Nieuws door: MacOSX Hints

Make the computer sing happy birthday

06/02/2012 04:30pmHere's a way to use AppleScript and the 'say' command to have the computer sing happy birthday to you. Enjoy!
set currentUser to long user name of (get system info)set firstName to first word of currentUserset lastName to last word of currentUserset noteValues to {56, 56, 58, 56, 61, 60, 50, 56, 56, 58, 56, 63, 61, 50, 56, 56, 68, 65, 61, 60, 58, 50, 66, 66, 65, 61, 63, 61} -- F-- set noteValues to {65, 65, 67, 65, 70, 69, 60, 65, 65, 67, 65, 72, 70, 60, 65, 65, 77, 74, 70, 69, 67, 60, 75, 75, 74, 70, 72, 70} -- D-- set noteValues to {55, 55, 57, 55, 60, 59, 50, 55, 55, 57, 55, 62, 60, 50, 55, 55, 67, 64, 60, 59, 57, 50, 65, 65, 64, 60, 62, 60} -- Eset syllables to {"hap", "p", "birth", "day", "to", "you", "[[slnc 500]]", "hap", "p", "birth", "day", "to", "you", "[[slnc 500]]", "hap", "p", "birth ...

10.7: Updating Lion Server if using CalDAV and CardDAV

06/02/2012 04:30pmIf you plan to update your OS X Server to 10.7.2 be sure to restart your machine and stop all server services, especially iCal Server and Address book server before applying the update.

It happened to me yesterday that I applied the OS X 10.7.2 update to my Mac mini server without closing any apps. I just ran it. After the update it turned out, this was a big mistake. All calendar entries of the past three weeks and many contacts were lost.

I was not able to recover anything from time machine. Lion server keeps the CalDAV and CardDAV data in a PostgreSQL database which is apparently not backed up by TimeMachine. Also, the PostgreSQL uses transactions which need to be 'closed' before they end up being permanently written into the DB tables.

What I found from reviewing the postgres log file (/Library/Logs/PostgreSQL.log) is that the 10.7.2 server update will apply a whole bunch of database structure updates to PostgreSQL but without ...

10.7: Auto-copy Photo Stream images to a folder

06/02/2012 04:30pmTo get the Photo Stream working on my MacBook I found out that I had to BUY an upgrade for an application that I don't want: iPhoto.

Looking for a solution I found that iPhoto stores its pictures in a specific location and the Photo Stream is updated even if iPhoto is not running. The goal was to create a script that copies all of the images from many sub-directories into a single folder.

As there are many people who know a lot more about OSX I would welcome improvements and feedback. Some areas to look at:
  • Using 'without replacing' which would only copy the missing pictures.
  • A Folder action which monitors changes and runs the script automatically.
Here's the script:
tell application "Finder" set this_folder to "Macintosh HD:Users:duittenb:Library:Appl ...

10.7: Fixing a stuck application in Mission Control

06/02/2012 04:30pmI finally upgraded to Lion on my work computer and bid farewell to the wonderful Hyperspaces application. I used all 16 spaces and was loathe to make the jump to Mission Control.

After upgrading many apps were not respecting being assigned to specific desktops or to all desktops. At first I tried unassigning them in the Dock and reassigning them to their previous desktop or all desktops, but it didn't work.

Here is the solution I found:
  • If an app assigned to a particular desktop wasn't staying put, I had to assign it to all desktops, and then reassign it to desktop N.
  • If the app was not respecting assignment to all desktops, I had to assign it to a specific desktop, and then reassign it to all.
Apparently setting it to 'None' does not clear the previous assignment.

[crarko adds: I haven't tested this one.]


As the Apple TV2 also has SPDIF optical out, I connected this into my 2011 iMac's optical input so I could hear the ATV sound from the Mac. Looking at the sound input in System Preferences, I could see the connection was working, but I heard nothing from the iMac speakers, even though they were chosen for output. Then it dawned on me that the iMac likely didn't support audio passthrough.

I recalled that QuickTime Player could record audio from an input. So in QT I chose New Audio Recording, chose 'Digital in' as the input, and then slid the volume slider so I could monitor the audio. Works like a treat. There's no need to actually record anything in QuickTime Player.

[crarko adds: A clever solution. I have my Apple TV2 hooked up using the standard HDMI setup, so I did not test this.]

10.7: Set default workspaces for applications
06/02/2012 04:30pmHeavy users of Spaces from Mac OS X 10.5 and 10.6 may be wary of upgrading to Lion, as it's been completely replaced by Mission Control, which apparently does its own workspaces thing.

Well, actually, the workspaces in Mission Control are the same as the Spaces from (Snow) Leopard. The biggest difference is that they are now one-dimensional.

