vitor

I was wondering… is there an easy way (for a non-coder like myself) to create a duplicate of this workflow that works for starred items or any other tag?

Yes, that’s pretty easy to do. First, go to pinboard’s website and get the rss feed for the tag you want. Then, on the pun node (on the workflow), change the part of the code https://feeds.pinboard.in/rss/secret:${secret}/u:${user}/toread/, to whatever feed url you got on the first step, and you should be set.

You’re having way too much work. Instead of adding adding a Terminal Command node, add a Run Script one instead, and put your code there — much simpler.

Alfred does not read your default shell’s startup files, so you’ll need to do that manually, if you need that.

I does, all of the system preferences do. I don’t think that’s even a powerpack feature, but Andrew, David, or Vero will be able to say for sure.

Thank you for this workflow!

 

Is there a pre-defined list of file types that I can create? I'm wondering because I can use this with no problem for .txt and .doc/.docx files, but not for, for example, .rtf or .key files.

Not currently, no, as they were not really part of the goal. I might do it in the future, but I doubt it, since there’s another workflow that already does that.

That seems very impractical. If you have so many workflows you can’t remember them, how would showing 9 items at a time in Alfred’s window help? In addition, some workflows have a lot of keywords for different things like setting usernames and passwords (things you use once), so populating the feedback results with that (since it wouldn’t be able to distinguish what is important from what is not) wouldn’t get you far, as it would be so many information you’d be lost.

Yes, it does already exist.

The workflow will stop working if you have any file in Downloads with certain characters. If I have, for example, a file that has an é somewhere in the name, the whole workflow breaks.

Keep in mind that some things will still not be synced. From Advanced, in Preferences, you can see

What browser are you using? That may not be easy (or possible) to do, since it depends somewhat on the browser’s applescript support. However, Awesome Screenshot already supports keyboard shortcuts; in Chrome, click its icon and select “Options” — you’ll see something like this

This workflow is officially deprecated due to a dead API. There are alternatives in the replies. You can find the old source on Github.

 

Check and correct spelling in various languages. There are six configurable keyboard shortcuts, but you’ll typically need to setup only between one and three.

Select a word and press a shortcut — the first one will show you the word following Alfred’s spell keyword, so you’ll have a set of words to pick from for the substitution (to have it automatically switch the word in this case, you’ll need to set it up in Alfred’s preferences under Features → Dictionary). The following five will immediately replace the word with the best suggestion (using the After the Deadline service).

Posting just to thank you for being so active on this. It’s great to see a developer being so responsive about feature requests, without breaking the flow of people who already use the workflow.

After all, we do both use an opinionated operating system with good reason.

Right on the money.

 

I do maintain that there should be an official (as in blessed by the developers of Alfred) means to do those things I've already mentioned.

I agree, although sadly I think it’ll take a while. Alfred hasn’t got a big team of developers behind it (which is in many cases an advantage), and those are complex problems. Like I mentioned, the workflows best practices thread might be a good place to suggest changes that are not technical in nature.

While you’ve provided good advice, I’m not a developer.

Which is probably why you’re not seeing the limitations of some suggestions.

• There is a standard for where to keep user settings (the directories I pointed out).
• There is a standard for updating workflows — the Alleyoop way. It’s an unofficial standard, but it is the most used one. If you read the first lines of Alleyoop thread, though, you’ll see mentioned that an official standard is on the way.
• There is a (again unofficial) place to find workflows, alfredworkflow.com (currently down).
• Most developers hate writing documentation, so the ones who do usually will do it the way that is most convenient to them, having to adhere to a predefined way is a sure fire way to have less documentation. Workflows can do a huge array of things, documenting one is like documenting any other app, you cannot have a good standard for this, because each one is (can be) so different from the other.
• Similarly, what needs to be changed is a different process with every workflow, you cannot have a standard for something that is so different each time.
• Some workflows show the version with the name, others do not, it’s the developer’s choice, even if there’s a field available to input the version, I guarantee a lot of them will be left blank, similarly to how many of them lack a Bundle Id, even though the field is there. Versioning is not exact, there isn’t even an absolute standard on how to version changes (there are recommendations, though).

You simply can’t demand those things (well, you can, but won’t get very far), because developers are people, and people with different levels of expertise, time, and commitment. They may not agree, not care, or simply not know how to do certain things. I’ll give you an anecdotal (and personal) example — I’ve stopped posting my workflows on alfredworkflow.com because it’s a hassle; it takes time, and I don’t always remember to do it, which means I have no idea which ones are missing there or which ones have out-of-date screenshots, and I also do not feel like taking the extra time to go through it (I’ve done it multiple times already, and it’s an extremely tedious process), I want to build and share more workflows, not spend all my time making sure they’re all up-to-date on every third-party reference site, so I have chosen a few places where I’ve committed to keep them updated. Don’t forget that most workflows are free, and developers build them for themselves; sharing them and updating them with feature requests also takes time.

You cannot have a “central repository from which any user can browse, download and update any workflow or theme, [that allows] user feedback and submission of bug reports, [in addition to allowing] contribution from those who want to contribute”, because you cannot make developers work a certain way. Not every workflow developer has a github account, not every one posts their code there, and not everyone will want contributions. That’s a way too utopic view. Workflows are like other apps, each developers shares them the way they feel its best for their workflow — what you’re suggesting would be akin to having a central repository for every OS X app for discussion and collaboration; it cannot be done, not in any official capacity, as not everyone will like that central repository or the way it works (case in point, just look at the amount of linux distros, everyone as something to say, and a little tweak to do), so it couldn’t be complete and we’re back to square one, thats why every developer picks their own way of sharing the workflow.

