Yojimbo
Latest
Yojimbo 1.4.1
While it isn't a major release that adds big features like tagging or AppleScript support, Yojimbo 1.4.1 does fix a lot of miscellaneous bugs that users have been battling. A full changelog is here, listing fixes for things like crashes when viewing web archives and some scripting operations, as well as an auto-save fix to make sure your most recent un-saved changes don't get tossed out with the bath water when you quit. Yojimbo 1.4.1 can be had from from Bare Bones's Updates page.
Clear out 3rd party .Mac sync items with Syncrospector
.Mac Sync Services leave much to be desired in the management department - Apple provides no UI for removing them once you no longer use an application, and you don't have many options for troubleshooting when things go south. Until now. A user named kohlmannj at the indispensable macosxhints figured out how to use an app at the ADC site that can actually remove 3rd party sync items and reset your .Mac syncing to a 'never synced before' status. The hint is actually very simple to implement, but be sure to read the entire post to understand exactly what you're getting yourself into. In summary: this tool and hint will set your .Mac Sync Services back to square 1, meaning that 3rd party items will get removed (though your data in those apps will remain unscathed), and the next time you sync (I recommend performing one manually) you'll be asked all those 'brand new Mac' questions like "you are about to sync your calendars for the first time, do you want to merge, replace, etc." Soon after you perform this reset, your 3rd party .Mac-aware apps *should* ping Sync Services to get on the list again, and I can personally say this worked for Yojimbo, but not Trasmit - yet. Ultimately, this might be a bit like using a sledgehammer to strike a nail, but it works - which is better than Apple's former solution of 'nothing.'
AppleScript brings iPod syncing to Yojimbo
On the Yojimbo mailing list, Steve Kalkwarf has shared an AppleScript he built that can send Yojimbo items tagged 'ipod' to the notes section of (surprise!) an iPod. Steve gave his permission to redistribute the script so we're hosting it here at TUAW to help keep the load off his servers. It's actually a pretty smart little script: it can break up long Yojimbo items into sequential notes, and it offers a dialog to wipe out previous Yojimbo notes from the iPod in case things get messy.Grateful users on the list have already asked if there's any way to make this script run automatically once an iPod is mounted. While there is surely some fancy schmancy command one can enter into Terminal to do this (anyone care to share?), I'm sure utilities like Life2Go, an app that syncs all sorts of info to an iPod and can run anything you want when one is connected, can do the trick for those of us who aren't wearing the badge of the code ninja.
Yojimbo gets a 3-pane widescreen hack
You can't say I've never blogged anything I don't like - remember that three-pane widescreen plugin for Mail.app? Well, Jon Hicks (yeah, that Jon Hicks) has brought the same window paradigm to Yojimbo with a little hack. Now you too can be the proud owner of a three-pane, widescreen Yojimbo. The hack (which requires the latest version 1.4, that we mentioned earlier) isn't hard to install, but you should still check out Jon's post and follow his instructions word-for-word (to be clear: that especially includes the word 'backup'). There is also a minor catch with the hack in that you can't shrink the Yojimbo window too small, otherwise the notes list will overrun into the note preview window. Fortunately, clicking the bar between the two areas will snap them back into place, so you shouldn't have much to worry about.Me? I still believe there's a lot in a name (and email subjects, too). Maybe it's my blogger practices, but nearly all my notes have very descriptive names, so I need to see as much of those names as possible. These widescreen hacks just feel like change for change's sake, as opposed to good UI (but don't get me wrong: Mr. Hicks does fantastic work). But, in the end, I also still believe in "to each their own," so enjoy the hack if this is your bag.
Yojimbo 1.4 released with AppleScript support
Bare Bones Software has released version 1.4 of Yojimbo, their "effortless information organizer" that is oh so popular with the kids these days. To summarize the press release, the main new addition is long-requested "extensive" support for automation via AppleScript and Perl. Also in this release is a new "Untagged Items" factory smart collection to go along with the still somewhat new tagging feature they released with v1.3. Of course, plenty of bug fixes and refinements also made it into this release, all of which you can view in the release notes. You can snag the new version from Bare Bones' updates page.
Import del.icio.us bookmarks into Yojimbo via AppleScripts
Kenneth Kirksey has posted two AppleScripts on the Yojimbo mailing list for importing your del.icio.us bookmarks into Yojimbo, complete with all your tags. You can get these scripts from the mailing list archives of course, but Kenneth gave me permission to host both of them here on TUAW to make things easier on you readers.The first script, titled All del.icio.us to Yojimbo, imports all your del.icio.us bookmarks into Yojimbo, bringing along all of your tags to boot (If you're a messy tagger, I highly recommend tidying up your del.icio.us tags before you run this script). Per Kenneth's instructions, you simply need to download the text file we've zipped for you, copy all the code from the file into a Script Editor window, and then edit the "set delAccount" and "set delPassword" lines to add your account details in quotes.The second script, called Last del.icio.us to Yojimbo, simply imports your most recent del.icio.us bookmark into Yojimbo. Same instructions apply. Since these scripts make use of Yojimbo 1.3's new tag feature, I'm pretty sure these won't play well with previous versions. Feel free to share your experiences with the scripts here, and be sure to hit up the Yojimbo mailing list if you need more help with them.
