Mac Productivity: Scheduling AppleScripts

2012.07.31 By

If you're an Automator user, you probably know how to create iCal Alarm workflows, which can be set to run at scheduled times, allowing processing to occur during downtime.  If you're not familiar with Automator or iCal Alarm workflows, check out some of my other tips to get acquainted...

Using Automator: Scheduling Workflows

Mac Automation Made Simple: Scheduling Automator Workflows (video)

What about AppleScripts?  Can't they be run on a schedule too?  You bet.  There are actually a couple of primary ways this can be done. [Read more on the Peachpit blog...]

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Mac Automation Made Simple Video Podcast > Using Repeat Loops in AppleScript

2009.07.22 By

Episode 23
Date: 07.22.2009
Duration: 00:09:14
Using Repeat Loops in AppleScript
In this episode of Mac Automation Made Simple, Ben Waldie continues discussing AppleScript's core language, which a focus on using repeat loops. Learn how to perform infinite and incremental repeat looping in your scripts..
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Peachpit Article > Individually Looping Through Files in an Automator Workflow

2009.03.25 By

03.25.09 - Individually Looping Through Files in an Automator Workflow.

Since its inception, Automator in Mac OS X has seen numerous improvements. One such improvement, which was introduced with the release of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, is the ability to create looping workflows.

Creating a looping workflow is relatively straightforward. Simply insert the Loop action, found in the Utilities category in Automator's action library, into the desired location within your workflow. When the workflow runs and reaches the Loop action, Automator returns to the beginning of the workflow and starts again. The Loop action offers some options; for example, it can be set to loop automatically for a specified number of times or minutes, or to ask you if you want to continue looping or proceed with the remainder of the workflow. You even have some control over how the workflow's input is handled between loops.

Although a fine start, looping of this nature still possesses one major limitation: There's no way to loop through a series of files, passing them one at a time through your workflow [Read more at Peachpit.com...]

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Mac Automation Made Simple Video Podcast > Creating a Looping Automator Workflow

2009.01.03 By

Episode 15
Date: 02.03.2009
Duration: 00:08:39
Creating a Looping Automator Workflow
In this episode of Mac Automation Made Simple, Ben Waldie demonstrates how to create a simple looping Automator workflow, using the 'Loop' action, to download current weather satellite images and use them as your Desktop wallpaper..
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Macworld Article > Automator Power: Variables and Looping

2008.02.03 By

February, 2008 - Geek Factor - Automator Power: Variables and Looping.

The latest version of Automator (in OS X 10.5 Leopard) has several handy new features. Among the most useful: variables and looping. Unfortunately, unless you’re an experienced scripter, they’re also potentially the most confusing. [Read more at Macworld.com...]

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Apple.com Article > Individually Processing Files Through an Automator Workflow

2006.12.03 By

Automator makes it easy to create drag-and-drop workflow applications to process batches of files all at once. Simply save any Automator workflow as an application, and it will automatically become a drag-and- drop application.

This method of processing may work fine for workflows that process only a handful of files. But what if you need to process hundreds or thousands of files? It may not be practical to process an entire set of files as a single batch. Instead, it may make more sense to process the files through the workflow individually, one after another. The Automator Multi-Item Processing Utility, available for free from Automated Workflows, LLC, makes this type of processing possible.

The following steps will walk you through the process of individually processing files through an Automator workflow using the Automator Multi-Item Processing Utility. This particular workflow will open InDesign documents and export them to an output folder in PDF format. [Read more...] (pdf)

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MacTech AppleScript Essentials Column > Should I Repeat Myself? (Using Repeat Loops)

2004.12.03 By

December 2004 - Should I Repeat Myself? (Using Repeat Loops).

For the past couple of months, we have been talking about some basic Finder scripting. Now we are going to switch gears and get back to some basics of AppleScript. In this month's article, we will discuss the various types of repeat loops that you can use when you are scripting. [Read more at MacTech.com...]

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