I’ll end by pointing you to the workflows best practices thread. It starts off with “This thread will serve as reference for a list overall "best practices" when creating workflows for Alfred 2. This will be an evolving document, so check back occasionally for updates”. So it’s a place where your ideas will be welcomed for discussion, and given greater weight.

I hope I’ve been clear in my points. Let it be noted that I’m not disagreeing with you, quite the contrary — there should be standards for things, we should be adhering to them, but developers are human beings, and making users adhere to a certain way of doing things is no easy feat.

If your concern is wiping user data, then you’re thinking about it wrong. Settings shouldn’t be kept inside the workflow’s directory for this exact reason, you should use the appropriate directories (~/Library/Application Support/Alfred 2/Workflow Data/ and ~/Library/Caches/com.runningwithcrayons.Alfred-2/Workflow Data/). There are some tools (this one is for bash) to make this easy to manage. To keep track of new versions, usually a system like the one implemented by Alleyoop is the way to go (try Monkey Patch for this).

Update.

 

Added support for quotes.

The currency cache updates once a day. If you tried it before I added EUR conversions, it wouldn't refresh until the next day. (I should probably add a cache clearing command for that...)

I had actually cleared the cache directory before, so I thought that couldn’t be the problem, but just realised I deleted it before you added EUR support. It’s working now, thank you.

The separator change works pretty well, thank you.

I still cannot get EUR conversions (I just get waiting for input). Other currency conversions seem to work fine, though.

Currency conversion is back. I'm using the Yahoo! Finance API to get current rates. The workflow will download the most recent rates the first time you use it each day. Currency units are the standard 3-letter abbreviations for currency names (US dollar is USD, Australian dollar is AUD, yen is JPY, etc.).

You seem to be missing euros (EUR).

On another note, is there an easy way to change the string that tells it to convert? I’d like to change > to to.

The workflow does not support this kind of link, at least not yet.

 

But I see Vitor was kind, kind enough to not only point that out but also link to his workflow.

I apologise for the offense (I truly do, in all honesty). I actually considered not posting that, has I did not want to hijack the thread, and truth is I really like your workflow, and many others of yours that I continue to use (the imgur one being the most used).

I did not mean to devalue your work in any way. This workflow (yours) is made with a specific use case in mind, that you even state in your goal — write the text on a text editor, convert it and bring it back. Even though that’s a perfectly valid objective, it is not mine (I want to write my text directly on the forum’s reply box). That, coupled with the fact that some substitutions are not to my liking (a complete matter of personal preference), made me decide to write my own.

When seeing a fellow user struggling with some limitations, I pointed him (her?) to a working solution. I’ve never been shy to use the best references I have to point users on these forums to answers to difficulties they’re having, be them helping with code, or pointing to a relevant workflow that might solve the issue, even your own (specially your own, since I’ve been using them for a while). This time, the only workflow alternative I’m aware of for this task, happens to be the one I’ve built. I was not trying to be malicious.

I did, however, as mentioned, think twice about posting, so in doubt I should’ve checked with you first since it’s your thread, and I do apologise. Again, this is sincere, I’m not being facetious in any way. I have not removed the link, as editing it after the fact would look like I was trying to avoid blame, but if you so wish, I’ll remove it and/or the posts themselves.

These are just ideas of improvement, your workflow is already very good

 

Thank you.

 

- Handle # and ## titles

I’ve added three levels of headers, #, ##, and ###.

 

- When I select my markdown text in my text editor and activate your workflow, it transforms the original file, so I have to cancel modification. Wouldn't it be possible to just have the BB code in the clipboard only? Or if not possible to open a new text file with the results, instead of modifying original?

That’s easy to do, just dive into the workflow, double-click the Copy to Clipboard node, and deselect the Automatically paste to front most app option. I’m guessing most people only use it one way or another, for most of the time, although adding both options wouldn’t be that much trouble, if there’s demand for it.

But I think you forgot to check in the .alfredworkflow file, there is 404 error

It was on the wrong directory. Should be working now.

Good catch, thank you. I’ve also fixed some other issues in the process.

This updates has fixes for bold together with italic, lists with bold and italic in them (your issue), and lists and code blocks that start at the beginning of the text.

but there are some other issues that I don't get with this workflow. I've replied in your workflow thread.

Thank you for the heads up, those are now fixed.

Hello,

 

I use this workflow very often, it works perfectly, i've just noticed something that is not possible to do using markdown:

[![Download Workflow](https://raw.github.com/vdesabou/alfred-spotify-mini-player/master/images/alfred-workflow-icon.png)](https://raw.github.com/vdesabou/alfred-spotify-mini-player/master/SpotifyMiniPlayer.alfredworkflow)

It gives as an output:

markdowtobbcode.scpt: execution error: Can’t get text item 1 of "". (-1728)

Any idea what's going on?

 

Cheers

The workflow is not taking that possible substitution into account, so its getting confused and failing on that. This workflow will work with that (disclaimer — its mine).

Update.
 
It now has files for updating (if you use Alleyoop, or something similar), made a correction to the img substitution, and added an option for images that send to a url.