Miscellany | Scott Moser

Bibliography

a .bib file, with bibkeys in `4characterAuthor 2digitYear - firstWordOfTitle' format

Scripts, Workflows

a combination of AppleScripts, python, and ruby to aid in some workflows using a iPad and an OS X (Mountain Lion) desktop

annotated PDFs {tablet} -> zotero {cloud}

Sync selected PDFs from desktop (or cloud) Zotero library with tablet, annotate PDFs on tablet or desktop; daily sync annotated PDFs

Background/ Goal:

Using ZotReader / ZotFile to get Zotero PDFs to a tablet, automate updating the zotero library with annotated PDFs.

Idea:

Zotero PDF storage on a cloud drive ZOT_STORAGE.

Send PDFs to tablet from desktop using ZotFile/ ZotReader (send to IPAD_ZOT_PDF).

Annotate PDFs on iPad and sync to cloud drive IPAD_ZOT_PDF (NOT `ZOT_STORAGE'! ) (eg. Goodreader).

Every evening, time an iCal event to find the most recently modified PDFs in IPAD_ZOT_PDF, and move them back to ZOT_STORAGE, in appropriate sub-folder.

PDFs that are not in your Zotero library can also be annotated and synced, but such PDFs should be put in the sub-folder ''IPAD_ZOT_PDF/notinZotero"

Steps:

0. Requires python

0a. Download and uncompress the archive annotPDF2zotero.zip

1. Put the file 'zotero_iPad2zotLib.py' somewhere convenient (say, PATH_TO_PY_SCRIPT)

1a. modify the file 'zotero_iPad2zotLib.py' to reflect the location of your 'zotero/storage' folder, called 'ZOT_STORAGE', as well as the location of the (possibly cloud) folder that PDFs annotated on a tablet will be saved to, called 'IPAD_ZOT_PDF,'

2. Create an iCal event to run the the command ''python PATH_TO_PY_SCRIPT/zotero_iPad2zotLib.py -d'' as often as you like (say, daily)

2a. Depending on your Automator/iCal set up, creating a wrapper app / workflow to run the terminal command in (2) might be necessary. If so, create an 'Calendar Alarm' in Automator, drag the action 'Run Shell Script' into the workflow and add the line ''python PATH_TO_PY_SCRIPT/zotero_iPad2zotLib.py -d''

handwritten PDF notes -> JPEG -> Evernote

take handwritten notes on a tablet, automatically create a searchable Evernote note utilizing handwriting recognition

Background and Goal:

Notability generates nice handwritten notes but as yet only saves them as PDFs, the disadvantage of which is that Evernote's handwriting recognition works best (well, even) on JPG files.

Idea:

iPad saves PDFs of handwritten notes to a could folder WATCHED_FOLDER (eg using Dropbox, for example). When the folder WATCHED_FOLDER gets updated on a desktop running OS X the script ''pdflibJPG2folder.py'' automatically converts each page of the PDF into a JPEG, appropriately numbered, and puts them in a local folder WATCHED_FOLDER/jpgs. Each PDF is converted to JPGs, named with the original PDf file-name base and page-numbered. Finally, a new note is created in Evernote for each PDF and each JPG file (page of note) is added to said note, in order.

Steps:

0. Download and uncompress the archive writtenPDF2EvernoteJPG.zip

1. From Noteability (iPad), auto-save notes to some cloud service (eg. Dropbox/from_iPad).

2. Put ''pdflibJPG2folder.py'' (a modified version of Martin Michel's modified python script of Dinu C. Gherman for automated PDF-> JPG conversion, see http://macscripter.net/viewtopic.php?id=25350 ) in a handy place (lets call the path to your local copy of pdflibJPG2folder.py PATH_TO_SCRIPT)

3. From OS X with synced cloud folder, create a folder action in using AppleScript Editor to watch the folder WATCHED_FOLDER.

Note: Change `PATH_TO_SCRIPT' to the path to pdflibJPG2folder.py on the local machine.

Note: Change `NOTEBOOK' to the particular notebook you want the note created in Evernote (or delete for the default notebook).

Note: Change `TAG1' and `TAG2' (etc.) to any tags you want your hand-written note automatically tagged with upon creation, or delete.

