There ’s more to major O X updates than bring in entirely new features such as Time Machine . Apple also takes the chance to freshen up existing software , adding new capabilities or improving the means things get done .
Such is the eccentric in Leopard with two atomic number 8 X lynchpin — Safari and Automator . The changes to former are fairly well known , thanks to apublic genus Beta ; the changes to the latter have been overshadowed by some of the high - profile accession to OS X 10.5 .
Let ’s continue our go of Leopard by canvas what ’s new with both applications , starting with the built - in World Wide Web web browser app .
Safari 3
Of all the changes introduced by Leopard , the version of Safari that ships with the newfangled atomic number 76 may hold the least whodunit . That ’s because Safari 3 became useable as a public genus Beta back in June , so most of its lineament are widely cognize . There ’s really only one big dispute between the Safari 3 on Tiger and the full rendering Safari 3 included with OS X 10.5 , and that ’s the Open This Page In Dashboard toolbar push button . Using this feature , you’re able to twist a fortune of any Web varlet into a Dashboard thingummy . ( More on thatbelow . )
Safari 3 is an evolutionary acclivity from Safari 2 . Still , the modification should make your graze life easy .
The big changes
Safari 3 let you sprain highlighted sections of WWW Page into Dashboard gizmo with the new Open This Page in Dashboard toolbar .
make World Wide Web ClipsAs I note , you’re able to now make your own Dashboard widgets from Web pages in Safari . The idea here is that you could use this feature film to save yourself needless trips to your browser app just to check a specific part of a entanglement pageboy for updates — checking sports dozens on the ripe - hand side of thisYahoo pageboy , for example . Just habituate this feature to wrench that section of the World Wide Web pageboy into a Dashboard widget , press F12 , and you may quickly rake for updates .
The cognitive process is quite simple : cluck on the Open This Page In Dashboard toolbar clitoris in Safari , and the varlet will dim , except for a white rectangle . Move your computer mouse until the rectangle is over the area you ’d care to make into a Web Clip , then snap the shiner button . When you cluck , you ’ll see a series of allowance circuit appear on the rectangle ; drag these to o.k. tune the option area , then press the Add button .
When you click Add , Dashboard will spread out , displaying your newly - create whatsis . you could then snap on the widget ’s information ( “ i ” ) button to pick out a root for your appliance .
And that ’s all there is to it — as long as you leave your widget open . regrettably , there ’s no means to save a user - created thingumabob , so if you close up the thingummy ( by clicking on its “ x ” indicator ) , you ’ll have to commence the whole process again .
Highlighted search event make it easy to find what you ’re looking for on Safari 3 page .
Improved SearchSearching in Safari is now dynamic . rather of search after entering your entire search term , Safari searches as you type ( after you campaign Command - F ) . As you type fibre , Safari highlights all the agree term on the page , reducing the list of matches as you typewrite more characters . It also shows you all instance of your search terminal figure rather of making you cycle through them .
Bookmark Groups of TabsYou can now make a bookmarker from a group of tabs , as you could withFirefox . For example , wear you ’ve been range the Web for a couple 60 minutes , and realize it ’d be great to have your current variety of tabs ( say six of them ) available as a mathematical group for future use . All you need to do is select Bookmarks - > Add Bookmark For These 6 Tabs , and then name the bookmark .
Recover From MistakesSafari ’s chronicle menu now includes an Reopen Last Closed Window menu detail . You ’ll say thank you for this ready to hand lineament every time you get to a fault aggressive with Command - W — no longer will you have to retrace your step to get back to the page you were viewing . or else , just employ History - > Reopen Last Closed Window , and your last - viewed Sir Frederick Handley Page will open up again .
Need to go even further back in time ? Safari 3 also adds a Reopen All Windows From Last Session item as well . And yes , it does precisely what it claim to do — reopen all windows ( and tabs ) that you had undefended when you last throw in the towel Safari .
Prevent MistakesSafari has a novel feature direct at quit you from doing something silly : It will now monish you if you click the red close box when you have more than one tab open . ( It will also warn you if you stress to close a tabloid or window with text edition entered in a web form . )
Make History DisappearIf you do n’t like the idea that every Sir Frederick Handley Page you ’ve visit is lay aside indefinitely , you ’ll love the new place setting in Safari , which adds the power to automobile - pop off your browsing story over time via its preferences . you may choose to clear-cut entry from the history file after a day , a week , two weeks , a month , a yr , or manually .
What you may not know
There are other additions to Safari , of course . I covered some — including the ability to resize schoolbook entering boxwood and rearrange tabs via retarding force - and - drop — in this picture preview from June . Apple gasconade other features in theSafari sectionof its Leopard trailer ; these change include Preview control for PDFs built straightaway into Safari and the ability to work any photo you find on the WWW into your Desktop picture with just a click .
But again , Safari 3 has been out in the wilderness in beta form for four months now — asunder from the now - operational power to create Web Clips , there ’s little unexplored territory here .
What we think
Safari 3 works as well as Safari 2 , and its fresh feature further enhance the browsing experience . Once you ’ve used the raise find — which you ’ll discover in other OS ex applications as well — there ’s no going back to the old stylus . Matches are promiscuous to spot , and it ’s bare to jump from one match to the next . Creating your own WWW Clips is useful as well , though it would be much more so if you could for good stack away your cosmos . The word of advice about closing multiple tabs and forms with text on them are welcome , as is the ability to have your history file erase over time .
