Open Current Folder in Finder from the Terminal
From the Terminal, you can immediately open whatever folder or directory you are working within into the Finder by simply typing the following command:
open .
This will open the present working directory (PWD in the world of UNIX acronyms) in the Terminal / Command line into the Finder. So if you’re digging around in /Library/Preferences/Mozilla/ and type open . that folder will be opened in the Finder. The screenshot above shows this in action while the PWD within the Terminal is the /Applications directory, thus the Applications folder is opened in the Finder.
via Open Current Folder in Finder from the Terminal.
Open Finder folder in Terminal | Macworld
To enable the Service, launch System Preferences and click on Keyboard. From the Keyboard Shortcuts tab, choose Services on the list at left, and then choose New Terminal at Folder or New Terminal Tab at Folder. While youre here, you can add a keyboard shortcut by double-clicking in the whitespace along the right margin of the Services list and choosing a new key combo.
Access Linux from Mac OS X Finder
I run a Linux server in the house which I use for all sorts of things–a staging server, git server, backup and file server–all of which works well enough for me as a geek. But for the wife and kids, who are not into shell commands (for whatever reason), the server is of no use if they can’t use it via Finder.
For that there are two nifty packages that make browsing your Linux machine from an your mac as easy any other mac on the network. One package, called `netatalk` installs makes your Linux box AFP capable (Apple Filing Protocol), the other, called `avahi`, makes your Linux box discoverable, `bonjour` style.
I’ve been using these packages for a while now and until recently, setup has been sketchy and stability hasn’t been all that great. In recent months however, this has changed considerably and now both packages work (and work well) almost right out of the box. So here are some step-by-step instructions for making your Linux box discoverable and browsable by Mac computers on the network:
1. If you are on the Linux box, starr a shell, otherwise ssh into your Linux box.
2. Get the `netatalk` and `avahi` packages (check first to see that they’re not installed already).
$ sudo apt-get install netatalk avahi-daemon
3. Configure netatalk.
$ sudo vim /etc/netatalk/afpd.conf
Uncomment the default line or create your own parameter string (⇧G in VI will move the cursor to the end of the file).
- -tcp -noddp -uamlist uams_dhx.so,uams_dhx2.so -nosavepassword
4. [optional] Configure the volumes to share. By default netatalk sets some basic user privileges and directories to share. You can customize these to your liking.
$ sudo vim /etc/netatalk/AppleVolumes.default
5. Start the AFP and Bonjour services.
$ sudo /etc/init.d/netatalk restart ; # starts netatalk
$ sudo restart avahi-daemon ; # restarts avahi-daemon
Now look at Finder on your Mac and you’ll see your Linux box in the “Shared” list in the Finder sidebar.
For more on these two packages, visit the [Netatalk][] and [Avahi][] websites.
[Netatalk]: http://netatalk.sourceforge.net/
[Avahi]: http://avahi.org/
RapidWeaver Add-ons Version Identifier
One thing RapidWeaver does poorly — at this current moment — is help the end user determine the product version they are using on any given 3rd party add-on. Knowing your add-ons (theme or plugin) version number is critical when asking for support and is often one of the first things the developer will ask you for.