AppleScripts for integrating Safari, NetNewsWire, del.icio.us and Yojimbo - oh my!
I don't know how I missed this post at Hawk Wings a few weeks ago, but I am glad I found it at least sooner or later: Tim Gaden has been keeping a watchful eye on the Yojimbo mailing list, and he caught a set of scripts written by Dylan Damian that can take a link from either Safari or NetNewsWire, bookmark it on del.icio.us with Pukka (which I highly recommend as a paid user) and then archive the link in Yojimbo using the same tags you used on del.icio.us. I completely agree with Tim: after testing these scripts out with NetNewsWire, they work like a charm and have just been added to my toolbelt.You can score the scripts by checking the Yojimbo mailing list archives (they're online here if you aren't subscribed), or simply by heading over to Tim's post at Hawk Wings, as he is hosting the files himself.
Missing Sync for Windows Mobile syncs Yojimbo notes
Due to a SonyEricsson phone that recently passed away, I took a leap of faith and purchased a Windows Smartphone device, primarily because I want push email and I think the BlackBerry OS was beaten beyond death with a fugly stick (yes, I know it's still all the rage with the kiddies these days). Device and OS debates aside, I was pleased to discover that the most recent 3.0 version of Missing Sync for Windows Mobile supports syncing items from Yojimbo, though there is a limit - bookmarks and PDFs don't seem to sync; just text notes (to Missing Sync's credit, however, browser bookmarks can be synchronized through a separate included plugin). I'm not sure how long it's done this, since I helped test the 2.5 beta back during the summer and I don't remember Yojimbo being on the list. Regardless, it's a welcome addition and alternative to syncing mostly Apple and Microsoft apps, however I should warn you of one more catch: Smartphone devices (which I bought) don't seem to be able to edit these notes (just like they can't edit Office docs either; only view them), though full-fledged Pocket PC/Windows Mobile can edit them just fine. I've found a few 3rd party apps that might be able to overcome this hurdle, though I haven't had the chance to give any of them a run-through just yet. If anyone knows any better, you know what to do.
Yojimbo 1.3 brings tagging, loads of new features
Late last week, Bare Bones released an update to their excellent junk drawer app, Yojimbo, bringing it up to verison 1.3. I was going to post about it, but a hiccup in my database was preventing me to use the new version (I blame recent .Mac errors, as I'm having all sorts of syncing issues with other apps). Now that I've settled everything, however, I can honestly say this is one of the most pleasing and significant updates to a strong application. In addition to the typical bug fixes and behavior tweaks (you can see the extensive list of changes here), one of the many major additions is tags - users can now tag notes in Yojimbo, complete with support for searching by tags and smart tag collections (and a new Tags management panel in the preferences. Peep the screenshot:As you can see, not only did Bare Bones add tag support, but they did it right. Tags are separated by commas as opposed to restrictive spaces (I'm looking at you, del.icio.us), and yes - that's a Tag Collection you see below my Serial Numbers group (bonus points for still allowing users to change a Tag Collection's folder icon via the Inspector). I honestly can't say enough good things about the addition of tags to Yojimbo, but I need to leave room for the other major additions I mentioned, such as list and table formatting in notes, easy link creation (for both URLs and file system links), a new UI for the Item Details bar (which you can see includes an area for tags), and much, much more. If you're a Yojimbo user, or someone who's still looking for a good junk drawer app, I highly recommend this new version, as Yojimbo is really beginning to shape up well.
Yojimbo: Made possible by Tiger
The Apple Developer Connection spoke with the folks at Bare Bones about Yojimbo, their application for organizing just about everything, and how Apple technologies made it possible. Core Data, Sync Services, and Cocoa created the perfect storm, in the form of Tiger, that combined to form Yojimbo, after some work in Xcode and Interface Builder that is.An interesting article about a very clever app.
Get organized: a survey of digital junk drawer apps
A while ago I decided to bring some sanity to the way I do things and organize all my stuff. I'm working on a design thesis in my multimedia undergrad degree, I'm constantly doing research for my blogging work, and I have countless other projects and ideas that were growing in both size and disorganization in my Home folder. When I decided to finally start getting organized, I realized I might not be the only person in this position, and I figured I would turn my research and testing experiences into a post; a sort of survey of what some call 'digital junk drawer' applications.What follows is a pro and con summary of four of the most popular junk drawer apps I looked at, but read this post with a few of my criteria in mind: I like keyboard shortcuts. I like them a lot. Being able to highlight a chunk of text in a browser or a PDF I'm reading and hitting a couple of keys to send it to a junk drawer app is far more efficient and less workflow-intrusive than having to use a mouse to drag and drop it to some far corner of my display. I decided not to touch apps that employ entirely different paradigms such as the wiki-like VoodooPad; I'm not denying the usefulness of these other ways of working, but adding that entirely new level to this survey would've meant putting this post on the back-burner for longer than I would like. I'm using a MacBook Pro 2.0 Ghz with 1.5 GB RAM, and while I synced my notes library across these apps to gauge performance 'n all that jazz, my library is a mere 500 notes (URLs, PDFs, etc.) strong, so your mileage may vary. With that said, check out my survey of some Mac OS X apps that could help you bring order to your digital chaos, and feel free to post your thoughts or mention apps that should've made this list, and why.
