Difference between revisions of "Quicksilver Plugin for Plazes"

Revision as of 13:00, 5 August 2007

The Quicksilver Plugin for Plazes reproduces some of the functionality of the Mac Plazer: you can use it to check in and out of Plazes using Quicksilver (if you have a Mac and you don't use Quicksilver, it's worth your time to take a look).

The plug-in does not reproduce the "see my friends status" functions of the Plazer -- it's only an "update my status" tool.

I owe a debt to Tijs Teulings who created the Quicksilver Plugin for Jaiku.

How to Install

1. Download the AppleScript
2. Make a folder called Actions in the folder ~/Library/Application Support/Quicksilver (if one doesn't already exist)
3. Copy the AppleScript you downloaded (Plazes.scpt) into this Actions folder.
4. Restart Quicksilver.
5. Ensure your Plazes username and password are on your OS X Keychain using the name http://plazes.com.

<embed style="width:400px; height:326px;" id="VideoPlayback" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=6012243422728398881&hl=en-CA" flashvars=""> </embed>

How to Use

1. Open Quicksilver (using whatever your key combination for doing so is)
2. Hit . (period) to open text mode.
3. Type your Plazes status message.
4. Hit TAB.
5. Start typing the word "Plazes".
6. When you see Plazes appear as the action, hit ENTER.
7. If you've been Plazed, you'll hear a voice say "Plazed".
8. If you're visited a brand new Plaze, your browser will open to allow you to enter details.

Gory Technical Details

When you enter your status message this way, here's what happens:

1. The AppleScripts look up the MAC address of the router you're using to connec to the the Internet.
2. Using this MAC address, the script uses cURL to connect to the Plazes API and retrieve the Plaze(s) attached previously, if any, to this MAC address.
3. If one or more Plazes are returned...
   1. The script takes the first suggestion (yes, this could be smarter, but it's not) and grabs its Plazes ID.
   2. The script sends your status message using the Plazes API.
   3. The script says "Plazed" (it actually says "Playzd" because that sounds better).
4. If no Plazes are returned...
   1. The script opens your default browser and lets you create a new Plaze.

Download

Download the Applescript