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I'm pleased to announce that my FMP Automator Action Pack, which includes 18 actions for interacting with FileMaker Pro in OS X Lion and Mountain Lion, has been released in the Mac App Store. It can be found here.
Information about my other Lion and Mountain Lion action packs can be found here.
-Ben
Automator's the perfect tool for streamlining some of the repetitive things you do on a daily basis. One thing it's great at is doing basic manipulation to lots of image files. Need to resize a bunch of images or convert them from one format to another? No problem, Automator is ready to help. In this post, you'll build an Automator workflow that prepares images for your blog by renaming them sequentially and then scaling them down in size. Don't have a blog? Well, this workflow could also be used for preparing images for insertion into a Word document, or to send in an email. Feel free to adjust to your specific needs.
[Read more on TUAW...]
Ask the Script Doctor is a regular column in which we solve real-world Mac problems using AppleScript and Automator. If you have a problem you’d like us to solve, send an email to the Script Doctor for consideration.
Whether we’re writing novels or email, we all use text all the time. AppleScript is a great tool for making text-focused work easier and more efficient. For that reason, I get a lot of questions about how to simplify common text tasks. Here are a few of those questions and my answers.
[Read more at Macworld.com, subscribe to the print edition, or get Macworld on your iPad...]
Do you have a scripting problem or a question for the Script Doctor? Send it to scriptdoctor@macworld.com.
I'm very happy to announce that I am now writing automation and productivity tips for The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).
My first post is an Automator how-to. It shows you how to create a Print Plugin that shows up in the PDF menu when you print a document. This specific plugin lets you print a photo calendar right out of the Calendar app. It's fun, and it shows off some of the cool stuff you can do with Automator.
[Read more on TUAW...]
My 8 chapter Mac Automation Made Simple video series is 35% off through the end of the year if you use coupon code VIDEO12.
[Learn more here or visit the Peachpit website]
The Text Automator Action Pack has been updated to version 4.0.5. Changes include:
This action pack extends the power of Automator with 30 actions for performing text manipulation functions in Mac OS X.
The new version is available in the Mac App Store.
I've written a new Automator action for displaying a notification center alert in Mountain Lion. You can use it to display a notification when a workflow is complete, to remind you to buy your wife flowers, or anything else that might require a custom alert. I hope you find it useful.
-Ben
P.S. If you like this, please check out my other Automator actions.
Configuring the action for use. You can specify a title, subtitle, and message
A Notification Center alert displayed by the action
A Notification Center message displayed by the action
Display Notification Center Alert 1.0.1
Version History
2012-08-26 - Version 1.0.0
2012-08-29 - Version 1.0.1 - Added support for international and unicode text
Each day, our good friends at NASA are kind enough to share a breathtaking photo of our wonderful universe. Sometimes of the Earth, sometimes of the heavens, these photos showcase natural beauty that is surely Desktop-background worthy. Here's how you can create an Automator workflow that runs each night to set your Desktop to the latest photo... [Read more on the Peachpit blog...]
A handy feature in Mac OS X is the ability to quickly and easily define words. In most applications, just Control+click the desired word, and choose Look Up "TheSelectedWord" from the contextual menu to bring up the system-wide dictionary. Even easier, if you've got a trackpad, just double-tap the word with three fingers to display its definition. Automator lets you get even more creative. You can expand these useful dictionary services with one that will read the definition to you. Here's how you do it... [Read more on the Peachpit blog...]
