Network Actions

Summary: If you’re anything like me and appreciate an uncluttered menubar then this extension is for you. I often have to use a VPN for work and until now (have been using for a while but only now got around to posting it), that meant having to either:

• Have the icon on the menubar for quick access and knowing when it’s active;
• Or open system preferences, navigate to network, connect or check the VPN’s state.

Not anymore!

Introduction

Alfred is a great productivity app for Mac OS X which aims to save you time in searching your local computer and the web. By itself it’s a great application but with the Powerpack the possibilities seem endless.

Extension Description

If you’re anything like me and appreciate an uncluttered menubar then this extension is for you. I often have to use a VPN for work and until now (have been using for a while but only now got around to posting it), that meant having to either:

• Have the icon on the menubar for quick access and knowing when it’s active;
• Or open system preferences, navigate to network, connect or check the VPN’s state.

Not anymore! Network Actions to the rescue! With Network Actions I can easily toggle my VPN on/off and check it’s status with Growl (fallback do popup dialog if you don’t have growl). Here’s how it works…

Extension Installation and Setup

Step 1
Download and install the Etension. To install all you have yo do is double click it and alfred will do the rest.

Step 2
Edit a few basic values in the AppleScript, namely:

• The name of the VPN Service as seen in Network Settings;
• The location of an icon you’d like to appear in the Growl Notification. Personally I use these

Step 3
On first run you’ll have to Register with Growl. Just open alfred and typ nw growl

Extension Usage

• nw Will toggle the service on/off depending on it’ state. nw on Will simply connect the service;
• nw off Will simply disconnect the service;
• nw stat Will show the current state of the connection using Growl (or fallback method).

More actions to come soon…

Tips and Tricks

A useful trick is to assign a global shortcut key to the extension. That way you can easily check the state of the service or toggle it on/off with a simple keypress. Give it a try and you’ll see how much time it saves (not to mention menubar real-estate now that you don’t need the vpn icon ;) )