Handpicked Software

In reviewing Tidy Service 1.01 it occurred to me how little I actually use Services. Do you use Services? Which ones do you recommend?

When I look at my Services menu, I find over 30 services listed, but the only one I’ve ever really used is Statistics, one of 34 different functions included in WordService 2.5.3 (it also includes a number of different functions for reformatting text). Select a bit of text and Statistics will tell you how many characters, spaces, words, and lines you’ve selected. That’s come in handy when I’ve been editing an article for Macworld; my first draft usually ends up being two to three times as many words as my editor allows. Microsoft Word’s statistics haven’t always worked as expected, and I use half a dozen different word processors or text editors depending on my mood, some of which don’t offer a statistics function.

Devon Technologies, the developers of WordService, also offer an AntiWordService for opening Microsoft Word documents, a BlueService for sending slected text to BlueTooth devices, and a CalcService for calculating formulas.

Given the number of Services I have available, it’s puzzling that I don’t put them to more use. Services seem like such a good idea. What am I missing? Please add a comment to this post with your experiences or recommendations. Have you found any Services that are worth using?

Bottom Line: Most Services never get put to good use, but WordService offers a bag of more than 30 useful tricks.
From: Devon Technologies
Price: Free