The AppleScript appears below and also in the file ``pdf2jpgFolder2Evernote Watched.scpt'' in this archive.

on adding folder items to this_folder after receiving these_items

repeat with anItem from 1 to number of items in these_items

set this_item to item anItem of these_items

set the item_info to info for this_item

set the item_path to this_item as text

tell (info for this_item) to set {Nm, Ex} to {name, name extension}

set BN to text 1 thru ((get offset of "." & Ex in Nm) - 1) of Nm

set cmd to "python" & space & "PATH_TO_SCRIPT/pdflibJPG2folder.py" & space & "pdf2jpg" & space & quoted form of POSIX path of this_item & space & 72

set cmd to cmd as "class utf8"

try

do shell script cmd

on error error_message number error_number

display dialog error_message

end try

set cmdCount to "python" & space & "PATH_TO_SCRIPT/pdflibJPG2folder.py" & space & "getpagecount" & space & quoted form of POSIX path of this_item & space & 72

set cmdCount to cmdCount as "class utf8"

try

set pageCount to do shell script cmdCount

end try

tell application "Evernote"

set notei to create note title BN with text (pageCount & " number of pages" & return & return) notebook "NOTEBOOK" tags {"TAG1", "TAG2"}

repeat with pageNum from 0 to (pageCount - 1)

try

append notei attachment (POSIX file (POSIX path of (this_folder) & "/jpgs/" & BN & "-" & pageNum & ".jpg"))

on error error_message number error_number

display alert "Append to Evernote Failed" message "Error: " & error_message & " " & "Error Number: " & error_number as warning

end try

end repeat

end tell

end repeat

end adding folder items to

(new or modified) lecture notes/slides {desktop} -> tablet

Write slides/ papers/ notes, etc. and don't be bothered always having to remember to 'send them' to tablet. Designate folders/ file types to always keep most recent copy of on tablet.

Background/ Goal:

Write slides/ papers/ notes, etc. and don't be bothered always having to remember to 'send them' to tablet. Designate folders/ file types to always keep most recent copy of on tablet.

Note: If one were not concerned with space, all this could be trivially avoided by saving all materials only on cloud drives, and sync all such materials with a tablet. However, as space is more constrained on tablets than on desktops, this workflow offers a way to keep current lectures, papers, notes only of frequently update materials easily and automatically.

Idea:

>

Use Ruby folder watcher to trigger copy event upon most recent nontrivial modification of specified file/ file type. (AppleScript nor Automator can trigger upon modification of existing files in folders as of this writing)

Start RubyFolderWatcher upon login to Desktop.

On tablet, set auto-sync to cloud drive. Then, whenever you modify or create a 'watched' file type (folder X extension), the most recent version will be synced in a cloud drive.

Steps:

0. Requires Ruby

1. Get 'Ruby Folder Watcher' (by Vickash) from https://github.com/vickash/folder_watcher and unpack it to a folder of your choosing, say PATH_TO_FOLDER_WATCHER

1a. Follow instructions in 'README.md' file

2. Modify the file 'settings.yml' to include the folders for which you want the most current files sent to a cloud drive. For example, if you wanted the most recent version of all Keynote files (files ending in '.key') in the folder MY_LECTURES automatically sent to the Dropbox folder MY_DROPBOX_LECTURES, the following should be inserted in 'settings.yml' :

ANYTHING_YOU_WANT_TO_NAME_THIS_WATCHING :

path: "MY_LECTURES"

command: "FILE=$(ls -tr -d -1 MY_LECTURES/*.key | tail -1); cp \"$FILE\" MY_DROPBOX_LECTURES"

>

As an other example, if you wanted all LaTeX modifications automatically committed to a git repository and named by the LaTeX project name plus the date of modification, for some reason, the following would be in order:

GIT_AUTOCOMMIT:

path: "MY_LATEX_DIRECTORY"

command: "DD=\"git commit -a -m \"v$(date +%Y%m%d)\"\"; cd \"MY_LATEX_DIRECTORY\"; eval $DD "

3. On a Mac, create a wrapper app to run the terminal command "PATH_TO_FOLDER_WATCHER/ruby folder_watcher.rb"

3a. For example, using Platypus ( http://sveinbjorn.org/platypus ), create an app called FOLDER_WATCHER_STARTER that runs the bash script ''PATH_TO_FOLDER_WATCHER/ruby folder_watcher.rb"

4. [note: the following holds for OS X 10.8.2. Minor modification might be in order for older version of OS X]

In Mac OS X 'System Preferences' -> 'Users & Groups', find your account and click on the 'Login Items' tab. Add (by clicking the '+' button) the application you created in 3, for example the app ''FOLDER_WATCHER_STARTER'' from 3a. Now every time you log in the Folder Watcher will start up, and every time you modify or make a, for example, Keynote file in the directory MY_LECTURES, it will automatically be copied to the cloud drive MY_DROPBOX_LECTURES.

6. On tablet, set auto-sync to cloud drive MY_DROPBOX_LECTURES. Then, whenever you modify a 'watched' file type (folder X extension), the most recent version will synced in a cloud drive.

7. The Ruby watcher daemon can be stopped by running executing

"cd PATH_TO_FOLDER_WATCHER"

and then

"kill -15 $(cat daemons.rb.pid)"

from the terminal