XCode doesn't include uninstallation options for their packager. Generally users simply drag the app to the trash if they want to uninstall it - most apps are self contained in the app package.
However, I have a kernel extension which must be uninstalled using a few simple command lines. There is a script that works, but I am required to provide a graphical uninstaller.
I don't expect there's a plug-n-play example code out there that provides a way to run the script while showing a progress bar, but I'm hoping someone has dealt with this or has a few pointers on how to accomplish this quickly and easily
The script is only two lines with no feedback, so we can execute the commands in the app, as long as we can easily request and use root permissions securely (ie, let OS X handle the permissions - we merely ask for OS X to give them to us which should cause it to ask the user for them similar to how it happens with the package installer) inside the app.
There's a reasonably good approach using a Cocoa-Applescript project in xcode to run a shell script here:
http://www.mactech.com/articles/mactech/Vol.22/22.08/GUI-upyourScript/index.html
It covers using a progress bar, handling errors, and getting the correct root permissions to run the shell script.
Unfortunately it's a bit long to cut and paste here, but the general steps are:
Create new xcode project of type Cocoa-Applescript app
Create and test the intended shell script, add it to your project
Edit the MainMenu.nib to add and name a button(theObject) and progress bar(pMainProgress), then edit title and other aspects of the ui to taste
Tie the button to the applescript in the project (in the Inspector with the button selected check the action box and put in myprojectname.applescript)
Edit the applescript to something akin to the following:
on clicked theObject
-- setup
set myPath to POSIX path of (path to me) as string
-- Start progress bar
set uses threaded animation of progress indicator "pMainProgress" of window "wMain" to true
tell progress indicator "pMainProgress" of window "wMain" to start
-- Do it!
try
do shell script quoted form of myPath & "Contents/Resources/backup.sh" with administrator privileges
on error number 255
display dialog "Sorry, an error occurred. I can't make the copy."
end try
-- Stop progress bar
tell progress indicator "pMainProgress" of window "wMain" to stop
set uses threaded animation of progress indicator "pMainProgress" of window "wMain" to false
end clicked
You can further customize the app (name, for instance) and add text boxes to the window to alert the user what step is happening if you're running multiple scripts (put set the contents of text field "efStatus" of window "wMain" to "Copying files..." in your script after adding a text field to the ui with the name "efStatus")
Related
I want to modify/change/add MacOS Dock shortcuts/hotkeys.
e.g., of a shortcut that is available by default:
Option-Click on Dock app icon of an app that is not currently open = Hide the currently active app and then Open the app that was clicked
(from: https://support.apple.com/kb/PH21922?locale=en_US)
One very specific ability that I want:
Open and then Hide an app
Shift-Click on Dock app icon = Open and then Hide that app
(or use another easy modifier-key-combo with the click)
I am aware of the bash command open -a App --hide (e.g., open -a TextEdit --hide). I want to implement this exact functionality with a convenient Dock shortcut like the one mentioned above. If you're wondering "why?": sometimes I just want to open an app because I know that I will need it soon, but I'm still busy with another app, so just open this second app and then immediately hide it so it doesn't get in my way while I'm still busy with that first app.
How do I do this?
You can't.
These keyboard bindings are built into the Dock application, and cannot be modified.
The Mac utility program, Keyboard Maestro, does what you've asked, with shortcut keys, without using the Dock:
open, then immediately hide/minimize
option+open
I came up with a related solution: (in case anyone is interested)
an AppleScript App that presents a pick list
Method:
create a plain text document containing a list of the apps you want to handle (use correct name, no path, no extension, one name per line, no commas)
open 'Script Editor' (/Applications/Utilities)
copy-pasta the following code (and edit the first code line for the path to your text file from first step)
set apps_file to ("path:apps_list.txt")
set apps_list to paragraphs of (read file apps_file)
set apps_pick to choose from list apps_list with prompt "Select one or more apps." with multiple selections allowed
if result is false then return
set path_base to "Macintosh HD:Applications:"
set path_msft to path_base & "Microsoft Office 2011:"
set path_utly to path_base & "Utilities:"
set spec_msft to "Microsoft"
set spec_utly to "Activity Monitor, Terminal"
repeat with apps_this in apps_pick
if apps_this contains spec_msft
set path_this to path_msft
else if apps_this is in spec_utly
set path_this to path_utly
else
set path_this to path_base
end if
set apps_open to path_this & apps_this & ".app"
run application apps_open
end repeat
return
i. navigate menu 'File -> Export...'; ii. use the option 'File Format: Application'; iii. Save; (put the resulting app in your Dock)
Its not quite as convenient as I hoped, but, not too shabby.
I am trying to make a keyboard shortcut to launch terminal in OS X Mountain Lion.
After some research I found out that I can use Automator to achieve this:
http://mac.tutsplus.com/tutorials/tips-shortcuts/how-to-launch-any-app-with-a-keyboard-shortcut/
It works, but I noticed that whenever I launch a terminal using this method, a process called WorkFlowServiceRunner starts and never terminates. To make matters worse when I launch more terminals (or launch different applications using shortcuts, again, through Automator) multiple WorkFlowServiceRunner processes start and quickly eat up the memory.
