How To: Re-open Closed Tabs in Camino & Safari with AppleScript

Rather than update my previous entry on this topic I decided to write a new one since much has changed.

First I'd like to acknowledge Lisa Thompson for her AppleScript expertise, and code contributions. I have adjusted my scripts to use some of her ideas, with permission. As well, Lisa has some excellent AppleScripts for Camino, including her own rendition of the scripts you'll find here. While I lean more toward keyboard shortcuts and apps like FastScripts, Lisa looks to use a new feature in Camino 1.6 - that of adding scripts to the toolbar menu. (note that my scripts can also be used in the toolbar, but mine also tend to have a bit more stuff - relating to keeping certain windows open, etc.).

If you are a user of FastScripts, iKey, Keyboard Maestro, etc., and you like to launch scripts with keyboard shortcuts, you'll find these scripts handy.

Objective: To give Camino and Safari the functionality of automatically saving the current URL of a tab, writing that URL to file for later retrieval, if desired. If the tab was closed accidentally, using the second script, one can reopen that URL in a new tab.

(Note: Saft already provides this functionality in Safari; Saft costs $12. In addition to reopening closed tabs, Saft also retains the history of said tab. These scripts do not retain the history of the closed tab, merely the URL of the tab at the time it was closed. To my knowledge, nothing like this exists as a plug-in on Camino.)

(Note: The "Save|CloseTab" and "Save|Prevent|CloseTab" scripts save ONE URL at a time. So if you want to go back to a tab you closed earlier, but have open/closed tabs since, these will not work - yet. I am looking at the possibilities of implementing that down the road.)

Background: Why did I do this? As a heavy-duty user of Firefox, I rely heavily on the Tab Mix Plus plug-in which retains tabs (with history), freezes tabs, and much more. But Firefox can get bogged down over time, or sometimes I just want to change browsers for a while. Whenever I switched to Camino for a breather I was amazed at the speed difference, yet discouraged at the lack of Firefox-like plug-ins (specifically Tab Mix Plus - hereafter "TM+").

So a few weeks back I decided to write an AppleScript a solution. I have found it so useful that I thought to share it with others. Perhaps these will be of help to you as well.

(Note: Very important to understand that these scripts do not help if you use the close button located on the actual tab, or if you take your mouse up to "File > Close Tab" or "File > Close Window" - those actions circumvent the AppleScripts).

Usage: When I'm browsing and close a tab (using Command W) that I wish to reopen, I simply hit Command F12 to reopen it. Why Command F12? Simply because it's the default key combo used in TM+. You can use something else if you prefer.

The CloseTab scripts are editable, once open, you'll see my notes as to what/where.

BOTH Save|CloseTab scripts will create a file in the root of the Sites folder. Camino's file is "UndoCloseTab-CAM.txt", Safari's is "UndoCloseTab-SAF.txt". Those text files will open/close automatically when called - you won't see anything, it's all in the background.

HOW-TO:

1) Put the AppleScripts in the folder of your choosing (For FastScripts, use the FS menu, Open Scripts Folder. Inside Applications, if not already there, create a "Camino" and/or "Safari" folder and place the scripts in the appropriate folder(s).
2) Open FastScripts (or your app of choice) and assign the key combo of "Command W" to the "CAM•Save|CloseTab" or "SAF•Save|CloseTab" script (or to the "Save|Prevent|CloseTab" scripts).

(Note: You'll want to assign keystrokes to a specific application. FastScripts, QuicKeys X, Keyboard Maestro, iKey can all do this. Make sure you're not assigning "Command W" as a global command, otherwise that combo will break in other apps. So just assign it to Camino or Safari.)

3) While in FastScripts, assign Command F12 (or other combo) to the "CAM•UndoCloseTab" or "SAF•UndoCloseTab" script.

There are more specific editing instructions in the CAM/SAF UndoCloseTab scripts.

Camino Scripts: (these scripts are for Camino 1.6)

1) "CAM•Save|CloseTab" (only saves/closes tab, does not prevent particular tabs from closing)

2) "CAM•Save|Prevent|CloseTab" (this saves tab URL, looks for page title of user-specified page and prevents closure of said tab, and also prevents last tab from closing)

3) "CAM•UndoCloseTab" (does what the name says)

Safari Scripts:

1) "SAF•Save|CloseTab" (only saves/closes tab, does not prevent particular tabs from closing)

2) "SAF•Save|Prevent|CloseTab" (this saves tab URL, looks for page title of user-specified page and prevents closure of said tab, and also prevents last tab from closing)

3) "SAF•UndoCloseTab" (does what the name says)

That's it. Enjoy browsing with a little safety net below ya. :-)

If you're an AppleScript guru and have suggestions, I'm all ears, so please drop a note in the comments.