Sending all Files to your Evernote

I tend to use my Desktop on my computer as a sort of scratch pad. Somewhere to throw things when I'm in the middle of it. I use Hazel to keep it nice and clean, but beyond that I am for things to only be there briefly.

In particular I often drop things there before then end up in Evernote - it is set as my default download location so anything I pull off the Internet or from e-mails ends up there. It is where documents from my scanner go. Some of these files will go into folders, but then I wanted a quick way to send what was left to Evernote. So I had a play with some AppleScript...

Well, with a little help from Google and Stack Overflow, I managed to write a script that sends all files on the Desktop to Evernote, then dumps the files into the Trash. I have it set up as an application so all I need to do is trigger LaunchBar, type "dte", and the files fly to where they are needed ("dte" is short for 'desktop to Evernote').

So how did I do this? First open the AppleScript Editor:

The paste in the following AppleScript:

tell application "System Events"

set desktopFiles to every disk item of (desktop folder of user domain) whose visible is true and class is file

end tell

repeat with aFile in desktopFiles as list

try

tell application "Evernote" to create note from file (aFile as alias) notebook "Auto Import"

tell application "System Events" to delete aFile

on error errorMessage

logerrorMessage

end try

end repeat

Now save the file as an Application by picking 'Save as…' from the File menu, then picking 'Application' from the drop down box in the dialog box. Make sure you save it to you Application folder (Macintosh HD->Applications) so we can find it later - I called mine "Desktop to Evernote".

Now go back into your Applications folder and drag the Desktop to Evernote into you dock and you are ready to go - just click on the icon and it will send the contents of you Desktop to Evernote. If you have LaunchBar then get it to refresh its index, and you can launch it with a couple of keystrokes.

How to Name your Files

Just read a superb post from Seth Brown on his naming conventions for his files. File naming has alway fascinated me because:

• It is the best way to universally find a file;
• You HAVE to name the files so are already touching it - unlike tagging and filing which are additional work; and
• It is complex and has no right answer, which is a sure fire way to get me engaged.

Read the post as it is a cracker, but his naming structure looks like this:

I like it. Lob in a TextExpander snippet and you have yourself a decent title. That said, I am not going to follow suit. Why? Well, maybe I have less files, or a stranger mind (I definitely have a stranger mind - it is just a question of whether it impacts this decision), but despite the vast array of convention I have tried, nothing gets job done like this.

You see, it is tempting to design a naming system along the line of how you THINK you head works, or even how you would LIKE it to do so. I have tried in the past Merlin's original structure, but (thankfully - man there is a lot going on in that head) it turns out I don't think like Merlin. His "qqqq" trick is genius though...

If I think hard about how I try and find files, then that gives me a clue to how I can streamline things for me. Here goes:

1. When I want a file, I don't actually want a file. What I want is content. I don't think "Where is that China business plan", instead I tend to be thinking "I must have something somewhere on the Chinese markets";
2. I have a very vague concept of time, but it still guides me. I'll know it was October of November time when I worked on it last; and
3. The circumstances around the last time I touched it are pretty clear - I did it for the bank but toned the growth projections down a little for them.

Okay, so that is how I instinctively look for things. How can I make this easier? Well, funny you should ask:

1. I uses a folder system that is pretty self-explanatory. Not some nut-job-20-folder-deep-nested-quagmire. But the file above could be in divisions/china/business plans;
2. Now on to the file naming. I start the file name with the date it was created/came into my possession. I don't get too precocious about this - all I am trying to do is have the files naturally line up in Finder in rough date order. That way I can skim through quickly, and focus on October/November; and
3. Finally, I give the file a really descriptive text name, that tells me the context and content. We do not live in 1995. We do not need to limit file names to 12 digits and underscore spaces.

So when I open up divisions/china/business plan folder I might see a number of files:

111014 - China Business Plan for Bank (Median Case Growth) including Capial Expenditure Analysis

11 1013 - China Business Plan for Bank (Median Case Growth)

111013 - China Business Plan with Best Case Growth Plan

Easy to see what the files are, what they contain, and what the differences are between them. Also much easier to find them via spotlight. Hardy rocket surgery, but that's how I roll.

