AppleScript in a Nutshell

Chapter 17. Scripting Sherlock 2

Sherlock 2 is the Apple Computer program that allows you to search the Web or your local file system for any files or web pages that meet the criteria you specify in the search text field. Figure 17-1 shows the Sherlock 2 window. The program is the Find application from pre-Mac OS 8 lineage, but it is significantly renovated for web searching (the second Sherlock version, Sherlock 2, installed with Mac OS 9).

Figure 17-1. Sherlock 2 window

The software is modeled in part on Internet search-engine methods. For example, Sherlock 2 presents its web search results as a list of hyperlinks ranked by relevance. If you click on the hyperlink, Sherlock 2 opens the default browser and attempts to load the page found by the search. Your machine has to be online, however, for Sherlock 2 to search the Web. For example, if you wanted to find a web page that describes the Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) commands (so that you can test the use of these commands in Mac OS X’s command shell), then initiate these steps with the Sherlock 2 window:

1. Choose the Internet channel icon (the planet Earth) at the top of the Sherlock 2 window.

2. Type “BSD commands” in Sherlock 2’s search text field.

3. Click the magnifying glass icon at the right of the text field to start the search.

You can also use Sherlock 2 to initiate finely grained file searches on your local volumes, ...