- Go to '/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/MAU2.0'
- Cmd-drag Microsoft AutoUpdate.app to desktop.
- Create alias of MAU2.0 folder on desktop.
Thursday, November 21, 2024
Stop the stupid: Disabling Microsoft AutoUpdate on macOS as of Nov 2024
Saturday, July 13, 2024
End of software support for the Fujitsu (Ricoh, PFU) ix500 document scanner
Many years ago I bought a (then) Fujitsu ScanSnap ix500 document scanner. The hardware has been superb but the MacOS desktop software was always ugly and awkward. Infamously there's no API for a third party to use and no standards support. The current version of the desktop software allows only one active WiFi desktop client to protect revenue on their business line.
In contrast to the desktop app the simple iOS app, ScanSnap.app [ScanSnap Connect Application], worked well for me. It was even multi-user -- anyone could scan from their iPhone.
As of 7/2024 the ix500 still works with a single macOS device by cable or WiFi using the current desktop app. The iOS app is end of life however. A year ago it dropped Google Drive support. A few days ago OneDrive auto-upload started to crash the app following upload (it freezes, needs force quit, the document is lost).
The replacement for [ScanSnap Connect Application] is ScanSnap Home. That app does not support the ix500; it will not connect via WiFi. There is also an end-of-life ScanSnap Cloud app that uses PFU's crazy (failed?) cloud document routing service. I did not test that app.
For now we will probably switch our ix500 to a wired machine connection; I have a de facto home server that will work for that.
I'm playing around with iOS ScanSnap.app to see what still works after disabling OneDrive Auto Upload:
- If you preview a PDF doc it can be sent to OneDrive from preview without a crash.
- If you tap on the ellipsis next to a File you can AirDrop or otherwise move it about in iOS Files.
- If you use the ScanSnap Edit function, select documents, then choose "Save to the Files app" the documents in <On My iPhone / ScanSnap / ScanSnap / .Files> [1] are copied to <On My iPhone / ScanSnap / ScanSnap> and from there can be manipulated using Files.
Wednesday, May 01, 2024
The modest changes that would make macOS Photos.app a good app
- For any photo show list of albums that hold it. The UI for Contact/Folder relationships would do.
- Include Folder name matches in search results.
- Port Photos.iOS feature that shows geo view of images for an album to Photos.mac
- Provide a list view of images with metadata
- When exporting images also export metadata (ideally in image header, otherwise XMP sidecar
Wednesday, February 14, 2024
AppleScript to very slowly list the albums a macOS Photos.app image is associated with
-- Jacques Rioux's script https://discussions.apple.com/message/29601534#29601534
-- modified by leonie for Catalina
-- version 1.01, changed a dialog to a notification
-- version 2, added the support to suppress smart albums
-- Select the photo in Photos, then run this script
-- by pressing the "Run" button in the script editor
-- or run it from the scripts menu.
-- The script will show first a panel with the filename of the photo it is searching for.
-- Then it will show a second panel with the list of albums.
-- if you do not see the panels, click the script Editor icon in the Dock, if it is bouncing.
global allalbums -- the list of all albums
global allfolders -- the list of all folders
set NoSmartAlbums to true -- set this to false, if you want to find the smart albums too
--part 1. get the selected photos
tell application "Photos"
activate
-- Add the photo you want to search for to a top level album as the first item in the album
set resultcaption to "Searching for: "
try
set sel to selection
if sel is {} then error "The selection is empty" -- no selection
on error errTexttwo number errNumtwo
display dialog "No photos selected " & errNumtwo & return & errTexttwo
return
end try
set imagename to "unknown filename"
try
set target to item 1 of sel -- the image to seach for
tell target
set imagename to the filename of target
end tell
on error errTexttwo number errNumtwo
display dialog "Cannot get the filename of the first image: " & errNumtwo & return & errTexttwo
end try
set resultcaption to (resultcaption & imagename)
end tell
display notification resultcaption subtitle imagename
-- Part 2: get a list of all albums by searching the nested folders
set allfolders to {}
set allalbums to {}
tell application "Photos"
set allalbums to the albums -- collect all albums
set allfoldernames to {}
set allalbumnames to {}
set level to 0 -- nesting level of folders
set nextlevelFolders to the folders
set currentLevelFolders to {}
repeat while (nextlevelFolders is not {})
set currentLevelFolders to nextlevelFolders
set nextlevelFolders to {}
repeat with fi in currentLevelFolders
tell fi
set ffolders to its folders
set falbums to its albums
set nextlevelFolders to ffolders & nextlevelFolders
set allalbums to falbums & allalbums
end tell
end repeat
set allfolders to currentLevelFolders & allfolders
set level to level + 1
end repeat
-- return allalbums --test
end tell
-- removing albums with "smart" in the name
if NoSmartAlbums then
set without_smart_Albums to {}
repeat with a in allalbums
if (the name of a does not contain "smart") then set without_smart_Albums to {a} & without_smart_Albums
end repeat
set allalbums to without_smart_Albums -- to exclude smart albums
end if
-- From Jacques Rioux's script:
tell application "Photos"
if sel is {} then return -- no selection
try
set thisId to id of item 1 of sel
on error errText number errNum
display dialog "Error: cannot get the image ID" & errNum & return & errText & "Trying again"
try
delay 1
set thisId to id of item 1 of sel
on error errTexttwo number errNumtwo
display dialog "Skipping image due to repeated error: " & errNumtwo & return & errTexttwo
error "giving up"
return
end try --second attempt
end try
set theseNames to {}
repeat with a in allalbums
try
tell a
if ((the id of media items) contains thisId) then
set theseNames to {the name of a} & theseNames
end if
end tell
--set theseNames to name of (albums whose id of media items contains thisId)
on error errText number errNum
display dialog "Error: cannot get the albums" & errNum & return & errText & "Trying again"
try
delay 1
tell a
if ((the id of media items) contains thisId) then
set theseNames to {the name of a} & theseNames
end if
end tell
on error errTexttwo number errNumtwo
display dialog "Skipping image due to repeated error: " & errNumtwo & return & errTexttwo
error "giving up"
return
end try
end try
end repeat
end tell
if theseNames is not {} then
set {oTid, text item delimiters} to {text item delimiters, return}
set {t, text item delimiters} to {theseNames as string, oTid}
-- return oTid
else
set t to "No album"
end if
activate
set resultcaption to resultcaption & ", found it in these albums:
" & t as string
set the clipboard to resultcaption
display notification resultcaption subtitle "Saved to the Clipboard"
display dialog resultcaption & ", Saved to the Clipboard" buttons {"OK"} default button "OK"
-- you can press the Enter key or the return Key to close the dialog
return resultcaption -- léonie