Tiger: Safari to gain native PDF, Postscript support, Spotlight in dialogs
With the latest pre-release builds of Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger," Apple's Safari Web browser has gained support for additional file formats while the company's Spotlight technology continues to conquer new territory through the OS.
Apple Computer's forthcoming meta-based Spotlight search technology will be accessible through a wide range of Tiger applications in addition to the Mac OS X Finder, sources tell AppleInsider.
In the most recent builds of the forthcoming OS, Apple has revised its Navigation Services (open and save dialog boxes) to seamlessly incorporate the search technology. In addition to a built-in Spotlight search field, the dialogs sport a Spotlight location bar to further refine searches, effectively reducing the time and patience required to locate files in the file system.
Meanwhile, sources are reporting several other changes to Tiger since the first pre-release of the system, which was distributed in June. By default, screenshots are now saved in PNG format, as opposed to PDF. Additionally, an update to the Tiger's Safari Web browser will display PDF and Postscript documents without the need for a third party plug-in.
Sources have also noted the addition of multiple iChat accounts in the most recent builds of iChat 3.0, a forthcoming update to Apple's instant message software. iTunes integration also remains as an option in the application—albeit non-functional—but tabbed chats have yet to surface.
Apple this weekend seeded Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger build 8A294 to its general developer population, and followed up with a slightly modified release of the same build, which was delivered to employees and trusted third party affiliates on Monday.
Update: iTunes integration in the latest builds of iChat 3.0 does in fact function properly, but requires last week's release of iTunes 4.7.
Apple Computer's forthcoming meta-based Spotlight search technology will be accessible through a wide range of Tiger applications in addition to the Mac OS X Finder, sources tell AppleInsider.
In the most recent builds of the forthcoming OS, Apple has revised its Navigation Services (open and save dialog boxes) to seamlessly incorporate the search technology. In addition to a built-in Spotlight search field, the dialogs sport a Spotlight location bar to further refine searches, effectively reducing the time and patience required to locate files in the file system.
Meanwhile, sources are reporting several other changes to Tiger since the first pre-release of the system, which was distributed in June. By default, screenshots are now saved in PNG format, as opposed to PDF. Additionally, an update to the Tiger's Safari Web browser will display PDF and Postscript documents without the need for a third party plug-in.
Sources have also noted the addition of multiple iChat accounts in the most recent builds of iChat 3.0, a forthcoming update to Apple's instant message software. iTunes integration also remains as an option in the application—albeit non-functional—but tabbed chats have yet to surface.
Apple this weekend seeded Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger build 8A294 to its general developer population, and followed up with a slightly modified release of the same build, which was delivered to employees and trusted third party affiliates on Monday.
Update: iTunes integration in the latest builds of iChat 3.0 does in fact function properly, but requires last week's release of iTunes 4.7.
Comments
All I can say is, its about time. I know there is a lot going on with the WebCore team but wouldn't they consider all the PDF talk going on with Quartz that they would natively support PDF and Postscripts documents inline? Ah well, better late then never.
PNG Screenshots
Very nice. For those that haven't invested in 3rd party screen-capture utilities (myself) I'd love to see a return to a lossless compression format for screen and window captures.
Great additions, although depending on how well they integrate PDFs with Safari, Schubert it might be losing mindshare.
For iChat... does this mean multiple account AT ONCE--like business and personal?
Just make sure you installed iTunes 4.7
Now of course, why didn't they use the private APIs a while ago? Anyone's guess, but this isn't all that significant.
One thing I would like to see in Navigation Services (Open/Save dialogs) is the ability to rename files within those dialogs. That ability has been in Windows for a long time, and I don't think it would be a bad thing for it to exist in Mac OS, as well.
Originally posted by IonYz
PNG Screenshots
Very nice. For those that haven't invested in 3rd party screen-capture utilities (myself) I'd love to see a return to a lossless compression format for screen and window captures.
PNG is lossless. Or did I not understand what you were saying?
Originally posted by kim kap sol
PNG is lossless. Or did I not understand what you were saying?
Previous versions of OS X used TIFF (IIRC) then they moved to PDF which is lossy. At least in some of the examples I had at the time they showed artifacts under closer inspection. Now they will be returning to a lossless (PNG) format.
Originally posted by IonYz
Great additions, although depending on how well they integrate PDFs with Safari, Schubert it might be losing mindshare.
Ooh. Thanks for that.
Originally posted by MPMoriarty
Now having a spotlight search dialog in the open dialog makes sense, but how does having one in the save dialog work?
Maybe to find the folder you're trying to save a file in?
Honestly... not being sarcastic... but that is about the only reason I can think of to have Spotlight in the Save dialog as well.
Originally posted by ct77
Maybe to find the folder you're trying to save a file in?
Honestly... not being sarcastic... but that is about the only reason I can think of to have Spotlight in the Save dialog as well.
Yeah that's what I figured. Would that really be necessary?
Originally posted by MPMoriarty
Yeah that's what I figured. Would that really be necessary?
Saving on top of another file.
Originally posted by Nebagakid
Can you also append keywords to your files?
Just put keywords in each files comments. You can then use Spotlight? to search with.
By the way the "installer" tried to upgrade the WWDC version and that appeared to be a complete mess. I couldn't even get DHCP to work.
Originally posted by IonYz
Previous versions of OS X used TIFF (IIRC) then they moved to PDF which is lossy. At least in some of the examples I had at the time they showed artifacts under closer inspection. Now they will be returning to a lossless (PNG) format.
I don't think you understand the TIFF or PDF formats. Both of them are like .mov in that they (sort of) are shells to fit other formats in. TIFF for instance has both lossless and lossy compressions options, including a jpeg variant (actually 2 variants, but one of them has been disowned as being unworkable in the real world... only Windows uses it now).
PDF is by nature a vector format (the ultimate in lossless), but there are lots of provisions to put in other graphics formats into objects in PDF, such as TIFF, JPEG, GIF, PNG, etc...
The old TIFF screenshots were done losslessly, and the PDF's were the same thing put inside a PDF shell. I don't remember off-hand if either used the ZIP or LZW compression options avalible... and they might not have because Windows computers often have a problem reading those formats (Microsoft has ben unwilling to put support for the standards into the OS). Neither one was lossly, nor do I expect the PNG's to be lossly (although the PNG format does allow for it).
The nice thing about PNG is that every PNG reader out there supports the compression options, and it is pretty good (much better than GIF, and capable of 24bit color whereas GIF is only 8 or 16). I am not arguing against PNG... just making the comment that it is not as big a deal as it was made out to be.
Do we have Display PostScript again?
That would be too cool - maybe this is just a ps2pdf by safari.
Originally posted by ct77
Maybe to find the folder you're trying to save a file in?
Honestly... not being sarcastic... but that is about the only reason I can think of to have Spotlight in the Save dialog as well.
Well, not just to find the folder per se, but to find where like files are stored so you can store this file there (so you're not looking for a folder name or property, but search for other files dealing with your task, and save this file in or around this area.
Originally posted by ClimbingTheLog
PostScript?
Do we have Display PostScript again?
That would be too cool - maybe this is just a ps2pdf by safari.
In 10.3, Preview, the application, supports displaying PostScript files directly, bypassing Adobe or printing the document. So, basically, Safari would support it in-line. Although I can't say I've ever come across a PS file while using a browser.