MacScripter AppleScript Studio Article > Getting Started with AppleScript Studio

Getting Started with AppleScript Studio.

Over the past several months, we have been discussing command handlers and subroutine handlers in detail. This month, we will begin discussing a new topic ... AppleScript Studio. As we proceed, you will find that we will be using handlers regularly, especially command handlers, as AppleScript Studio makes heavy use of them. [Read more at MacScripter...]

MacScripter AppleScript Studio Article > Getting Started Using Tab Views in AppleScript Studio

Getting Started Using Tab Views in AppleScript Studio.

Creating AppleScript Studio applications complete with interfaces is a great way to make your scripts user friendly, and allow users to specify information that affects how your script will behave.  However, when lots of options are necessary, an interface can quickly become cumbersome.  This is where tab views can become very handy.  A tab view can allow you to organize your interface elements into structured groups of common elements, which can be navigated by a user selecting the appropriate tab. [Read more at MacScripter...]

MacScripter AppleScript Studio Article > Getting Started with Buttons in AppleScript Studio (Part 1)

Getting Started with Buttons in AppleScript Studio (Part 1).

Last month, we began discussing how to get started with using AppleScript Studio (click here for last month's column).  In the column, we covered creating an AppleScript Studio project in Xcode, designing a user interface, linking the interface to AppleScript code within the project, and building and running the completed project.

This month, we are going to continue to work with AppleScript Studio. Specifically, we will be focusing on interacting with buttons.

There are many different styles of buttons in AppleScript Studio, including push buttons, popup buttons, checkboxes, radio buttons, and more.  In addition to varying visually in appearance, the code you will write to interact with different buttons will vary too, depending on the button type.  We are going to begin by exploring two of the more commonly used styles of button -- push buttons and popup buttons. [Read more at MacScripter...]

MacScripter AppleScript Studio Article > Getting Started with Buttons in AppleScript Studio (Part 2)

Getting Started with Buttons in AppleScript Studio (Part 2).

When designing an interface in AppleScript Studio, you will find that different situations call for different types of buttons.  In last month's column, we focused on two specific types of buttons, push buttons and popup buttons (click here for last month's column).  This month, we're going to discuss two more specific types of buttons, checkboxes and radio buttons. [Read more at MacScripter...]

MacScripter AppleScript Studio Article > Getting Started with Displaying Progress in AppleScript Studio

Getting Started with Displaying Progress in AppleScript Studio.

One very common use for AppleScript is batch processing. Scripts of this nature will often loop through multiple items, performing some type of automated task for each item being processed. An example of this might be a script that loops through a folder of image files, converting each one to another format.

A script of this nature that is created with Script Editor, and then run, may work just fine. However, visually, it is less than spectacular. Other than a spinning cursor, and perhaps a dialog message displayed here or there during script execution, the user does not usually receive a very good visual representation of what is occurring.

This is where AppleScript Studio can come in handy. In this month's column, we will discuss adding progress bars and spinners to an AppleScript, in order to provide a visual representation of what is being processed, how much processing is complete, and how much processing remains during script execution. [Read more at MacScripter...]

MacScripter AppleScript Studio Article > Getting Started with Table Views

Getting Started with Table Views.

In this month's column, we're going to discuss a specific type of interface element that is often incorporated into AppleScript Studio projects' a table view. Table views consist of one or more cells (displayed using columns and rows), which may be used to display data. Think of a table view as being similar in layout to a worksheet in Excel. See figure 1 for an example of a 2-column table view in an AppleScript Studio project's interface. [Read more at MacScripter...]

X-Ray Magazine Scripting Quark Article > Giving your QuarkXPress AppleScripts a Facelift

Vol. 4, Num. 5 - Giving your QuarkXPress AppleScripts a Facelift.

Writing AppleScripts is an excellent way to make your QuarkXPress workflow more efficient, leaving you more time to be creative. As you develop scripts for yourself, you should also consider distributing those scripts to others so that they may become more efficient too. However, with this distribution, be prepared for the inevitable confusion that often accompanies running your AppleScripts by other users. [Read more at X-Ray Magazine onine...]

MacTech AppleScript Essentials Column > Providing Progress Feedback During Script Execution

January, 2006 - Providing Progress Feedback During Script Execution.

Many AppleScripts do not provide progress updates to the user during processing. Most of the time, when a script is run, it simply performs the appropriate tasks "behind the scenes," so to speak. If run as an application, a script may appear in the Dock when launched. However, this hardly provides detailed information to the user about what is actually occurring. Sometimes, a script may not need to provide progress updates to the user. However, there are situations when providing such feedback is a good idea.

In this month's column, we will walk through the process of creating a script that will provide visual progress information to the user during processing. The script we will create will save selected email messages in Mail as text files into a user-specified output folder. Since the script will have the ability to process multiple selected email messages, we will write our code to provide a visual indication to the user of which message is currently being processed. Once you learn how to provide this type of feedback, then you can begin integrating this same technique into your other scripts, making them more user friendly. [Read more at MacTech.com...]

MacTech AppleScript Essentials Column > Building Table Views with AppleScript Studio

December, 2005 - Building Table Views with AppleScript Studio.

Back in my April column, I provided an introduction to AppleScript Studio, a technology that is a part of Xcode and Interface Builder, Mac OS X's powerful integrated development environment. Using AppleScript Studio, AppleScript developers are able to create fully native Mac OS X applications, complete with user interfaces. By constructing scripts with interfaces, developers can build complex and powerful user friendly AppleScript solutions that have the same look and feel of any other Mac OS X application.

In addition to building stand-alone AppleScript solutions, AppleScript Studio can also now be used to create Automator actions, for use with Mac OS X 10.4's popular new Automator application. In my August column, I walked through the process of building of a simple AppleScript Studio-based Automator action.

This month, we will create a new AppleScript Studio-based project that is a little more complex, and incorporates a table view into its interface. This application, which I call Enable|Disable Mail Accounts, will display a list of email accounts in Mail to the user, and allow the user to toggle whether the accounts are enabled or disabled. [Read more at MacTech.com...]

MacTech AppleScript Essentials Column > Building Automator Actions with AppleScript

August, 2005 - Building Automator Actions with AppleScript.

There has been a lot of excitement in the developer community around the release of Mac OS X 10.4. Unique technologies like Automator, Dashboard, and Spotlight are providing new opportunities for Mac developers to build unique tools that appeal to users everywhere. This month, we are going to walk through the process of developing for one of these great new technologies, Automator.  [Read more at MacTech.com...]