I've also tried writing my own applescripts but the problem does not go away. This clearly looks like a memory leak. Is this a bug in OS X Automator? Is there a way to write an applescript so that the WorkFlowServiceRunner terminates after doing its job (e.g. launch a terminal)? Automator seems to be the most "native" way of getting this done and I do not want to use any 3rd party apps.
I have noticed this from time to time.
One way around it would be to make your own service apps with a Cocoa-AppleScript Applet.
It is not very hard to do. And I will try and guide you through it. It should only take you a couple of minutes.
Step 1.
Open your Application Applescript Editor. And go to the "File" Menu -> "New from Template" -> Cocoa-AppleScript Applet.app
Step 2,
Paste this code into the new documents.
property NSWorkspace : class "NSWorkspace"
tell current application's NSApp to setServicesProvider_(me)
NSUpdateDynamicServices()
my runAService()
on runAService()
NSWorkspace's sharedWorkspace()'s launchAppWithBundleIdentifier_options_additionalEventParamDescriptor_launchIdentifier_("com.apple.Terminal", current application's NSWorkspaceLaunchDefault, missing value, missing value)
tell me to quit
end runAService
Step 3,
Compile
(click this to compile)
and Save the app.
*Make sure the show startup screen is unchecked in the Save dialogue.
Giving the app a name like LaunchTerminal.app
Step 4,
Click the "Bundle Contents" button on the top right hand side of the document.
This will open the applications contents view.
Click the Action button and then "Reveal in finder" sub menu.
step 5,
In the contents folder that opens in the finder you will see a file name "info.plist"
Open Terminal.app and type and run this code using the path to this file:
BUT make sure you do not include the ".plist" part of the name when entering it in Terminal.app
/usr/bin/defaults write /Users/YourUserNameHere/myServiceApps/LaunchTerminal.app/Contents/Info NSServices -array-add '{NSMenuItem={default="Launch Terminal";}; NSMessage="runAService"; NSSendTypes=();}'
( You can drag n drop the file into terminal to get the posix path string )
The path part looks like this: /Users/YourUserNameHere/myServiceApps/LaunchTerminal.app/Contents/Info
This code should add an array to the plist file which is part of the apps way of broadcasting it has a service.
step 6,
Compile and Save the App again.
Just to make sure it picks up the changes. ( I found I had to do this even though I should not have to)
step 7,
Double click the app to run it for the first time.
The App will quit straight away. But the first run should have broadcast that it has a service that should be registered with the system
step 8,
Open system Preferences and go to Services -> General (section)
And you will see the "Launch Terminal" service.
Set up your short cut as normal.
Hope this helps..
UPDATE :
I noticed that the tell application "Terminal" to activate. Would not open my default Window groups if I had closed them all and quit Terminal before. The normal behaviour if I have done this is for my default window group to open. ( I have two Tabs open at startup each cd'd to a different path).
So I have change the open application to a cocoa way of doing it.
A do shell script with open the/application/path/. will work also.
Try using Butler or QuicKeys. They both have endless "Trial periods."
How is it possible to set the black dot in the close button of a window using applescript?
From http://docs.realsoftware.com/index.php/Window.ContentsChanged_property, I would guess something like:
tell app "CurrentApp" to set ContentsChanged to true of window 1
But it doens't work: execution error: CurrentApp got an error: Can’t make ContentsChanged of window 1 into type specifier. (-1700)
Also, how can I get what the current application is with applescript?
This question is related to Signifying unsaved changes by prepending * in window title - how to add a black dot in the window close button on Mac OS X?
To answer the second part of your question s first: you can get the current application with "the frontmost application", for example
tell application "Finder"
set frontApp to the path to the frontmost application
end tell
The short answer to the first part of your question is: it is currently impossible to do what you want. Long answer follows below.
From your comments, I understand you are using Python with TCL/TK to build the GUI.
Not every application is able to set the "contentsChanged" indicator (apparently, this is what it is called in RealBasic but not in Apple's API). Check the AppleScript dictionary of the application. Relying on what I read elsewhere, TextEdit used to be able to set the "modified" property of its documents but when I try this in Mac OS X 10.6.8 it no longer works.
If you're using a native Cocoa application, you might be able to set this indicator by adding and removing a space to the document with some GUI scripting, e.g. type a space and use the Undo menu item to remove it. Unfortunately, when I try this in TextEdit, the Undo command also removed the indicator.
I checked Apple's API documentation and there appears to be a method SetDocumentEdited in the NSWindow class. Unfortunately, Apple doesn't describe properly what it does, but it appears to set the dark spot in the red close button if the DocumentEdited property is set to true. You can read about it here. If you're using TCL/TK, it would have to be able to call the SetDocumentEdited method somehow.
You can't tell the operating system to change the DocumentEdited property of a window (which would be the equivalent of the "modified" property you found in an AppleScript dictionary). The (Python-TCL/TK) application you're talking to needs to have this implemented. If TCL/TK doesn't have a command for this, then it is probably impossible, no matter if you use AppleScript or Python or something else. I'd suggest you ask on a TCL/TK forum if someone can write and compile a kind of plug-in to implement this feature.
