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sylumer

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Posts posted by sylumer

  1. On 5/17/2023 at 12:04 AM, vitor said:

    Just to double check (since the guidelines have evolved since first posted): do any of the other ones have auto-update capabilities or binaries in them?

    There are no auto-update features built into any of the workflows.

     

    Bypass contains an exported AppleScript application bundle, so if you view the package contents you can view the details, and you can open it in Script Editor and view the (simple) script and additional bundle details. That bundle contains a binary generated by Script Editor when saving an AppleScript as an app.

     

    Note: As per the readme, the workflow's home page was changed a while back to https://thoughtasylum.com/alfred/alfred_slink_for_searchlink/

     

    On 5/31/2023 at 3:27 PM, vitor said:

    Despite not being modified, the workflow’s download (https://www.thoughtasylum.com/assets/alfred/Slink.alfredworkflow) has been changing its ETag on occasion. It happened again today. Do you know why that might be?

    I don't know why that would be. My web site is hosted on GitHub and is served as a standard GitHub Pages site (using Jekyll - a standard for static site generation for GitHub Pages). Because I often schedule blog posts for future release, I have a daily rebuild trigger (07:00 GMT/BST). If the ETag regeneration was happening daily, I would say it is just GitHub refreshing its cache with each site build (while it wouldn't rebuild the workflow file as it isn't a page, it would rebuild the site folder structure from which the site is served).

     

    Since it is only "on occasion" that you have observed the behaviour, then there is nothing that comes to mind that I have configured that could be causing that.

     

    While I found an old StackOverflow post that indicates, at that time, Github Pages do not support ETags...

     

    I subsequently found some newer pages that indicate that it does.

     

    I don't know if any of that helps you?

  2. On 5/10/2023 at 6:15 PM, vitor said:

    Since there’s no label on the checkbox text (marked Recommended), screen readers won’t read the option.

    The way it shows up with the checkbox against the title was logical and in effect was restating. Knowing the label is being used by screen readers and would not otherwise be associated sequentially is useful o know and I will update accordingly.

     

    On 5/10/2023 at 6:15 PM, vitor said:

    And setting a path to an app shouldn’t be done with a Text Field but with a File Picker set to only allow folders.

    I don't think I'd even looked for options like that as this was written long before the new config was available and I was just dealing with text strings. I'll modify to include that for a better experience..

    On 5/10/2023 at 6:15 PM, vitor said:

    But sle, which uses the editor variable, doesn’t work. Running the full path to an app in a shell followed by a filename doesn’t open it.

    It may not work for all setups, but most text editors take a path as their first optional parameter on the command line - it has always worked with my text editors. However, I agree it isn't best practice and I'm happy to modify to use `open` instead.

    On 5/10/2023 at 6:15 PM, vitor said:

    I don’t understand why, on the insert, you’re copying the text then hiding Alfred, then waiting, then faking ⌘V. Why not paste directly from the Copy to Clipboard? That’s exactly what the first checkbox is for.

    When I first created this workflow (several years ago), I experienced problems with Alfred not pasting the content reliably to the foreground app. This was a workaround that seemed to give me reliable results at that time. I realise that things have improved, so I'll review and update accordingly.

    On 5/10/2023 at 6:15 PM, vitor said:

    Considering the original tool this uses, it seems the workflow is missing two important ways of interaction: a Hotkey which acts on the selected text and a Universal Action. Those would seem to be the most convenient and expected ways of generating these links.

    I'll add those in, but most users of SearchLink have probably followed the details for the tool and set up a service and a hot key to trigger. I certainly did, and did so a long time before I created the workflow - hence I had no need to replicate that functionality in Alfred. However, I agree that some people may prefer to control it exclusively from Alfred so I'll take a look at adding those options in.

     

    Hopefully that covers all of your points.

  3. Workflow updated to use user configuration rather than environment variables.

     

    The workflow has some new features, changes, and a new documentation page - https://www.thoughtasylum.com/alfred/alfred_slink_for_searchlink/

     

    Screenshot utilising Alfred default theme.

     

    image.png.e2b8b883cedba8b944a6369309a43500.png

    Here's an edited version of the image above that crops it to just the Slink entries for sake of clarity.

    cropped.png.3dc6ce5e7ebabfc1c8ef530838c75fc0.png

    The workflow also has a new about this workflow.

     

    Slink is a helper workflow for Brett Terpstra's *SearchLink* services, a small toolset to help you quickly generate Markdown links.
    
