Hook 3.0 (4312) Release Notes

Hook 3.0 is now available from for download.

Eligibility for software updates is described below.

Hook 3.0 in a nutshell

You’ve known Hook as an app that integrates with your favorite Mac apps. Well, in 3.0 Hook now also can integrate with a bookmarking service. Hook 3.0 Pro supports the Pinboard bookmarking service! This means, amongst other benefits, you can now access Hook web-bookmarks on all your devices, using the full power of Pinboard, which provides tagging, note-taking and full text search. A Pinboard account is required for that (sold by the Pinboard developer, not included in Hook).

Hook breaks down the walls between your data — connecting data from your favorite apps and web services!

We have also greatly expanded the core Hook to New feature. This enables workflows essential to knowledge workers that were not feasible for most before Hook. New built-in templates illustrate these key workflows, and Hook’s improved template mechanism means that the sky is the limit!

Hook 3.0 also contains other new features, new integrations, and of course bug fixes, summarized below.

Pinboard integration!

How many times have you searched for a bookmark in your web-bookmarking software service (like Pinboard or Pocket), only to find that … it’s not there! That’s because traditional bookmarking apps require you to be the bookmark manager: you need to manually add, remove, tag, and otherwise manipulate your bookmarks. In contrast, Hook automatically adds bookmarks in its database whenever you copy or hook links.

New in Hook 3.0, Hook Pro enables you to automatically add and tag bookmarks in Pinboard !

That means that your Hook web bookmarks will be available on all platforms via Pinboard web interface or your other Pinboard apps. Pinboard provides tagging and full text search. So this provides yet another way for you to access Hook information on Mac, iPhone and iPad.

So now:

  • Hook can automatically add a private Pinboard bookmark and tag web pages;
  • you can instantly reveal the Pinboard page for a web page, so you can view and edit the title, notes and tags of the corresponding Pinboard entry (⌘R, ⇧⌘R);
  • on Pinboard, you can search for all web bookmarks you’ve added or edited with Hook 3.0 or later (if enabled, they have the tag from:Hook).

Hook immediately works across linkable browsers without you needing to add or configure any plugin, extension or bookmarklet!

Of course, this requires a Pinboard account (from the Pinboard service provider).

For detailed information, see Using Hook with the Pinboard Bookmarking Service – Hook.

Not a Pinboard user?

No problem! Hook 3.0 introduces the infrastructure for CogSci Apps Corp. to add support for any bookmarking web service (and other web services) with an adequate API 🙂 Stay tuned for your other favorite bookmarking service (like Instapaper) and apps to be supported. Vote for your favorite bookmarking software with which you want Hook to integrate by contacting us.

2. Enhanced Hook to New in a nutshell

You might also know that Hook has an amazing feature known as Hook to New. Hook 3.0 takes this to the next level. You can now have multiple templates with the same file extension (e.g., several .rtf or .md templates).

Also, you can now instantly create and hook entire folders. Hook will replicate the template folder, and its files, link them, tag them and store them in a default location so you can get right to work. The linking means you can instantly navigate between replicated files too. Of course, you can move the replicated folder and individual files if and when you want, because hook’s links are adaptive.

Before Hook 3.0, Hook’s built-in templates folder only provided blank templates. In Hook 3.0, this folder contains additional built-in templates, some of which are pre-structured for you. You’ll clearly see how to use Hook

  • to instantly create and link entire creative projects (with a task file, an outline file, a project name file, a formal elements file, a draft file, and some handy folders). This will help you create super systematically.
  • to help you manage contacts and meetings with them.
  • to systematically take notes about what you’re delving into (reading, viewing, listening to) with different templates (e.g., for non-fiction vs. fiction) — like a great professor should.

You can edit those templates in place or (better) move them to your custom templates folder. Of course you can also add as many template folders as you want. You’ll see that Hook has many other enhancements that make the Hook to New feature even more powerful.

  • Hook to New… (⌃⌘N) menu entries now have the form <App Name> - <Template Name>.extension , which is much more readable.
  • The built-in templates have been given better names, to match the fact that Hook supports multiple templates per extension.
    used in Hook to New> <Finder-based-app>
  • In the menu presented upon selecting Hook to New…, ⌘⏎ now reveals the template file (or the app for database style apps like Bear, Apple Notes, and OmniFocus). That way you can tell what template would be used by Hook to New…, before executing Hook to New….
  • Added “Edit templates” link (goes to Preferences > Notes tab) to status bar when Hook to New... menu is shown.
  • New: A * at the end of a template in the Hook to New… menu indicates the template is in the custom templates folder built-in templates folder.

We will publish videos, blog posts and additional documentation about the enhanced Hook to New features.

