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12.09.09 - Automator for Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard: Working with Actions.
To do anything truly useful, you need to add actions to your workflow, and you need to configure those actions to do what you want. The techniques you learn in this chapter will apply to working with virtually any action within an Automator workflow. [Read more at Peachpit.com...]
12.09.09 - Automator Services: Apply Filter to Selected Images.
If you’ve used Automator before, then you may know that it includes actions for performing basic image manipulation tasks, such as cropping and resizing. Today’s workflow uses one of these built-in actions to apply a filter to selected image files in the Mac OS X Finder. [Read more at Peachpit.com...]
12.08.09 - Automator Services: Merge Selected Images as PDF.
Today's Automator Service workflow tip involves image files. This workflow will receive selected image files in the Finder, and merge them together to form a multi-page PDF document. [Read more at Peachpit.com...]
12.07.09 - Automator Services: Read Summary of Selected Text.
Each day this week, I'll be providing tips for creating Service workflows with Automator in Mac OS X 10.6.x Snow Leopard. Today’s workflow will receive selected text in an application, summarize it as a single sentence, and speak the summary aloud for you to hear. [Read more at Peachpit.com...]
Episode 26
Date: 10.27.2009
Duration: 00:09:44
Building Automator Service Workflows in Snow Leopard
In this episode of Mac Automation Made Simple, Ben Waldie demonstrates how to build Service workflows with Automator in Snow Leopard. Become more efficient by creating workflows that process files, folders, and text, and even ones that run AppleScripts!.
[View in iTunes...] [View at Peachpit.com...]
August, 2009 - Getting Started with Automator.
Automator, introduced in Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger and significantly upgraded in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, is becoming a staple of many Mac users' daily routines. With Automator, users can quickly and easily create custom workflows to automate many of the time consuming and repetitive tasks they perform day in and day out. [Read more at MacTech.com...]
Automator, first released with Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, is an application that brings the power of workflow automation to the user level, with no programming required!
Within Automator, users work with two main types of components, actions and workflows. Actions are built by developers, and each action’s purpose is to perform a single task, such as opening a file, checking your email, or rotating an image. Workflows are designed and constructed by users, by piecing together actions in a sequence, to create a virtual assembly line of automated tasks.
Once constructed, workflows may be saved and triggered by a user in a variety of ways. Workflows may be run from within the Automator application, saved and run as an application, as a Folder Action, as an iCal alarm, as a print workflow, and more.
Automator’s Reach
Automator is installed with over 150 different actions for performing a variety of tasks in Apple applications and the operating system. However, the power of Automator may be extended even further by installing new Automator-compatible applications, or by downloading and installing actions from third-party developers.
Apple applications that are Automator-ready include the following:
Automator actions are also available for many third-party applications, including:
Uses for Automator
Your usage of Automator is limited only by your imagination, and by the actions that are available to you. Since each action performs a single specific task, multiple actions can be intertwined in virtually infinite ways to create a workflow that meets your very unique needs. Some common uses for Automator include:
06.09.09 - Running Automator Workflows From Mail Rules.
If you're an Automator user, you're probably aware that it's possible to save an Automator workflow in a variety of ways. At the basic level, a workflow can be saved as a workflow file that can be opened in Automator, or as an application that can be launched and run like any other application. At a slightly more advanced level, Automator workflows can be saved as plug-ins for certain applications and processes, including the Mac OS X Finder, iCal, Image Capture, PDF printing services, and more.
Presently, Automator doesn't offer a way to save workflows as plug-ins for Mail, to be run when new email messages arrive. However, you can add this ability yourself. To do so, you'll need the help of a Mail rule, some AppleScript, and an Automator workflow. Let's walk through the process. [Read more at Peachpit.com...]
May, 2009 - Automating Twitter - Use OS X's Automator to automatically send Twitter status updates
Jason Snell recently explained how to use Applescript to automate the popular Twitter client Twitterific. But, with the help of some simple shell scripting, you can also send quick status updates directly to Twitter from within an Automator workflow. [Read more at Macworld...]
04.24.09 - Extending Automator: Running AppleScript, Shell, Python, or Ruby Scripts.
For developers, Automator's reach can be significantly expanded by incorporating your own custom AppleScript, Shell script, Python, or Ruby code into any workflow.
If you're a regular Automator user, you're probably aware that what you can do with Automator is limited by the actions that are available to you. However, for developers, Automator's reach can be significantly expanded by incorporating your own custom code into any workflow. [Read more at Peachpit.com...]