I know nothing about AppleScript, but I wonder if it could make my life easier: is there a way to write an AppleScript that tells Safari / Firefox / Chrome to refresh the current tab when I save a document in another application, say TextWrangler? Essentially, I want to map the Command+S keyboard shortcut to do two things at once in two separate applications.
If that’s not possible, can you script one application so that saving one file executes a command in another window in that same application?
There are different possible approaches to implement this, but the most straightforward would probably be to create a script that executes all steps you need (i.e. save the document and refresh the window) and bind that to the Cmd+S keyboard combo in the triggering application.
What you need for this approach to work, is, in order:
a method to bind a key combo to a script effective only in a specific application. OS X’ Automator Services fit that bill: their scope can be restricted to a single application (select it in the “only in” drop down at the top of the workflow actions), and they can be assigned a shortcut in the Keyboard preference pane of System Preferences.
a way to relay your commands to the applications they target. AppleScript can help you in two different ways, depending on the fact if your applications are scriptable, i.e. if they have a scripting dictionary you can inspect in the AppleScript editor:
if they do, and their terminology includes the saving action for the editor on one side (most scriptable document based apps do so in the form save <document>), the page refreshing for the browser(s) on the other (Chrome has reload <tab>, Safari gets the same result via a JavaScript detour, i.e. do JavaScript "window.location.reload()" in <document> – I don’t use Firefox), you are set.
if they do not, GUI Scripting might help, i.e. simulating a click on the right UI element (menu or toolbar) via tell application "System Events" to tell process <your process> to click item x of menu y.
That script can then be embedded into the Automator workflow (in an “Run AppleScript” action, to be precise).
As you can see, a lot depends on the exact software you are using. if you are new to AppleScript and the above baffles you, I’d suggest spending a bit of time on the AppleScript pages of Mac OS X Automation (where you’ll also find example scripts which will kick start you into things like GUI Scripting).
One final note: as of this writing, sandboxed applications do not honor key combos assigned to them in the Keyboard Preference pane (they do honor global key combos set there – just not those specifically targeting them). This means you cannot, for instance, currently override TextEdit’s Cmd+S shortcut for saving in Lion. As long as your editor is not sandboxed (easily checked in Activity Monitor), you should have no issue with this.
One solution would be to create a folder action to refresh the current tab when a new file is saved in the folder.
on adding folder items to theFolder after receiving theFiles
tell application "Google Chrome"
activate
tell window 1 to tell active tab
set URL to (get URL)
end tell
end tell
end adding folder items to
From the Displays pane in System Preferences, I can manually change the main monitor by dragging the menu bar from one display to the other. I'd like to automate this and make it part of an AppleScript.
The tool I wrote, displayplacer, does this.
Configure your screens how you like, drag the "white bar" to your primary screen in the macOS system settings, and then execute displayplacer list. It will output the command to run to put your screens in their current configuration. The screen with origin:(0,0) is the main display with the "white bar". Run this terminal command through a script, Automator, BetterTouchTool, etc.
Example profile 1 puts the white bar on the menu bar on the left monitor.
displayplacer "id:<leftScreenId> res:1920x1080 scaling:on origin:(0,0) degree:0" "id:<rightScreenId> res:1920x1080 scaling:on origin:(1920,0) degree:0"
Example profile 1 puts the white bar on the menu bar on the right monitor.
displayplacer "id:<leftScreenId> res:1920x1080 scaling:on origin:(1920,0) degree:0" "id:<rightScreenId> res:1920x1080 scaling:on origin:(0,0) degree:0"
Also available via Homebrew brew tap jakehilborn/jakehilborn && brew install displayplacer
The displays are controlled by the /Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver.plist preference file:
A flag controls whether the main display is the onboard screen the DisplayMainOnInternal key.
The DisplaySets key contains the list of the display sets. The first set is the one used (fact to check).
In the set, each item contains the screen properties. The IOFlags key seems to indicate if the display is the main one (value of 7) or not (value of 3).
Before going Apple Script, you may change the display configuration by hand, and save a copy of the /Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver.plist file to study it.
Note that the following procedure has not been tested !!!
With AppleScript, the keys in the plist file are changed individually, in order to change the main display:
Make a backup of the /Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver.plist (in case of)
Alter the display set the select the main display (DisplaySets and IOFlags keys) by using the defaults command
Restart the Window Server: killall -KILL SystemUIServer
You should see if you can do it via AppleScript's User Interface Scripting. It allows you to manipulate an application's GUI elements; useful when the app doesn't support scripting directly. I'd test it myself but I don't have any extra displays lying around.
Here's a pretty good overview by MacTech.
Much like you can tell System Events.app to sleep your Mac, you can tell Image Events.app to mess with your displays. The Image Events application provides a "displays" collection. Each display has a "profile" with lots of goodies. However, everything I just mentioned is read-only, so I don't have a good way to do it from within script.
You might have better luck in Automator – Hit record, run System Preferences, go to Displays, drag the menu bar to the other screen, and hit stop. I bet something will work.
Using AppleScript, you can invoke default to write the setting to change the main monitor.