    You can download Search Link from its project page on Brett's web site.
    - https://brettterpstra.com/projects/searchlink/
    
    For details on how to use Slink, read the workflow documentation
    - https://thoughtasylum.com/alfred/alfred_slink_for_searchlink/
    
    ## Basic Keywords
    - `sl` - search; results will be copied to the clipboard and based on user configuration, may be inserted.
    - `slc` - search, placing the results on the clipboard.
    - `sli` - search, placing the results on the clipboard, and pasting them to the current cursor position.
    - `sle` - edit the SearchLink configuration file.

     

     

     

  4. ☹️ I've fixed the link on the theme. There was a stray space in the filename.

     

    ---

     

    Workflow updated to use user configuration rather than environment variables.

     

    Screenshots utilising Alfred default theme.

     

    image.png.7de64bc9070db7f93255bf156743e8ad.png

    image.png.cb12bb9359ec213e1ee5e021ef728d9b.png

  5. Workflow updated to use user configuration rather than environment variables.

     

    Screenshot utilising Alfred default theme.

    image.png.230f9a95f32219dfd71cc03f816f8a93.png

    Slightly revised readme.

     

    Bypass is an Alfred workflow for working with Apple's Shortcuts app. Its primary purpose is to allow you to launch your Shortcuts workflows (known as shortcuts) from Alfred, potentially even passing in content to be processed. It also supports a number of other functions to help you work with and trigger shortcuts. Bypass contains a number of keyword, external trigger, snippet and universal action triggers to enable this functionality.
    
    ## Documentation
    - https://thoughtasylum.com/alfred/alfred_bypass_for_shortcuts/

     

  6. See details in this response on another thread to this. It does not appear to be related to a disabled shadow on screenshots.

    There looks to be an issue with Alfred and the theme I've been using (forever) - the shadow is omitted when the screenshot is taken whereas with other themes the shadow is included. As noted there, I propose to do the screenshots using the default "Alfred" theme.

  7. On 10/25/2022 at 9:39 PM, vitor said:

    As for the Workflow Environment Variables, from your explanation that is exactly why they should be User Configuration

     

    My point is not to make it too easy to break or misconfigure. This is an example where in user configuration, if there was an "Advanced" section, it would be under there - things you shouldn't need to tinker with, but if you know exactly what you are doing, you can. As it is, with user configuration, everything is presented nicely and encourages users to change things. My pre-user configuration solution was to build the "basic" settings in as things that the workflow itsefl could set and change, and the "advanced" settings could only be changed by going into the environment variables and manually setting them.

     

    I try to provide a good level of suport for folks using the workflows I've created, and from many years in IT development and support roles I know that having options available is really useful, but if things are handed to people openly, there are some who will change things and swear blind they never touched anything and you spend a lot of time tracking those down as through lying or honest forgetfulness, the end user leads you on a circuitous route to tracking down the underlying issue.

  8. A reboot didn't help (I did try that a day or do after), and yesterday I updated to Ventura and the missing shadow persists, which suggests to me it is tied to some property of my theme. I've been using it since maybe v1 or v2 - it's been so long and I haven't wanted to change it or have any issues with it until now.

     

    It can be downloaded here.

     

    The blur is set as "No Blur", not the deprecated classic blur.

     

    2022-10-30-11_45_49.png.db52fe41391e163a947c48215a092bf0.png

     

    I've had a quick scan through the JSON that seems to specify the format, and I don't see any obviously spurious values. I duplicated the Alfred theme, reordered a few sections to aklign them and did a side-by-side comparison. The only structural difference looks to be the inclusion of the credit attribute. 

     

    2022-10-30-11_52_14.thumb.png.289c64df6ea68c3568441f9eef233465.png

     

    In terms of moving to using user configuration over environment variables, I'm going to switch things over. I've done some preliminary testing (and I think longer term I'll switch to the simpler AppleScript code, but the JavaScript I have in place does appear to work) and it seems to be working okay on a test workflow I've created, but I'll need to ensure I'm doing more thorough testing on the existing workflows - I don't want to inadvertently break something and miss it through lack of testing. I'll update the posts on the forum with the screenshots and note updates to use user configuration as I apply them.

  9. 5 minutes ago, vitor said:

    Thank you for the screenshots, but they have no shadow. Perhaps you have disabled it?

    Hmmm, I guess I mights have disabled it some time in the dim and distant past. I don't use the macOS screenshot functionality and I haven't done so for a very long time. I've used a few different apps over the years - ones that have given me more options for multiple saves and annotations.

