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June, 2006 - Introduction to Scripting Transmit.
In last month's column, we discussed how to script Fetch (<http://www.fetchsoftworks.com>), a popular FTP/SFTP client for the Mac. In this month's column, we will continue our discussion of interacting with remote servers via FTP/SFTP. This time, we will use Transmit, another popular application among Mac users. [Read more at MacTech.com...]
May, 2006 - Introduction to Scripting Fetch.
For the past several months, we have discussed ways to store and access data from AppleScript. We have talked about script properties, property list files, scriptable database applications, and more. In this month's column, I'd like to switch gears, and talk about a great application that I have been scripting quite a lot lately. That application is Fetch.Fetch is a popular FTP/SFTP client for the Macintosh. It is a commercial application, and a demonstration version is available for download from the Fetch Softworks website at <http://www.fetchsoftworks.com>. If you do not own a license for Fetch, then I encourage you to download a demonstration version, so that you may follow along with the various example scripts throughout this month's column. [Read more at MacTech.com...]
April, 2006 - Introduction to Scripting FileMaker Pro.
For the past couple of columns, we have discussed various ways to store and access data using AppleScript. One column provided an introduction to Database Events, a background application in Mac OS X 10.4 and higher, which allows AppleScripts to interact directly with SQLite databases for the purposes of storing and accessing data. Another column explored methods of storing and accessing data in script properties and property list files. This month, we are going to continue discussing data storage and access, this time, using FileMaker Pro, a third-party commercial database application. [Read more at MacTech.com...]
March, 2006 - Storing and Accessing Data from AppleScript.
In last month's column, I provided an introduction to Database Events, a new technology that made its debut with Mac OS X Tiger. I discussed how Database Events can be used as a method of data storage and retrieval by allowing AppleScript to interact directly with SQLite databases.
In this month's column, I would like to discuss some other methods of storage and retrieval, such as accessing properties directly within scripts, or within property list files in the operating system. [Read more at MacTech.com...]
February, 2006 - Introduction to Database Events.
Data storage and access is an important part of AppleScripting, particularly in complex AppleScript-based projects. Some scripts may need to store user-entered data for later reference, perhaps during an entirely new session. Some may need a location to log activity or errors during processing. Others may need to access structured data, in order to do something fairly complex, such as building a catalog.
In this month's column, we will discuss the use of Database Events, a new and exciting feature in Mac OS X, for storage and access of data during script execution. [Read more at MacTech.com...]
January, 2006 - Providing Progress Feedback During Script Execution.
Many AppleScripts do not provide progress updates to the user during processing. Most of the time, when a script is run, it simply performs the appropriate tasks "behind the scenes," so to speak. If run as an application, a script may appear in the Dock when launched. However, this hardly provides detailed information to the user about what is actually occurring. Sometimes, a script may not need to provide progress updates to the user. However, there are situations when providing such feedback is a good idea.
In this month's column, we will walk through the process of creating a script that will provide visual progress information to the user during processing. The script we will create will save selected email messages in Mail as text files into a user-specified output folder. Since the script will have the ability to process multiple selected email messages, we will write our code to provide a visual indication to the user of which message is currently being processed. Once you learn how to provide this type of feedback, then you can begin integrating this same technique into your other scripts, making them more user friendly. [Read more at MacTech.com...]
December, 2005 - Building Table Views with AppleScript Studio.
Back in my April column, I provided an introduction to AppleScript Studio, a technology that is a part of Xcode and Interface Builder, Mac OS X's powerful integrated development environment. Using AppleScript Studio, AppleScript developers are able to create fully native Mac OS X applications, complete with user interfaces. By constructing scripts with interfaces, developers can build complex and powerful user friendly AppleScript solutions that have the same look and feel of any other Mac OS X application.
In addition to building stand-alone AppleScript solutions, AppleScript Studio can also now be used to create Automator actions, for use with Mac OS X 10.4's popular new Automator application. In my August column, I walked through the process of building of a simple AppleScript Studio-based Automator action.
This month, we will create a new AppleScript Studio-based project that is a little more complex, and incorporates a table view into its interface. This application, which I call Enable|Disable Mail Accounts, will display a list of email accounts in Mail to the user, and allow the user to toggle whether the accounts are enabled or disabled. [Read more at MacTech.com...]
November, 2005 - Introduction to Scripting iCal.
For the past couple of articles, I have discussed scripting specific applications. By now, you should be starting to realize AppleScript terminology varies from application to application. Some applications don't support AppleScript at all, some are more scriptable than others, some have more confusing terminology, etc. Even as become more knowledgeable as a scripter, you will find that there is a learning curve whenever you need to script a new application. Browsing the application's dictionary, and any accompanying documentation or example scripts is usually your best bet for learning how to script a new application.
This month, I will continue to discuss application-specific scripting, and this time, I will focus on iCal. Please note that all sample code within this article was written and tested with Mac OS X Tiger 10.4.x. Many times, software updates will introduce changes in the AppleScript terminology of a given application or process. Therefore, if you are using an older system, some code may not work properly, or may need to be adjusted slightly to work on your machine. [Read more at MacTech.com...]
October, 2005 - Introduction to Scripting Address Book.
If you have a large number of contacts in your contact management application, then you are probably already aware that maintaining your existing contacts, adding new ones, removing outdated ones, etc., can quickly become a time consuming process. Yet again, AppleScript is ready to come to your rescue. Using AppleScript and Address Book in Mac OS X, you can begin to automate the process of adding and removing contacts, creating groups, and even more.
Throughout this article, we will discuss a number of techniques for automating aspects of Address Book in Mac OS X. Once you have an understanding of these basic techniques, you can begin combining them together, in order to automate your contact management workflow on a larger scale. [Read more at MacTech.com...]
September, 2005 - Introduction to Scripting Mail.
Email automation is usually popular among AppleScript developers using Mac OS X. By writing scripts to perform email-related processes, developers can automate processes such as sending batches of recipient-customized messages, archiving emails in text format or in a database, emailing status reports to administrators, and much more.
In this month's article, we will discuss using AppleScript to automate aspects of the Mail application, which comes pre-installed with OS X. If you don't use the Mail application, then you may want to explore some of the many other scriptable email clients and tools that are available for the Mac. Some of these will be mentioned later in this article. [Read more at MacTech.com...]
