BBEDIT CREATE APPLESCRIPT FULL
BBEDIT CREATE APPLESCRIPT SOFTWARE
BBEDIT CREATE APPLESCRIPT MAC
BBEDIT CREATE APPLESCRIPT WINDOWS

Tell application 'TextWrangler' to replace '\s\dĭuplicate every item in source_folder to destination_folder with replacing For example, I use this AppleScript snippet to delete all percentages in a report that are formatted with a space followed by one or two digits followed by a period followed by one digit followed by a percent sign - as in 5.3% or 23.8%:

This was very handy when I couldn't figure out on my own the proper AppleScript for TextWrangler's search and replace. So some patience (and checking out others' code) is needed.įortunately, though, some highly scriptable applications allow you to record activities in the AppleScript editor, very much like a macro recorder which translates your actions into (editable) AppleScript commands. The 'nouns' and 'verbs' to script specific applications can be hard to ferret out and apply properly, even after perusing the appropriate app 'dictionary' (a listing of that application's scriptable objects and methods).

BBEDIT CREATE APPLESCRIPT FULL

I lost count of how many errors I got because I'd write something like 'x = 4' instead of the AppleScript-approved 'set x to 4.' And I don't program full time.Īlthough I've become an AppleScript enthusiast, I will caution that 'natural language' doesn't always mean 'intuitive and easy.' While there are usually multiple ways to express something in AppleScript, quite a number of other syntaxes that might make sense won't work in a script. While it's popular among non-IT power users, even Soghoian admits that the syntax can frustrate those who regularly work in a language like Perl or Java.

BBEDIT CREATE APPLESCRIPT MAC

'It's a programming language that's both very simple and very powerful, because it lets Mac programs send instructions or data to each other.' And it does so using commands that are closer to plain English than most other scripting options.ĪppleScript's use of (relatively) natural language for its commands is a mixed blessing. While other languages offer some similar capabilities to AppleScript, 'there's simply nothing like it in Windows,' declares David Pogue in his book Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Leopard Edition.

BBEDIT CREATE APPLESCRIPT WINDOWS

It's also extremely easy to share AppleScripts with colleagues who use Macs - a bit more elegant than, say, trying to share Perl scripts with Windows users who don't have Perl (and the required add-on modules) already installed. Another one reads a text document and inserts the article information into proper fields of our content management system, saving more cut-and-paste operations. Another script pulls data out of our Web analytics tool and formats it for our home page 'popular right now' box. This saves a boatload of tedious cutting and pasting. You can connect to network servers and even create a simple database.Īfter a few months on a Mac, I wrote a script that copies data from a weekly report I get as a PDF, and formats it for insertion into a spreadsheet. You can batch process files, rename and resize multiple images, or fetch Web pages and manipulate the results. You can use it to set your system to boot up with certain apps open in a particular way, right down to the size, location and content of each window. Even Microsoft uses it, he says (for work on developing Office for Macintosh).īut AppleScript is also well suited for the desktop.

BBEDIT CREATE APPLESCRIPT SOFTWARE

Soghoian estimates that four out of five 'top-tier' Apple customers use AppleScript for serious automation - his examples include The New York Times generating daily stock charts and software developers testing applications. AppleScript's appeal is that it can control both your operating system and your applications, easily passing information among them.

Bbedit create applescript