Windows 7 & 10 How to Bulk Unblock Blocked Files
While setting up a new computer, Windows was throwing up warnings that files transferred from a backup drive might be unsafe. The files were text and images, so the warnings were safe to ignore but the directory had over one thousand files. Rather than unblocking each file manually, Windows PowerShell makes it easy to unblock files in bulk.
Load up Windows Powershell:
- Press Win + R on the keyboard to open the Run dialog.
- In the Run box, type powershell
For one folder without subdirectories, this snippet will do the trick.“$env:userprofile\Downloads“ tells PowerShell to use the Download folder for the logged in user and unblocks all files in it. Change this to the folder path you need if it’s not the Downloads folder.
1 | get-childitem “$env:userprofile\Downloads“ | unblock-file |
If you have sub-directories and need to unblock everything, use the -Recurse flag:
1 | dir “$env:userprofile\Downloads“ -Recurse | Unblock-File |
Want to see a report of files to be unblocked before running it? The -WhatIf flag will show you without executing.
1 | dir “$env:userprofile\Downloads“ -Recurse | Unblock-File -WhatIf |
How to automatically install gulp dependencies
I created a website where I’m using gulp to create a minified version and had to switch to another computer. For whatever reason, gulp install wouldn’t install the dependencies automatically, even when using the “npm-install-missing” plugin.
Add this script to the beginning of your gulpfile.js before the requirements, and when you run gulp, it will install the dependencies automatically. Be aware you’ll need to rerun your gulp command after the script completes.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 | (function(){ var r=require; require=function (n){ try{ return r(n) } catch(e){ r('child_process').exec('npm i ' + n,function (err,body){ try{ console.log('Module "' +n + '"" not found, installing.\n' + body ) return r(n); } catch(e){ } }) } } console.log('""Please re-run gulp.\n' + body ) })() |
Chrome Anchor Link Not Working Fix
One of my single page sites that had been live for months with no changes suddenly had the menu stop functioning in Chrome only. I can’t find an exact reason for the break, but I did find a cross-browser JavaScript solve that fixes the issue nicely. Just add the snippet to your site and the links should work automatically. Note that this fix requires jQuery but can be converted to VanillaJS.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 | /* Navigation Fix -----------------------------------------------------*/ $(function() { $('a[href*="#"]:not([href="#"])').click(function() { if (location.pathname.replace(/^\//,'') == this.pathname.replace(/^\//,'') && location.hostname == this.hostname) { var target = $(this.hash); target = target.length ? target : $('[name=' + this.hash.slice(1) +']'); if (target.length) { $('html, body').animate({ scrollTop: target.offset().top }, 1000); return false; } } }); }); |
Someone reached out to me today for help as the fix broke their WordPress site. If you’re using WordPress, this version uses the compatibility version of jQuery they provide out of the box. Be sure to place it in a javascript file and not your functions.php. Rui was kind enough to confirm the fix also works for Drupal 7.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 | /* Wordpress Navigation Fix -----------------------------------------------------*/ jQuery(function ($) { $('a[href*="#"]:not([href="#"])').click(function() { if (location.pathname.replace(/^\//,'') == this.pathname.replace(/^\//,'') && location.hostname == this.hostname) { var target = $(this.hash); target = target.length ? target : $('[name=' + this.hash.slice(1) +']'); if (target.length) { $('html, body').animate({ scrollTop: target.offset().top }, 1000); return false; } } }); }); |
How to use Teensyduino to send cmd + enter
Recently we purchased a bunch of Teensyduino powered buttons for a trivia game we were building for a client’s convention as a fun learning experience. Now that the conference is through, the buttons are sitting unused, and my boss asked me if I could reprogram one of them so he could use it to send emails through Outlook on Mac.
