But the most useful feature I like is all the potential ways to filter and sort text. Also choose Finder -> Services, and check to make sure it shows up in the menu there. I use it all the time when I want to clean up carriage returns when switching between Windows and Mac. You should see your service listed there.
Find a PDF file in the Finder, right-click on it, and choose the Services sub-menu from the contextual menu that displays. This service provides 34 functions to convert, format or speak the currently selected text, to insert data or to show statistics of the selection within all Cocoa applications (e.g. Click on Save.Ĭheck to make sure it’s working. Mac License Freeware Category Professional software. Press Command-S to save the service, and, in the dialog box that displays, give it a name, such as PDF to Text. Next, click on PDFs in the Library column of Automator, then in the second column, click on Extract PDF Text and drag that to the right-hand section of the Automator window. At the top of the window, in the menu following Service Receives Selected, choose PDF Files. Launch Automator, and, in the Choose a Type for Your Document pane, click on Service, then click Choose.
Take this one step further, and you can save the workflow as a service.
In a recent article, “How to convert PDFs to Word (and other formats),” I describe how to build an automator workflow to extract text from a PDF. This makes your workflows extremely easy to access and use. It’s easy to turn your Automator workflows into services so you can access them more quickly.Just about anything you can do with OS X’s Automator can be saved as a service. The other services included in this bundle are Disk Item
If you send or archive files in disk images, this service can save a lot of time. This service creates a new disk image file (.dmg) containing the selected Finder items.
With this set of services, you can type a formula in a text document and then use one of the services to perform the calculation. Word Counter can count the number of times a particular. It also can perform bulk counts on multiple files and folders simply by dropping them onto the window. It can show the progress achieved towards a set goal for the total number of words and characters.
Shared iCals - While we’re on the subject, being able to do two-way sync with a published calendar would be wicked cool.CalcService, also available free from DevonTechnologies, provides calculation functions from within any application that handles services. Word Counter can automatically update the count based on a user-defined time interval.Address Book Sharing - It’s too hard to sync my addresses with Anitra’s can’t we have shared address books without setting up an LDAP server?.Integration between Address Book and Fire - I want to be able to click any IM address in Address Book to send a message, as well as have Fire’s Buddy Lists automagically populated.Painter’s Picker - Apple color picker extension to take the guesswork out of colour theoryĪnd here are the ones I’m still searching for:.SmartyPants - Automagically create proper HTML typography (hint: create an Applescript wrapper for it and then put it in your global scripts menu).WordService - utilities for manipulating text in any program.SSHKe圜hain - Unobtrusive SSH-Agent in your menu bar.DivX Doctor- Fixes common problems that prevent DivX movies from playing in Quicktime.FinkCommander - GUI for controlling UNIX packages (think apt-get).Romeo - Control your mac with a Bluetooth phone (like Salling Clicker, but free).OmniGraffle - If people ever find out about this, Visio’s days are numbered.OmniOutliner - Great if you make lists, nifty XML output and columns capability (try this instead of Stickies).Address Book - Yes, it comes with the OS, but I don’t think most people appreciate just how cool this app is.Kung-Log - Weblog writing and management, off-line (thanks, John).Small apps that make my life much, much easier:
Monday, 15 December 2003 Cool OS X Software roundup