Using Services to Perform Tasks
Services are yet another way that OS X can automate tasks and make your computing life easier. Essentially, services are Automator workflows available for you to use, depending on the type of file or item you have selected in the Finder or in an application. For example, if you right-click (or Control+click) a JPEG image in the Finder, you see services related to JPEGs at the bottom of the contextual pop-up menu, such as Set Desktop Picture or New Email with Attachment. Another example would be highlighting text in Safari; right-click (or Control+click) the highlighted text and you can select the Add to iTunes as a Spoken Track service.
To see all of the preconfigured services at your disposal in Mountain Lion, open the System Preferences by choosing Apple menu→System Preferences. Select Keyboard from the Hardware section of the System Preferences window and then click Services under the Keyboard Shortcuts tab, as shown in Figure 14.7.
14.7 Mountain Lion has an extensive list of preconfigured services ready to be put to work.
Scrolling through the list of services you are sure to notice that they are divided into types, such as services dedicated to pictures or text. You can enable or disable a service (that is, make it available or unavailable for a particular type of file or item) by selecting the check box next to it in the list.
You can create and edit shortcuts for services. Select Services in the Keyboard Shortcuts tab of the Keyboard preferences pane. Click to highlight the service for which you want to create or edit a shortcut, and then click to the right of the highlighted area to see a text field. Type the new shortcut (or edit the existing one) and it appears in the text field. Click out of the text field and close System Preferences.
Table 14.3 lists the preconfigured services built in to Mountain Lion. You may see other services if the application you are using provides them.
