Odb Editor Help
Name:Odb Editor
Version:1.0b3
Last update:2019-08-16 09:08:45




This package allows Alpha to act as an external editor for applications that support Bare Bones' ODB Editor suite.
Two such applications are Interarchy >= 4.1 and Fetch >= 4.0 . This package allows you use Alpha instead of BBEdit to edit remote files listed in the windows of these applications. Frontier is another example of such an application.
This package is only useful in the MacOS.
Note that Alpha also comes with a tool called ralpha (remote alpha) that lets you edit files or open new windows located on remote Unix machines as if they were local files. This is done through an ssh tunnel established between your local computer and the remote machine. See the Ralpha Help page.

Integration with Interarchy

Interarchy 4.1 or greater is required.
Interarchy has a Listing ↣ Edit with <ftp-editor> menu command. Selecting this command fetches the current selected remote file, and opens it in your ftp-editor helper application. Saving the file will automatically upload the new version to the remote site.
See http://interarchy.reppep.com/pages/menu-listing.html#EditwithBBEdit.
The ftp-editor preference is an OS setting that you can add/edit to open files using Alpha following the instructions below.

Mac OS X

Mac OS X contains system-wide internet preferences for Browser, Mailer, File-Mappings, and Protocol Helpers. For some bizarre reason, however, Apple has decided to not make these settings visible to the user. In order to change your ftp-editor helper application, you must first download and install MisFox (Missing Internet Settings For X). See http://www.clauss-net.de/mac.html. or some similar application. Start the program, and inspect your Protocol Helpers. If there is no ftp-editor setting available, add it. If the setting for this helper is not Alpha, edit it and change the value for the helper to Alpha.
A similar tool is More Internet. which adds a new SystemPreferences pane allowing you to change all of your Protocal Helpers.

Integration with Fetch

Fetch 4.0 or greater is required.
Fetch 4.0 includes a Fetch Example Scripts folder in its top-level hierarchy which includes a file named SetSecretOptions. Open this file, and if it opens in the AppleScript Editor application press Run. You will now have a list-pick dialog of options that you can set -- choose Specify external text editor, and then choose Alpha. You can then close the SetSecretOptions file and quit the AppleScript Editor.
(In Fetch 4.0.3 there is actually a SetSecretOptions _folder_ that includes a separate Set External Text Editor script, if this is the case then simply launch that file instead and follow the rest of the instructions outlined above.)
IMPORTANT: If you have both Fetch 3.0.3 and Fetch 4.x on your local disk, be sure to launch the 4.x version before running the script, or else running the AppleScript file might throw an error.
Go back to Fetch (or launch it if necessary) and you should now see a Remote ↣ Edit File with Alpha menu item available. If you select a file in a ftp window, you should be able to edit it in Alpha by selecting the appropriate menu item or its key binding. When you save the file, it will automatically be uploaded using Fetch.

Known problems

Please report any problem or bug you encounter to Alpha's Bug Tracker.

License and Disclaimer

Copyright (c) 2001-2019, Jon Guyer.
All rights reserved.
The odbEditor package is free software and distributed under the terms of the new BSD license:
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met: THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL JON GUYER BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.