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TUAW Post > Where Automator Actions and Workflows Live

December 17, 2012 by

Automator's great for streamlining some of the repetitive things you do each day on your Mac. With Automator, you can create your own custom plugins for the Services menu, Folder Action workflows that run when files are placed into a folder, add-ons for the print window's PDF menu, and more. In most cases, when you save a workflow, Automator puts it where it needs to go automatically. But, where do your workflows actually live? If you want to remove or edit one, you'll need to know. In this post, we'll take a look at the various places workflows are found on your Mac.

[Read more on TUAW...]

    Filed Under: Actions, Articles, Automator, Mac, Productivity, Tips, TUAW, Tutorials, Workflows Tagged With: , , , , , ,

    FileMaker Pro Automator Actions Released in the Mac App Store

    December 3, 2012 by

    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

      Filed Under: Actions, App Store, Automator, Automator Actions, Products Tagged With: , , , ,

      TUAW Post > Preparing Blog Images with Automator

      December 3, 2012 by

      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...]

        Filed Under: Articles, Automator, Development, Mac, Productivity, Tips, TUAW, Tutorials, Workflows Tagged With: , , , , , ,

        Macworld > Ask the Script Doctor: Working with Text

        November 19, 2012 by

        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.

          Filed Under: AppleScript, Articles, Automator, Development, Macworld Articles, Productivity, Tips, Tutorials, Workflows Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

          TUAW Post > Build a Photo Calendar with Automator

          November 13, 2012 by

          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...]

            Filed Under: Articles, Automator, Mac, Productivity, Tips, TUAW, Tutorials, Workflows Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

            Save 35% on Peachpit Mac Automation Made Simple Videos

            October 11, 2012 by

            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]

              Filed Under: Automator, Peachpit, Productivity, Tutorials, Videos, Workflows Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

              Text Automator Action Pack Updated to 4.0.5

              August 30, 2012 by

              The Text Automator Action Pack has been updated to version 4.0.5. Changes include:

              • Read Text File Action - Updated to include a popup menu to specify the encoding type of file to be read. Options include Plain Text, Unicode (UTF-8), and Unicode (UTF-16).

              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.

                Filed Under: Actions, Automator, Automator Actions, Mac, Products Tagged With: , ,

                Display Notification Center Alert Automator Action 1.0.1

                August 29, 2012 by

                Added support for international and unicode text.  Get the action here!

                  Filed Under: Actions, Automator, Mac Tagged With: , , , ,

                  Display Notification Center Alert Automator Action 1.0.0

                  August 26, 2012 by

                  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

                    Filed Under: Actions, Automator, Mac, Productivity Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

                    Mac Productivity: Quick Scripts and Workflows – Set Desktop to Astronomy Picture of the Day

                    July 9, 2012 by

                    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...]

                      Filed Under: Articles, Automator, Peachpit Articles, Productivity, Tips, Tutorials, Workflows Tagged With: , , , , ,
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