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From: Jamie Kahn Genet on 4 Dec 2009 06:06 J.J. O'Shea <try.not.to(a)but.see.sig> wrote: > On Thu, 3 Dec 2009 11:21:07 -0500, Steve W. Jackson wrote > (in article <stevewjackson-DD0242.10210703122009(a)news.individual.net>): > > > In article <hf8kl601hf1(a)news5.newsguy.com>, > > J.J. O'Shea <try.not.to(a)but.see.sig> wrote: > > > >> On Thu, 3 Dec 2009 04:11:31 -0500, Barry Margolin wrote > >> (in article <barmar-26FC95.04113103122009(a)news.eternal-september.org>): > >> > >>> In article <hf7fg612m0e(a)news3.newsguy.com>, > >>> J.J. O'Shea <try.not.to(a)but.see.sig> wrote: > >>> > >>>> On Wed, 2 Dec 2009 21:00:37 -0500, Barry Margolin wrote > >>>> (in article <barmar-2AEE91.21003702122009(a)news.eternal-september.org>): > >>>> > >>>>> In article <hf74q502dr7(a)news3.newsguy.com>, > >>>>> J.J. O'Shea <try.not.to(a)but.see.sig> wrote: > >>>>> > >>>>>> Does anyone know where the actual list of recent items is stored? I > >>>>>> want > >>>>>> to > >>>>>> delete specific items from the recent items list _without_ clearing the > >>>>>> entire list. A Google search finds plenty of references... to locating > >>>>>> the > >>>>>> _item_, not the _list of items_. There's a Recent Servers folder in > >>>>>>> /Library/, but no other obvious location. > >>>>> > >>>>>> /Library/Preferences/com.apple.recentitems.plist > >>>>> > >>>>> Your post seems almost verbatim the same as a question that was asked a > >>>>> month or two ago. > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>> > >>>> Okay, I found the previous question. That question was about putting the > >>>> Recent Documents into a Drag Thing dock. I want to delete items from the > >>>> list. It appears that in neither case would it be easy to do. > >>> > >>> I gave you the answer above, what's the problem? Open that file with > >>> Property List Editor (included in the developer tools) and delete the > >>> items you don't want. > >>> > >>> > >> > >> Yep, as I thought, logging out and logging back up forced the update of the > >> list from the plist. It'd be a major pain if I had to log out every time I > >> wanted to do this. > > > > Maybe it's a major pain, but keep in mind that Apple didn't design it to > > work the way you're trying to use it. > > > > If you don't want to log out, you could just try relaunching the Finder > > and see if that works. Hold the Option key when you click the Finder's > > icon in the Dock and you'll see this option. > > > > Yeah. The problem is that I want to clear a selected few applications, > servers, and documents from multiple machines, so doing it this way is > non-trivial. > > Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a better way, other than clearing the > entire list. Why not use a separate or even guest account with fast user switching enabled? That way you can hide your tracks if you so desire and your main account's recent items list is unaffected by your other activities. Or if you're not hiding something (FYI: I don't a damn about what you're hiding if in fact you are, and I would agree there are good cases for hiding one's tracks in certain circumstances), what's the problem? I don't comprehend the point of pruning the recent items list, unless you're trying using it as a way to open all the recent files you _care about_, as opposed to what it is - _any_ recent files. I'm reminded of the many semi-computer illiterate users I've helped out over the years, who still don't understand how to use the Open and Save File dialogs or how to navigate the file system. As a result they rely on the recent items list (usually in their word processor) and find themselves in trouble when a document disappears from there after they open too many others, and it's not easily found in the Open File dialog's default location (probably because they save every file there and never organise any