Laptop Stands and iPads

Just a quick one, but realised something today I find quite useful. Not a regular occurrence I admit...

Okay, so I use a laptop stand in a vain attempt at slowing my deteriorating body. In fact I use the Fellowes laptop stand, which is not too bad. The best feature though it that the document holder on the front is metal.

Great. So it doubles as a helmet in case of earthquakes. Well, actually, there is another reason why this is good. Apple's nifty Smart Cover. As well as being a 30 minute novelty, and providing bugger all protection to the back of you shiny iPad, the Smart Cover work with magnets. Are you there yet? Magnets + metal = stickiness.

So when I fold the cover open, it sticks nicely on the document holder. This allows me to read from the iPad and use the computer at the same time. I can use the IPad as a second screen, have Things permanently on display, read my e-mail whilst looking at an attachment, or have some sort of manual open on the iPad whilst I do what it tells me on the Mac.

Dealing with e-mail Attachments on Mobile Devices

The modern world gives us the pleasure of being constantly in the line of e-mail fire. No longer do we have to contend with the indignation of peace, quiet, and relaxation.

Facetiousness aside, having a device with you at all times is progressively creating the expectation that you are available at all time. And for me, being able to be available at all times is too much to resist… When you get into a discussion when far from your desk though, you often are without the back-up you need.

Dropbox has been a god send for this - to always have access to your files mean you are never without the ability to cross-reference, or send someone confirmation. But the big hole for me was e-mail attachments. No matter how good people claim iPhones, iPads, Blackberrys et al handle e-mail, time and time again I can never find the e-mail with an attachment I need.

You know the conversation in your head - "I'm sure it was from Geoff and he sent it too me in March.". Only Geoff is 'Jeff', and he sent it to Mike who send it to you. In April. Not helpful.

What I decided I wanted was someway of keeping all these attachments separate. A Dropbox folder that holds any attachment I receive, in date order so I can skip quickly and find what I need. And man it is helpful. The mechanism is as follows:

1. A mail rule identifies any attachment that hits my inbox, then runs an AppleScript that copies it to a folder;
2. A Hazel rule deletes any GIFs, JPEGs, and MPEGs as these are not the files I need on the go; and
3. A Hazel rule then adds a date to the front of the file name, and a unique number to the end (to help when I get the same document sent multiple times with different amendments), then copies the file to my Dropbox.

Simple. The mail rule looks like this:

The AppleScript is courtesy of this excellent post.

The Hazel rule looks like this:

DuckDuckGo, 'I'm Feeling Ducky' and LaunchBar

Like a lot of people recently, I have been drifting away from Google and have stumbled into DuckDuckGo to provide my searching needs. I don't have a particular problem with Google itself - at the end of the day a commercial organisation has to make money, and you use their service with that in mind. Yes, they could be more straight forward with their privacy policy - but 'you pays your money, you takes your chance'.

But Google search has become a little messy recently. I want quick information, and I now have to strain to find it between 'sponsored links', ads and options. DuckDuckGo offers some respite. Not only is its privacy policy spot on, but it also throws you the information you want - even putting content in the search from sites like Wikipedia and StackExchange so you don't need to click on the link.

I have always used LaunchBar to initiate my Google, so did the necessary to get DuckDuckGo set up properly - a quick tap of "DDG" and I'm off. One thing I did work out which wasn't in the guidance referenced earlier, was how to do a "I'm Feeling Ducky" search from LaunchBar. For example, we have a load of snow forecast to come this afternoon so I wanted to check with the Metoffice where it was up to - I could do my new 'DDG' search then click on the link, but I am 99% sure it'll be the top link as DuckDuckGo is a powerful search engine. So, similar to how I set up a DuckDuckGo search in LaunchBar, I set-up a 'I'm Feeling Ducky' one using the following URL wildcard:

http://duckduckgo.com/?q=!*+%21&kl=uk-en

Works like a dream. Cmd-Space 'ddd' Space 'metoffice'.