If you know where the add-ons are kept (`~/Library/Application Support/RapidWeaver/`) then you might be able to determine a plugin or themes version number with the Finder, or if you have RapidWeaver open you can find out a plugin’s version by opening the plugin browser, or if you show a themes package contents and…
Well, I like to have these sorts of things at my fingertips and do as little thinking as possible, so I wrote an AppleScript to gather this information for me no matter where I am or what I am doing[*][a_091103113228]:
– file types to choose from
set rwTypeArray to {“Theme”, “Plugin”}
– choose from those file types
set rwTypeLong to {choose from list rwTypeArray ¬
with prompt ”Which RapidWeaver product type ¬
you like to find the version of?” ¬
with title “Theme or Plugin”} as string
– logic from result
if rwTypeLong is “Theme” then
set rwType to “rwtheme”
else
set rwType to “rwplugin”
end if
– get name of hard drive
tell application “System Events”
set diskName to (get name of startup disk) as string
end tell
– get name of user
set userName to (do shell script “whoami”) as string
– select file from RW directory
tell application “Finder”
set rwFile to (choose file with prompt ¬
“Please select your RapidWeaver ” & rwTypeLong & “:” ¬
default location (diskName & “:Users:” & userName & ¬
“:Library:Application Support:RapidWeaver” as alias) ¬
of type rwType without invisibles)
– read version number
tell application “System Events”
set rwInfo to (get version of the file (rwFile as string))
end tell
– and display it
if rwInfo = “” then
display dialog ¬
“It seems that your ” & rwTypeLong & ¬
” doesn’t have a version number that I can read. ¬
Sorry.\n\n¬
Would you like me to reveal it’s ¬
package contents for you?” ¬
buttons {“Cancel”, “Yes”} default button (2)
set rwPath to rwFile & “Contents” as text
open rwPath
else
display dialog “The version information:\n\n” & rwInfo & ¬
“\n\n …has been copied to your clipboard.” ¬
buttons {“OK”} default button (1)
– copy to clipboard
set the clipboard to rwInfo
end if
end tell
### Notes ###
* If a theme is to have it’s version number read, it must have an Info.plist in it’s package contents. Some theme developers do not include this file. For those that don’t, the script will reveal the theme’s package contents so that you can inspect the version number at the bottom of the Theme.plist file
### Download ###
Get your fresh copy of [RapidWeaver\_Addons\_version.scpt][a_091103112457] from CodeCollector.net
[a_091103112457]: http://www.codecollector.net/view/BB433BE1-0BD0-43C6-AE7A-CFEE8E623AB8 “RapidWeaver_Addons_Version.scpt”
[a_091103113228]: http://seydoggy.com/2009/11/03/rapidweaver-add-ons-version-identifier/#a_091103113228
I Give Apples New Safari 4 Beta a Spin
Apple announced today the launch of their [Safari 4 beta program](http://www.apple.com/safari/ “Apple – Safari – Introducing Safari 4 – See the web in a whole new way”) that claims to lead the way with innovation. I had to test this claim so I immediately downloaded it and gave it a spin. Here are my findings:
* On initial launch you are presented with the “Top Sites” window in which it appears that Safari scours your history for the most frequently visited sites in your recent cache and then throws up their thumbnails in a Core Animation like black gallery for you to pick from. Selecting the edit button allows you to remove items and make others sticky. I presume you can also add others that might actually be more indicative of your “Top Sites”. Again, in true Apple form, Apple seems to be hinging the success of a product on visual wow factor, but admittedly I could see myself making use of this.
* My next reaction was when I created a new tab and found that, a la Google Chrome, the tabs are on top. Why? While I will most certainly get used to it, what is the actual reason for this? I can’t find and difference in their functionality apart from the fact that you can only drag them about from their corner. Aside from that you can still drag them, move them from window to window, create a new window with each tab… there is one option I hadn’t noticed in previous version, “Add bookmark for these X tabs”. Is that new?
* Coverflow in Safari… there have been a few plugins to address this in the past. I guess they are history now. Do I need Cover Flow in Safari? I don’t need it iTunes or Finder so I probably won’t use it here either. But that said, it must be a popular enough technology if they keep throwing it in to their software.
* History search. Now *that* I like! I have always found searching the the history in the bookmarks folder to be painful and unproductive. This history search is insanely fast and (in Cover Flow form) even shows you screen shots of the sites that match your search terms.
* It claims to be faster, using the Nitro Engine. It could be but browsers and web technology today is getting so fast I would be hard pressed to notice the difference. It does seem to be faster overall but am I reacting to the guts of a finely tuned OS X Cocoa application or the page load? One note I will make about making browsers faster (and Safari 3 is already guilty of this), they cache things… unnaturally so which can make web development a nightmare. Safari 3 already caches it’s javascript and images in ways that cause web developers to have to reset their browsers all too often just to get an accurate response on their new projects. And faster also means pre-load, again which Safari 3 is bad for. Safari 3 will scour your main CSS file in search of things to load (like background images), whether or not that _thing_ is actually needed or even being used. I hope Safari 4 handles this a little better.
* The newish developer tools are nice (if your weren’t already playing with them in webkit), but I don’t know… it’s still not FireBug. You still can’t select code in the element window! How good is debuggin if I can’t edit what’s there or even copy and past it to a text editor? Seriously? As far as developer tools, these will give a glimpse into how your page is working, but they’re not much good for anything else.
* The full page zoom could be useful (hopefully not for a few years for me yet), but wow does it ever slow things down. Zoom in once and try page scrolling… not so fast now.
