PLEASE NOTE: Due to Automator changes in Leopard, this action pack is not compatible with Mac OS X 10.4.x Tiger. For Tiger users, our previous Tiger-compatible actions are still available. However, we recommend upgrading to Leopard to take advantage of new Automator features and enhancements, as well as our new, expanded action packs. Automator is an application that was first released in Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, and then significantly enhanced in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. Like AppleScript, Automator was designed to allow users to automate simple, time-consuming, repetitive tasks within certain applications or within the operating system. With Automator, you create workflows, which.
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␡- What Is AppleScript?
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For many Mac users, AppleScript and Automator are terms that bring about a sense of confusion. This is unfortunate, considering that both technologies are generally targeted at typical users (non-programmers, in other words) and designed to make life easier through automation.
Much of the confusion centers on the similarities between these two applications:
- Both automate time-consuming or repetitive tasks.
- Both interact with Mac applications.
- Both are targeted toward everyday Mac users.
But AppleScript and Automator are actually quite different. This article will attempt to clear up some of the confusion surrounding these technologies.
What Is AppleScript?
AppleScript is a scripting language that has been built into the Mac operating system since the early days of System 7. Like the rest of the operating system, AppleScript has steadily improved and expanded over the years.
With AppleScript, you write a script—essentially a set of instructions—to perform tasks within the existing applications on your Mac (the application must support AppleScript), or within the operating system itself. Scripts are typically written in an AppleScript editor such as Script Editor, which you can find in the following folder on your Mac:
After writing your script, you can run it from within Script Editor, or save it and run it as an application.
Aside from some basic user-interaction capabilities, AppleScripts don't normally have interfaces. Once launched, they simply appear in your Mac's dock, and they run virtually invisibly.
Unlike programming languages such as Objective-C and Java, AppleScript's syntax is much like the English language, which means that users can learn it quite easily with no prior scripting or programming experience. Mac users often create simple scripts by trial-and-error, or by copying and pasting together pieces of existing scripts found online.
Apple provides some sample scripts with AppleScript; look in the following folder on your Mac:
Even without any prior knowledge of AppleScript, if you open some of these scripts in Script Editor you'll probably be able to figure out what many of them do (see Figure 1).
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Figure 1 The New Applications Window sample script.
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Let your Mac do repetitive tasks for you
If you need to make the same changes to multiple files—such as changing filenames or resizing images—or archive or back up important files, you can create a custom workflow and have your Mac do the work for you.
Script your own actions
If the task you need to automate isn’t in the list of built-in actions, you can add your own scripts, such as AppleScript and JavaScript scripts, and shell commands to your workflow. Simply add the appropriate run script action to your workflow and enter your script code or shell commands.
To browse the Automator User Guide, click Table of Contents at the top of the page.