But the important thing is that application bindings to spaces still works, even though the preferences to set them have been removed from System Preferences. If you already had this setup from 10.5/10.6, the settings should transfer over to Lion. Even so, you may want to modify them given the new behaviors.

Here is a small guide on how to set this up. I'm sure there are commands that could make this easier, and I hope that commenters will supply them. Actually, my real hope is that someone will code up a GUI for doing this.

The settings are in the file ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.dock.plist. You ...

10.7: Viewing Email when Organized by Conversation

06/02/2012 04:30pmThis hint describes how to easily see all the emails in one conversation without having to open them and scroll through.

If you have your emails 'organized by conversation' you will see in the email list in the left column the number of emails in that conversation. You can just click on the email showing in the left-hand column and hit the Right arrow key. This causes all the emails in that conversation be shown in a drop-down list by date, one on each line, below the latest one. To undo the list, press the Left arrow key.

[crarko adds: This is one of those obvious shortcuts that can hide forever if not mentioned.]


10.7: StartNinja turns off the system start up chime

06/02/2012 04:30pmStartNinja turns off the OSX Lion system start up chime / sound. It is a free utility that you can download here.

There are often times when I am in a public location and forgot to turn off the sound on my MacBook. Subsequently, a loud bong happens. Now there is a quick and easy solution for OSX Lion machines; StartNinja. StartNinja turns off the OSX Lion system start up chime/sound.

[crarko adds: Does what it says. There are some instructions on the download page. It's a useful utility if you need it.]

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Note: you will need to manually create the DeskFeed folder inside your Pictures folder.

Here's the script:
#!/usr/bin/env pythonimport osimport md5import pprintimport sysimport subprocessfrom time import strftimefrom urllib import URLopenerfrom urllib2 import urlopenfrom xml.dom.minidom import parseString# Defines source and destination of imagerss_feed = 'http://feeds.feedburner.com/bingimages';dst_dir = os.path.expanduser('~/Pictures/DeskFeed/')SCRIPT = """/usr/bin/osascript<<ENDtell application "Finder"set desktop picture to POSIX file "%s"end tellEND"""def set_desktop_backgroun ...

Getting Software Update alerts as a standard user

06/02/2012 04:30pmI have Mac OS X check for updates daily and automatically download any updates. However, only when I log in as an administrator do I get a dialog box informing of the existence of updates.

I wrote a short AppleScript to take care of the issue. Note that the script does not check for updates itself but relies on OS X's checking it in the background so it requires that the options to check for updates periodically and download updates automatically be checked in the Software Update preference pane.

Create the following script in the AppleScript Editor and save it as an application:
-- A script alerting non-administrator users about available downloaded-- software updatesset updates_no to do shell script "defaults read /Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate LastUpdatesAvailable" ...

iOS device headphones and your Mac

06/02/2012 04:30pmYour iOS device's headphones with remote controls also start/pause/ffwd/volume change your Mac.

Plugging your iOS headphones (with remote control) into your Mac, the headphone remote functions will change volume, pause, fastfwd, rewind and track skip iTunes.

Tested on MacBook Pro mid-2010 with OS X 10.7.2

[crarko adds: This is an update to an earlier hint. I see in the comments of the previous hint that there are some Mac laptop models this didn't work on.]

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Control+T in Terminal shows time snapshot

06/02/2012 04:30pmNot sure if this was available before 10.7, but hitting Control+T while running a command in the Terminal will show what process is executing, the load, the PID of the process and its user and kernel time.

I was running a script and accidentally hit Control+T instead of Command+T to create a new tab. I was surprised at what I got. Here is an example of what gets printed:
# buildOrder.pyload: 2.51 cmd: p4 15179 running 0.00u 0.00sload: 2.23 cmd: p4 17962 waiting 0.01u 0.00sload: 2.53 cmd: Python 15167 running 94.68u 66.33sload: 2.60 cmd: Python 15167 running 150.71u 101.82s

[crarko adds: I wasn't able to reproduce this, but it may be due to the briefness of the running command. Give it a try and post a comment about your results. Try it in Snow Leopard too if you ...

10.7 : Enable Recovery HD after restore from Time Capsule/File Vault 2.

06/02/2012 04:30pmFile Vault 2 and embedded 'Recovery HD' disk are new additions to OS X in Lion release.  

A fresh OS X Lion installation creates 'Recovery HD' by live re-partitioning 'Macintosh HD'. The recovery disk is 650MB in size (as of 10.7.2), of partition type Apple_Boot, and therefore, will be hidden during normal usage by OS X user interface. It does not show up in Finder, and not even 'Disk Utility.'

