In a previous post, I discussed a nice feature of Google Search that allows you to use Google Search as a dictionary. I now find that I use this feature so much, that it was time to turn it into a script or automate it. I’m currently running Mac OS X Tiger.
I first created a simple AppleScript. This worked well for my purposes. In terms of sharing it, I decided to redo it in Automator and save it as an application. This way, you can add it to the scripts menu in Mac OS X, add it to the dock, etc.
How it works
The Automator workflow saved as an application works as follows. First, you copy any word (highlight and press Cmd-c) that you’d like to enter into Google. Now simply run the application by either clicking it or running it from the scripts menu. The application will open up your default web browser and submit the “Define: [content of the clipboard]” to Google. The results are now displayed just as if you had manually opened your browser and did a search in Google using “Define:” and the word you’d like defined. This little application (essentially just an Automator workflow) saves me a few steps. But given that I use Google as a dictionary several times each day, these little savings of time will eventually add up. The other nice thing is that I can use Google as a dictionary from any application that allows me to copy a word to the clipboard in Mac OS Tiger.
Like my earlier workflow for copying a file’s full POSIX file path to the clipboard, this workflow application is not very sophisticated — it’s just quick and dirty. Also, I’ve only tested it on my machine. I’m not sure if it will work properly in Mac OS X Leopard. Anyway, I hope you find it of some use. Enjoy!