into separate folders). Now I know you're a far more experienced user, but IME plenty of them also try to use a feature in a way it was not intended, and end up making life far more difficult than it needs to be (e.g. those who battle iTunes automatic media organisation for no good reason, rather than work with it or find an alternative app). My advice if you're working on a file a lot is simply to drag it into the Dock while you're frequently accessing it, alias it into a folder which you can also display in the Dock, or just access from the Finder or one of many handy third party file launchers. Naturally tools like Spotlight can also be handy if you use logical and easily remembered file names. Regards, Jamie Kahn Genet -- If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
From: J.J. O'Shea on 4 Dec 2009 06:57 On Fri, 4 Dec 2009 06:06:14 -0500, Jamie Kahn Genet wrote (in article <1ja84cv.otggnn19fknliN%jamiekg(a)wizardling.geek.nz>): > J.J. O'Shea <try.not.to(a)but.see.sig> wrote: > >> On Thu, 3 Dec 2009 11:21:07 -0500, Steve W. Jackson wrote >> (in article <stevewjackson-DD0242.10210703122009(a)news.individual.net>): >> >>> In article <hf8kl601hf1(a)news5.newsguy.com>, >>> J.J. O'Shea <try.not.to(a)but.see.sig> wrote: >>> >>>> On Thu, 3 Dec 2009 04:11:31 -0500, Barry Margolin wrote >>>> (in article <barmar-26FC95.04113103122009(a)news.eternal-september.org>): >>>> >>>>> In article <hf7fg612m0e(a)news3.newsguy.com>, >>>>> J.J. O'Shea <try.not.to(a)but.see.sig> wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> On Wed, 2 Dec 2009 21:00:37 -0500, Barry Margolin wrote >>>>>> (in article <barmar-2AEE91.21003702122009(a)news.eternal-september.org>): >>>>>> >>>>>>> In article <hf74q502dr7(a)news3.newsguy.com>, >>>>>>> J.J. O'Shea <try.not.to(a)but.see.sig> wrote: >>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Does anyone know where the actual list of recent items is stored? I >>>>>>>> want >>>>>>>> to >>>>>>>> delete specific items from the recent items list _without_ clearing >>>>>>>> the >>>>>>>> entire list. A Google search finds plenty of references... to locating >>>>>>>> the >>>>>>>> _item_, not the _list of items_. There's a Recent Servers folder in >>>>>>>>> /Library/, but no other obvious location. >>>>>>> >>>>>>>> /Library/Preferences/com.apple.recentitems.plist >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Your post seems almost verbatim the same as a question that was asked a >>>>>>> month or two ago. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Okay, I found the previous question. That question was about putting the >>>>>> Recent Documents into a Drag Thing dock. I want to delete items from the >>>>>> list. It appears that in neither case would it be easy to do. >>>>> >>>>> I gave you the answer above, what's the problem? Open that file with >>>>> Property List Editor (included in the developer tools) and delete the >>>>> items you don't want. >>>>> >>>>> >>>> >>>> Yep, as I thought, logging out and logging back up forced the update of >>>> the >>>> list from the plist. It'd be a major pain if I had to log out every time I >>>> wanted to do this. >>> >>> Maybe it's a major pain, but keep in mind that Apple didn't design it to >>> work the way you're trying to use it. >>> >>> If you don't want to log out, you could just try relaunching the Finder >>> and see if that works. Hold the Option key when you click the Finder's >>> icon in the Dock and you'll see this option. >>> >> >> Yeah. The problem is that I want to clear a selected few applications, >> servers, and documents from multiple machines, so doing it this way is >> non-trivial. >> >> Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a better way, other than clearing the >> entire list. > > Why not use a separate or even guest account with fast user switching > enabled? That way you can hide your tracks if you so desire and your > main account's recent items list is unaffected by your other activities. Not so much 'hide my tracks' as 'prevent certain items from slipping off the list'. The Dock is too small to hold everything, so we usually use Recent Items to keep track of important items so we don't have to go dig them up in other ways (Spotlight, looking for them in the Applications folder, etc.) and save time. There are a few items that aren't used often, and so slip down the list and off it even if the list is set to a max of 50 items in the Recent Applications, same number of Recent Documents, (System Preferences/Appearance won't let us go beyond that...) and 10 Recent Servers. That means that unless the list is trimmed every ever so often, we have to go looking for stuff again... which is annoying. If, for example, I want to print a few labels, I _really_ don't need to hunt down the label printing app for the nth time. But I don't use it often enough to justify wasting Dock space on it or cluttering up my Desktop with an alias to it. If I had a quick, simple, way of removing items from Recent Applications which _are_ in the Dock, then it would still be available the next time I needed it, even if that's a month from now. Unfortunately editing the plist and then doing a log out/log in or a restart is more trouble than it's worth, and just quitting the Finder won't work. And, yes, we do use that many apps. Remember that each printer, for example, launches an app to print. Depending on what we're printing, we might use as many as five printers. Add in the Terminal, Activity Monitor, Network Utility, the Address Book, Mail, a few graphics apps, two or three browsers, System Preferences, assorted MS Office and iWork apps, and pretty soon we're out of slots in the available 50 items, and the next time we launch something, something else is forced off the list. It's not too bad for documents, since Snow Leopard we can have a _long_ list of recent documents inside the apps themselves, depending on how they were written, but there's only so many ways to keep track of servers and apps. And a 'server' is any shared point... > > Or if you're not hiding something (FYI: I don't a damn about what you're > hiding if in fact you are, and I would agree there are good cases for > hiding one's tracks in certain circumstances), what's the problem? See above. -- email to oshea dot j dot j at gmail dot com.
From: nospam on 4 Dec 2009 07:05 In article <hfatfh017oq(a)news4.newsguy.com>, J.J. O'Shea <try.not.to(a)but.see.sig> wrote: > Not so much 'hide my tracks' as 'prevent certain items from slipping off the > list'. The Dock is too small to hold everything, so we usually use Recent > Items to keep track of important items so we don't have to go dig them up in > other ways (Spotlight, looking for them in the Applications folder, etc.) and > save time. There are a few items that aren't used often, and so slip down the > list and off it even if the list is set to a max of 50 items in the Recent > Applications, same number of Recent Documents, (System Preferences/Appearance > won't let us go beyond that...) and 10 Recent Servers. That means that unless > the list is trimmed every ever so often, we have to go looking for stuff > again... which is annoying. If, for example, I want to print a few labels, I > _really_ don't need to hunt down the label printing app for the nth time. But > I don't use it often enough to justify wasting Dock space on it or cluttering > up my Desktop with an alias to it. If I had a quick, simple, way of removing > items from Recent Applications which _are_ in the Dock, then it would still > be available the next time I needed it, even if that's a month from now. i would suggest getting drag thing and set up multiple docks or pages within a dock. put everything you want in it and group it any way you want and you can have it pop up on demand too.
