When the sync-script is started it will automatically create a mountpoint to a network share, in this case a share on a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 machine. This can be done by using the following command:

mount_smbfs

This will only work when you have already connected to the share before and passwords are stored in your Keychain.

You can view the source using the following URL’s:

• sync.sh (full script)
• sync.lst (list of files to backup)
• sync.exc (exclude files from backup)

When saving files to my hard drive I’d like the filenames to be in lowercase. This is even more important when you are using a *NIX-based operating system. However, I do not like renaming all files manually. So here’s a little bash script that will do this automatically:

#!/bin/sh

if [ -n "$1" ]; then
  let count=0
  while [ "$1" ]; do
    f="$1"
    shift
    if [ -f "$f" ]; then
      lc=`echo $f | awk '{print(tolower($0));}'`
      if [ "$lc" != "$f" ]; then
        mv "$f" "$lc"
        ((count++))
      fi
    fi
  done
  echo "Result: $count files have been changed."
else
  echo "Usage: lowerit file(s)"
fi

URL: An example showing the usage of the above script

Usage and examples

I’ve named this script lowerit and placed it in the /bin directory. You can read my previous post “Batch rename filename extension on a Mac” for more details about installing bash scripts on a Mac. Run this script by typing the following command:

~$: lowerit *

Using the asterisk (*) will lowercase all filenames in the current directory. It’s also possible to specify one single file, for example:

~$: lowerit Example.PHP

Combined with find you can also recursively change the filenames. The command to use should look something like this:

~$: find . -type f -exec lowerit {} \;

Off course this script can also be used to uppercase filenames as well. Just change awk print(tolower($0)) into awk print(toupper($0)) and your done!

I’ve written a Bash script that will synchronize specific directories from my MacBook to my home computer.

Example of the script being executed

The script

This script sync.sh will be using two extra files (sync.lst and sync.exc) which are used to specify the directories and files that should and should not be synchronized.

More details can be found inside the .zip file:

• Download the above script

I’m using a simple combination of bash and cron that automatically backups all my e-mail into one local .zip file. The local .zip file is automatically copied to my USB flashdrive the moment it’s connected to my laptop.

The bash script

Here’s the code for the bash script backup.sh that I’m using:

d1="/Users/Robert/Library/Mail/"
d2="/Users/Robert/Library/Mail Downloads/"

zip -ru /Users/Robert/Documents/Backup/Mail.zip "$d1" "$d2"
echo "Backup has finished!"

Make sure that the above bash script is executable (chmod +x) and has the correct paths to your own directories.

Example of the bash script shown with the Vim text editor

Cron

Cron is a time-based job scheduler in Unix-like computer operating systems such as Mac OS X. Cron is used to execute the above backup script at a specified time.

Using the terminal you can specify a cron job by using crontab -e and list current cron jobs with crontab -l. When done adding a new cron job you can exit by typing : followd by wq [enter]. This is how I’ve set up mine:

0,30  *  *  *  *  sh /Users/Robert/.scripts/backup.sh > /dev/null 2>&1

This will execute the backup script the 0th and 30th minute of every hour (and every day).

Backup on USB connect

Having all my e-mail backupped into one single .zip file on the local hard-drive is making the backup still vulnerable for hard-drive failures. Therefore I’m using an automated backup script that copies all my backup files to a USB flashdrive the moment it is connected to my MacBook.

Download the AppleScript

Open the AppleScript with the Script Editor on your Mac and modify the locations to your own backup directory and (USB) backup drive. Save the script and place it in your user account at ~/Library/Scripts/Folder Action Scripts/.

Start Finder by pressing “Command + Shift + G” and go to the folder /Volumes. Right click in the directory, select “Attach a Folder Action” and select the Applescript.

URL: WordPress Hack to Debug Themes on a Live Site

This simple hack will use the specified theme only for one remote IP-address. Once the theme is good to go, merge the changes into the live template and undo the hack.

#!/bin/sh
for f in *.$1
do
  mv "$f" "${f%$1}$2"
done

I’ve named this script chgext, and use the following command to rename multiple filename extensions:

~$: chgext JPG jpg

This script will rename the filename extension, for example an uppercase ‘JPG’ extension, into a lowercase ‘jpg’ extension of all files in the same directory matching your criteria.

URL: Example using chgext

Installation

Enter your terminal and create a new file named chgext using the following command:

~$: touch chgext

Open the file in an editor of your choice. I often use nano:

~$: nano chgext

Copy and paste the above script in the editor and save it (use ctrl + x in nano and save the changes). In order to access this script from any location on your system it can be placed in the /bin/ directory. You need root access to this directory:

~$: sudo mv chgext /bin/chgext

…and make the script executable:

~$: sudo chmod +x /bin/chgext

To see if the script is properly installed enter the command chgext. It should respond with a message similar to “mv: rename *. to *.: No such file or directory”. That’s ok, because we haven’t added any parameters yet.

I’m allowed to carry the title Bachelor of Multimedia. Subject of my graduation project involves a combination of existing online digital surveys and interaction design.