    That being said, if I run the terminal command to force enablement and screenshot my terminal, I get a shadow

    image.png.f430d861259398c74dd5d4e556911264.png

    Whereas, with this setting still in place, if I pop my Alfred window up alongside it and use the exact same keyboard commands, I get Alfred with no shadow I can see

    image.png.013cc0c29432ef7debfa3f4e9b519a62.png

    Though if I paste the image into an image editor, or highlight it here as I'm editing, it does have the space around it to hold the shadow. I wondered if my theme was messing things up, so I thought I'd try changing it.

     

    If I change to the default theme I get ... a third(?)... of a shadow?

    image.png.7a4f30e323d1136076795a59e4977ee2.png

    If I restart Alfred, I get a full shadow.

    image.png.2018688e07f6c5ae05c6cb38d2ea5fb6.png

    But then if I change back to my previous theme, I get no shadow again.
    image.png.aee48052a8559bc84438a13461d03030.png

    Any known issues with themes (I'm on 5.0.4 FWIW) affecting screenshot shadows? 🤔

     

    Its late and I need to get to bed so I'll tackle the screenshots tomorrow - probably with an alternate shadowable theme.

     

    6 minutes ago, vitor said:

    It’s configuration. It’s to be set whenever you need to change the setting, be it at first usage or later on when you change your mind.

    I would suggest that with the contrinued existence rather than migration of the variables and how the documentation describes it, that it could be clearer.

     

    I think "vastly clearer for users" and "kmdelay, which I’ve had to recheck several times while replying" are a point for new users. I'm not discounting it asa positive point, but it isn't globally applicable. For example, keywords to set values is much faster to do (and ingrained for existing users) than accessing the user configuration. That's like keyboard shortcuts and menus - but most Alfred users are keyboard nerds right? 😁

     

    The "documentation included in context" is a double edged sword. I suspect usually it is a good thing, but there are times when you need to walk people through a variable in more detail (I realise you can add the details, but it feels like it'll become off putting for someone new if there's too much info). So, not a universal plus, but certainly more pro than con and there are ways to deal with providing such documentation (e.g. "DO NOT CHANGE THIS ... unless you read the manual first, in which case go ahead" 😉).

     

    14 minutes ago, vitor said:

    plus simplified code which does not need to check for absent variables or empty values, or invalid strings (checkboxes; popover buttons)

     

    This one I think is something I haven't really thought through to date. I'd already solved the problems I needed to so I probably haven't really thought deeply about it from this angle. But simpler is better, and that's something that now I've started considering it is the single most persuasive point for me. I'll sleep on it (and probably come to the conclusion it is worth a change) and figure out next step, timelines for doing it (updating docs, etc.) for this and the other workflows.

     

  10. image.thumb.png.9ba67f34e73676b4097147c1f0a09830.png

     

    I haven't touched this workflow in a while, but in this case I can see a clear benefit in switching the environment variable to a user configuration option instead as the variable is something that should ideally be set up at the start. I'll take a look at reworking this one this week. I might well take the opportunity to give it its own documentation page on my website too and see if I can add a bit more detail in.

  11. image.thumb.png.af41580f54b8a400c15ad2fdeff7f429.png

     

    I have responded on the other topic with regards to user configuration in a general sense.  The environment variables in this one, one (AutoExtractIcon) has the same setup and inbuilt management (keyword "scsdauto" to toggle it). The other refers to the name of a shortcut users can download to use with the workflow. Since users could technically rename the shortcut, I figured it would be nice not to hard code it so that if someone *really* wanted to, they could rename it. I can see that one has potential as a user configuration option, but it isn't exactly something I'd want to stick in front of someone when they first install the workflow. It isn't something I'd see the average user tinkering with and I feel there's more potential there for people to mess with it and break things ... but I'm certainly open to other views on that one.

  12. Revised screenshots:

     

    image.thumb.png.094dd00ac356c2d45042134eb51e22b3.png

     

    image.thumb.png.27e44b977a1261fce7b9ae7e26141307.png

     

    8 hours ago, vitor said:

    Just noticed this workflow is using Workflow Environment Variable instead of User Configuration. I’d submit a PR, but there seems to be no repo.

     

    I don't tend to manage my workflows in repos - hence there are none.

     

    The workflow predates Alfred v5 and has a single variable to specify a delay period for executing macros. The workflow also includes commands to change that variable. The workflow also specifies a default value for the variable.

     

    Having read the user configuration documentation for Alfred 5 when it became available, I didn't see any benefit or any need to migrate away from using the variable. The user configuration documentation strongly indicates it to be geared more towards an initial set it and forget it initialisation, whereas I'd already dealt with this and the option (e.g. "kmdelay 10") to easily change it in the workflow.

