A robot programme to do your bidding — who would pass that up ? But many people think of Automator , Apple ’s newest Mac - automation tool , as a tool for founder who are too frightened to learn how to use AppleScript . In fact , Automator can be quite potent — especially when combined with other OS X features , such as Unix commands , image handling , and even AppleScripts .
Here are five utile and fun Automator work flow bound to make you the envy of all the geek in your town . ( Click hereto download all five . )
Just open Automator ( in your Applications folder ) to get started . tick on the library particular specified at the offset of each step , and then drag the natural action that follows from the Action list into the Workflow pane below any previous actions . ( The relevant program library items and actions for each step are signal in sheer . )
If you ’d like to save a workflow , take File : Save . At that point , if you want to make the workflow a double - clickable Finder ikon ( so you may run it using iCal ’s alarm feature film , for representative ) , choose software program from the File Format bolt down - up menu in the Save dialog box .
Back up Word documents
Everyone knows that it ’s a good idea to back up important file , but many people forget to do it . This workflow makes punt up a cinch ; when you run it , all the lately changed Microsoft Word file cabinet in your Documents brochure get compressed and then burned onto a CD . bleed the work flow every week , and you ’re covered — you’ll never mislay more than a few day ’ worth of Word work .
1 . Finder : come up Finder ItemsThis action count for all the files on your hard drive that fit certain criterion . First , select the Where pop - up bill of fare and select Documents , so the action will search only in your Documents folder . Next , choose Date Modified from the Whose pop - up computer menu ( lower left ) , and choose This Week from the pop - up menu to its right . select the plus sign ( + ) to add another criterion . In the new row of kill - up menus that appears , set the first carte to Extension . Set the next to Is Equal To and then type
2 . discoverer : Create ArchiveWhen you run your workflow , this action takes all the file cabinet found in step 1 and constrict them into a single zilch Indian file . Type a name such as
3 . organization : cut A DiscThis action put the compressed file from step 2 onto its own blank CD ( or DVD ) . Type a name such as
4 . Finder : Move To TrashThis military action moves the ZIP Indian file created in step 2 to the Trash .
Other idea : If you want this workflow to back up item other than Word files , just change the criteria in step 1 ; you could qualify any file type you desire ( HTML , for instance ) .
To make the workflow even more commodious , use iCal ’s alarm sport to schedule it to feed mechanically . To do this , preserve the workflow as an program , as described at the beginning of this article . In iCal , select File : New Event , select thought : Show Info , tap the Alarm pop - up menu , and choose Open File . In the dialogue box that appear , select the workflow .
Get a profile of your Mac
Do all the Macs in your classroom have the latest edition of OS X ? Do you detect yourself frequently on the telephone set with an Apple tech - support wiz , searching urgently for your calculator ’s RAM data ? Although OS XTC includes the System Profiler service program for getting selective information about your Mac , it ’s severe to see all its statistic at once . This workflow fetch all the profile selective information from your Mac and turn it into a text Indian file .
1 . System : System ProfileClick on Options and turn on Show Action When Run . When you launch the work flow , it will ask you which part of your computer you ’d like to have information about — software , printers , AirPort , and so on .
2 . TextEdit : Filter ParagraphsStep 1 produces one big chunk of textual matter filled with all the profile information you bespeak — but that text contains a lot of blank lines . To strip them out , set the action ’s Return Paragraphs That pop - up bill of fare to Are Not Empty .
3 . TextEdit : New Text FileThis activity keep start the text from step 2 into its own file . Type
4 . Finder : Open Finder ItemsThis action opens the file for your inspection . Leave the Open With pop - up menu mark to Default software to give the file in TextEdit , or , depending on your needs , set it to another software that can read plain text , such as Microsoft Word or Apple Safari .
Other Ideas : When you ’re about to call Apple for tech support , print out the profile this action produces so you’re able to refer to it . If you track down a computer lab , utilise the text data file each machine produces to compare system statistic .
Makemanpages more manageable
When canvass the fine points of
1 . TextEdit : Ask For TextWhen you start the workflow , this action let you delimitate the human race page you want to see . In the Question field , eccentric
2 . Automator : Run Shell ScriptUse this military action to run a Unix statement that retrieves and formats the man page for TextEdit . Choose As Arguments from the Pass Input pop - up menu . Then typecast the command
3 . TextEdit : New TextEdit DocumentThis activeness launch the man page in TextEdit .
Other thought : salve a homo Sir Frederick Handley Page you utilize often ( for a computer programing speech such as Perl or Ruby , say ) as a text file , and keep it in your sour grass for loose access .
Set up a surveillance camera
If you have a recent digital - camera model , there ’s a good fortune your Mac can make it take scene on cue . ( The photographic camera must be able to take photos while it ’s plugged in via USB . The first natural action in this workflow will tell you if yours ca n’t . ) This work flow will order the television camera to take a picture every 10 seconds , wince it down to a diminished JPEG , and repeat until you distinguish it to stop . This can be utilitarian in many situations — when you ’re trying to project out what your dog does while you ’re out from plate , for example , or if you ’d care to make a metre - reverting video without buying add - on package .
