Develop iWork Plugin? (Like MathType?)

ArtOfWarfare · 07:47 AM

Does anyone know how I can learn how to write a plugin for iWork like MathType? I can't imagine Apple is actually giving some kind of special opportunity to a company that makes such ugly plugins...

Madd the Sane · Mar 5, 2013, 01:02 PM

There is a plug-in for Keynote that lets you use the LinkBack framework. Try looking at that code and go from there.

The LinkBack framework is developed by the Omni Group and is on their GitHub page.

ArtOfWarfare · Mar 5, 2013, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Madd the Sane

There is a plug-in for Keynote that lets you use the LinkBack framework. Try looking at that code and go from there.

The LinkBack framework is developed by the Omni Group and is on their GitHub page.

That sounds very promising. I'll look into it - thanks for the pointer!

ArtOfWarfare · Mar 13, 2013, 06:34 AM

I thought I'd share where that led to...

I sent an email to Nisus software enquiring about the LinkBack plugin in keynote and this is what I got back:

Quote:

We actually did not develop that plugin. It was written by King Chung Huang, who cannot seem to be reached these days.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

So that appears to have ended in a dead end.

phoenixsan · Mar 13, 2013, 08:56 PM

these links are worth looking:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread...art=0&tstart=0

https://discussions.apple.com/thread...art=0&tstart=0

ArtOfWarfare · Mar 14, 2013, 04:29 AM

The second thread suggested using AppleScript. I've done some with it - not much, but it seems to me that AppleScript wouldn't be capable of doing all the things MathType does...

My understanding is that the iWork suite uses a file format that's meant to be easy to extend with plugins... Originally it wasn't going to be a suite, but a single application that just had a canvas you could drop any media elements into, and that any elements it didn't understand out of the box could have plugins written for them. Was that idea just scrapped entirely, or has Apple just failed to release any documentation on how it works?

Feb 26, 2013, 04:52 PM	#1
ArtOfWarfare macrumors 68040 Join Date: Nov 2007	Develop iWork Plugin? (Like MathType?) Does anyone know how I can learn how to write a plugin for iWork like MathType? I can't imagine Apple is actually giving some kind of special opportunity to a company that makes such ugly plugins... Last edited by ArtOfWarfare; Feb 27, 2013 at 07:47 AM.
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Mar 13, 2013, 08:56 PM	#5
phoenixsan macrumors 6502a Join Date: Oct 2012	Maybe..... these links are worth looking: https://discussions.apple.com/thread...art=0&tstart=0 https://discussions.apple.com/thread...art=0&tstart=0 __________________ Mac Pro 2010 3.06 Westmere version, 12 Core 64 GB RAM, 4 TB , iPhone 5 (black)
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Mar 5, 2013, 01:02 PM	#2
Madd the Sane macrumors 6502 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Utah	There is a plug-in for Keynote that lets you use the LinkBack framework. Try looking at that code and go from there. The LinkBack framework is developed by the Omni Group and is on their GitHub page.
	0

Mar 14, 2013, 04:29 AM	#6
ArtOfWarfare Thread Starter macrumors 68040 Join Date: Nov 2007	The second thread suggested using AppleScript. I've done some with it - not much, but it seems to me that AppleScript wouldn't be capable of doing all the things MathType does... My understanding is that the iWork suite uses a file format that's meant to be easy to extend with plugins... Originally it wasn't going to be a suite, but a single application that just had a canvas you could drop any media elements into, and that any elements it didn't understand out of the box could have plugins written for them. Was that idea just scrapped entirely, or has Apple just failed to release any documentation on how it works?
	0


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