ControlPlane Automates Mac Settings Changes

Mac: We’ve previously looked at how you can make your Mac adapt to your environment, but ControlPlane offers a ton of new options. You can provide it with settings you want it to adjust and it will switch to those settings based on an action of your choice.For example, you could have it automatically change your iChat status message to “Away” when you have your headphones unplugged, or dim the display brightness when nighttime rolls around.

You do this by creating contexts, which can be locations or specific situations you’ll find yourself in with your computer. It doesn’t have to revolve around a specific location. You can think of it more as a situation during which you’d want certain settings to be active. This may be “music listening time” or “visiting family” instead of just “work” and “home.”

You then create rules that activate these contexts, and add actions that will be performed when these contexts are active. Once you have all this set up, ControlPlane will take care of the rest and adjust your settings as needed.

When you first get started, ControlPlane will seem a little bit confusing but you’ll get the hang of it quickly once you see how each section interacts (as described above). It’s really handy, free, and open-sourced too!

ControlPlane (Free) [Dustin Rue via AddictiveTips]