Re: how to get the text selection in an applescript
Re: how to get the text selection in an applescript
- Subject: Re: how to get the text selection in an applescript
- From: Michael Grant <email@hidden>
- Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2004 10:13:01 -0600
On Jan 18, 2004, at 9:47 PM, leo wrote:
i want to write a little script which retrieves an url incorporating
the
selected text. (dict.leo.org offers great english-german translation
on url
basis.) so, how do i find out the selected text in the current
application?
Big Cat will do the trick for apps that support contextual menus.
<
http://ranchero.com/software/bigcat/>
Other than that, you can either check the individual application
dictionary to see if it includes a selection object, use GUI scripting
to send a Copy command, or just copy manually and have your script work
on the clipboard text.
If you're interested in searching LEO, you may also be interested in
EuroDicAutom. Here's a script I wrote for searching EuroDicAutom for
German expressions via the contextual menu using Big Cat (watch the
line breaks):
on main(s)
set the_URL to
"
http://europa.eu.int/eurodicautom/Controller?
CURRENTSCREEN=EXPERT2&query=" & s &
"&source=DE&target=EN&display_term=HITALL"
try
open location the_URL
on error
if the button returned of (display dialog ("Unable to open URL " &
the_URL & return & return & "Copy to clipboard?") buttons {"Cancel",
"Copy"} default button "Copy") is "Copy" then
set the clipboard to the_URL
end if
end try
end main
You should be able to adapt that to search LEO by editing the URL
structure.
and furthermore: is there a way to modify the text in a selection? i'd
like
to give back a "result" (the translated word) in the same selection.
Your best bet is probably going to be using the clipboard and pasting
manually, unless you're only going to be using the script for
particular apps that implement a selection object in their AS
dictionaries.
Why hasn't someone come up with a way to run scripts from the Services
menu in Cocoa apps?
Michael
--
As they say in the Brazilian state of Sergipe, no punishment is harsh
enough for those who believe in the monkeys.
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