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Revealing Hidden PDF Services in Mac OS X 10.2.4
cspiff writes "In Mac OS X 10.2.4, Apple quietly added the ability for users and developers to enhance the standard Print dialog with custom PDF-handling options. To enable it, just create a folder '~/Library/PDF Services' and populate it with aliases to applications, scripts, Unix tools, or other folders. Those items then show up in the Print dialog as optional handlers for Mac OS X's built-in 'Save as PDF' feature. Drop a renamed alias to your mail client in there, and you've added convenient 'Send PDF as Email' functionality to every application."
http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20030 214080306398&query=pdf
;-)
OS X makes many things comfortable. Could not believe a 9 times reboot to update win2000 to the latest service packs and progs. But furtunately I am running in only for testing reasons in virtual pc so my work does not stop during rebooting in a OS X window
If you check either Macfixit or Macintouch (I forget which), there's an app somebody put together to replace the modem files in 10.2.4 with the working ones from a previous version. You might give it a try, see if it fixes your connection problems.
Use the 'net, Luke...
Ah, but you can.
Create both "/Library/PDF Services" and "~/Library/PDF Services". Populate "/Library/PDF Services" with whatever you like. Those items should now appear in all users' Print dialogs.
It seems that you need the folder at the user level to get this to work.
-/-
Mikey-San
Karma: +Eleventy billion (mostly affected by watching Celebrity Jeopardy)
For more info on all sorts of techy Mac OS X stuff, just read www.macosxhints.com, where this hint came from. All free and sensible, with daily updates.
Current stories include:
Hiding information from nmap
Accessing the 6BONE with OS X 10.2
Automate screen captures via Grab and GUI Scripting
Large image previews in column view
Hear new Mail messages announced by customized voices
Network proxies and internet access via AirPort
Cocktail - A collection of mini-utilties in one app
Restore Aqua look and feel in NetBeans 3.4 with Java 1.4.1
Temporarily silence the startup sound
Another USB to network printer conversion
it's not about the karma, it's about the whuffie
People might want to check out the Services menu as well (it's a submenu of the application menu). It contains services offered by other applications that any application can take advantage of. Among other things, it includes a menu item to send the current document in an email.
I think the Services menu is one of the most underrated and underutilized features in Mac OS X.
irb(main):001:0>
This isn't the same thing as setting up Distiller or PDF Writer as a print driver. First off, that sort of capability is built in to the OS and is available from every standard print dialog.
Secondly, this allows you to write AppleScripts, Perl scripts, target folders, target applications to post-process the PDF once it is created.
Follow the links in the post or this one and you'll see that it is quite extensive.
Secondly, you know how some applications in Windows have "Send Link By Email" commands under the File menu? Well, on OS X that is a system wide function. All an application has to to is consume services in order to be able to use them (and all but legacy applications do). Any application can also produce services.
mbbac
Try Stone Design's apps,especially PStill:
S ti ll/index.html
http://www.stone.com
http://www.stone.com/tutorials/PDF_Workflow_w_P
There are links to other PDF Workflow discussions here.
You can give it to all users on the machine by putting it in /Library instead of ~/Library
It only works if there is a ~/Library/PDF Services.
that seems to be true, contrary to the apple doc.
however, while you do have to create the folder, you don't have to put anything in it. if you want all users to see all pdf services, put the stuff in the shared folder, and leave the user's empty.
Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler. -- A.E.
it is a preference panel that includes a Services CMM. Indispensible. http://www.versiontracker.com/moreinfo.fcgi?id=133 81&db=mac
thatguywhoiam said:
.joboptions files as provided by commercial printers for pre-press, but otherwise quite serviceable (and Frank's a real PostScript wizard, and I'm not saying that 'cause he's giving the NeXT version away---I licensed it early on).
.pdfs these days ;)
> the non-licensing of Display PostScript for OS X
Adobe backed out of their promise to provide (first a free, then a low-cost) DPS license for Apple---this is why Apple did away with ``Yellow Box'' and came up with their Mac OS X strategy.
Adobe also had a history of yanking the chains of people who'd bought DPS licenses---like resolution limiting it to less than 800dpi when NeXTstep 3 came out.
For a decent alternative to Distiller for most purposes, look at Frank Siegert's spiffy pStill.app available from www.stone.com for Mac OS X, www.pstill.com for other platforms (and free for NeXTstep, w/ a special license for Linux if memory serves). Unfortunately, it doesn't afford compatibility with
William
(who mostly uses pdfTeX to makes
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.
I have written an AppleScript which saves the current page into my ~/Documents/Recipts folder. One of the things it does is prompt you to name the PDF before it is saved into the receipts folder.
-> Capt Cosmic <-
I didn't see this in the Apple discussions, and I'm not sure whether this is a bug, but PDF workflows do not work if there is no printer installed in the print dialog. Otherwise, all options (except for the default "Save as PDF...") will cause a print error.
The workaround was to add a printer (regardless if you have one or not). I wonder if anyone has also experienced this problem.