Together with another graduate I’ve made a proof of concept.

Installation

Download the full package containing both rar (shareware) and unrar (freeware) from the Rarlab website. I’ve chosen the RAR 3.70 for Mac OS X package (rarosx-3.7.0.1.tar.gz). Decompress the package (just double click on the .tar.gz file) and you will see a new folder, named rar, containing the necessary files.

Enter your terminal, which can be found in /Applications/Utilities.

Start up Terminal on your Mac, located in /Applications/Utilities

Go to the newly created rar folder with both rar and unrar. You can use the command cd to change directories.

Entering the rar folder in your terminal. See full image

Use the following command to install unrar:

~$: sudo install -c -o $USER unrar /bin

$USER is a default environment variable in the bash shell which contains your username.

Sudo requires you to enter your user password. It’s the same password you use when you log in to Mac OS X. To install rar you can use the same command:

~$: sudo install -c -o $USER rar /bin

Do a test-run to see if the installation went properly. In your terminal now enter from any location you want:

~$: unrar

When unrar is properly installed, usage information should appear explaining commands and switches you can use. To decompress a .RAR package simply use the following command which will extract all files with full path:

~$: unrar x compressed-package.rar

In your terminal it will look like this:

Example of an extracted .RAR archive within your terminal. See full image

That’s it! Have fun decompressing .RAR archives on your Mac using cool command lines.

Why

When I bought a new MacBook it came with iTunes as the default (and probably best) music player from Apple. I’m not going to discuss what music player is better. People claim you’re able to work with an Apple right out of the box, so iTunes it is.

Having my music stored on an external drive will keep my laptop’s harddrive clean and gives me enough free disk space for storing documents, pictures, games, videos…you know, fun stuff.

The problem

Like many people I prefer having my own folder structure which is used to organise all of my music. However, smart people at Apple haven’t included an option that will let iTunes synchronize with a custom folder. Luckily we can use Automator to do this for us. Imagine adding hundreds of CD’s manually to your library!

Here’s my situation: Apple MacBook (running iTunes 7.2) and a LaCie 350 GB USB External Drive (containing all of my music).

The automator script

I’m using a total of 3 actions:

• 1) Ask for Confirmation
• 2) Find Finder Items (optional ‘date modified’ check)
• 3) Add Files to Playlist

Look at the screenshot to see detailed information about each action. The second action is the most important one. You will need to specify the main folder that holds all your music (in my case Music on the external drive named Nanako).

Criteria

I’ve added two criteria. One that searches for mp3 files and a second one (which is not mandatory) that will check for modification date (last 2 weeks). I’ve added this second rule, because reloading all our mp3′s will take a very long time. Using the second rule drastically decreases loading time and will only add songs that are modified during the last 2 weeks. Change the date according to your own preference.

Creating rules with Automator. Change them to your own needs. See full image

When running this script it will search inside your custom folder for all mp3 files that have been modified (in this case “added” to your folder) during the last 2 weeks and will add them to your iTunes Library.

Tracks that are no longer available in iTunes (e.g. because you’ve deleted a CD manually), as indicated by a “!”, can be removed using Super Remove Dead Tracks.

Installation & Usage

Download the Automator script here: automator-itunes-library-sync.zip

Note: The following may not work on OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard.

Location of where to place the script. See full image

Place this script in /Username/Library/Workflows/Applications/Finder.

If the workflow directories don’t exist, you have to create them manually. When done, the script will be available to you with a simple right mouseclick (on some free desktop space). Select Automator -> Synchronize Library and your done. When running this script for the first time, open Automator and disable the “Date Modified” rule because we want to add all the songs first. When done you can enable the rule again.

Activating the script with a right mouseclick. See full image

I know a lot of people are waiting for an iTunes with a built-in synchronization function. I hope this might solve the problem people have now until iTunes will have such a function. I’m no expert with Automator, so if you have any comments, or suggestions regarding this script, please use the comment form below.

Tip: Using multiple iTunes Libraries

Press and hold the option (alt) key when launching iTunes. Doing so will let you control multiple iTunes Libraries. I’ve got two libraries running, one with music on my external drive and another one with some songs stored on my MacBook.

Changelog

2008-01-11 – version 1.1

• Changed the script to search for “type: audio”

2007-04-07 – version 1.0

• First release

But what if you want to change your permalink structure, from:

/%year%/%monthnum%/%day%/%postname%/

to:

/blog/archive/%postname%/

Doing so will make all pages indexed by search engines become invalid, moreover, losing visitors from other sites or bookmarks that links to you.

By using Dean’s Permalinks Migration Plugin you can safely update your permalink structure. This plugin will generate a “301 Redirect” when users or spiders visit your site through old permalinks, and redirect them to the new permalinks of the same post.

I’ve updated my permalink structure to:

/journal/archive/%postname%/

…because using the date in the URL wasn’t relevant to my posts or its content. It makes sense for the URL to contain relevant information about the page content, and not information that isnt useful to both humans and bots.

Thank you Dean Lee for this great plugin!