Re: Convert Script overview [was Re: Admin: ...]
Re: Convert Script overview [was Re: Admin: ...]
- Subject: Re: Convert Script overview [was Re: Admin: ...]
- From: Richard 23 <email@hidden>
- Date: Sat, 17 Feb 2001 22:39:58 -0800
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Subject: Re: Admin: a suggestion on the script corruption problem.
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Date: Sat, 17 Feb 2001 09:35:58 -0700
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From: cheshirekat <email@hidden>
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Just out of curiosity, since I'm not a newbie and really haven't had a
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need (I might be more inclined to if the text didn't require excess
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fiddling) to copy any scripts from the messages lately, is the script an
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application? Which email clients will it work with, or does it utilize
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clipboard text or text files?
I made it as simple as possible...no user interface, no settings to mess
with unless you want to...I haven't modified my settings from the default
other than for testing to make sure that they do work.
It's saved as a compiled script and is easiest to use from a script menu,
like OSA Menu, or your email application's script menu.
Once installed in a script menu, you go about your normal routine...
Outgoing Message:
-----------------
assuming you start out with your script editor in the front....
copy the script you want to include in your email message.
switch to your email application
** run convert script (keyboard shortcut or selecting the menu item)
(an optional sound plays to let you know something happened)
paste.
[*] You'll notice a "Preprocessed by " header appears in your message
and the script is framed by dashed lines. It's partially cosmetic
but also lets the script know when copying from an email message
that the script on the clipboard doesn't require the unmangling
routine. Without the header the script might introduce errors
trying to unmangle a script which wasn't mangled to begin with!
Incoming Message:
-----------------
copy the preprocessed script from the beginning of the first dashed line
in the header to the final dashed line of the footer (the header and
footer
are removed when convert script converts from email to script).
-- OR --
copy the mangled script which wasn't preprocessed and cross your fingers.
These three should give you an idea why. How does one tell which the
sender meant? The email character or the mac ascii source character?
Ascii source Ascii in email
178 [<=] 62 [>] impossible to tell which from context
194 [opt-L] 44 [,] troublesome but not impossible
199 [<<] 43 [+] annoying but not hopeless
anyway, copy the script you want to extract from the email message.
** run convert script (keyboard shortcut or selecting the menu item)
it can almost always figure out which direction you want to go
if it's ever wrong, run it again and it'll reverse direction.
switch to your script editor
paste.
Summary: one additional step, run the script. It figures out what
you want...no input on your part other than what's on the clipboard.
It's certainly a lot less than editing by hand. And if the script was
preprocessed, editing by hand may be unnecessary (still need to handle
the line wraps, I'm getting to that) but tedious character translations
are handled without additional hassle.
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I think, as Richard has observed, people just aren't overly excited about
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going through multiple steps to make the included scripts and snippets
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useable/readable or they might have already been using Richard's convert
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script. Also, many people are uncomfortable using scripts from unknown or
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barely known sources. I know that it's been many many months since I've
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used someone else's script without checking out the source. If I find the
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source cryptic, obfuscated and difficult to follow in short time, I
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simply won't bother with it. (I'm not saying this is the case with
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Richard's script since I admittedly haven't taken the time to check it
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out)
Yes I know, and I understand your well-founded concerns.
It's not an executable.
It's not read-only. I never run those.
It's not shareware, bannerware, underware....
It's just a tool I threw together for the first server mismappings then
modified and made available when the more challenging mapping appeared
in November. I know nobody has a lot of time for bland stuff like this,
but if you like, read the docs (I tried to make them as readable as I
could without getting really bored!), look at the mappings I put together
for this list and MACSCRPT, and look at the script's source.
If you have any questions, ask. It's always been that easy! 8)
I'll bundle a read me in with the archive. Currently there's just
the online html document but that's easily converted so I'll do that.
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(who only has a limited amount of energy left to spend on all the
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irritations in life)
No kidding. I've plenty of other script projects that I'd rather
be working on. This one has been pretty low maintenance other than
a solid weekend getting the 1.0d2 version together.
1.0d3 will be up later tonight, 1.0d2 and 1.0d3 will be 100%
compatible. It's basically a couple of decoding improvements
and a couple of sound resources.
Again those links:
Read Me file (html format)
<
http://homepage.mac.com/richard23/docs/ConvertScript2.html>
Summary of translations:
<
http://homepage.mac.com/richard23/docs/ConvertScript.html>
Complete character mappings for this list and MACSCRPT:
<
http://homepage.mac.com/richard23/info/CharacterMappings.sit>
Download page:
<
http://homepage.mac.com/richard23/applescript03.html#ConvertScript>
R23