If the recovery disk 'Recovery HD' is proper, booting up a Mac without File Vault 2 while holding down the Option key will result in listing 'Recovery HD' as an alternative to 'Macintosh HD' for booting the machine up. For Macs with File Vault 2, only holding down the Cmd+R key combination will boot 'Recovery HD.'

The 'Recovery HD' of a Mac without File Vault 2 contains 'Base System Install', which is a minimal OS X kernel plus useful utility applications (Disk Utility, Time Machine, Network Utility, Pasword Utility). The main purpose is to allow partitio ...

iOS 5: iPad show mailbox gesture

06/02/2012 04:30pmMaybe everybody already knows this, but I missed it in all the new features of iOS 5. The iPad mail app adds a new gesture to show and hide the message list window when in portrait orientation.

I always use my iPad's Mail app in landscape mode because I get to see my message list in addition to the message detail. And for some reason, I find it tedious to push the mailbox button at the top left of the screen to see the message list. iOS 5 added the ability to swipe right anywhere on the message window to pop up the message list and to swipe left to hide it again. Nice! Not having to move my finger six inches has somehow made portrait mode much more bearable for me.

[crarko adds: Well, I didn't know it either, so here's the hint. I also was a landscape mode only iPad mail user.]


Over in the Adobe forums, John Hawkinson put together a plugin. He recommends installing it, then using Terminal to re-index specific files or folders using:

mdimport /Users/UserName/Path/To/File/Or/Folder

I installed the latest version of his plugin (version 0.1c) into ~/Library/Spotlight then ran the mdimport command on my Documents folder. While he's explicit that this is alpha software, I've seen no issues and it seems to work very well. Thanks, John!

[crarko ad ...

Logitech Solar Keyboard and the Scroll Lock/Num Lock keys

06/02/2012 04:30pmI'm a happy user of the Logitech Solar Keyboard for Mac -- never having to change batteries is quite liberating. However, this keyboard lacks a few things, including dedicated Scroll Lock and Num Lock keys, that you may find on other keyboards.

I don't use those two keys often, but I do use them while working in Excel. After some trial and error, and some Googling, I figured out how to turn them on and off. (Because there aren't any physical keys, there aren't any indicator lights for these keys' states. Instead, you have to look at Excel's onscreen indicators, at the lower right corner of the worksheet.)

Scroll Lock: Press Shift+F14.
Num Lock: Press Shift+Clear (on the numeric keypad).

I'm not sure if these shortcuts work on other Logitech keyboards or not.

[crarko adds: The hassle of dealing with batteries has kept me away from wireless keyboard ...

Sticky Widget from Selected Text

06/02/2012 04:30pmThere's a recent Macworld article for quickly making Stickies. I thought that some folks might want to make Sticky Widgets instead.

This is derived from my hint posted a few years ago.

Depending on your system version (and possibly other factors), you may need to launch Dashboard at least once if you haven't since system startup before trying the Service.

Here are the simple steps:
  • Open Automator and create an empty Mac OS X Service document. In the document window set the first popup to text and the second pop-up to any application.
  • Drag a Run AppleScript action into the right side of the Automator document window. Then paste the following line into the Run AppleScript step just beneath the (* Your script goes here *) line: ...


this Snow Leopard hint there is no way to put in alternate credentials to unlock a user's screen.

First, edit /etc/pam.d/screensaver as per the original Snow Leopard hint:
  • Open /Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app
  • Type cd /etc/pam.d
  • 3. sudo cp screensaver screensaver.bak
  • 4. sudo nano screensaver
  • 5. Find the line:
    account required pam_group.so no_warn group=admin,wheel fail_safe
    and change it to:
    account sufficient pam_group.so no_warn group=admin,wheel fail_safe
  • Press Control+X to save /etc/pam.d/screensaver and exit nano.
Then, still in Terminal, we make a wholly unintuitive change to / ...

iOS 5: Automatic Recognition of UPS Tracking Code in Mail

06/02/2012 04:30pmAs you know, there are plenty of tools to keep track of shipments that are shipped with UPS. There is an app called Delivery Status which even recognizes an UPS shipment by just copy and pasting the tracking number into the app.

I just noticed that iOS seems to recognize the shipment all by itself.

In iOS Mail (iOS 5.0.1) every number is highlighted to be called as a possible phone number. But in this case the number was my UPS tracking code. Upon tapping the number I got the options to either copy it or track it.

By tapping tracking it opens an ups site with the tracking number already applied to the script so that you can see the status of your shipment. Ergo no need to copy and paste an UPS tracking code to any other program or the UPS site itself.

[crarko adds: I tested this, and it works as described. As mentioned in this previous hint this was a new feature i ...