To understand what we’re doing here, you may want to read my introduction to using YQL and Feed43 to create custom RSS feeds. I wanted to pull multiple unconnected elements from a webpage to make an RSS feed, but every example I’d seen recently only used xpath to get one element from the page. The solution to this problem is quite simple; however, the solution evaded me for quite a while. Read more »
Tags: Feed43, RSS, YQL
Posted August 7th, 2011 in Web |
No Comments »
A common task I’ve been using AutoHotkey for lately is adding the artist to the filename of an mp3. Here’s some quick code to do that:
RenameSongs(path, artist)
{
Loop %path%\*.mp3
{
IfNotInString A_LoopFileName, %artist%
{
newfilename = %artist% - %A_LoopFileName%
StringReplace newfilename, newfilename, (1),, All
FileMove %path%\%A_LoopFileName%, %path%\%newfilename%
}
}
TrayTip File rename,Done!
}
Then call it from somewhere else with a path and a proper artist name. How you do that part is up to you, I’m just plugging the values into the script. You could probably make an explorer keyboard shortcut and a box that prompts you for the artist name if you so desired.
Tags: AutoHotkey, music
Posted June 27th, 2011 in Software |
2 Comments »
So I recently noticed that my code to combine AutoHotkey with iTunes wasn’t working, so tonight’s project was to get it working again. Luckily, AutoHotkey has dramatically developed since I wrote the last post, now bundling native COM support in a version that is generally known as AHK_L. For a full list of things added to AutoHotkey, consult the AHK_L Changelog.
Using COM
So the best news here is that we don’t have to mess with low-level COM coding at all; anyone who has done so will know the pain of which I speak. Using COM is one of the most degrading, mind-wrangling and time-consuming tasks in Computer Science. Thankfully, the new syntax is simple.
Playback Controls
Media_Next::
iTunes := ComObjCreate("iTunes.Application")
iTunes.NextTrack()
Return
Media_Play_Pause::
iTunes := ComObjCreate("iTunes.Application")
iTunes.PlayPause()
Return
Media_Prev::
iTunes := ComObjCreate("iTunes.Application")
iTunes.PreviousTrack()
Return
^Media_Mute::
iTunes := ComObjCreate("iTunes.Application")
iTunes.Mute := !iTunes.Mute
Return
More after the jump. Read more »
Tags: AutoHotkey, COM, Dropbox, iTunes
Posted May 8th, 2011 in Software |
4 Comments »
So there are plenty of applications that will let you view PDFs on your iDevice, but if you really want to enjoy reading a book it needs to be reformatted to have a decent font size. To that end, I suggest converting it to ePub and reading it with the iPhone app Stanza. While using Dropbox is optional here (email would work just as well) I find opening files is very easy using the Dropbox iPhone app.
Instructions
- Go to Epub2Go on your desktop.
- Upload a PDF with the included buttons; it can either be on your machine or from a provided URL, which could be a file in your dropbox.
- If the conversion is successful, download it via the button (if you’re on your desktop) or have it emailed to you. Put it into your dropbox for easy access.
- Open it on your iDevice in Stanza (or some other ePub reader) with all of the features and easy reading inherent in a properly formatted eBook!
Hopefully, this tip will get me back into reading more than just Ars Technica articles! Read more »
Tags: Dropbox, ebook, ePub, Epub2Go, PDF
Posted April 10th, 2011 in Software, Web |
No Comments »
Like many people, I don’t keep all of my data on one computer or device. I’ve got another machine that I dump less-used media to as my laptop doesn’t exactly have the largest hard drive in the world. Unfortunately, if you try to add a network drive to a Library using the GUI, it won’t let you. The back-end service, however, does support this functionality.
There’s a tool called Win7 Library Tool (aptly enough) that will let you add devices like that, so now you can view your video/picture (or whatever else) collection no matter where it is on your network. Huzzah!
Tags: Windows 7, Windows Libraries
Posted April 9th, 2011 in Software, Web |
No Comments »