Question

I’m changing the .GlobalPreferences NSUserSubstitutions preference through the NSUserDefaults class (through PyObjC, but that’s besides the point).

This preference controls the text substitutions feature (e.g. which can substitute “©” for “(c)”) of OS X.

After changing the preference, I want it to apply immediately in all running apps. When it’s changed through the System Preferences, it applies immediately. How should I signal other apps to apply it immediately?

Update: Here’s the project: https://github.com/ikonst/mac-tex-substitutions

Answer 1

Using the following code:

[[NSDistributedNotificationCenter defaultCenter] addObserver:self selector:@selector(gotIt:) name:nil object:nil];

I was able to detect that the System Preferences application posts a notification named NSUserReplacementItemsEnabledChanged when the text substitutions preferences change.

Knowing that, you can now post the adequate notification after changing the preferences to let know all open applications:

[[NSDistributedNotificationCenter defaultCenter] postNotificationName:@"NSUserReplacementItemsEnabledChanged" object:self];

Keep in mind that NSUserReplacementItemsEnabledChanged is not documented anywhere, so this behavior can change any time.