Yojimbo plugin for Quicksilver (or: My heart just skipped a beat)
I need to make more of a habit of rooting around in Quicksilver's plugin pane, as I almost always find stellar new tools each and every time I open it. This time around I stumbled on a Yojimbo plugin for Quicksilver that seems to do a better job of adding items to the Yojimbo database than the bookmarklets that BareBones added themselves in the latest 1.2 update. Tim Gaden at Hawk Wings agrees, and he even beat me to the punch with a post that elaborates how this plugin works, complete with screenshot goodness. Be sure to check it out for a needed tip on turning this operating into a Quicksilver Trigger.After tinkering with this plugin, I am even happier that I uninstalled StickyBrain. The beauty of these actions is that, when adding or archiving a webpage to Yojimbo, this plugin doesn't force Yojimbo to the front, taking the focus away from whatever else you were doing. I don't know how these Quicksilver ninja developers managed to pull this off, as this is one of the main advantages over those new bookmarklets I mentioned.I hope I speak for many users of Quicksilver and Yojimbo when I say: thank you, Quicksilver ninjas.
Bare Bones Software releases Yojimbo 1.2
Yojimbo, the information collection app from Bare Bones Software that helps you 'master the onslaught', has been updated to version 1.2. Among the additions and improves are a Quick Start movie for new users that launches on first startup, search term highlighting, browser bookmarklets for one-click bookmarking or web archiving in Yojimbo, AppleScript importing and much more.A 30-day fully functioning demo is available, while Bare Bones offers full single user, family and educational licenses for $39, $69 and $29, respectively.
Yojimbo QuickPick for Backup 3
For .Mac members (like me) who have been enjoying the breath of fresh organizational air that is Yojimbo, you might be interested to know that Antony, an enterprising member of the Yojimbo mailing list who runs MacCentre701, has created a Yojimbo QuickPick for Backup 3. I tried it as soon as I saw the email, and everything went swimmingly.As a bonus, if you are unfamiliar with how Backup 3 works, Antony included a brief and effective tutorial covering how install QuickPicks and how to get started using this most handy of backup software from Apple.
Yojimbo updated to 1.1
We're a little late on this one, but Yojimbo, a very functional yet simple information collection tool, has been updated to version 1.1. Among the decent list of additions, changes and bugfixes are new features like: opening a bookmark in a preferred browser (not necessarily the default) applescript-ability search field improvements including toolbar statistics like iTunes and Mail improvements to dragging items to the collections list removing backgrounds when printing web archives .Mac syncing no longer requires Yojimbo to be running I started finding all sorts of great uses for Yojimbo and actually decided to buy it last night, so I highly recommend checking it out if you've been looking for a better way to get organized.
Is the Mail.app look being copied too much?
Fraser Speirs, developer of apps like FlickrExport and Xjournal, posed an interesting issue on his blog the other day: is the general look and UI of Mail.app being duplicated by too many other developers? Fraser doesn't necessarily dislike the Mail.app look and feel, nor is he taking a jab at developers, but since he's running Mail.app, NetNewsWire and Yojimbo, he's making a few errors in Exposé simply because these three app windows (not to mention others like Ecto) look very similar.Fraser poses a valid point, and it's a good question I thought worthy of mentioning for you TUAW readers. What do you think? Are too many apps using the same (handy) UI and cluttering up your desktop and Exposé views? Sound off.[via Hawk Wings]
TidBITS reviews Yojimbo
I wrote about Yojimbo (and revealed my ignorance of Japanese phrases) when it first came out, but my post was far from a review. Matt Neuburg has taken Yojimbo for a spin, and overall he likes what he sees. He agrees that there is a very slight learning curve, and that Yojimbo provides a user with a number of ways.However, all is not sunshine and unicorns. Yojimbo's simplicity is a two edged sword, since the application doesn't offer much to sway people from leaving their current workflows behind. Plus, it isn't AppleScriptable.[via Daring Fireball]
Yojimbo
Yojimbo is the latest offering from Barebones Software, makers of BBEdit and TextWrangler. Don't let the silly name fool you, though, this application means business. Meant to allow you to organize the 'other stuff' in your life, this app is basically a filing system for websites, PDF's, product serial numbers, and any other random bits of text you might have.It includes a built in search function, encryption for individual 'entries,' .Mac syncing, and lots of other Tiger goodness baked in (it requires 10.4.3 to run).It is an Universal application that is available today for $39 for a single user licence ($29 bucks for educational users) or $69 for a family pack.Update: It seems that Yojimbo actually is a Japanese word (I thought it was just made up because in my mind I heard 'Yo, Jimbo!' whenever I read it. I wasn't being culturally insensitive, I was just clueless (something I excel at). Thanks to everyone for pointing out my mistake.