* I love, love, love the new address bar! If I am going to interface with browser in any way, it’s through the address bar so this improvement is quite welcome. Basically when you start typing in the address bar you are presented with much the same information your were before, but it’s clearly defined in two categories; history and bookmarks. In both cases it presents you with the site title followed by the URL which makes it very easy to get your bearings.
* The search field is now really slick too. It’s along the lines of Inquisitor, offering you suggestions and previous search queries. Very nice!
* CSS Animation, CSS Effects, CSS 3 Web Fonts… just more things to tease us web developers with. Stuff we won’t be able to use in the real world until all other browsers catch up. We can always dream though…
Overall, I think this is two things combined; a promising look at where web browsers should be and a sobering reminder of how much waiting for other browsers to get there will suck.
Path Finder 5, thank you
It’s funny, nearly ironic that I bother to write a blog about Mac productivity when in actual fact there is little about the Mac operating system that I like at face value. When you look at what most people like the Mac for, ease of use with things like Finder and spotlight, and I use neither one, instead opting for alternatives like Path Finder and QuickSilver respectively.
But some of these tools can fall victim to Apples own drive to improve it’s OS, leaving some of these tools behind to die a slow death. This is certainly true if QuickSilver, and so too I feared for Path Finder. Until last week when CocoaTech announced the release of Path Finder 5, the long awaited version that would finally take FULL advantage of everything that Leapard has to offer.
Having been out of the country for nearly two weeks I was unable to get into it until Monday. I must say I am completely pleased with the new version which sees many major operational and interface improvements. One can’t help but notice it’s smoother handling and faster reaction time.
One welcome feature is that the favorites panel, it’s sidebar, will now acutarely reflect that of the Finder. Path Finder will also recognize the shared places items, such shared volumes, without you fist having to mount them in Finder.
For more, check out CocoaTech’s website.
The beauty of RapidWeaver meets the power of TextMate
As a web designer and fairly huge Mac geek I am one of those guys who gets rather passionate about certain apps and workflows, etc… Those of you who have read one or more entries on nutMac.com, a Mac workflow blog I write for on occasion, you’ll know that I am a big fan of Path Finder, Quicksilver and TextMate, three apps that rule my world. Recently, suspecting I wasn’t tapping into TextMates full potential, I purchased TextMate – Power Editing for the Mac by James Edward Gray II. Well I was correct in my suspicions, since by chapter 3 I had already learned so many more tricks that I couldn’t wait to get back into coding just to put what I had learned to the test.
One trick I had always been vaguely aware of, and apparently by name only, was the “Edit in TextMate” feature. I had looked at activating this at one time but had decided it was terribly complex for something I could just set of a Quicksilver trigger for (which I did, or so I thought). Having just skimmed over what this “Edit in TextMate” feature was, I figured this was just some short hand trick for forcing various files types and folders to open in TextMate as opposed to their default application. In fact, this is a power user feature that allows TextMate to hijack the editing fields of other apps (the search field in Google home page, or in this case, the blog post field of Blogger, my Fluid SSB app).
Here is where the little light bulb went off in my head… Could this be used in RapidWeaver? Now let me start by saying I LOVE RapidWeaver, I really do, but when it comes to HTML code editing, which I do on a continual basis, I can’t stand not having my TextMate features and functions handy. I have always found myself writing code in a dummy TextMate file, then copying and pasting it into RapidWeaver. And when I would have to make a change I would copy the code into the dummy TextMate file and so on until I was satisfied with the results.
So to make a long story short, after years of using TextMate, I finally enabled the “Edit in TextMate” feature and tried to invoke it in a RapidWeaver project and POOF! It works like a charm! Now I can place my caret in any RapidWeaver field (main content, sidebar, titles, custom fields, etc…) in RapidWeaver and type ctrl-cmd-E and edit the contents of that field with the power of TextMate.
Path Finder point release to 4.8.4
[Path Finder](http://www.cocoatech.com/ “Welcome to Cocoatech”) (my all time favorite OS file system) has had a long awaited point release, bringing the version to 4.8.4. This update brings some needed bug fixes for both Tiger and Leopard versions that are apparently rooted deep within the Mac OS itself (due to be fixed in OS X 10.5.3 I suspect). For a complete list of updates and bug fixes see the [Path Finder Changelog](http://www.cocoatech.com/changelog.php “Cocoatech: Revision History”).