From: Jamie Kahn Genet on 4 Dec 2009 07:51 J.J. O'Shea <try.not.to(a)but.see.sig> wrote: > On Fri, 4 Dec 2009 06:06:14 -0500, Jamie Kahn Genet wrote > (in article <1ja84cv.otggnn19fknliN%jamiekg(a)wizardling.geek.nz>): > > > J.J. O'Shea <try.not.to(a)but.see.sig> wrote: > > > >> On Thu, 3 Dec 2009 11:21:07 -0500, Steve W. Jackson wrote > >> (in article <stevewjackson-DD0242.10210703122009(a)news.individual.net>): > >> > >>> In article <hf8kl601hf1(a)news5.newsguy.com>, > >>> J.J. O'Shea <try.not.to(a)but.see.sig> wrote: > >>> > >>>> On Thu, 3 Dec 2009 04:11:31 -0500, Barry Margolin wrote > >>>> (in article <barmar-26FC95.04113103122009(a)news.eternal-september.org>): > >>>> > >>>>> In article <hf7fg612m0e(a)news3.newsguy.com>, > >>>>> J.J. O'Shea <try.not.to(a)but.see.sig> wrote: > >>>>> > >>>>>> On Wed, 2 Dec 2009 21:00:37 -0500, Barry Margolin wrote > >>>>>> (in article <barmar-2AEE91.21003702122009(a)news.eternal-september.org>): > >>>>>> > >>>>>>> In article <hf74q502dr7(a)news3.newsguy.com>, > >>>>>>> J.J. O'Shea <try.not.to(a)but.see.sig> wrote: > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>>> Does anyone know where the actual list of recent items is stored? > >>>>>>>>I want to delete specific items from the recent items list > >>>>>>>>_without_ clearing the entire list. A Google search finds plenty > >>>>>>>>of references... to locating the _item_, not the _list of items_. > >>>>>>>>There's a Recent Servers folder in > /Library/, but no other > >>>>>>>>obvious location. > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>>> /Library/Preferences/com.apple.recentitems.plist > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>> Your post seems almost verbatim the same as a question that was > >>>>>>> asked a month or two ago. > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>> > >>>>>> > >>>>>> Okay, I found the previous question. That question was about > >>>>>> putting the Recent Documents into a Drag Thing dock. I want to > >>>>>> delete items from the list. It appears that in neither case would > >>>>>> it be easy to do. > >>>>> > >>>>> I gave you the answer above, what's the problem? Open that file with > >>>>> Property List Editor (included in the developer tools) and delete the > >>>>> items you don't want. > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>> > >>>> Yep, as I thought, logging out and logging back up forced the update > >>>> of the list from the plist. It'd be a major pain if I had to log out > >>>> every time I wanted to do this. > >>> > >>> Maybe it's a major pain, but keep in mind that Apple didn't design it > >>> to work the way you're trying to use it. > >>> > >>> If you don't want to log out, you could just try relaunching the > >>> Finder and see if that works. Hold the Option key when you click the > >>> Finder's icon in the Dock and you'll see this option. > >>> > >> > >> Yeah. The problem is that I want to clear a selected few applications, > >> servers, and documents from multiple machines, so doing it this way is > >> non-trivial. > >> > >> Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a better way, other than > >> clearing the entire list. > > > > Why not use a separate or even guest account with fast user switching > > enabled? That way you can hide your tracks if you so desire and your > > main account's recent items list is unaffected by your other activities. > > Not so much 'hide my tracks' as 'prevent certain items from slipping off the > list'. The Dock is too small to hold everything, so we usually use Recent > Items to keep track of important items so we don't have to go dig them up in > other ways (Spotlight, looking for them in the Applications folder, etc.) and > save time. There are a few items that aren't used often, and so slip down the > list and off it even if the list is set to a max of 50 items in the Recent > Applications, same number of Recent Documents, (System Preferences/Appearance > won't let us go beyond that...) and 10 Recent Servers. That means that unless > the list is trimmed every ever so often, we have to go looking for stuff > again... which is annoying. If, for example, I want to print a few labels, I > _really_ don't need to hunt down the label printing app for the nth time. But > I don't use it often enough to justify wasting Dock space on it or cluttering > up my Desktop with an alias to it. If I had a quick, simple, way of removing > items from Recent Applications which _are_ in the Dock, then it would still > be available the next time I needed it, even if that's a month from now. > > Unfortunately editing the plist and then doing a log out/log in or a restart > is more trouble than it's worth, and just quitting the Finder won't work. > > And, yes, we do use that many apps. Remember that each printer, for example, > launches an app to print. Depending on what we're printing, we might use as > many as five printers. Add in the Terminal, Activity Monitor, Network > Utility, the Address Book, Mail, a few graphics apps, two or three browsers, > System Preferences, assorted MS Office and iWork apps, and pretty