Keyboard shortcut for toggling sequential/parallel?
 

Is there a keyboard shortcut for switching a project's type between sequential and parallel? This would save me a trip to the mouse. Thanks!

Unfortunately, I don't think so, at least not that I know of. But there should be. It's something I've been secretly wishing for a long time. :-)

-Dennis

Cool, thanks for verifying that. Let's keep our fingers crossed for something like command-option-' as toggling project "type".

You can use [URL="http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?t=3734"]Help --> Send Feedback[/URL] to submit feature requests.

Can't you bind an applescript to a keyboard shortcut with the Keyboard & Mouse preferences? If so, you could use this script:

[code]
(*
This script toggles the sequential/parallel nature of the selected projects. Derived from Clear "Missing NA" Suffixes and Mark Completed by Curt Clifton

Copyright © 2007, Curtis Clifton

All rights reserved.

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

• Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.

• Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
*)
tell application "OmniFocus"
tell front document
tell document window 1
set theSelectedItems to value of selected trees of content
repeat with anItem in theSelectedItems
tell anItem
set oldSequential to sequential
if class of it is project then
set sequential to not oldSequential
end if
end tell
end repeat
end tell
end tell
end tell
[/code]

Curt, don't you need to update that copyright date?

[QUOTE=whpalmer4;63898]Can't you bind an applescript to a keyboard shortcut with the Keyboard & Mouse preferences?[/QUOTE]

Unfortunately, I don't think the Keyboard & Mouse preferences can assign keyboard shortcuts to items in the Scripts menu (c'mon Apple, help us out here!). However, a third party utility like [URL="http://www.red-sweater.com/fastscripts/"]FastScripts[/URL] would probably do the trick.

-Dennis

I use, and highly recommend, FastScripts myself but it is possible to assign shortcuts to scripts using the Keyboard & Mouse preferences. If one enables the 'Show Scripts menu in menu bar' option in the AppleScript Utility, then those menu items (scripts) can be assigned a shortcut with Keyboard & Mouse.

Also, in addition to FastScripts any utility such as LanuchBar, Quicksilver, Butler, QuicKeys, etc., can assign a trigger to a script. I believe every Mac user really should have one, or more, of the above-mentioned utilities.

[QUOTE=Greg Jones;63922]If one enables the 'Show Scripts menu in menu bar' option in the AppleScript Utility, then those menu items (scripts) can be assigned a shortcut with Keyboard & Mouse.[/QUOTE]

Really? I have the Scripts menu enabled but I could have sworn I tried assigning keyboard shortcuts before and it didn't work. I'll have to try again. Thanks, Greg!

-Dennis

[QUOTE=whpalmer4;63898]
Curt, don't you need to update that copyright date?[/QUOTE]

I live in Indiana. It's not 2009 here yet. :-)

[QUOTE=curt.clifton;63930]I live in Indiana. It's not 2009 here yet. :-)[/QUOTE]
And pi is still a nice round value of 3, right? :-)

[QUOTE=Toadling;63927]Really? I have the Scripts menu enabled but I could have sworn I tried assigning keyboard shortcuts before and it didn't work. I'll have to try again. Thanks, Greg![/QUOTE]

Tried to assign a keyboard shortcut to a script in my Scripts menu and it doesn't seem to work for me. This is on Leopard 10.5.7.

Greg, have you actually tried this? Does it work for you? I've tried it multiple times since the release of Leopard and I've never seen it work. But maybe there's some trick I'm missing?

-Dennis

Dennis,

It's been a long time since I tried assigning a keystroke to a script using anything other than FastScripts or LaunchBar, so I took another look at doing this myself. Assigning a keystroke to a script using the Keyboard and Mouse preferences is still possible with Leopard-if the application puts up its own script menu, as is the case with apps like DEVONthink Pro and Word.

However, with the universal script menu (activated with AppleScript Utility), it's not that simple. Since you posted that it does not work for you, and since I'm not one to shrink away from a challenge, especially after I put my foot in my mouth, I've spent some (entirely too much) time exploring this. It is possible to activate the universal script menu using the keyboard, and this keystroke is set using the Keyboard and Mouse preference 'Move focus to status menus in the menu bar', which by default is set Ctrl-F8. You can then use the cursor key to navigate the menu, or type the first few letters, of the script, and type return to run the script. If one wanted to use this method, then prepending the name of the script with numbers would be a relativity fast way to select the desired script.

I also found that you can assign a keystroke to the script, and that shortcut will be active in the menu once the menu is activated with Ctrl-F8. However, the system will try to open the script in Script Editor rather than running the script, so there's no utility in doing this. The way to do this, just to prove it can be done, is to create the shortcut in 'All Applications' rather than selecting OmniFocus, and then you have to log-out and back in to see the shortcuts in the menu. For whatever reason, applying the shortcut to OmniFocus does not work, but as the keystroke opens the script rather than running it, it's a moot point.

Bottom line is FastScripts is the way to go-most of the features are available for free (Up to 10 shortcuts), and the registered version is only $15.

Thanks for the thorough response, Greg! Your research mirrors my experience exactly. I came to the same conclusion a while back when trying to assign a keyboard shortcut to set iChat status from its menu bar icon. As you have confirmed, it seems Apple's Menu Extras (all the little icons appearing at the right end of the menu bar) can only be manipulated via the keyboard using the 'Move focus to status menus in the menu bar' preference and then selecting the item with arrow keys, which seems so inconvenient it's easier to just use the mouse. :-)

Unfortunately, it seems few apps display their own script menu (i.e. one that isn't a Menu Extra and can therefore have keyboard shortcuts assigned to its contents), probably because the developers of those apps don't see a need to replicate the system-provided script menu. It seems like it's usually older, Carbon-based apps that provide their own script menus, like BBEdit, Word, etc. (maybe because they existed before Apple provided the system-wide script menu in OS X?).

So I agree a third party utility is the best way to go in this case. Or maybe Omni will just assign a keyboard shortcut to toggle the sequential/parallel switch, or at least add a command to the OmniFocus menu bar so we can assign our own keyboard shortcuts to it.

Anyway, thanks again for your analysis, Greg. It's good to know I wasn't simply missing a key step (pun intended :-).

-Dennis