Preferences > Services How to Understand?

Those are predefined, er, services, that allow you to perform the indicated actions. Applications can create their own services to do thinks specifically handled by their respective application. And you can create your own services with Automator.

Some reading:

Mac OS X: When Services Are Available

Services

Mac OS X Services

How to build Mac OS X services with Automator and shell scripting

Mac 101: Automator

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Answer 2

hotwheels22 Author

Level 1

77 points

Apr 28, 2012 11:01 AM in response to X423424X

yeah. thanks. always a tremendous help. thank you!

so basically this section allows me to have a centralized place to turn on or off these services but programming keyboard commands or other aspects of these is dealt with in the respective software...yes?

THANKS!

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Answer 3

X423424X

Level 6

14,265 points

Apr 28, 2012 12:34 PM in response to hotwheels22

You can assign key combinations to your own services. While it doesn't show it, if you go to finder -> services -> services preferences and click to the right of a service near the scroll bar a little text box will appear allowing you to assign or remove hot key combinations.

The services themselves are usually either in the software that has it's own services or in the ~/Library/Services. The latter case is where Automator puts the services you create with it.

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Answer 4

hotwheels22 Author

Level 1

77 points

Apr 28, 2012 1:00 PM in response to X423424X

hi. thank you. also thank you for the links. these are always incredibly helpful even if i have to put them in my bag for a read through tomorrow. so thanks for these.

can i please ask you about this click to the right oa a service near the scroll bar functionality? i am able to edit other items in this section of preferences and i can see that they also seem to show the keyboard commands that will activate them. but in this section i am not seeing the keyboard commands and i am also not able to get this behavior you are describing.

my scroll bar is on the right hand side and i assume you are recommending i click to the right of the text but not quite as far as where the scroll bar is on the right? - - oh jesus, nevermind. wow.

ok so i put in set of keyboard commands and i can edit these here? and somehow i have to make sure not to duplicate existing set of keyboard commands is that right?

- egh - talk about a secret handshake...that sure is one for the gurus knowledge only. did the Mac Mason's create that?

THANKS!

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Answer 5

X423424X

Level 6

14,265 points

Apr 28, 2012 1:18 PM in response to hotwheels22

Click in the area I circled and you will see a text box. Then you can enter key combinations by pressing those actual keys. Or you and delete it by editing the iindicated key combination out of the text box.

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Answer 6

hotwheels22 Author

Level 1

77 points

Apr 28, 2012 2:26 PM in response to X423424X

yeah. thanks. i finally found it after you described it but even then it took me like five minutes and only after responding to you and then trying it two or three more times did i finally find it. talk about buried the darn thing is actually invisible!

anyway, presumably i would add changes here - for instance I see there is a Transmit function for uploading a file directly - only after making sure that what i wanted to add here was not used elsewhere!!

i mean if I /like/ the idea of putting in CMD+I in the section here I guess I would - presumably - actually try a CMD+I on my keyboard and then wait to see if anything happens...?

yes?

THANKS

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Answer 7

X423424X

Level 6

14,265 points

Apr 28, 2012 3:38 PM in response to hotwheels22

The problem of adding your own command keys is trying to pick a set that isn't already being used or you are willing to reuse one that is in use. This includes menu hot keys as well.

Using your cmd-I example, that is the Finder's Get Info command key sequence.

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Answer 8

hotwheels22 Author

Level 1

77 points

Apr 28, 2012 4:05 PM in response to X423424X

that's a great help.

thanks!

much appreciated.

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