     

    Environment variables are still 'a thing' (you set them in the same window - just different tabs), so what would be the advantage of switching from environment variables to user configuration be? Have I missed some particular benefit?

  13. Say if you’re the author or submitting someone else’s workflow.

    I am the author of the workflow @andy4222 has submitted.

     

    Share a link to its thread on the Alfred Forum.

    Not aware of any thread.

     

    Share a link to its main page (e.g. GitHub).

    https://doctordrafts.thoughtasylum.com

     

    It is quite extensive in terms of what it can do. As a result there is a website for it rather than a single page.

     

    If it has dependencies, say what those are unless they are explicit in the About or README.

    This workflow is for interacting with the app Drafts (https://getdrafts.com - I would have entered this as a proper link, but the forum keeps throwing up "There was a problem loading this content" whenever I try and do that anywhere in this post), so that is a dependency.

     

    In addition, some of the more advanced functionality requires Python 3. Users who do not use Python 3 can still use a large proportion of the functionality, but not everything.

     

    More details on prerequisites are available here - https://doctordrafts.thoughtasylum.com/basic/installation/#pre-requisites

     

    Provide screenshots, unless valid ones are in the About or README.

    image.thumb.png.459498bc509ff4d7116701cd851884ff.png

     

    image.thumb.png.93abfdf0d6e75de97f754b68e7983eee.png

     

    image.thumb.png.e736b16cb083b3f048b02968b0e8bdfe.png

     

    image.thumb.png.f9d822441acbf5c504b69fbf0a554c64.png

     

    How to use it

    Doctor Drafts has almost 40 keyword triggers, 47 external call triggers, 4 file actions, 4 fallback searches, and 9 universal actions. Far too many to properly cram into readme. In fact, the website has well over 100 pages of documentation to help people utilise all aspects of the workflow, with the basics of using it receiving its own section (https://doctordrafts.thoughtasylum.com/basic/the-basics/), and the rest of the site going into full detail about the workflow, and how people can build their own extension flows to it as coverd in the extended use section (beginning with https://doctordrafts.thoughtasylum.com/extend/beyond-the-basics/).

     

    As a result, the readme simply refers people to Doctor Drafts' website.

     

    From the readme:

    Doctor Drafts is an Alfred workflow to help support you interact with the Drafts app (by AgileTortoise).
    
    For examples and documentation about how to use this workflow, please visit:
    
    https://doctordrafts.thoughtasylum.com
    
    For the copyright notice, please visit:
    
    https://doctordrafts.thoughtasylum.com/copyright/

     

  14. Say if you’re the author or submitting someone else’s workflow.

    I am the author of the workflow.

     

    Share a link to its thread on the Alfred Forum.

    Not aware of any thread.

     

    Share a link to its main page (e.g. GitHub).

    https://www.thoughtasylum.com/2021/05/21/alfred-workflow-search-link/

     

    If it has dependencies, say what those are unless they are explicit in the About or README.

    This workflow is for working with the command line utility, SearchLink, so that app is a dependency.

     

    Provide screenshots, unless valid ones are in the About or README.

    image.thumb.png.aa6d0de70f1a6ecaa6a50cf81a187194.png

    How to use it

    From the readme:

    Slink is a helper workflow for Brett Terpstra's Search Link services, a small toolset to help you quickly generate Markdown links.
    
    You can download Search Link from its project page on Brett's web site.
    
    https://brettterpstra.com/projects/searchlink/
    
    This helper workflow has two flows that can be triggered:
    
    SEARCH (sl)
    -----------
    "sl" followed by your Search Link string will trigger the Search Link service against your search string, and copy the resulting Markdown link to the clipboard.
    
    Holding down the CMD key while executing this search will copy the resulting URL to the clipboard.
    
    Holding down the CTRL key while executing this search will open the resulting link in your default web browser. 
    
    CONFIGURE SEARCH LINK (slc)
    ---------------------------
    "slc" will open the Search Link configuration file in the editor of your choice, as specified by the editorpath variable.
    
    CHANGE LOG
    ----------
    1.0.1 : Fixed subtitle wording on sl invocation.
    1.0.0 : Initial release.

     

  15. Say if you’re the author or submitting someone else’s workflow.

    I am the author of the workflow.

     

    Share a link to its thread on the Alfred Forum.

    Not aware of any thread.