3. New and enhanced Preferences

  • Two new preferences tabs: Tags preferences and Services preferences
  • Now, if you prefer, after Copy Link , Copy Markdown Link, Hook to Copied Link (whether via keyboard or toolbar button), Hook window can remain open. We’ve added to the General Preferences tab, Automatically hide Hook preference. The default is unchecked (false). This replaces the prior Close window after clicking" checkbox. For prior Hook users, this checkbox is checked if and only if Automatically hide Hook preference was checked.
  • Moved some general preferences settings to Tags tab.
  • More tweaks to the General preferences tab
  • Introduced Hook to Copied Link shortcut on Shortcuts Preferences Tab 
  • Notes tab: templates chooser: now lists templates by app and includes the type of template (spreadsheet, plain text, etc.)
  • Notes tab: templates chooser: if a template is in the “custom templates” folder (rather than the “built-in templates” folder), it has * as a suffix. So you can tell at a glance what you’re seeing.

4. Other enhancements

  • Hook 3.0 is a universal binary, which runs natively on both Apple silicon and Intel-based Mac.
  • Added Open (⌘O) to top of title menu. The menu item is hidden when the title bar is the same as the item in the foreground (which is known to already be open but the keyboard shortcut can still be used even in that case).
  • All pertinent commands that are presented in the Title menu are now available for every link, everywhere you would expect them: in HOOKED, RECENT and PINNED sections and in Hook’s Search mode (⌘F). This makes for a more predictable user experience.
  • Keyboard shortcuts are also available for the replicated commands. This follows our philosophy of being perfectly friendly to keyboarders (including ourselves!)
  • For web pages: Reveal File in Finder is replaced by Reveal Page in Pinboard, and is available everywhere links are shown (the title bar, HOOKED, RECENT & PINNED sections, and in Search results.)
  • The Title bar menu is no longer highlighted. The sandwich button is accentuated when the cursor hovers over title, to draw your attention to the most relevant hot widget of the UI.
  • If an app does not respond to your Hook-mediated command within about 5 seconds, Hook will now present a dialog box giving you the opportunity to quit Hook, cancel or keep waiting.
  • Status bar (tip) tweak for Hook to New... : “⌘⏎ reveals the template or app in Finder.”
  • Added optional notification events for Copy Link and Hook to Copied Link 
  • Animate menu bar icon after successful Hook to Copied Link and Hook to New
  • Second time ⌘F is used in Search mode, the focus is put in the search field 
  • Improved Hook window status bar messages
  • enabled link to be used as a variable name in Hook’s Script editor
  • Added software integration (scripts) version to About window 
  • Software integration framework changes (‘under the hood’)
  • Many ‘under the hood’ improvements for more amazing upcoming features 😉 .
  • Improved the efficiency of getting all bookmarks from automation API.
  • Improved overall efficiency.

5. New and updated integrations

  • Support for updated versions of Adobe PDF apps.
  • Deep linking of Adobe PDF apps.
  • Support Hook to New > Craft document 
  • Integration with Obsidian updated

See also Hook discussion forum for software integration updates.

6. Fixed

  • FIXED: Hook 2.2 icon invisible in Dark Menu bar [in macOS 10.13, High Sierra]
  • FIXED: Show Hook Window checkbox was unchecked, even though the ⇧⌘␣ shortcut was enabled (and working).
  • FIXED: Preferences > Notes tab > “Restore Built-in Note Template” deletes custom templates folder
  • FIXED: After navigating, double-clicking on some hooks did nothing 
  • FIXED: For Apple Notes, the name property is ignored when creating bookmarks.
  • FIXED: ⌘DEL on a found item garbles the title. 
  • FIXED: Pin command can cause title box to show over search box; pinned section not updated on return to context mode. 
  • FIXED: ⌥ command variants, Hook to New As... and Hook to New <Default-App> As, stopped working with files 
  • FIXED exceptions and crashes.
  • FIXED problem saving a modified script or cancelling.

Compatibility

If you revert to versions prior to Hook 3.0 please delete the “built-in templates” folder first because the 3.0 “built-in templates” folder is designed for 3.0 and beyond.

Eligibility for updates

The Hook 3.0 update is free to any Hook customer with a valid Updates license of Hook (Hook Pro and Hook Essentials each come with one year of free access to updates) or in valid trial or Lite mode. If your Updates license has expired please note that Hook 3 will revert to Lite mode until you purchase a license. In that case, applying a valid Updates license will give you access to the full Essentials or Pro functionality. Or you may revert to a previous version of Hook that was released during your Updates License period.

Gratitude

Thank you to everyone who gave feedback on prior versions of Hook, and to everyone involved in the Hook 3.0 private beta programme. We greatly appreciate your participation!!