Apparent Software has updated the Trickster app with additional Hook integration. It is the first app from another developer to use Hook’s new AppleScript dictionary introduced in Hook 1.5 earlier this month.
Trickster now presents a Hook icon to the right of any file that has hooks. So you can now use Trickster to tell at a glance that a recently modified file has hooks!
What’s more, in Trickster you can now click on the Hook icon next to a file to bring up the Hook productivity window. (Or while a file is selected in Trickster, you can type Hook’s keyboard shortcut, ⌘⇧SPACE to do that.) Once the Hook window is presented, you can access Hook’s functions as you would in any other context. In particular, you can then use Hook to immediately access any file, webpage, message or whatever else you’ve hooked to the current file.
You can even drag and drop files from Trickster to Hook’s menu bar icon to hook them together in one operation (mesh linking). You can also drag a file from Trickster to Hook’s menu bar icon, and then drag an email or bookmark to Hook’s menu bar icon. That will link the file to the email or bookmark(s).
Why Trickster?
To stay in flow while working on a Mac, you need to access information very quickly. Quite often, the file you need to access is one you’ve recently modified or downloaded.
You can use Finder search and Spotlight to find files, but Finder windows tend to multiply. Before you know it, you have a morass of Finder windows open, which can be disorienting.
In contrast, Trickster is optimized to show you recently added or modified files, sorted temporally, in a single window with easily configurable views. You can even pin the Trickster window, which makes the window itself easy to access.
Find without typing a search query
Search tools (like Spotlight) have their place (we use them too!). But unlike traditional search tools, Trickster and Hook enable you to access the information you need without typing a search query. This gives you the information you need to quickly get your job right.
Also, Trickster and Hook allow you to transcend the Finder folder hierarchy. With Hook integration, Trickster even lets you jump out of Finder, to immediately access any linkable information (tasks, web pages, emails, and more).
Apps are better together with macOS automation
Trickster and Hook apps working together is a great example of the power of automation on macOS. Trickster and Hook each have an AppleScript dictionary. This enables them to communicate with each other and with other software. At your command, Hook can control Trickster, and vice versa.
You don’t need to explicitly use these apps’ AppleScript dictionaries to get their benefits. Nor do you need to write a single line of code. You transparently get their benefits. But if you do want to look under the hood, our respective apps have what you need. They both have an automation dictionary (use AppleScript or JavaScript). And Hook has a built-in Script Editor so you can configure existing integrations and even add new ones.
When selecting an app, it’s always a good idea to see whether its developers value automation. That helps you use multiple apps together, and access your data quickly.
You don’t need to wait endlessly for Apple to give you the productivity software boost you need. Independent developers like Apparent Software and CogSci Apps are working tirelessly for your cognitive productivity.
More integrations to come
We look forward to more software that uses Hook’s AppleScript dictionary, some from other developers and some from us here at CogSci Apps Corp. In fact, we introduced an Alfred workflow last week so you can access your Hook data outside of the Hook window. And we will soon publish LaunchBar actions to do that too.
Hook’s AppleScript dictionary contains several useful commands, such as:
- all bookmarks. Returns a list of bookmarks created by Hook. Hook creates a bookmark for every resource to which
Copy LinkorCopy Markdown Linkis applied, or that it hooks. - invoke on. Opens a bookmark in Hook.
- bookmarks hooked to . Returns the list of bookmarks hooked to a given bookmark.
Hook’s dictionary has other commands, and we will provide more.
Share information about your scripts or apps that use Hook’s AppleScript dictionary on Hook productivity forum
🏒 Information retrieval is like hockey 🏒
Opening information resources is like shooting a hockey puck: it needs to be done fast and accurately. Trickster and Hook are made in a hockey loving country, Canada 🙂 specifically for that purpose.