     

    Share a link to its main page (e.g. GitHub).

    https://www.thoughtasylum.com/alfred/alfred_bypass_for_shortcuts/

     

    If it has dependencies, say what those are unless they are explicit in the About or README.

    This workflow is for controlling the Shortcuts app, so that app is technically a dependency, but that probably comes down more to an OS dependency (Monterey+).

     

    Provide screenshots, unless valid ones are in the About or README.

    image.thumb.png.43f5d7f6c2d675ef8c5aa8dd141a527e.png

     

    How to use it

    The readme directs users to refer to the download page where the workflow is fully documented. It allows you to run, run delayed, edit, copy information (various formats), copy run code (URL, AppleScript, shell script, PopClip install snippet), and even a few thinsg to help with working with Shortcuts and an Elgato Stream Deck. It has 25 keywork triggers, 2 universal actions, 20 snippets, and 20 external calls - hence it having its own page of cross-referenced documentation rather than a simple readme.

     

    From the readme:

    Bypass is an Alfred workflow for working with Apple's Shortcuts app. Its primary purpose is to allow you to launch your Shortcuts workflows (known as shortcuts) from Alfred, potentially even passing in content to be processed. It also supports a number of other functions to help you work with and trigger shortcuts. Bypass contains a number of keyword, external trigger, snippet and universal action triggers to enable this functionality.
    
    ---
    
    Documentation:
    https://thoughtasylum.com/alfred/alfred_bypass_for_shortcuts/

     

  16. Say if you’re the author or submitting someone else’s workflow.

    I am the author of the workflow.

     

    Share a link to its thread on the Alfred Forum.

    Not aware of any thread.

     

    Share a link to its main page (e.g. GitHub).

    https://www.thoughtasylum.com/alfred/alfred_conductor_for_keyboard_maestro/

     

    If it has dependencies, say what those are unless they are explicit in the About or README.

    This workflow is for controlling the Mac app Keyboard Maestro, so that app is a dependency.

     

    Provide screenshots, unless valid ones are in the About or README.

    image.thumb.png.c13076529c72902255595cc2f753e6f8.png

     

    image.thumb.png.1682fdb79e443b1f0c46bb46b94b0324.png

     

    How to use it

    The readme directs users to use the inbuilt command kmdocs which takes the user to the download page referenced above which documents all of the keyword triggers, external triggers and the fallback search option.

     

    From the readme:

    Conductor is a workflow for interacting with Keyboard Maestro and specifically for working with macros.
    
    Keyboard Maestro is a third party utility that allows you to build and run macro-based automations to interact with other applications and the operating system. It provides an Automator-like user interface with a large array of triggers and actions, and with support for triggering scripts and targeting actions on user interface elements (e.g. buttons and menus).
    
    ---
    
    You can find out everything you need to know about the workflow by entering the keyword kmcondocs. This will take you to the online documentation for this workflow at thoughtasylum.com.
    
    ---
    
    Conductor icon created by Freepik - Flaticon
    https://www.flaticon.com/free-icon/conductor_1776612

     

  17. Say if you’re the author or submitting someone else’s workflow.

    I am the author of the workflow.

     

    Share a link to its thread on the Alfred Forum.

    Not aware of any thread.

     

    Share a link to its main page (e.g. GitHub).

    https://www.thoughtasylum.com/alfred/alfred_dose_for_amphetamine/

     

    If it has dependencies, say what those are unless they are explicit in the About or README.

    This workflow is for controlling the Mac app Amphetamine, so that app is a dependency.

     

    Provide screenshots, unless valid ones are in the About or README.

    image.thumb.png.d3b400a785f80d198a0c8d2b14f35d6f.png

     

    How to use it

    From the readme:

    Amphetamine (https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/amphetamine/id937984704?mt=12) is a Mac app that can be used to stop your Mac from sleeping for a period of time (or indefinitely as long as it has power).
    This workflow allows you to apply some basic control of Amphetamine from Alfred.  You can set the Mac to stay awake indefinitely, for a fixed number of hours or minutes, or until a particular time. Similarly you can also trigger it to stay off.
    A number of presets are also included for use with the Alfred Remote app.
    Full documentation for this workflow can be found at http://thoughtasylum.com/alfred/alfred_dose_for_amphetamine/
    EXAMPLES
    --------
    • Enable stay awake 
    	dose on | dose start
    • Disable stay awake
    	dose off | dose stop
    • Enable stay awake for various times
    	dose 5m | dose 10 m | dose 90mins | dose 1h | dose 2hours |dose 3hrs
    • Stay awake until a particular time
    	dose 08:45 | dose 20:45

     

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