Mac at Work – E-Mail Sample Chapter

Until recently, the only sample chapter available for Mac at Work was Chapter 1 (found in the Kindle and iBookstore versions), which covers some basics about how to choose and operate a Mac. It really isn’t representative of the rest of the book. Thankfully, you can now download the introduction, table of contents, and e-mail chapter so you can get a better idea of what is available in the other 23 chapters. Download it here and let me know what you think.

Macworld 2011 Wrap Up

So another Macworld has come and gone and it’s time for a wrap up:

The Exposition

This year the entire conference was in Moscone West (and I’m told it will be the same next year). This was perfect. It allowed you to attend conference sessions and return to the exposition hall with an escalator ride. Another nice benefit is that the exposition hall is above ground and, as a result, the 3G signal is much better.

The exposition hall itself was packed every day. Some of the bigger vendors (Google, Adobe, and Microsoft) were not present. As a result, walking the halls you were able to discover many small and medium-sized companies with innovative products that you may have never discovered otherwise. One of my favorites was the iConnect MIDI box, a small box that allows you to send and receive MIDI signals between iOS devices and a MIDI instrument. It looks as if I may be doing sequencing with my MIDI keyboard and iPad in the near future. Another interesting product was LensPen’s SideKick, a carbon based iPad glass cleaner.

There was also news from well-established Mac developers. The Omni Group talked about 2011 releases of OmniPlan for both the Mac and iPad (with hooks to OmniFocus) and OmniOutliner for the iPad. The interface for iPad OmniOutliner (in its current alpha iteration) looks good. I’m looking forward to seeing the final release.

One of the recurring themes from developers was how the iPad hijacked 2010. Everyone’s plans changed as they raced to join the iPad goldrush. In 2011, I suspect a lot of these developers will be returning their focus to the Mac and we will get several interesting new software applications and updates.

The vibe on the show floor was electric. Attendees were having a great time, discovering new products, and making new friends. One of my indicators about the success of Macworld is the number of attendees you find sitting on the ground with their Macs and iPads out sharing tips and tricks. I’ve never been to any other conference were people do this. This year, these impromptu sessions were everywhere.

The Macworld planners outdid themselves this year with the Macworld Live stage. With full lighting, video, and audio support, the stage felt like a late night talk show set. They had nice couches and a full agenda of excellent speakers, podcasters, and other entertainers. It was thrilling for Katie and I to record the Mac Power Users from the show floor with a live audience. (We are working on getting a copy of the video.)

My biggest disappointment was my presentations at the Omni booth. I had way too much material to cover in 30 minutes and there were audio problems so I never really found my rhythm. The good news is, I spent plenty of time preparing and I’m finally going to make good on my promise to make the mother of all OmniFocus screencasts so stay tuned. Also, if I speak at Omni next year, I’m going to request an hour so things aren’t so rushed.

The Conference

Once again, there was a stunning assortment of conference topics ranging from the most basic to full on, third-degree propeller beanie nerdery. I was able to attend several conference sessions and learned plenty. My synchronization session went great.

This year, there was a new addition Macworld called the Macworld Industry Forum. This was, essentially, Macworld TED with feature speakers giving 20 minute summaries of topics relevant to the Mac community. Speakers included Jason Snell, John Gruber, and other smart people explaining trends and sharing insight. It was a brilliant addition to the Macworld curriculum. I hope it comes back.

The Book

It was thrilling for me to stand in the Wiley booth and watch people take Mac at Work off the shelf. I spoke with several attendees who read the book and their compliments made all the effort worth it.

The Social

It never ceases to amaze me how easy it is to make new friends at Macworld. Every year I renew old friendships and make several new ones. This year was no different. Overall, there was a great vibe to this year’s show. Last year, there was an underlying tension with Apple’s departure. This year, nobody missed Apple. In fact, the conference had several interesting presenters (like the iFixIt guys showing you how to crack open your iPhone 4) that never would have been present in the days of Apple.

In summary, the show is alive and well. The trip was energizing and exactly what I needed to kick off 2011. I’m already making plans for Macworld 2012 (January 25-28).

The Macworld Live Stage and audience pictures are courtesy of Allison Sheridan.

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Getting Social at Macworld 2011

Macworld really is the place to break out of your shell. For a few days, everybody around you is a fellow nerd and completely gets it when you start talking about Automator scripts and terminal hacks. If you are going to be exploring the halls of Moscone over the next few days, leave your comfort zone and make some new friends.

For a few days, forget about the Facebook updates, RSS feeds, and e-mail backlogs. Get out among the fellow Mac Geeks and get social. Macworld is not a success for me unless I return having made several new friends. If you see me, please make a point of saying “hello.” I really mean that. This year there are a few place you are guaranteed to find me.

