The Tips - Mac Kung Fu - page 148

• HTTP:// —You can insert links to web pages by simply typing the address,
including the HTTP:// component. For example, typing HTTP://KEIRTHOMAS.COM will
create a link to that site.
• IMESSAGE:// —This will start a Messages conversation within the Messages
app. For example, typing IMESSAGE://55512398765 will open Messages and
attempt to start an iMessage conversation with that cell phone number.
You can also specify IM handles: if you have a Yahoo buddy whose handle
is JOHNSMITH , you could create the following link: IMESSAGE://JOHNSMITH . This
assumes you've configured Messages to log onto your Yahoo account, of
course.
• FACETIME:// —This will start a FaceTime conversation within the FaceTime
app. For example, FACETIME://[e-mail] will attempt to start a FaceTime
conversation with the individual whose FaceTime account is registered
to that address. Apple IDs and cell phone numbers can also be specified,
although as with iMessage, the cell phone number should be typed without
any spaces or symbols in it.
• DICT:// —This will cause the Dictionary app to start and look up a particular
word. For example, DICT://EPICUREAN will open Dictionary with the word defini-
tion for Epicurean displayed, as if it had been typed into the search field.
• VNC:// —This will open a screen-sharing session with whatever address is
specified, although the user will still have to click the Connect button in
a dialog box that appears when the Screen Sharing software starts.
VNC://MACBOOK will attempt to start a screen-sharing session with the com-
puter whose network name is MACBOOK .
• X-MAN-PAGE:// —This will open the man page for the specified term within a
Terminal window. For example, X-MAN-PAGE://SHARING will open the man page
for the SHARING command.
When used without any specified address (that is, if you simply type IMESSAGE://
or FACETIME:// in the link dialog box), the apps will be activated when the link is
clicked, as if the user has clicked their app icon in the Dock.
It's also possible to insert other, typical URLs that are used in web pages,
such as MAILTO:// , SSH:// , and TELNET:// .
For the sake of completeness, it should be mentioned that OS X understands
many other app-specific URLs, but many require specific and complicated