soon we're > out of slots in the available 50 items, and the next time we launch > something, something else is forced off the list. It's not too bad for > documents, since Snow Leopard we can have a _long_ list of recent documents > inside the apps themselves, depending on how they were written, but there's > only so many ways to keep track of servers and apps. And a 'server' is any > shared point... > > > > > Or if you're not hiding something (FYI: I don't a damn about what you're > > hiding if in fact you are, and I would agree there are good cases for > > hiding one's tracks in certain circumstances), what's the problem? > > See above. Well, my Dock currently has 44 permanent app icons (ordered in a way that makes sense to me) and four folders - recent apps (added via a hidden preference I read about in MacWorld), a collection of aliases to my favourite games, and my Documents and Downloads folders. If I could be bothered and wasn't so used to my current setup, I might collect some more of the 44 apps as aliases into another folder or two. When I want to launch a document I simply go to the Finder, my Documents folder (which I leave open all the time at a size and layout I prefer for documents) and navigate to it. All my documents are named logically and grouped together in separate folders making finding them easy. If I was more disorganised I suppose I'd make myself use Spotlight - which might be faster than what I do now, anyway, heh. I suppose I could also get rid of my Documents folder from the Dock given I rarely ever access it from there. Now I can see a point where my system would fall down - but it would take an awful lot more apps and a great many categories (and thus separate folders) of Documents before it became too unwieldy, especially using the Documents folder in the Finder given I can just start typing the file's name to have it selected. I can see one areas that the Finder's view fails you looking for recent documents - it can sort by creation and modification date, but not date last opened so far as I know. Anyway - if I have any advice here it's to simply ignore the recent items menu in most cases. It's really not that helpful even to myself, and I only open a moderate number of apps and documents per day - enough to knock out a good half the list. Instead I'd use aliases, the Dock and Spotlight to open the same stuff over and over. Recent items is never going to exactly do what you want, from the sound of it. Why fight it? As you say - editing plists is more trouble than it's worth. As Obi-Wan would say: This is not the feature you're looking for ;-) -- If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
From: Frank P. Eigler on 7 Dec 2009 15:57
J.J. O'Shea (try.not.to(a)but.see.sig) wrote: [snip] : Not so much 'hide my tracks' as 'prevent certain items from slipping off the : list'. The Dock is too small to hold everything, so we usually use Recent : Items to keep track of important items so we don't have to go dig them up in : other ways (Spotlight, looking for them in the Applications folder, etc.) and : save time. There are a few items that aren't used often, and so slip down the : list and off it even if the list is set to a max of 50 items in the Recent : Applications, same number of Recent Documents, (System Preferences/Appearance : won't let us go beyond that...) and 10 Recent Servers. That means that unless : the list is trimmed every ever so often, we have to go looking for stuff : again... which is annoying. If, for example, I want to print a few labels, I : _really_ don't need to hunt down the label printing app for the nth time. But : I don't use it often enough to justify wasting Dock space on it or cluttering : up my Desktop with an alias to it. If I had a quick, simple, way of removing : items from Recent Applications which _are_ in the Dock, then it would still : be available the next time I needed it, even if that's a month from now. : Unfortunately editing the plist and then doing a log out/log in or a restart : is more trouble than it's worth, and just quitting the Finder won't work. : And, yes, we do use that many apps. Remember that each printer, for example, : launches an app to print. Depending on what we're printing, we might use as : many as five printers. Add in the Terminal, Activity Monitor, Network : Utility, the Address Book, Mail, a few graphics apps, two or three browsers, : System Preferences, assorted MS Office and iWork apps, and pretty soon we're : out of slots in the available 50 items, and the next time we launch : something, something else is forced off the list. It's not too bad for : documents, since Snow Leopard we can have a _long_ list of recent documents : inside the apps themselves, depending on how they were written, but there's : only so many ways to keep track of servers and apps. And a 'server' is any : shared point... You comment about not using Dock space, but you realy only need to add one folder ... <http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20071101055329470> Maybe that will help? -- Non Illegitimi Carborundum |