On a somewhat related note, as I was making my packing list for the trip, I was reminded of my January 2008 iTablet post. I wasn’t far off the mark.

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Dancing with OPML

I’ve talked several times about my reliance on OPML. I’ve developed my OPML workflow over the years and perfected it in the crucible of writing The Book. I’m getting lots of e-mail asking for further details, so here goes.

What is OPML?

OPML, which stands for Outline Processor Markup Language, is an XML format for outlines. Over the past few years, it has become the digital intermediary for getting your planning and outlining ideas from one app to another. Currently, it is enjoying wide adoption from Mac and iOS developers, which makes it particularly useful to writers and others who prefer to sort out those jumbled ideas knocking about in their brains.

Why is OPML Awesome?

Short Answer

It lets you choose your own weapon for organizing your thoughts.

Slightly Longer Answer

Most large projects (and in my case small) don’t start out with you sitting at a blank piece of paper and writing your first sentence. Instead, they require planning and chin-in-palm thinking that generally doesn’t happen while watching your word processor’s cursor blink at you mockingly.
The problem is, most people have different ways of going about doing their best thinking.

Speaking broadly, there are the linear outline folks and the chaotic mind map types but these are just the crudest of distinctions (ignoring completely sticky-pad, napkin, and legal pad varieties). Moreover, each genome has its own particular subsets. For instance, on the Mac and iOS platforms, there are so many mind mapping applications that you probably need a mind map to sort them out.

Regardless, no matter how good these applications get, writing your final product with them is as easy as hammering nails with a screwdriver. What you need is a standard that allows you to transfer your human thoughts between multiple digital applications. Specifically, a way to get your thoughts, outline, and mind map ported directly into your word tools. This is exactly what OPML does and THAT is what makes it awesome.

Who Speaks OPML?

There are several developers that support OPML on Mac OS X and iOS. This list is hardly exhaustive, but includes the stuff that works (for me):

MindNode Pro

MindNode Pro is my favorite Mac OS X mind mapping application. I’ve written about it before. This application is easy to use, includes a minimalist interface, and is reasonably priced. They also have an iOS application. Most importantly, once you are done with your mind map in MindNode, you can export it as OPML for use in your other applications like, for instance, OmniOutliner or Scrivener.

iThoughtsHD

Because I’m such a fan of MindNode, it took me some time to warm up to iThoughtsHD, an iOS only mind mapping application. Once I finally downloaded it, I was hooked. The iPad lends itself to mind mapping. It fits your hands. You can move and create branches with your fingers. I, generally, find sitting back with my iPad very easy to incorporate into my creative process.
The iThoughts developer gave this application extra love and attention with respect to the iPad interface including such features as tapping the space bar three times to create a child or pressing the return key three times to open a sibling entry. The application also includes robust export options for other mind mapping application formats, PDF, PNG, and … wait for it … OPML.

OmniOutliner

OmniOutliner is the best outlining application on any platform. It lets you add columns, notes, and easily move and reorganize your outlines. It lends itself to keyboard shortcuts so you can build them on the fly and, despite being long in the tooth, remains a gem. It currently is only on the Mac OS X platform but a major update and an iOS version are in development.
OmniOutliner opens and exports the OPML format. This means you can import an OPML file from, for instance, iThoughtsHD on your iPad, spend time refining it in OmniOutliner and then send it on to your next application in the process via OPML.

Scrivener

Scrivener is where it all comes together. Scrivener is my word processor of choice. (See my outdated review here with a new one coming soon.) Scrivener lets you import an OPML file to a project. In case you didn’t realize it, that was the hallelujah moment. All that digital thinking you did comes to fruition at the point you import it into Scrivener and start writing. All of your branches and sub-branches are organized into project folders and you are the beneficiary of all that prepartion. When I go through the trouble of developing ideas like this, the project comes out better, EVERY TIME.

So How Does It Work?

The Seed

Ideas come to me at the strangest times. When inspiration strikes, I immediately write something down. Perhaps on my iPhone, perhaps in my pocket notebook. It doesn’t take much, just the general idea.

The Plan

Next I’ll start playing with the idea in iThoughtsHD. My best planning is done away from my desk with the iPad. Sometimes I’ll take my iPad to lunch and sit on a park bench or at the standing desk in my office. The trick with this step is to not “schedule” it. Just let your mind roll and go with it. A lot of times, I will spend a week going back and fiddling with the mind map several times. At any time I’ve got 15 or 20 half baked mind maps on my iPad. Because iThoughtsHD syncs with Dropbox and exports as OPML, I can always tinker with them on my Mac using OmniOutliner or MindNode Pro. Rarely does the final version end up looking much like the initial one.

