, which includes new sync technology that will also be used on the Mac app. Some highlights:

Read more


Better Video Presentations & Depositions

(Note: This article talks about video depositions in a legal setting, but any Mac user who needs to be able to present and annotate photographs and other documentation, and record those presentations, might find it useful.)

Sample video deposition 4

There has to be a better way. That was my thought as I prepared for my last trial. If you are a lawyer who does trial work, you’ve probably taken many video depositions for use at trial. In doing so, your method of presenting exhibits might have been to have your videographer zoom in on exhibits that were referenced by the witness. That’s how I did it, until recently.

Read more


Restore OS X Photos’ Lost Functionality With Automator

I’ve been an Aperture user for a couple of years now, and have debating what the future will hold for my workflow, in light of the sunsetting of Aperture in favor of OS X’s new Photos app. I’ve played with Photos a bit, and like much about the app. There are some features I need, though, that are currently missing in Photos. One of those features is the ability to export photos with custom sizes. It looks like there may be a pretty easy workaround to that problem.

Read more