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Quicksilver: AppleScript to quickly add Entourage Tasks

Submitted by Merlin on June 14, 2005 - 7:25am.

Entourage - Fast Task.scpt

A hacker who wishes to remain anonymous has answered my prayers by creating a modest one-line AppleScript that lets you pipe input from Quicksilver into a new Entourage Task with zero cruft—no Category, no Project, no date, and no reminder. Perfect for fast capture any place, and something I’ve craved for over a year.

To install:

Entourage-Fast-Task

  1. Download the script, “Entourage - Fast Task.scpt”
  2. Copy it to ~/Library/Application Support/Quicksilver/Actions/
  3. Restart Quicksilver (CTRL-CMD-Q)

To use (just one example):

  1. Invoke Quicksilver (usu. CTRL-space)
  2. Type “.” to get the variable input field
  3. Type “Test task”
  4. TAB to the second pane
  5. Type until “Entourage - Fast Task” shows up
  6. Hit Return

Jump over to Entourage and you should have a nice new task sitting in your list. Note that the Quicksilver input, as ever, can come from practically anyplace; you can select text in Safari and “Send to Quicksilver” (CMD-Esc in most locations), etc.

Like I say, if you want all the “trimmings,” you should enter Tasks in Entourage as usual, but this is just terrific for capturing stuff quickly without changing modes. A minor godsend as far as I’m concerned.

(As ever with all my Quicksilver tips, I’m sure I’ve forgotten some critical element that makes this work on your end; if the Setup guide doesn’t answer your question, post a comment)

in

Holy Crap! so *THATS* how you...

Submitted by Ryan Nelson (not verified) on June 14, 2005 - 11:48am.

Holy Crap!

so THATS how you create your own actions in QS! I swear, i’ve been looking for that howto forever. (really, the QS documentation is it’s biggest weakness. I realize, though, that it’s god-like powers probably defy description, though.)

armed with this tidbit as a start, I can now hook directly to the Backpack API:

install this script, as described in the parent post, into ~/Library/Application Support/Quicksilver/Actions/ : (i’ve linked to the txt, ‘cause commenting messes up the formatting) http://www.ryan.net/misc/backpack/applescript.txt

…and install this shell script in someplace of your choice (and make sure the applescript has the proper path) (again, i’ve linked to the txt, ‘cause commenting messes up the formatting) http://www.ryan.net/misc/backpack/shellscript.txt

…and blam!

…i can type into quicksilver and put to-do items on my list, using the API, and not the roundabout “mail it onto backpack” quicksilver methods posted various places already.

woo!