Problem Service - How to remove?

B

bluehz

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I have been tweaking my OS X box over the last 2 weeks since I started using it full time and have been experimenting with various apps, etc. My SERVICES menu has become rather crowded with some things I don't really want any more. On top of that - there is some service that is causing a problem - such that I can only actually view the Services pulldown in certain applications. Many you don't even get the greyed out pull down.

Any way - I have searched everywhere for a method to delete services, etc. but have had no luck. Does any one know how to delete services from the services menu?
 
I'm not sure if you're mistaking an app that can't use Services with a service that is causing a problem, but let me say that only Cocoa apps and VERY RECENT Carbon apps (that use Mach-O libraries -- if you don't know what those are, don't worry) can utilize Services. Also, something must be selected, like text, or a file, or something like that before Services can be invoked. If your problem is simply a case of a grayed out Service menu, chances are you aren't using a Service-aware program.

The way to get rid of services is to move the application that houses the service out of the /Applications folder. For example, if you don't want the "Open URL in OmniWeb" service, then just move the OmniWeb application out of the /Applications folder, and the service will not be there next time you restart. I wish there was a way to disable certain services without moving the actual app, though. Also of note, is that if you have an Applications folder inside your home folder, this will also be a place where services originate from.
 
Thx - yes I know all about cocoa apps and services, etc. In my case though - its NOT just the grey out menu - we're talking I get NO MENU at all in some cases. Even in non-cocoa apps you would still get a fly-out greyed out list of services. Thanks for the info on moving the apps though. Obviously these apps are regsitering with the system in some way - I mean I don't really believe that the System is perpetually scanning the Apps folder looking for services. Does that make sense? So somewhere there must be a plist or something where these apps have registered.
 
In my case, yes, removing an application from the /Applications folder removes it from the Services menu when you log in next time. Note that it doesn't dynamically update, but it removes the service when you log out/log in, so it's only updated once in a while.
 
simX I think it's just the semantics of the meaning dynamic you're pointing out and a slight misunderstanding of how the System Services work.
The thread I referred to and that particular sentence I think you are referring to...
"I was able to confirm the dynamic nature of the Services menu updates by simply..."
was describing the mechanism of how an application builds it's own Services menu and why rharder was seeing his littered. The paragraph above it describes the mechanism in detail down to the event level.

There is still an unknown in where the application that wants to use another applications services is attained. But a logical assumption can be made. The assumption is the relationship to the LSxxx trio files found in the /Library/Preference folder of each users home directory (what I think are the file(s) that System Services events parses. Either all of them or 1 or a combination). This would be the repository of all the apps that offered their services. The updating of the LSxxx files are dynamic as well. It is updated every time a user logs in (arguably dynamic) and "Lazily" (explained in the last paragraph of this post).

The dynamic nature of System Services is in how the menu is built in each application that wants to use System Services. The actual Cocoa message is setServicesProvider:, calling NSApplication (the application delagate that is responsible for event handling for the application in question). This is done at runtime (when an application is launched). This is its dynamic nature because it is not hard coded in the application that uses System Services.

The System Overview files states what you describe as "...it's only updated once in a while." thusly;
"Because there may be locations in the file system a user has never visited, or documents of a type she has never attempted to open, the Finder might have an incomplete view of the applications available on a system. Yet it has a built-in capability for "lazily" updating its view of the file system."
http://www.press3.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10457
"Lazily" is not explained and I believe still undocumented. I haven't checked this since that post I made.

respectfully,
Klink
 
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