ExpanDrive expands my horizons
[
](http://www.magnetk.com/expandrive “ExpanDrive – Bring your remote files closer to home.”)I’ve been pretty quite about [ExpanDrive](http://www.magnetk.com/expandrive “ExpanDrive – Bring your remote files closer to home.”) despite my HEAVY usage of it over the last week. I kept quiet simply because I really wanted to drill this one to death before getting behind something with this kind of power.
For those looking for a way to best describe [ExpanDrive](http://www.magnetk.com/expandrive “ExpanDrive – Bring your remote files closer to home.”), it’s like [iDisk](http://www.mac.com/ “Apple – .Mac”) without a [.Mac account](http://www.mac.com/ “Apple – .Mac”), it’s like [Jungle Disk](http://www.jungledisk.com/ “JungleDisk – Reliable online storage powered by Amazon S3 â„¢ – Jungle Disk”) without the transfer rate$, it’s [WebDAV](http://www.webdav.org/ “WebDAV Resources”) without jenky [WebDAV](http://www.webdav.org/ “WebDAV Resources”) protocol (can’t pass many programming commands since [WebDAV](http://www.webdav.org/ “WebDAV Resources”) uses those same commands) or it’s like an external Firewire or USB drive that you access anywhere with physically carrying an hard drive around… [ExpanDrive](http://www.magnetk.com/expandrive “ExpanDrive – Bring your remote files closer to home.”) brings mounted disk functionality to remote storage locations.
Like I said, I have been driving this thing to wall since I got it last week, and yes it gets a little shaggy at times (which could be to blame on the server or the ISP as much as the app itself) but overall, this is a must have app. I have been beating the snot out this doing web development from the Finder (or Path Finder, truth be told) once I need to move beyond local development yet not ready to go live. I have installed and run apps directly from [ExpanDrive](http://www.magnetk.com/expandrive “ExpanDrive – Bring your remote files closer to home.”) drives. I have used it for storage, a file server… the reality is, anything you use any mounted volume for you can use [ExpanDrive](http://www.magnetk.com/expandrive “ExpanDrive – Bring your remote files closer to home.”).
It’s brilliant.
Be warned: I have found that when using it as a web development platform the odd edit I make to a remote file will suddenly render that file useless leaving me no option but to replace that file with a local copy (this happens most often with style sheets). I have yet to watch my console to really see what’s going on but when I find out, I’ll let you know.
Mac OS X 10.5.2 is here!
Hurray!
—
I hope this solves all the issues I had with 10.5.1. By this list, it looks promising.
Originally posted on [http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=307109](http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=307109 “About the Mac OS X 10.5.2 Update”)
#### What’s included?
This update delivers several improvements for both PowerPC- and Intel-based Macs (as well as improvements provided in the Mac OS X 10.5.1 [update][31].)
#### Active Directory
* Addresses issues which could hinder or prevent binding Mac OS X 10.5.x clients to Active Directory domains.
#### AirPort
* Improves connection reliability and stability
* Includes 802.1X improvements.
* Resolves certain kernel panics.
#### Back to my Mac
* Adds support for more third-party routers, as detailed in [this article][32].
#### Dashboard
* Improves performance of certain Apple Dashboard widgets (such as Dictionary).
* Addresses an issue in which Dashboard widgets may no longer be accessible after switching to or from an account that has Parental Controls enabled.
#### Dock
* Updates Stacks with a List view option, a Folder view option, and an updated background for Grid view.
#### Desktop
* Addresses legibility issues with the menu bar with an option to turn off transparency in Desktop & Screen Saver preferences.
* Adjusts menus to be slightly-less translucent overall.
#### iCal
* Improves iCal so that it accurately reflects responses to recurring meetings.
* Addresses an issue in which a meeting may remain on the calendar after being cancelled.
* Addresses stability issues related to .Mac syncing of iCal calendars.
* Resolves an intermittent issue in which editing an event with attendees would cause the event to shrink and not register that the event was updated.
#### iChat
* Addresses an issue with simultaneously-logged in accounts in which iChat sounds generated from one account might be heard in another account.
* Fixes an issue in which iChat idle time is affected by Time Machine backups.
* Improves connectivity when running iChat behind a router that doesn’t preserve ports.
* Enables logged chats from previous versions of iChat to open faster and more reliably.
* Addresses an issue with text chats in which users may be unable to receive messages from the sender.
* Addresses an issue that may prevent rejoining an AIM chat room without reopening iChat.
* Addresses video chat compatibility issues with AIM 6 and third-party routers.
* Fixes an issue with case-sensitivity of AIM handles.