Great Artists Ship

At some point you have to move on. When that day comes I take the final exported OPML and import it into a new Scrivener project. By then I’ve lived with the ideas for sometime and have a good idea of where I’m going with it.* As a result, I rarely encounter writer’s block. I just start cranking through the Scrivener binder. If something doesn’t feel quite right, I move to the next subject and come back later.

* This is not to say that projects don’t change (sometimes dramatically) after I get started in Scrivener. The point is that they don’t change willy-nilly. When I make changes later it is for the good of whatever I’m doing and not because I still don’t have my act together.

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Be Awesome

I don’t know what kind of person Steve Jobs is. I’ve never met him. I do, however, know that he is a father and a husband and I wish him and his family the best with his illness. The Internet is full of words today about Steve’s illness. Except for Merlin’s post, skip it all.

ABA TechShow 2011

I’m heading back to Chicago in April where I will participate in the American Bar Association’s TechShow 2011, the premier legal technology conference and expo. This year I’ll be doing two sessions: one covering alternatives to Microsoft Word (in the Mac track) and another on collaboration tools (in the litigation track). If you are a technology-minded legal professional, the TechShow is a great opportunity to learn about new technology and emerging trends and make some great friends and connections. Don’t miss it.

Tweaking OmniFocus: Project Template Applescript

OmniFocus is an amazing tool. I need this app like Smeagol needs his ring. If I don’t do my morning task audit, I get the shakes and start blurting out incoherent rambling about blown deadlines and crashing plates.

One feature missing in my precious however is the ability to create project templates. Everybody has some little group of tasks that gets repeated. For instance, I had a set of tasks that got repeated for each chapter of The Book. So how do I use this unsupported feature in OmniFocus? The answer is Applescript, that ubiquitous tool (that almost nobody uses) that lets you add features and bolt applications together like so many pieces of a digital erector set. In this case, I didn’t even write the script myself. Instead, I downloaded from Curt Clifton’s outstanding collection of OmniFocus scripts. Specifically, I’m using the Populate Template Placeholders script.

The download includes instructions but since so many find Applescript intimidating, I’m going to walk through it.

First a word about Applescript

Applescript is Apple’s own natural language scripting language that lets Macintosh applications hook up. You can tell one application to generate data and then send that data to a different application to lay it out, or print it, or post it to the Internet. It enables you to make your good apps great and your great apps awesome. It takes a little bit of time to figure out. The best way to learn it is to buy Sal’s book.

Regardless, even if you don’t want to learn Applescript, you can still use it. People like Curt develop all sorts of useful scripts and then post them to the Interwebs. You just download, install, and use without knowing a lick of Applescript code. This template script is just such an example. So here is how you go about it with my Mac Power Users show template:

Step 1: Install

Download the script and copy the script file to your script directory, located at:

~/Library/Scripts/Applications/OmniFocus

Most likely you don’t have an OmniFocus directory, so create one.

Step 2: Create

Create a project template in OmniFocus. This is set of tasks the Applescript will copy and populate for every new instance of the project.

Starting out, it looks just like any other project you may create except this one is more generic and includes Placeholders (nerd translation: variables). Placeholders are declared by adding them to the last line of the Notes section of the project description. They get surrounded by guillemets, those double-bracket looking symbols «like this». You can create them on a US keyboard by pressing (Option + \) for « and (Option + Shift + \) for ».

Once declared you can add the Placeholders to your project name and task items. As you can see from the example, I’ve created placeholders for the show name and show number. (If you want to prove your geek cred, open the Applescript and change the Placeholder symbols to something else.)

Step 3: Run

You can run the script from the script menu in your menubar. If you don’t see the script menu, which looks like this …

you can enable it in the preference pane of Applescript editor, an application on every Mac found in the Applications/Utilities folder.

Once you trigger the script, Applescript prompts you for the Placeholder variables …

and creates a new project replacing the Placeholders with your supplied data. Once you’ve got the script installed, setting up new templates projects takes a fraction of the time it did before.

Step 4: Drag

Drag the newly created project to wherever it belongs in your OmniFocus Project list.

Bonus Points

If you want to add start and due dates to templates projects, go nuts. The project itself, however, must have a start or due date in order for it work. Alternatively, if you add a line to the Project Template Note (above the Placeholder line) that reads Due date is, you will be prompted to type in your dates when you run the script. While I like start dates, I’m not a big fan of due dates and prefer adding dates (if any) manually later.

If you like the script, send Curt a thank you note for making this possible.

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More about The Book

It seems I’ve been writing entirely too much about my own activities here lately. Nonetheless, here is one more post with a summary of some of the places I’ve been showing up on the Internet with the release of Mac at Work.

Thanks everyone for the kind twitters and e-mails regarding the book. Your support and good wishes are humbling.

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