Macworld Article > Power tools: Make events on your Mac trigger iOS notifications

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Let’s say you’ve got a really cool Automator workflow that saves you tons of time but takes a while to run. Do you really have to sit around, twiddling your thumbs while waiting for it to finish? Wouldn’t it be nicer if you could go get a latte instead and get an alert on your iPhone when the workflow is finished? That’s just one example of the kind of thing possible with the latest version of If This Then That (IFTTT). [Read more on Macworld.com...]

Macworld Article > Latest iWork update is another win for AppleScript

scriptLate last year, Apple generated a wave of negative press after releasing slimmed down Mac versions of the iWork apps—Keynote, Numbers, and Pages. Rewritten from the ground up to focus on ease of use, consistency, and iCloud support, the apps lacked lots of the useful productivity features that Mac users had come to use. One major setback was a significant reduction in AppleScript support, a problem for anyone attempting to automate an iWork-based office workflow.

I’m pleased to say that this week, Apple has delivered!  The iWork apps have received a notable set of AppleScript improvements across the board. [Read more on Macworld.com...]

Macworld Article > AppleScript makes a comeback in Numbers 3.1 iWork Update

scriptBack in November, I wrote about the growing concern in the Mac community that Apple might be abandoning AppleScript. The occasion was the virtual removal of AppleScript support from the iWork apps (Keynote, Numbers, and Pages). At the time, I stressed that Mac users should remain calm, that this was nothing new, that the level of AppleScript support in any given app had always ebbed and flowed from release to release.

Looks like we’ve just had another ebb and flow.

[Read more on Macworld.com...]

Macworld Article > The state of AppleScript: Let’s not panic … yet

scriptIt’s that time again. A new version of OS X is out, and with it come the recurring cries of AppleScript’s demise. But let’s try to remain calm: Recent Internet rumors that the sky is falling may be slightly exaggerated. Nobody knows for sure what the future holds, but personally, I don’t think AppleScript is going anywhere just yet.

[Read more on Macworld.com...]

MacTech Article > Workflow Quick Tips > Productivity App Pick: File Juicer

I develop custom automation solutions for lots of clients, but I don’t like reinventing the wheel. If there’s an existing tool that works well and reduces development time, I tend to use it.  File Juicer, from Echo One (http://echoone.com), is one such tool, which I’ve used with great success in numerous client projects.

[Read the full article in MacTech magazine's September 2013 issue, available in print and in the MacTech iPad Newsstand app]

The MacTech Spotlight: Ben Waldie Interview

The August 2013 issue of MacTech magazine features a MacTech Spotlight interview with Automated Workflows, LLC president, Ben Waldie. In the interview, Ben discusses how he got started with Macs, automation, and more.

[Read the interview in MacTech magazine's August 2013 issue, available in print and in the MacTech iPad Newsstand app]

Macworld Article > 5 Automator workflows everyone should have

automator-icon_580-100036496-largeI meet a lot of people with Automator anxiety: they think using OS X’s built-in workflow-maker is a lot more complex than it really is. The truth is that Automator workflows are (a) pretty simple to assemble and (b) great for simple but repetitive tasks that you do all the time anyway.

To show you what I mean here are five workflows that I think pretty much every Mac user should have. They do things we all need to do: Wrap text in quotation marks, for example, or count the number of words in a selection of text. There might be other ways of doing the same things, but Automator is built into your Mac and you can implement them yourself for free in a couple of minutes.

[Read more on Macworld.com...]

TUAW Post > Adding Copy to Clipboard Rollovers in Contacts App via AppleScript

contacts_scriptApple's Contacts app includes a lot of great shortcuts for initiating different forms of communication. Just click an email address, phone number, or URL field label to display a list of available options. You can send an email, show a phone number in large type, or start a FaceTime call, for example. Curiously, one shortcut that's absent from most of these popups is one for copying the email address, phone number, URL, etc. to the clipboard. Mailing addresses are one exception, as they provide an option to copy a mailing label. But, other fields don't include this option. Sure, you could just select a phone number, email address, URL, etc., and press Command+C to copy it. But, what fun is that? It sure would be nice if there were just more handy copy to clipboard shortcuts instead. With the help of AppleScript, you can add your own. Here's how...

[Read more on TUAW...]

MacTech Article > Migrating AppleScript Studio Apps to AppleScriptObjC (Cocoa-AppleScript)

For years, AppleScript Studio provided scripters with a framework, through Xcode and Interface Builder, for implementing Cocoa interfaces in AppleScript-based apps. When it comes to AppleScript, end users are often accustomed to faceless apps that simply run when launched and quit when finished, with minimal feedback along the way. AppleScript Studio gave developers the power to implement feature-rich and user-friendly interfaces, which allowed users to configure script behavior, displayed progress during processing, and gave scripts the look and feel of virtually any other OS X app.

In August of 2009, Apple released Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6). At the same time, AppleScript Studio was deprecated and its official replacement, AppleScriptObjC, also known as Cocoa-AppleScript, was announced. AppleScriptObjC provides all of the benefits of AppleScript Studio, but with numerous additional benefits such as the ability to integrate scripts with any Cocoa framework in OS X.

Today, in Mountain Lion (OS X 10.8), Xcode no longer supports AppleScript Studio. Xcode includes project templates for creating AppleScriptObjC apps, but all references to AppleScript Studio are long gone. For long-time AppleScript Studio developers, this raises some core questions about supporting and migrating existing apps.

[Read the full article in MacTech magazine's March 2013 issue, available in print and in the MacTech iPad Newsstand app]

 

TUAW Post > Extract App Resource Icons with AppleScript

scriptWhether I'm preparing for a demo or writing an article, blog post, book, or technical documentation, I often find myself performing the same set of repetitive steps. I need to navigate into an app's packaged resources folder, find one or more icon files, occasionally convert them to PNG and scale them, and add them to my document, Keynote presentation, etc. Fortunately, this doesn't need to be a manual process each time, thanks to the following AppleScript.

[Read more on TUAW...]