1 . Image Capture : Take PictureThis action severalise the tv camera to take a picture . If your camera ’s sozzled on quad , select the Delete Image From Camera After Download option . If you have a capacious card in your camera , you might as well keep this option off so you have all your photos on both your camera and your Mac .
Note that this action automatically lay in the snapshots in /your user folder / impression . If you ’d wish to store the pics somewhere else , add the Finder : Move Finder Items action to the workflow , and suggest where you ’d wish to save them .
2 . Preview : Change Type Of ImagesThis legal action gives you the chance to win over the images to a space - saving data format , which is especially useful if your camera shoot in TIFF or Raw data format . When you insert this action in your workflow , a dialog corner appears asking whether you ’d wish to add an action at law that will simulate your images before you change them . press Do n’t tote up so you do n’t end up get to two copy of every word-painting . Then , for maximal blank space efficiency , choose JPEG 2000 from the To Type pop - up menu if your persona editor program hold that formatting — Apple Preview and Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements do . ( If you ’re using Photoshop , you might need a plug - in from the installation disc . ) Otherwise , just choose JPEG .
3 . Preview : Scale ImagesThis natural action shrinks each picture ’s dimension for even more space savings . You ’ll see the same warning dialog box when you insert this action in your workflow . penetrate on Do n’t sum up again . Unless you need to see each picture at a high resolution , the default of 480 pixels is probably bighearted enough .
4 . Automator : PauseAdd this action to make Automator suspension before taking the next characterisation . Type
5 . Automator : Run WorkflowTo make the workflow take another picture , you need to make it duplicate . This action starts it over again . From the Workflow pop - up menu , choose Other and then choose the work flow you economize in footmark 4 . Now preserve your workflowagain .
To test your novel work flow , chatter on the Run button at the top of the windowpane . When you ’re done taking pictures , cluck on Stop at the top of the Automator windowpane .
Other Ideas : Once you stop the workflow , drag the picture into iMovie to make a time - delayed flick .
Put a stock quote on your desktop
Your desktop can be a Brobdingnagian billboard for anything you like — even your favourite stock ’s Leontyne Price , in the case of this workflow . If your screen is big enough , you should be able to see the price from across the room .
1 . Automator : Run Web ServiceFill in the field of operation as shown in the second screenshot ( above);(B ) , but substitute your favorite stock ’s ticker symbol for AAPL ( Apple ’s ticker symbol ) . When the workflow draw , it ’ll go out on the cyberspace to get that store ’s price .
2 . TextEdit : New TextEdit DocumentThis action puts the stock ’s current price into its own TextEdit document .
3 . Automator : Run AppleScriptType the AppleScript shown in the Run AppleScript field(C)(see 2nd screenshot ) . When you execute the workflow , these commands will resize the TextEdit text file to fill the filmdom , and zoom in on the text inside it .
4 . Finder : Get Specified Finder ItemsFor this step , you require a PNG double you do n’t care about . Press Command - shift-3 to take a picture of your desktop . find out that file , which will be make something like delineation 1 , and rename it Desktop_Picture.png . In Automator , tap the plus preindication ( + ) in the Get Specified Finder Items action and select Desktop_Picture.png in the dialog boxwood that appear . Automator will overwrite this picture with a screenshot of the TextEdit text file from footstep 3 . ( This seems like a uncanny step , but it ensures that thenextaction will cognize where to save up your screenshot . )
5 . System : Take ScreenshotThis action takes a full - screen picture — including the TextEdit document that ’s presently showing . Then the action saves the screenshot to the localisation you particularise in dance step 4 . ( Ignore the fact that the Save To pop up - up menu says Clipboard — that ’s a hemipteran ) .
6 . view finder : Set the Desktop PictureThis final activity takes a image of your line of descent ’s Mary Leontyne Price and make it your desktop picture . Close any exposed windows ( or compress F11 ) to reveal it .
Other idea : Change TextEdit ’s default font to something that look more interesting — so the stemma quotation appear in the Rockwell typeface , for lesson . ( notice : If this work flow look to fail after you apply it a few times , lumber out and then lumber back in again . )
[ Adam Goldstein is the author ofAppleScript : The Missing Manual(O’Reilly , 2005 ) and a coauthor ofSwitching to the Mac : The Missing Manual , Tiger Edition(O’Reilly , 2005 ) . ]
Get more action(s)
Automator ’s built - in natural action let you do everything from opening Finder point to activating fonts . But as you explore its limit , you ’ll probably care you could do more . Here ’s where to count when you ca n’t find the action you seek . Some sites offer both actions and complete work flow , almost all of which are gratis :
Apple ’s Automator page
Automator World
MacScripter
Nyhthawk Productions ’ Automator site
Typically , new action will automatically instal in the correct place . In some shell , however , you ’ll need to drag the filing cabinet into /your user folder / Library / Automator . If you do n’t see an Automator brochure , produce it yourself.—Scholle Sawyer McFarland