It was a fun little exercise since I’ve never worked with programming Teensyduinos before. It turned out that this wasn’t so complicated to accomplish. I figured I’d share the script in case anyone else would find it useful.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 | int key1 = KEY_ENTER; int spacesAllowed = 1; void setup() { Serial.begin(9600); pinMode(10, INPUT); digitalWrite(10, HIGH); // C7 } void loop() { if (digitalRead(10) == LOW && spacesAllowed > 0){ Keyboard.set_modifier(MODIFIERKEY_GUI); Keyboard.set_key1(key1); Keyboard.send_now(); delay(5); spacesAllowed = 0; // no spaces allowed anymore } if (digitalRead(10) == HIGH){ Keyboard.set_modifier(0); Keyboard.set_key1(0); Keyboard.send_now(); delay(5); spacesAllowed = 1; // button is up again } } |
If you need to send through Outlook on Windows, change the line
1 | Keyboard.set_modifier(MODIFIERKEY_GUI); |
to
1 | Keyboard.set_modifier(MODIFIERKEY_CTRL); |
List of my must-have Alfred Workflows
Use a mac? You’ll want to grab Alfred App. I’m finding it an invaluable replacement for spotlight and the workflows allow me to supercharge my workflows. It’s so useful that I’ve purchased the Powerpack lifetime license.
In addition to the standard features, here are a list of the most useful workflows for dev/tech:
Kill process – by Nathan Greenstein (@ngreenstein)
I use it as an activity monitor for CPU usage, and from there I can easily force quit any process if needed. It’s easier to see all processes on the Alfred UI instead of opening Activity Monitor on your mac. There’s also the workflow Kill Application – by Sebastian Hallum Clarke (and also on his site you can find other cool workflows).
Timer – by Daniel Bader
I use this one a lot. It’s super simple and by writing “Timer” and the number of minutes, you can easily set a reminder. It’s great for anyone using the Pomodoro technique or even if you leave something on the stove and want to go back to work.
Copy SSH Public Key – By oldcai
This one saves me time when I need to deploy my SSH key on a new server. Type ‘pk [ssh key file name]’ and it’ll copy the ssh key to the clipboard.
Incognito – by Nedwood
I find myself using this when I need to test a page and bypass the cache. Type ‘incog [url]’ and it’ll launch a new chrome window in incognito mode.
Find Folder by Samvlu
Finds a folder by name. I find this is faster than spotlight in just about every search.
Smart Folders by Deanishe
List all the Smart Folders/Saved Searches (same thing) on your system and drill down into their contents. Works in much the same way as Alfred’s File Filter, but Smart Folders are also available outside Alfred and are a bit more flexible.
For example, you can configure a Smart Folder to show all video/audio/image files without having to specify each different filetype individually. If you already use Smart Folders, this workflow can save you the work of re-implementing them as File Filters.
What’s more, you can exclude specific filetypes with a Smart Folder, which Alfred cannot do.
Advanced Google Maps Search by stuartcryan
This workflow gives you some quick and dirty shortcuts into Google Maps:
Commands:
To Configure:
mapsethome <home address including street number, name, postcode> (i.e. what you would type into Google Maps)
mapsetwork <work address including street number, name, postcode> (i.e. what you would type into Google Maps)
Commands for Use:
maps <query> – Search Google maps for an address
dir <query> to <query> to <query> etc (seperate multiple addresses with ” to ” minus the quotes, and you will get a multiple location search)
dirfw Show directions from Work to address
dirfh Show directions from Home to address
dirtw <query> Show directions from query to Work address
dirth <query> Show directions from query to Home address
trafficw – Show traffic from Home to Work
traffich – Show traffic from Work to Home
StackOverflow Search by deanishe
If you use stackoverflow as much as I do, this is a must-have.
Date Calculator
I find myself needing to calculate differences between dates in my personal life a lot lately. This workflow saves me a lot of time to do that. Want to know how far Christmas is away in days? ‘dcalc 12-25-16 – now d’ returns the number of days (assuming you’re using the US short format like I am).
Wifi Control by miroman
All my Macbooks periodically have issues with wifi. I’ve never been able to figure out what’s causing it but I use Wifi Control to restart the wifi which allows me to connect successfully.
Bugnot by vitor
If you use bugmenot at all, this is a useful extension to get logins without loading a new tab. Type ‘bn domain.com’ and you’ll get a list of matching passwords to use.
