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."

Comments

more info on

[cyman777]

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 ;-)

visit the site!

[funwithstuff]

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

Services

[transient]

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.

Re:Actually you can do this in Windows. It's calle

[mbbac]

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.

Re:Or give it to all users

[sweet reason]

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.

Re:seems a little early for primetime

[CaptCosmic]

If you want to rename the PDF file, you can write an AppleScript which prompts you for a name (and possibly a location) to put the file.

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.

on open these_items
repeat with i from 1 to the count of these_items
set this_file to item i of these_items
set new_name to ""
display dialog "Enter Name for this Receipt:" default answer the new_name buttons {"Cancel", "OK"} default button 2
copy the result as list to {new_name, button_pressed}
if button_pressed is not "Cancel" then
do shell script "cp " & quoted form of POSIX path of this_file & " ~/Documents/Receipts/" & quoted form of new_name & ".pdf"
beep
end if
end repeat
end open