Tag Archives: Hazel

Paperless Office Software

Paperless Office workflow changes

September 18, 2011 – 1:18 pm

With all the great features that OSX Lion brought it seems to have broken a few of the Automator Workflows that I use.

In the  process I described previously I ran a workflow that would strip the path out of a renamed PDF. I have had to change that process so that Hazel renames the file based on the source folder name. This means that instead of a folder structure such as Banking-Bank-Account I now use Banking-Bank-Bank Account.

Its only a minor change to the process and Hazel makes it easy as the previous rules pick up the change of folder name automatically.

Tags , | Permalink | Comment (0)
Hardware Paperless Office Software

Paperless Office – take 32

May 19, 2011 – 7:40 pm

As a convert to the principles of a paperless office I have designed, revised and scrapped a number of attempts in my search for the perfect routine.

Previously I utilised OpenMeta Tags to assist in renaming and filing of documents but ultimately I found that it was just another added process that did not return any real benefit.

I prefer to use a hierarchical file structure to store my documents which coupled with content and file name searches via spotlight are sufficient for file retrieval process.

My process for the conversion of documents starts with the sorting of the paper documents into 3 piles;

  • Single sided
  • Double sided, and
  • Multi page

I have profiles setup in ScanSnap Manager that correspond making it a quick exercise to scan the documents, which I generally let build up and process weekly. I use the OCR function, restricted to the first page as that will generally capture the relevant information to assist in file retrieval. The files are all saved to a folder called Intray.

I utilise Hazel rules that will move the files to the appropriate folder under a main folder called Filing Cabinet. The rule searches for content that is particular to regular bills and documents eg supplier name or account number. I find that I can generally automatically file about 75% of the documents that I scan.

I have another Hazel rule that processes all files under the Filing Cabinet folder. First I rename the file to ‘-’, then I rename it to the file path – e.g. /users/(user name)/documents/Filing Cabinet/Category/Supplier Name ( I can have as many levels as I want, on some categories I add another directory indicating the financial year).

I then rename the file to ‘date created – name #.pdf’. The date format I use is yymmdd as this makes it possible to sort in date order by file name. I add the # as a unique identifier for those circumstances where multiple documents from the same supplier are processed on the same day.

Rename Rule

I then use an Automator workflow to remove the leading part of the filename so that the file is renamed as yymmdd – Category/Supplier Name/#.pdf.

Replace Text Workflow

I then run another workflow that removes the ‘/’ characters so the final name is yymmdd – category supplier #.pdf

Rename Workflow

The final function is to add the Spotlight Comment ‘Filed‘ as the Filing Cabinet rule will ignore documents with that comment, this allows for manual naming of documents if a more descriptive title is required.

For those files that I acquire from other sources, primarily online or emails, I have an Action Wizard setup in Adobe Acrobat that will OCR all selected files. This will then trigger the Hazel rule in the Intray and start the filing process.

For the remaining files that are not automatically filed I just need to drag to the appropriate folder under Filing Cabinet and the renaming function kicks in and does its magic.

Typically I am still tinkering with this routine, but with 75% of my scans being filed and renamed without any interaction from me I am pretty pleased.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAgsn0crCmc

Tags , , | Permalink | Comments (2)
AppleScript Software

Simplifying organising multimedia files with iTunes

September 27, 2010 – 10:01 am

I like to keep my files so that they are in a structure that keeps everything organised. I have found that by accepting the limitations of iTunes it is the best tool that can utilised on the Mac.

The advantage is by using iTunes that it is easier to share the files with you iPhone, iPad and Apple TV.

Problem is that it can be quite laborious to rename, convert, import and categorise files. I found an tutorial at Mactalk.com.au that gave some ideas, but due the numerous naming conventions that exist for video files the aim to fully automate the process was unachievable. The other issue was that there was little control of the renaming and categorising of the TV Shows and Movies.

While free software may exist to replace the following commercial applications I use I think the overall cost for what is acheived is well worth the investment.

  • Hazel (should be a standard app in all Macs)
  • Turbo 264 (hardware and software)
  • iFlicks
  • TuneUp
  • NZBVortex (optional)

NZBVortex is a great piece of software that makes it very easy to obtain the newest episodes ot TV Shows or Movies that you are interested in. It  can identify new files from RSS feeds and automatically grab the NZB file to start the download process. If you are into NZBs you need this software.

While a fully automated system would be great I found that you can’t totally eliminate manual intervention, The following procedures I have implemented has reduced my resource investment by about 90%.

Downloads

1. Create a rule in Hazel to move MP3s to the Automatically Add to iTunes sub folder found in the Itunes library location. This will import the songs into Itunes using the ID3 tags that already exist in the files. These may be inaccurate or incomplete but this will be corrected later.

2. Via a Hazel rule move all video files to a folder that you have created for the purpose of converting to a format that can be imported in to iTunes. I use the Apple TV format as I find that it works in all of my devices.

Convert

3. Create a rule in Hazel using Applescript to automatically convert the video files using Turbo.264 HD, here is the code for this rule;

**********

– Waits till Turbo.264 is not running to start this portion of workflow

tell application “Finder”

repeat until name of processes does not contain “Turbo.264″

delay 5

end repeat

end tell

– Adds file using Hazel’s theFile call

tell application “Turbo.264 HD”

add file theFile exporting as AppleTV

encode

end tell

tell application “Turbo.264 HD”

repeat while isEncoding

delay 5

end repeat

tell Application “Turbo.264 HD” to quit

end tell

**********

Add another rule in Hazel to move the original file to trash.

4. In Turbo.264 HD have all output saved to a folder ready for renaming and adding of metadata. Elgato have now released a software only conversion application that could be used instead of the hardware/software solution.

5. Another Hazel rule runs on the output folder that automatically adds the files to iFlicks, here is the Applescript code;

**********

tell application “iFlicks”

import theFile with gui

end tell

**********

6. Here is the first time I have had to get involved in the process. Review the files in iFlicks,  if you are lucky the file will be recognised automatically and will be categorises as either a Movie or TV Show, metadata added with details of Actors, Directors, Plot etc and the Cover-art.

If there is a problem it usually just requires a manual rename or categorisation, you can then rerun the metadata lookup and it will add the required information. I generally find that about 75% will be correctly recognised.

Once that is done just press Start and it will rename the files based on the metadata, save and sort the files based on the Rules that you have utilised in iFlicks (very similar function to Hazel), finally it will add the listing into Itunes.

iFlicks

7. Going back to step 1. check the MP3s in iTunes. If you find any with incorrect metadata or missing covers drag them onto the TuneUp window and run the Clean process. It will analyse the songs and grab the required information from the internet. This will then ensure that your collection is nice and tidy.

Well thats about it, my involvement is minimal but I have a collection of media that is correctly named and filed and has accompanying metadata that displays my media perfectly, not matter what device I choose to access it with.

Tags , , , , | Permalink | Comment (0)