Vincent Ballenegger

MacOS scripts

Here are some convenient small scripts, packaged as quick actions, that I use to accelerate frequent tasks on MacOS.

Finder

Create a new (empty) text file here
One can add a button in the toolbar of Finder windows to create a new text file in the window, ready to be renamed directly by pressing 'return'.

To install this button, download my script Create text file here. Install it inside the toolbar by pressing the command key and dragging the app icon to the toolbar. This app is a short AppleScript with the following code:
```
tell application "Finder"
    set txt to make new file at (the target of the front window) as alias with properties {name:"_empty_.txt"}
    select txt
end tell
```
Resize an image (via a quick Finder action)

It is convenient to resize images right in the Finder.

To do this, download my script resize.workflow and double-click on the file to install it as a quick Finder action.

Here is the content of this action (as shown in Automator):
Trim a PDF image (via a quick Finder action)
I've installed a Trim PDF image action in the "Services" menu. This action appears when right-clicking on a PDF file in the Finder. It allows to get rid quickly of white margins that surround a PDF image, which is useful when importing a PDF image into a document in LaTex, Word or Keynote for instance.

To install this quick action, first download the program K2pdfopt (a great free program that can do much more than removing margins). Download then my script Trim PDF image.workflow. Open this workflow in Automator and adjust in it the path of the k2pdfopt program so that it correspond to the location where you have installed it (see screenshot). Save the workflow and install it at the right place by double-clicking on it. As seen on the screenshot, this action is merely a Terminal command that is made easily accessible from within the Finder thanks to the Quick action mechanism.

Terminal

Launch a Terminal window pointing at the current folder in the Finder
It's conveninent to have a keyboard shortcut to open a terminal window at the current Finder location, for instance ⌃⌥⌘ Space. To define such a shortcut, install the app iTerm 2 (it's a free and excellent app, much better than the default Terminal app). iTerm2 provides a system service to open a new iTerm2 tab (or window) at the current location. To add a keyboard shortcut for this service, go to the Mac System Preferences -> Keyboard -> Shortcuts, click on 'Services' and define your preferred shortcut.

Note: In the preferences of the app iTerm2, one can set also a system-wide shortcut to bring iTerm2 to the front at any time.

Change the current working directory to the frontmost Finder window
One can define a new terminal command (I've called it cdf) to change the current working directory to the current Finder window.

To do this, add the the following lines in the configuration file ~/.bash_profile:
```
function getDirectory { osascript -e 'tell application "Finder"'\
    -e "if (${1-1} <= (count Finder windows)) then"\
    -e "get POSIX path of (target of window ${1-1} as alias)"\
    -e 'else' -e 'get POSIX path of (desktop as alias)'\
    -e 'end if' -e 'end tell'; };\
 
function cdf { cd "`getDirectory $@`"; pwd;}; 
```
Quit and re-open the Terminal for the change to take effect (or type source ~/.bash_profile)

Export as PDF a figure drawn in Keynote without any blank margin

I often use Keynote a draw simple vector graphics, typically to illustrate a physical system and the definition of variables. Keynote is convenient for this task because it has a good support for LaTeX equations/labels. A drawback is that Keynote exports the page (the single slide) with white margins around the figure, whereas I need a PDF figure without any white margin. (The Finder quick action Trim PDF image, see above, allows to get rid quickly of the margins, but it would be better not to have any white margin from the beginning.)

To optimize this workflow, I've created a PDF Service for MacOS called Save as PDF & trim. It provides a command Save as PDF & trim in the Print dialog. That command saves directly a trimed PDF image in the standard 'Downloads' folder. A keyboard shortcut (e.g. ⌘S) can also be set so there is no need to even open the 'PDF' drop-down menu in the Print dialog (to set the shortcut, go to MacOS System Preferences, section Keyboard shortcuts -> Application shortcuts -> Save as PDF & trim). This PDF Service requires the program K2pdfopt to be installed. As I hard-coded the path to this program, adjust it in the script before using it (open the script in Automator to do this).