These services and Automator actions are provided as free examples of the design and use of Mac OS X automation technologies. All service workflows are fully editable and can be customized as need requires.

Built into Mac OS X, but often neglected, is the concept of 'services'. They are small and targeted tools you can use in almost any program to insert text or do something useful with the current selection. Select text and Google it or look it up in a dictionary. Select a mathematic expression, like "6 * 7", and calculate it. Just select text (or place the insertion point where you want it) and pick a service from the Services menu in the application menu.

Normally, you have to write services using Apple's Carbon or Cocoa frameworks, using languages like C, C++ or Objective-C. ThisService lets anyone with a basic handle on programming choose their own language (like AppleScript or Ruby) to write a service in, lowering the bar for entry, and making certain tasks easier by letting you use the right tool for that task.

Back in 1993, Apple Computer introduced a truly clever innovation: a way for ordinary users to write little programs (scripts) that would tell applications what to do. Tasks that would be repetitive, boring, calculation-intensive, error-prone, or virtually impossible if performed by hand suddenly became available through a single quick and accurate step — namely, running a script.

I was working with AppleScript for Safari, and decided to make a script that demonstrated some of the handy things you could do. Hope they prove as useful to others as they were for me.

I like to hack. Occasionally I produce the odd bit of code that might be useful to others. Here are some of the fruits of that. Share and enjoy!

I’m also starting to share the source code to some of my software on github. Head over there to take a look.