Setting up OS X Services under Snow Leopard (10.6)

Services allow you to easily integrate TextSoap 6 features inside of other applications.

To install TextSoap Services:

1. Launch TextSoap
2. Select Preferences > OS X Services
3. Select the "Install OS X Service menu items using.." item.

If some rare cases, you may need to log out and back (or simply restart) in the first time you install Services for the system to notice the change.

Make sure you have actual cleaners showing in the list box below the "Install OS X Service.." checkbox. If the list is empty, either change the group to associated with Services (via the popup menu) or click the pencil to edit a group you want to associate with Services.

Services behavior has changed under Snow Leopard (10.6). Service items are now only shown when they actually can be used. If you open up an editor like TextEdit, the Service menu will not contain TextSoap items if there is no selection. Once you make a selection on text that is editable, the service items become available. Because TextEdit integrates fully with the OS X Services menu, it is a good application to verify that TextSoap's OS X Service menu items are properly appearing.

Finally, note that some applications do not support OS X Services menu or have very limited support for OS X Services menu. Most notable is MS Word. While I am hopeful that future versions of MS Word (perhaps Office 2011) will support Services, at this time, MS Word does not appear to work well with OS X Services. Some apps also do not support the system contextual menu (relying on their own custom approach). Unfortunately, for these apps, it means that the contextual menu OS X Services option is not available. This is a limitation of the host program. Hopefully, as more programs support OS X Services, these limitations will be lifted.