Contexts
ControlPlane supports multiple contexts where a context is defined as a location or activity you are performing. Using evidence sources you can create a set of rules that tell ControlPlane what context to apply to your environment. When ControlPlane enters or leaves a context a set of Actions are performed.
Evidence Sources
ControlPlane supports a number of evidence sources including:
- Currently Active Application
- Current Audio Output destination (speakers or headphones)
- Connected Power Adapter (based on serial number of the adapter)
- Connected bluetooth devices
- Bonjour
- CoreLocation, OS X’s location services for locating you
- Connected FireWire devices
- Current IP address
- Light sensor
- Connected Monitor
- State of the network link, connected or disconnected
- Current power source
- Running applications
- Shell Scripts, write your own evidence source!
- Sleep/Wake, run actions when your Mac goes to sleep returns from it
- Connected USB devices
- WiFi, either networks within range or based on the network you are currently connected to.
Rules
Using the evidence sources above you create a set of rules. These rules are used to decide what context to move to, if any. If the context cannot be determined you can tell ControlPlane to move to a default context.
Actions
ControlPlane includes a number of built in actions that it can perform on your Mac but using AppleScript, shell scripts and your imagination you can do virtually anything. Here is a list of the actions built right into ControlPlane
- Change the default printer
- Change your default browser
- Change the desktop background
- Change the display brightness
- Change your iChat status
- Play an iTunes playlist
- Lock or Unlock your keychain
- Change IMAP server in Mail.app
- Change outgoing server in Mail.app
- Change how often Mail.app checks for email
- Mount/Unmount external and network drives
- Change OS X’s built in Network Location in order to change network preferences.
- Open a web page
- Open any file, including starting Applications
- Enable/Disable the screensaver password
- Start the screensaver
- Change the time before the screensaver starts
- Run a script, such as AppleScript or shell script
- Speak any text
- Start a Time Machine backup
- Change Time Machine backup destination (when combined with Tedium)
- Enable/Disable Firewall
- Enable/Disable Internet Sharing
- Enable/Disable Web Sharing
- Enable/Disable Notification Center (Mountain Lion only)
- Enable/Disable FTP and TFTP sharing
- Enable/Disable AFP, SMB or both
- Enable/Disable Remote Login (ssh)
- Enable/Disable Time Machine
- Enable/Disable Bluetooth
- Enable/Disable ‘Context is Sticky’ option
- Enable/Disable WiFi
- Start or stop a VPN connection
I love the work you have done so far. I’ve been thinking of and looking for an application like this. But, I feel you could make it even better by taking a step further with the actions. I am using this application as a WORK mac theme essentially. If it could block me from accessing, skype, msn, a certain web browser with all my bookmarks, or even better limit certain websites then I would definitely get some work done!
keep me posted.
Hey, I read that I could lock my Mac when my phone was out of BT range. Can I accomplish this any other way than having an extra context which to switch to?
And can I unlock it when Iäm in range again?
Are contexts equal to locations?
This was supposed to work in 1.1.0 but I introduced a new bug in the Bluetooth system that can prevent it from working. Look for a fix in 1.1.1 and give it a shot!