FastScripts 3.3 is now available on the FastScripts home page, or by selecting “Check for Update” from the FastScripts menu.

This update includes a major new premium scripting addition, facilitating mouse automation by providing a variety of new scripting commands, including a powerhouse for synthesizing clicks and drags:

• click mouse simulates a mouse click at arbitrary point with params:
  • at point
  • [with button] left, right, middle, N
  • [with click count] N
  • [dragging to] point (optional – infers a drag after clicking)
  • [with event cadence] N (imposes a delay between generated events)

Because synthesizing user events can easily conflict with inadvertent inputs from the actual user, FastScripts also supports a command to suppress user interaction while a script is running:

• disable user interaction
  • [with timeout] N (optional: seconds before re-enabling)
• enable user interaction (optional: in any case, user interaction will be re-enabled when the script finishes)

When automating mouse events, the clicks, drags, and releases can happen so fast that it confuses or overwhelms some interface components. For this reason, FastScripts imposes a short delay between the generation and delivery of each individual event that makes up a requested automation command. I’m calling this delay the event cadence, and it can be overridden with a longer or shorter cadence by supplying a parameter to the click mouse command, or for the duration of a whole script by setting this property:

• default event cadence

Finally, there are two new properties for querying the state of the mouse and keyboard:

• current mouse position
• current keyboard modifiers

On top of these new automation features, there are a few bug fixes and enhancements. Here is the complete list of changes in this update:

Complete list of changes for this release:

• New Mouse Automation scripting additions for moving, clicking, and dragging the mouse
• Restore keyboard shortcuts for arrow navigation and deletion to search text field
• Fix a bug that could prevent the search field from being focused the first time the menu is displayed
• Fix a bug that prevented the “Open at login” checkbox from accurately reflecting the status
• Fix a possible crash when certain keystrokes are typed in the Keyboard Shortcuts preference pane
• Fix a bug that caused the FastScripts menu item to remain highlighted after navigating with arrow key
• Built-in crash reporter now detects crashes in script runner proceses

If you enjoy FastScripts, please consider spreading the word on Facebook or Twitter! Thanks for your support.

Updates for both Black Ink for iOS and Black Ink for Mac are now available to address a problem with logging in to the New York Times.

Black Ink 2.2.9 for Mac is now available on the Black Ink site and on the Mac App Store. Black Ink 2.0.4 for iOS is available on the iOS App Store.

If you enjoy Black Ink, please consider writing a review or rating the app on the App Stores, and spreading the word on Facebook or Twitter! Thanks for your support.

Black Ink for iOS 2.0.3 is now available on the App Store.

This update focuses on improving the accessibility of the app with improvements for VoiceOver and other assistive technologies:

• Focused word now tracks movement of voiceover cursor
• Expose custom action for “change puzzle focus direction”
• Now announces selected square when describing focused word

If you enjoy Black Ink, please consider writing a review or rating the app on the Mac App Store, and spreading the word on Facebook or Twitter! Thanks for your support.

Black Ink for iOS 2.0.1 is now available on the App Store.

Yesterday, in the excitement of debuting Black Ink for iOS, I neglected to notice that somehow in the process of submitting and releasing the app publicly, a months-old version of “Black Ink 2.0” was swapped in and became the version that went public!

This means there were a number of bugs in yesterday’s release that had long been fixed. To avoid any ambiguity, today I’m releasing Black Ink 2.0.1, which I have now confirmed is in fact the latest version of the app. If you did jump on the initial release yesterday and installed 2.0, please update to 2.0.1 ASAP so you have a better experience.

If you haven’t installed Black Ink for iOS yet, the initial experience should go a lot smoother starting with today’s update!

If you enjoy Black Ink, please consider writing a review or rating the app on the App Store, and spreading the word on Facebook or Twitter! Thanks for your support.