JNSoftware
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Description: Searches the Address Book for everyone whose last name matches the user input, returns their phone & email information, and allows you to copy it to the clipbaord.
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Description: This script will change a string to either all lowercase or all uppercase and supports the option of removing diacriticals and replacing with plain text.
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Description: We often need a list of all available characters (useful for building scripts that convert text to HTML entities or various other purposes). This script generates a string of all characters and places it on the clipboard.
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Description: A script that uses the “defaults” command line tool to implement reading and writing plists from an AppleScript. It features conversions from basic AS classes to data types supported by plists (e.g, record <-> dict; list <-> array; as well as strings, reals, integers, and dates).
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Description: Run this script and choose a folder full of images for a very nifty slide show.
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Description: Run your arguments through this handler before adding them to a URL to make sure special characters are properly encoded to their Hex values.
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Description: We use this routine to check if a file or folder exists and whether the item is a file or a folder. This doesn’t use the Finder so it’s pretty fast and portable.
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Description: Often you have scripts that include calls to applications that users have renamed. To avoid a request from the script to locate an application, use this handler to locate it within the script itself.
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Description: Dance windows, dance. Most of this code was shamelessly lifted from others on MacScripter.net and the AS mailing list.
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Description: Love the UNIX underpinnings...so many goodies.
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Description: This is a hodgepodge of techniques to get various machine information such as name, processor, OS, RAM, user name, IP, etc. Probably requires that the BSD subsystem is installed so it may not work on every machine. Tips for getting this information in a less kludgy manner are appreciated as are ways to get other pertinent info.
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Description: This one is pretty basic but it returns interesting information about a URL, especially the dotted decimal form of a named domain.
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Description: Returns the source of a URL (or the combined source of multiple URLs) as a string without the overhead of a browser.
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Description: This script will list a folder’s contents returning full paths as strings and limit the list to specific file types. The script can also process subfolders (recursion).
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Description: If you’ve installed the Developer’s tools, then you can access the AppleScript Language Guide locally with the following one-liner.
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Description: This script will generate a new random password string that contains letters and numbers. Moreover, the password will be made up of English sounding phonemes. While most likely not words (although random words may be generated), they sound like words which makes remembering them slightly easier than completely random strings. Finally, you can set the length of the required password and the script will append random numbers to the end of the password until it hits the required length.
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Description: If you install the latest PHP package from the outstanding Marc Liyanage, then you can incorporate PHP directly into AppleScript which opens up an amazing amount of versatility. There are plenty of sites devoted to PHP code and great libraries for incorporating PDF, MySQL, and lots, lots more.
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Description: This one just came to us and we love it. Maybe it’s just because I’m cheap and don’t want to spring for Extra Suites or 24UAppearance.osax. This is also good when you don’t need the overhead of a full AS Studio app but really want a progress bar.
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Description: Oddly enough, this script will remove duplicates from a list.
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Description: Set a target folder and this script will save screen captures as PDF in that folder with uniquely numbered names. Uncomment the end of the script for more information about the screencapture CLI which will allow you to save portions, set the capture to the clipboard, etc.
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Description: While not as accurate as Jon’s Commands’ ‘the ticks’, the following script allows you to time how long something takes to process (rounded up to the nearest second).
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Description: Do you run your own server? If so, this script makes toggling various servers (Apache, MySQL, Sendmail, or WebMin) on and off a little easier.
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Description: Here is a general routine for SOAP calls as well as some useful (well, most of them), specific examples. For more SOAP services, check out www.xmethods.com.
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Description: This script will convert letters with diacriticals (accent marks) in a string to the letters with no diacriticals.
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Description: Um, it syncs your clock.
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Description: This may be common knowledge but AppleScript can handle all sorts of URLs. Included is an example of a mailto, an incredibly easy method with very little overhead to create a new mail message in the default mail client. FTP, gopher, and other URL types should also work. Further below is another very cool example... And, finally, to create a file that opens up a URL (http, mailto, ftp, etc.) try the code at the bottom. Note: if you omit the ‘with properties {name:“name”}’ it will create a file with the URL name. It even creates somewhat descriptive icons.
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Description: Many people don’t realize that you can write to a text file using Standard Additions but even more don’t realize you can write files that store more than just text. In this example, we create a list of records, write it to a file, then read the file back in and the records and all of their labels and values (including value classes) are retained. This is a very useful feature and makes it a snap to save and load preferences for your scripts. You can also save other types of data such as images.
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Description: Here’s a more playful script...
This app will create a new folder named ‘Waldo’ on your desktop, show it to you, then move it to the top level of some folder in your home directory (e.g., ~/Pictures). You then have 30 seconds to find it. If successful, you will advance to the next level which just means you have 5 less seconds to find Waldo. You can save the script as an application and just double-click it from the Finder to start the game.
The only problem we see with it is if you have a folder named Waldo somewhere in your home directory but even then, you should get an error if the script tries to move the Waldo folder from your desktop to the same folder where the pre-existing Waldo already lives. If a folder named Waldo already exists on your desktop, you’ll get an error when it tries to create the original folder.
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Description: Another gem from Apple. OS X includes a text file for US ZIP codes. This script provides you a quick way to search it by either the ZIP code itself or by city. It is not ZIP+4 and may or may not be out of date—we haven’t checked it against anything from the USPS. Note: As of Mac OS X 10.4, the zipcode database file that this script references is no longer included by Apple so this script will fail. Sorry.