Stephen_C

@Vero you've probably seen this already: Dropbox support for macOS FAQs—so sorry if it doesn't add anything useful!

Stephen

Just as a matter of interest, are you able to connect your Time Machine drive directly to your Mac? If so do that and try ejecting the drive. Do you get any notification that way?

Stephen

I have a workflow which provides direct access to some of Ventura's System Settings (including Sound). You may find that useful as a temporary solution (although I know it's not a direct answer to your problem).

Stephen

I am the author of this workflow and this is a link to a forum thread that refers to it. This is the Github link to the workflow.

The workflow (which has no dependencies and works on macOS 13 Ventura—and not on earlier macOS versions) provides a pre-configured list of settings panes (accessible via the new System Settings) thus giving you direct, speedy access to any of those listed panes. (Please note that it's not possible to add further panes unless you or I can discover the appropriate identifier for accessing those additional panes.)

Stephen

@vitor I have taken on board both comments and uploaded a new version to Github. I'll post formally on the submissions forum with a link to this thread and a screen shot.

Stephen

I am using Alfred 5 (version 5.0.4) on macOS 13.0. Whereas previously this (with a blank line before and after) --- would produce a full width horizontal line when using markdown in the workflow configuration it no longer does so:

That also applies to older workflows which used that markdown (and which previously showed, but no longer show, a full width horizontal line) which might suggest it's an Alfred bug in the latest version rather than a macOS bug.

Stephen

Updated to add to more preference panes (General and Passwords) and to update Placeholder Title and Placeholder Subtext in workflow.

Stephen

@andy4222 I'm very sorry but I've not yet discovered any way to do what you wish. The problem is that it's very difficult to discover the identifiers of the various panes so at present I'm limited to what I can find as a result of using the tip linked in my workflow configuration. Of course, it's very early days for Ventura (at least for those of us who upgraded only with the official release) so it may well be that others will discover more links (or a sound way to find them) as time passes. Sorry not to be more helpful.

Stephen

Just on the off-chance, is this post any help? Sorry if it isn't!

Stephen

See this post for a suggestion of possible future changes now Ventura has been released.

Stephen

Here is a link to the thread where I've mentioned the Ventura update of that workflow.

Stephen

Here is an updated version of this workflow for macOS 13.0 (Ventura).

Stephen

Of course, so sorry: refer to this on Github and scroll down for the comment that starts:

Quote

It seems to work with any extension bundle id for settings extensions found in /System/Library/ExtensionKit/Extensions

Stephen

I’m currently working on a revised version of the workflow to which I linked in my previous post having discovered a way of finding at least some of the new x-apple.systempreferences: URLs. I hope that might be ready within a day or two and when it is I'll post a link here (but sorry to take the thread slightly off-topic).

Stephen

(Warning: this is not a solution to your post.)

What a coincidence! I've been battling this morning (after upgrading to Ventura last night) to update my macOS 12 system preferences workflow and all I have been able to do is to reduce it to the links that work on the basis of the old x-apple.systempreferences:. For the life of me I cannot get, via AppleScript (or currently in any other way), pane ids or names for other panes in System Settings.

My old workflow configuration acknoweldges the debt to https://github.com/bvp663/MacAdmin/blob/main/macos_preferencepanes.md—where there are included methods of identifying pane ids—neither of which I can currently make work with Ventura.

In summary, I'm in the same (sort of) boat and can only wait upon some superior intelligence to assist. Sorry!

Stephen

I experienced the same issue and, while I do appreciate this is not a complete answer to the problem, I simply luanched the "correct" version (i.e., in my case the one with the Safari icon against it) several times so that Alfred again latched to that result and it again came top of the results list.

Stephen

For many Alfred commands (e.g., the Universal Actions Copy to…, Move to…, etc.) you can simply add the folder name the first time you use the workflow and it will remain and appear the following time.

Can you be a little more specific about the commands to which you'd like your list of folders linked?

Stephen

7 hours ago, sepulchra said:

 /Volumes/Remote Audio IV/PODCAST/TASKPAPER DOCS

Does it make any difference if:

• there is not a space in the final item in the path; or
• if an otherwise identical path is used on local disk (i.e., not on an external mounted volume)?

Edit: what is the output of the debugger when you run the workflow?

Stephen

It seems to me that you're getting simply the folder name from the Universal Action. In that case, am I correct in assuming the folder in which you wish to create the new file varies (i.e., it's not the same folder all the time)? (I'm sure that must be the case from what your workflow appears to do but I just wanted to check!).

Stephen

This is the final post of three about using variables to assist your users.

Use your workflow’s variables to provide detailed feedback (in a Dialog Conditional and/or a notification) at the end of a workflow.

gives:

Stephen

One possible solution, then, is to try deleting the first two items in my sample workflow, trigger the remainder of the workflow with a hotkey and that should/might work (because the buffer will retain the files you have placed in it).

Stephen

Thanks for making me crazy trying to find a way to do this! 😀

Here is one way that seems to work:

The first File Buffer action is set to add the passed-in files and output the File Buffer contents. The second File Buffer action is simply set to output the File Buffer contents.

However, there is one aspect of your workflow that puzzles me. When you run the workflow to select the files is that not going to be the frontmost Finder window for the purposes of the workflow—so that the files get copied into the same folder? (At least, that's what happens for me!)

Sorry if I've misunderstood anything.

Stephen

This is the second of three posts about using variables to assist your users.

Use a variable to provide a helpful error message with guidance for the user.

Use the Dialog Conditional with the appropriate variables:

gives:

Stephen

It might be helpful to post in this thread the results of the file search troubleshooter as, although you say you have "exactly the same issue", it's unclear whether you are obtaining an identical result from the file search troubleshooter.

Stephen

This is the first of three posts about using variables to assist your users.

Use a variable to provide a helpful prompt in your workflow:

gives:

Stephen