Safari 2 users should enjoy Safari 3 even more . The improvements make an already very good web browser that much better . If you use Firefox or any of the myriad other OS X web web browser , you ’ll have to resolve if the power to create your own Dashboard gizmo from internet pages is a compelling reason to swap over to Safari — most of this web web browser ’s other Modern features can be find in many other browsers .
Great or Wait?Those ready the move to OS X 10.5 who were n’t running Safari 3 Public Beta will discover many newfangled features to care in the OS ’s nonpayment browser app . It ’s still tight , and the young usableness features make it that much better . peachy .
Automator
introduce as part of Tiger , Automator exists to help you you create utilitarian little programs to carry through quotidian task , even if you know nothing about programming . The first version of the scripting tool was relatively successful , make the creation of basic contextual card stopper - atomic number 49 for the Finder and standalone applications a retarding force - and - free fall occasion .
With the tone ending of atomic number 76 X 10.5 , Automator has taken steps to make it even well-situated to produce your own useful small utilities . In fact , Automator 2.0 makes it more likely that you ’ll find the braveness to set in motion the program and take it for a spin .
New LookPerhaps the most obtrusive change in Automator can be seen as presently as you establish the program . In Tiger , you were straightaway plunge into the work area , where you could start building your workflow . In Leopard , you ’re instead salute with a Pages- and Keynote - like sheet called Starting point that displays a bit of categories — Custom , Files & Folders , Music & Audio , Photos & Images , and Text .
prefer a starting detail establish on the task you ’re automating , and several tonic - up menu appear , asking from where Automator should get content , and how you ’d like to get that depicted object . Make your selections and tick on Choose , and Automator will give with a duo of actions already demo in the workflow area .
RecordingIn the top correct corner of Automator ’s interface , there ’s a new Record clitoris next to the existing check and Run clitoris . select it , and Automator activate the Finder while display a small Recording dialog boxful . The registrar then captures your keystrokes — opening System Preferences and activate a specific pane , for example .
This ability to register actions in Automator is a long - awaited gain . While transcription wo n’t allow you to do everything , it will let you forge around any limitation you carry into with Automator ’s built - in action .
Automator has n’t necessarily get under one’s skin the aid devoted to other Leopard features . While Apple let on the recording capability this retiring summer , other enhancements to Automator have pick up very little play . Nevertheless , they should dramatically change how you use the automation lineament .
With variable accompaniment and new libraries and activity , work up a work flow in Leopard ’s version of Automator should be smooth than ever before .
New Libraries and ActionsOne of the complaint about the first version of Automator was that it did n’t offer enough actions to make the prick truly usable . The new version moves in the right focusing by offering a phone number of useful unexampled actions .
Choose From List demo a pop out - up list of options from which the user can choose one or many . Copy To Clipboard and Get Contents Of Clipboard do exactly that . Automator offers other actions that hide or quit applications as well as a batch of actions to work with RSS feeds .
VariablesAnother complaint about Automator 1.0 was that you were limited to pick out options that Apple provided . If you wanted to work with some text , for instance , you had to figure out how to get it into Automator .
The young version includes support for variables , which can be text or telephone number . Automator admit a phone number of predefined variable for things such as the current day and prison term , the user ’s .Mac accounting name , and the computer ’s uptime . There are other variables for storing text , file paths , shell script variable , and AppleScript variables .
The ability to expend variables in workflows give Automator the power to fulfil more complex labor than could its precursor . I expect to see a number of really groundbreaking Automator - based applications released in the coming month .
Smart GroupsPersonally , I thought the Tiger version of Automator made it tricky to find the natural action I wanted to use . Automator now direct care of that in a few dissimilar mode . First , activity are listed alphabetically within group . They ’re also separate based on role instead of the providing app — all the photo - associate actions are line up in the Photos chemical group for deterrent example . ( you could shift to the former by - program view in the menu , if you wish . ) last , you’re able to produce Smart Groups ; just as in Mail , iPhoto , and iTunes , Smart Groups help you organize thing base on a Seth of rule .
Other New FeaturesIn the workflow area , you may now expand workflows to see result of each step flat within the workflow itself . The log now display within the Automator window , or else of below it in a driblet - down draftsman . you could also carry through the logarithm file cabinet , something you could n’t previously do .
Automator 2.0 is a nice stair frontward from its debut in Tiger . The power to record key stroke and mouse action , the presence of variable , and the new sorting - by - usance sight all make Automator gentle to utilise and more sinewy than its predecessor .
Automator still is n’t an app that everyone is going to use . But for those who are looking for a way to automate a insistent legal action , or add functionality to the Finder ’s contextual menu , it ’s a bully creature . You really do n’t need any programing experience , and the raw Starting Points characteristic cause it even easier to get started with the program .
large or Wait?Automator has made some big strides towards improved serviceableness with this variant . Both those new to Automator and have user will see something to like in this release — from a prissy port to the ability to use variable in workflows , there ’s something here for everyone . Great .
[ older editor program Rob Griffiths also profiled OS X 10.5 ’s Time Machine feature while continue to run theMac OS X Hints Web web site . ]
