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Introduction | Using Applescript | Advantages | What Else?

The Power of the Scriptable Tear-Off Application Palette

Another underappreciated feature of the classic MacOS is the Application Palette (actually, the Application Switcher). Thru the power of Applescript, and combined with the
Launcher, these standard MacOS 9.x features put the dock of OSX to shame.


You probably know that if you drag to the end of the application menu, you can tear it off and make it a floating menu.

This gets annoying though. It's bulky, opaque, and obtrusive. Sure, you can collapse it, but then what's the point? It's easier to go to the menubar.

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Script It

Enter Applescript. The Application Switcher (located in the Extensions Folder) has a nice dictionary, allowing you to control a number of aspects of the palette.



The text for the script you see at the left is in the text field below. Copy and paste it into Script Editor. Run it (you may want to adjust the position parameter to match your screen size - make it 24-26 less than the screen width). Watch your Application palette turn into a bar of small icons at the right of your screen. Experiment with the settings. Find what works for you.



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Advantages

How is this better than the dock?

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What Else?

I plan to demonstrate the following power techniques in the near future:
  • The Launcher.
  • Keyboard shortcuts you've never heard of.
  • Some Apple menu tricks.
  • An Applescript to configure the Launcher, Apple Menu, and Applications palette.
  • Default Folder.

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