#### iSync
* Adds support for Samsung D600E and D900i phones.
#### Finder
* Addresses an issue in which Finder could unexpectedly quit when displaying folder contents in Column view.
* Addresses an issue in which Finder could unexpectedly quit when accessing Users and Groups in a Get Info pane.
* Resolves an issue that prevented setting permissions on a folder alias.
* Resolves an issue in which the Eject command could write to a disc in the optical drive.
* Fixes an issue in which the scroll bar might disappear when deleting a file within a folder that includes files that are out of view.
* Fixes an issue in the Sharing & Permissions section of Get Info windows, in which the gear icon appears to be gray/disabled after authentication.
* Addresses an issue in which the Show Icon Preview preference might not be not saved when turning it off.
* Fixes an issue that could occur when trying to print an image from the Finder.
* Addresses an issue with Message menu’s Mark \> As Read choice.
* Fixes an issue in which duplicate On My Mac folders may appear in the sidebar after upgrading to Leopard.
* Improves the accuracy of the Data Detectors feature.
* Resolves an issue with scrolling through a Note that is displayed using the split view in the message window.
* Fixes an issue with deleting messages located in the Drafts folder.
* Fixes an issue in which dragging the icon in the Safari URL field into a Mail message creates an attachment instead of a link.
* Addresses an issue found when opening a item in the Notes folder that is not a Note.
* Fixes an issue that may prevent RSS feeds from being delivered in Mail.
* Resolves an issue in which a selected message could “flash” from blue to gray when in Organize by Thread mode.
* Fixes an issue with scrolling between multiple To Dos in an email message.
* Fixes an issue in which the body of email messages with certain MIME structures may not be displayed.
* Improves performance with America Online (AOL) account-based messages in Mail.
* Addresses issues with some ISPs during automatic set-up in Mail.
* Addresses an issue in which Mail might not send mail on some networks to some SMTP servers.
* Mail now automatically disables the (unsupported) third-party plugin GrowlMail version 1.1.2 or earlier to avoid issues.
* Adds an option to view large icons in the Mailbox list.
#### Networking
* Addresses a hanging issue that may occur when connecting to an AFP network volume.
#### Parental Controls
* Improves stability when opening the Parental Controls System Preferences pane.
* Fixes an issue that may prevent changes to the email address for permission requests.
* Addresses an issue with printer administration for a guest account enabled with Parental Controls.
* Addresses an issue with setting printer administration privileges from another Mac on the local network.
* Fixes an issue that could prevent certain applications from being allowed.
* Addresses accuracy issues with the web content filter.
#### Preview
* Improves stability when scrolling through a PDF document.
* Fixes an issue that prevents tabbing within a PDF document after clicking on the PDF.
* Improves the Mail Document feature so that email attachments are more reliably created from Print Preview.
#### Printing
* Addresses an issue in which remote printers may be deleted when the computer is put to sleep.
* Improves printing performance when using some Microsoft Office applications.
* Resolves an issue with some printing options, such as landscape orientation, number of copies, two-sided printing, and so forth that may not have functioned with some printers shared by Microsoft Windows.
* Adds support for certain printers connected to the USB port of an AirPort Extreme or AirPort Express base station.
* Resolves a stalling issue that could occur when installing certain Canon printing software from a disc.
#### RAW Image
* Adds RAW image support for several cameras, as detailed in [this article][33].
#### Safari
* Addresses issues with Safari reliably resolving certain domains.
#### Login and Setup Assistant
* Addresses an issue in which Setup Assistant could unexpectedly appear each time Mac OS X 10.5 starts up.
* Improves stability and performance during log in.
#### System
* Improves the accuracy of the grammar checker.
* The computer will now shut down if an automatic disk repair does not succeed during startup.
#### Time Machine
* Adds a menu bar option for accessing Time Machine features (the menu extra can be enabled in Time Machine preferences).
* Improves backup reliability when computer name contains slash or non-ASCII characters.
* Fixes an issue in which the backup disk displayed in the Finder may be out of sync with the disk chosen for Time Machine.
* Addresses issues in which some external drives are not recognized by Time Machine.
* The status menu now appears by default.
#### Other
* Improves general stability when running third-party applications.
* Addresses an issue in which the incorrect search results may be displayed for certain Automator Find/Filter actions.
* Addresses an issue with the Latvian and Russian keyboard layouts.
* Addresses an issue in which the backlight could turn off before Energy Saver’s backlight setting.