Get Recent Microsoft Office Documents for LaunchBar

This repository provides a suite of LaunchBar actions for accessing recent Microsoft Office documents. The actions are designed to streamline access to recent files for users working with Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.

Contents

This repository includes the following components:

• Actions: Pre-packaged LaunchBar actions in Actions.zip to enable direct access to recent documents.
• Source Code:
  • BDAlias: Helper library for managing macOS aliases.
  • GetRecentExcelDocuments: Retrieves recent Microsoft Excel documents.
  • GetRecentPowerPointDocuments: Retrieves recent Microsoft PowerPoint documents.
  • GetRecentWordDocuments: Retrieves recent Microsoft Word documents.
  • GetRecentOfficeDocumentsLib: Shared library used across Office document retrieval actions.

Installation

Option 1: Manual Installation

1. Download the pre-packaged actions from the Actions.zip.

2. Extract the contents, which include:

   • Recent Excel Documents.lbaction
   • Recent PowerPoint Documents.lbaction
   • Recent Word Documents.lbaction

3. Place these .lbaction files into your LaunchBar Actions folder: ''' ~/Library/Application Support/LaunchBar/Actions '''

4. Restart LaunchBar to load the new actions.

Option 2: Automatic Installation

Alternatively, you can simply double-click each .lbaction file. This will automatically install the action in LaunchBar.

Compilation Instructions

To compile the GetRecentExcelDocuments, GetRecentPowerPointDocuments, and GetRecentWordDocuments programs from the source code, follow the steps below. Compilation from the source code should, however, not be necessary if you simply plan to use the actions.

1. Open the Workspace:

   • Open the Xcode workspace GetRecentOfficeDocuments.xcworkspace, which is located at the root of the project directory: ''' open GetRecentOfficeDocuments.xcworkspace '''

2. Select the Scheme:

   • In Xcode, use the scheme selector in the toolbar to select one of the targets:
     • GetRecentExcelDocuments
     • GetRecentPowerPointDocuments
     • GetRecentWordDocuments

3. Set Build Configuration:

   • Go to Edit Scheme for each target and ensure the Build Configuration is set to Release for the final production build.

4. Build the Selected Target:

   • Select Product > Build to build the selected scheme. This will compile the program and place the output in the BUILT_PRODUCTS_DIR.

5. Repeat for Each Program:

   • Repeat steps 2 to 4 for each program (GetRecentExcelDocuments, GetRecentPowerPointDocuments, and GetRecentWordDocuments) to produce all three executables.

6. Manual Copy to LaunchBar Actions:

   • After building, copy each executable to its respective directory in: ''' ~/Library/Application Support/LaunchBar/Actions/Recent [Application Name] Documents.lbaction/Contents/Scripts '''
   • Replace [Application Name] with Excel, PowerPoint, or Word as appropriate.

Usage

• Activate LaunchBar and type the name of the desired Microsoft Office application.
• Press space to display directly from LaunchBar the recent documents of the selected Office application.

Donations

If you find this plugin helpful, consider supporting its development with a donation.

Author

• Author: Andrea Alberti
• GitHub Profile: alberti42
• Donations:

Feel free to contribute to the development of this plugin or report any issues in the GitHub repository.