looking for a sort of 'shortcut' for Mail/Entourage

yogixfromparisyogixfromparis
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
Hello all



I spent time in the archive, didn't find any anwser. Maybe I browsed too fast, but here's the "shortcut" i'm looking for:



(hope the question is relevant in Genius Bar)



- First step, I am into Entourage (or Mail, it's the same problem), and I receive an attached document.



- Second step: I detach the document. Usually I store it in User/Work/Clients/ClientsName/Task/..., so it's quite "deep inside" my powerbook.



- Last step, I just saved the document into said folder. Now I need to open said document. I usually have to open my user file, then navigate all the way down to the clients name and its task, to find the document I just saved.



It drives me crazy. Were I to open said doc directly from Entourage, I'd have to save it later on into it's final filing destination, which is not convenient to me...especially because I do changes when I read the document... so when I quick-save them, they are saved into the Mail/Attahcnmnts/temp directory, which is NOT handy at all.



So, i'd like to find out a shortcut to immediately open the folder in which I just saved a document coming from Entourage. Does-it exist natively ? Can I do it with an AppleScript ?



thanks for your help !

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    maccrazymaccrazy Posts: 2,658member
    So you want this file to automatically open once it's saved? Could you not just open it from Entourage and then save as... to the destination you want it?



    In 10.4 you can create smart folders, so you could have one for each of your clients for their attachments. Or Automator may have some features you want.
  • Reply 2 of 10
    yogixfromparisyogixfromparis Posts: 24member
    "So you want this file to automatically open once it's saved? Could you not just open it from Entourage and then save as... to the destination you want it? "



    -> it's not exactly what I want to do. see, I'm working with my Mac for a webshop, where I manage clients & internal ressources, and my mailbox is usually stuff with lots & lots of mails every day, for 2 to 5 different projects at a given time



    What I typically receive for instance from my web designer is .jpg files he does with Photoshop. I have PS on my Mac, but when I want to review them, I don't want to use PS to look at them, but instead the "preview" app. From Entourage, these files are presented with their brownish PS jpg Icon. I can NOT open them directely with Preview from Entourage (the double click launches Photoshop!!!)



    So, I must save them before I open them, and I have the problem described on my first post : Once the files are saved in a sub-sub-sub-sub folder, I'd like to open the last folder (the one in which they're stored) immediately, with a shortcut or something. I don't want the saved files to open directly and automatically - this I'll do myself, I want to access their storage folder as quickly as possible.



    And, so far, only way is to manually navigate to the sub-sub-sub-[...]-folder, with between 4 and 8 clicks depending on the structure of the client's directory.



    And it's not handy to create shortcuts : in the past 2 months, I've dealt with about 10 clients, each with its own folder structure... so my desktop would be cluttered with shortcuts!
  • Reply 3 of 10
    maccrazymaccrazy Posts: 2,658member
    Could you try control clicking on the file and selecting preview or dragging the file to dock icon in preview- both will open it in preview.
  • Reply 4 of 10
    yogixfromparisyogixfromparis Posts: 24member
    no!

    it doesn't work - at least in Entourage : you can NOT drag an item that's in the attachment section to the app you wish on the dock, or wherever, and when control-clicking it, you only can "open it", not "open it with...".



    Also, I told the story when my graphic designer sends me Jpgs. But sometimes he sends me a big Zip, with .jpgs, .psds etc so I need to store it first before I double-clik on it (otherwise it"ll de-zip it somewhere, but not in the right Client's folder) ;-)



    I know, it's a really minor usability problem here. God, I whish I had a simple solution !



    thanks for your help anyway...
  • Reply 5 of 10
    maccrazymaccrazy Posts: 2,658member
    you could try mail, it might do what you're looking for. I'm not a fan of entourage. You can export your address book from entourage to the Mac OS X address book.
  • Reply 6 of 10
    regreg Posts: 832member
    Why don't you just put your tasks folder in the dock (right side). This way after you save the file you only have to do 1 click and hold to get to the recently saved file.



    reg
  • Reply 7 of 10
    yogixfromparisyogixfromparis Posts: 24member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by reg

    Why don't you just put your tasks folder in the dock (right side). This way after you save the file you only have to do 1 click and hold to get to the recently saved file.



    reg



    Reg,



    I *could* technically do it. But first, I have a 12" screen, with the dock size quite small. And second, I foresee a big problem:



    i work with several people on several projects at the same time.



    On a given day, i'll receive

    - a draft presentation for client X > i'll store it under Clients>ProjectX>Presentations

    - a draft pricing sheet for Client Y. THis doc will go into Clients>ProjectY>Pricing

    - a Jpg for Client Z> It'll be stored into Clients>Z>Images...



    So putting all the latest folders in my dock may last just one or 2 days. After 2 days, some won't need to be used anymore, while I'll need to add some new ones !!!!!



    so... dock use looks not really convenient. What I'd like to find is exactly what you see when you do a "...save as" in some applications : in the drop-down menu, you see the latest opened folders... but in my case it would show the latest folders where an action has taken place (and, in my particular case, that action would be 'saving a document within'.)



    thks anyway
  • Reply 8 of 10
    bergzbergz Posts: 1,045member
    Take a look at Quicksilver. It's not a panacea, but it's close.



    You save your files wherever you like, QS catalogues them automatically, then with a pair of keystrokes you have instant access to them wherever they are. Once you have found the files using a minimum of keystrokes you can assign an action, like "Open with Preview" for instance, or a Script, or any number of actions.



    Cumbersome linear file structures melt away, the Dock's limited functionality is forgotten.



    For more info: the 10-min-to-a-better-OS X tutorial



    --B
  • Reply 9 of 10
    sunilramansunilraman Posts: 8,133member
    if you use Apple's mail.app

    if an email has an attachment

    you can click the arrow to expand, it will show you what files, then you can open it straight away from there IIRC (getting late... must go... sleep...)



    forget entourage
  • Reply 10 of 10
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    sunrailman, unfortunately that doesn't solve the problem he's having.



    Interesting problem you pose, yogix... I don't see a way to directly do what you want.



    But... expanding on the folder-In-Dock idea... put the Clients folder in the Dock. Save the attachment as normal. Ctr-click/right-click/click-and-hold on the Clients folder, and it will present you with the contents, and you can navigate the subfolder like a menu set. Might be faster.
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