How to Fix ‘Converter Failed to Save File’ with Excel 2016
I recently upgraded to Office 2016 on my Windows 10 desktop and was getting the error “Converter failed to save file” when double clicking on the file along with an “There was a problem sending the command to the program error” every time. I finally had enough with the annoyance to troubleshoot it and figured out a solve.
If you have the same issue, here’s how to fix it:
- Open your Default Programs configuration from the Control Panel. On Windows 10, you can hit start, type Default Programs, and it’ll open the app.
- Scroll down the list until you get to the Excel formats (XLS):
- If you see anything other than Excel as the default, you’ll need to change the default to Excel. For me, the issue was the Open XML Converter not being installed anymore after upgrading to 2016. To change the default, select the format, click the “Change Program” button and select Excel 2016 from the list of apps that pops up and click OK to set the association:
- You’ll need to do this for each format in the list to correct it. The most common formats you’ll use are XLS, XLSX, & XLT.
One-line snippet to update linux and apps on Ubuntu using apt-get
I find myself using this command on Digitalocean droplets fairly often and am sharing in case anyone else finds it useful. Use this one line to install all updates, security fixes, and system upgrades.
1 | sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade |
How to test email sending in Laravel 5.3 using artisan tinker
I’m building a Laravel app and ran into an error when trying to send mail but wasn’t getting an error back since the request was posted through ajax. If you’re trying to troubleshoot it, artisan tinker app is very useful to get more information on the error.
Fire up terminal/command line and run:
1 | php artisan tinker |
and then run the following snippet:
1 | Mail::send('emails.test',[], function($message) { $message->to('[email protected]')->subject('Testing email'); }); |
Change emails.test to point to a blade that works and populate the email you want to test.
You should either see a success/null message if everything was correct, or an error with details on what went wrong. The error I encountered required configuring 2FA in Gmail or setting the insecure app option up to send through Gmail for testing.
ReportCrash High CPU & How to Disable reportcrash in Mac OSX
For a while now, all of my MacBooks have run extremely hot and the fans have gone nuts. While troubleshooting the issue, Activity Monitor showed that an app named reportcrash has run very high on the CPU and has killed my battery life. Force quitting the app didn’t help as it would start right back up in a few seconds and climb back to 80-100% usage of the CPU.
What is CrashReporter?
CrashReporter runs in any time an application crashes and it’s designed to saves the application state to aid developers in working out why the app crashed. Basically a process is launching, crashing (and invoking CrashReporter) and then re-launching, repeating this cycle never ending.
How to Identify What’s Crashing
To show which process is triggering this cycle and stop it, CrashReporter is pretty verbose in its logging which makes finding the problem app somewhat easier. Open up the console.app (/Applications/Utilities/Console.app) and look towards the end of your system.log to see what app is crashing.
Unfortunately for me, the problem is a driver by some company called EFI and getting the latest drivers didn’t resolve the issue. The next obvious solution was to disable reportcrash.
How to Disable ReportCrash
Fire up terminal and run the following commands to disable reportcrash:
1 2 | launchctl unload -w /System/Library/LaunchAgents/com.apple.ReportCrash.plist sudo launchctl unload -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.ReportCrash.Root.plist |
How to Enable ReportCrash
If you need to reenable crash report, run the following commands in terminal:
1 2 | launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchAgents/com.apple.ReportCrash.plist sudo launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.ReportCrash.Root.plist |
How to flatten a directory on Mac through terminal
Recently, I was handed a project with pre-built ANT scripts that zip folders up into individual directories. The zip files in each folder needed to be uploaded to an FTP site without the folder so having to navigate into each was a bit annoying and time consuming for 40 files.
If you find yourself in need of merge or flatten a folder/directory, use this snippet to flatten everything into a single directory. If a file exists with the same name, you’ll be prompted to overwrite or leave in the existing folder.
1 | find $PWD -mindepth 2 -type f -exec mv -i '{}' $PWD/ ';' |
In my case, there was an extra file generated within each folder that was not used and I didn’t want to be prompted 40 times to overwrite so changing the -i to -n will force files to be overwritten. I’d recommend using caution with this and only use it when you know the duplicate files don’t matter.
1 | find $PWD -mindepth 2 -type f -exec mv -n '{}' $PWD/ ';' |