MacTech AppleScript Essentials Column > Introduction to Scripting Microsoft Entourage

2007.05.03 By

May, 2007 - Introduction to Scripting Microsoft Entourage.

For some time now, we have been discussing scripting the Microsoft Office applications, partially in preparation for the forthcoming release of Office 2008, in which Microsoft has announced that Visual Basic macros will no longer be supported. So far, we have explored the AppleScript support in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, three applications that currently (in Office 2004) include Visual Basic macro support. This month, we are going to discuss the fourth major Office application, Entourage, a popular email and project management client. [Read more at MacTech.com...]

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MacTech AppleScript Essentials Column > Introduction to Scripting Microsoft Excel

2007.02.03 By

February, 2007 - Introduction to Scripting Microsoft Excel.

With Office 2008 on the horizon, Microsoft has recently begun to push AppleScript as an alternative automation technology to Visual Basic macros in the Office applications. Moving forward, Visual Basic macros will not be supported in the release of Office 2008. Current AppleScript users are ahead of the curve. The Office applications have been AppleScriptable for quite some time, and AppleScript actually provides several advantages over Visual Basic. For one, AppleScripts can interact with multiple applications, including non-Microsoft applications, allowing even complex multi-application workflows to be automated.

Last month, we began discussing how to get started with scripting Microsoft Word. We explored various techniques for interacting with Word documents, as well as the content within those documents, all using AppleScript. This month, we're going to begin discussing another Office application, Microsoft Excel. Like Word, Excel contains a quite extensive AppleScript dictionary, allowing almost any task that can be performed manually to be automated using AppleScript. [Read more at MacTech.com...]

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MacTech AppleScript Essentials Column > Introduction to Scripting Microsoft Word

2007.01.03 By

January, 2007 - Introduction to Scripting Microsoft Word.

Lately, there has been a lot of talk in the Macintosh community about Microsoft, and the forthcoming Office 12. One of Microsoft's big announcements is that they will be doing away with support for creating and running Visual Basic macros in the next version of Office. This leaves many people wondering how they will go about automating their Office applications. AppleScript to the rescue. I'm pleased to say that Entourage, Excel, PowerPoint, and Word are all AppleScriptable.

Office has supported AppleScript for some time now, and with the release of Office 11 in 2004, Microsoft actually completely re-implemented much of their AppleScript support, and also added AppleScript support for PowerPoint. Due to these changes, much of the AppleScript terminology in Word and Excel changed from previous versions. If you are currently using Office AppleScripts with a pre-2004 version of Office, then please be aware that you will probably need to make some modifications to your scripts when you decide to upgrade your Office suite. Of course, this should go without saying when upgrading any scriptable application. Any time any application is updated, AppleScript terminology changes may be introduced. This is why it is always a good idea to test your existing scripts with any new application version before implementing it into your live workflow.

This month, we're going to take a look at scripting Microsoft Word. We'll walk through some basic techniques for interacting with Word documents, and the content within those documents. Please note that all code in this month's column was written for and tested with Office 11 (2004). Therefore, if you're using a different version of Office, please be aware that the terminology you need to use may differ from that which I have used.

[Read more at MacTech.com...]

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MacTech AppleScript Essentials Column > Introduction to Scripting InDesign

2006.11.03 By

November, 2006 - Introduction to Scripting InDesign.

In last month's column, we discussed scripting page layout applications in order to automate your desktop publishing workflow. Specifically, we focused on getting started with scripting QuarkXPress <http://www.quark.com>. This month, we will be discussing another popular and well-known page layout application, Adobe InDesign <http://www.adobe.com/products/indesign/>.

[Read more at MacTech.com...]

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MacTech AppleScript Essentials Column > More Scriptable Access to Remote Directories

2006.07.03 By

July, 2006 - More Scriptable Access to Remote Directories.

For some time now, we have been discussing various ways to interact with directories on remote servers using scriptable FTP clients. So far, we have discussed scripting Fetch (http://www.fetchsoftworks.com) and Transmit (http://www.panic.com), both of which are widely used scriptable FTP clients for the Macintosh. However, these applications are not the only options available to you. In this month's column, we will discuss some other options for interacting with remote directories, including using Cyberduck, URL Access Scripting, and more.Please note that in order to test the code throughout this column, you will need to acquire access to an FTP server, either remote or on your local network. If you have been following along, the past few months, then you may recall that for testing, I created a local FTP server by enabling FTP access on another machine within my office. [Read more at MacTech.com...]

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MacTech AppleScript Essentials Column > Introduction to Scripting Transmit

2006.06.03 By

June, 2006 - Introduction to Scripting Transmit.

In last month's column, we discussed how to script Fetch (<http://www.fetchsoftworks.com>), a popular FTP/SFTP client for the Mac. In this month's column, we will continue our discussion of interacting with remote servers via FTP/SFTP. This time, we will use Transmit, another popular application among Mac users.  [Read more at MacTech.com...]

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MacTech AppleScript Essentials Column > Introduction to Scripting Fetch

2006.05.03 By

May, 2006 - Introduction to Scripting Fetch.

For the past several months, we have discussed ways to store and access data from AppleScript. We have talked about script properties, property list files, scriptable database applications, and more. In this month's column, I'd like to switch gears, and talk about a great application that I have been scripting quite a lot lately. That application is Fetch.Fetch is a popular FTP/SFTP client for the Macintosh. It is a commercial application, and a demonstration version is available for download from the Fetch Softworks website at <http://www.fetchsoftworks.com>. If you do not own a license for Fetch, then I encourage you to download a demonstration version, so that you may follow along with the various example scripts throughout this month's column. [Read more at MacTech.com...]

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MacTech AppleScript Essentials Column > Introduction to Scripting FileMaker Pro

2006.04.03 By

April, 2006 - Introduction to Scripting FileMaker Pro.

For the past couple of columns, we have discussed various ways to store and access data using AppleScript. One column provided an introduction to Database Events, a background application in Mac OS X 10.4 and higher, which allows AppleScripts to interact directly with SQLite databases for the purposes of storing and accessing data. Another column explored methods of storing and accessing data in script properties and property list files. This month, we are going to continue discussing data storage and access, this time, using FileMaker Pro, a third-party commercial database application. [Read more at MacTech.com...]

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MacTech AppleScript Essentials Column > Storing and Accessing Data from AppleScript

2006.03.03 By

March, 2006 - Storing and Accessing Data from AppleScript.

In last month's column, I provided an introduction to Database Events, a new technology that made its debut with Mac OS X Tiger. I discussed how Database Events can be used as a method of data storage and retrieval by allowing AppleScript to interact directly with SQLite databases.

In this month's column, I would like to discuss some other methods of storage and retrieval, such as accessing properties directly within scripts, or within property list files in the operating system. [Read more at MacTech.com...]

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MacTech AppleScript Essentials Column > Introduction to Database Events

2006.02.03 By

February, 2006 - Introduction to Database Events.

Data storage and access is an important part of AppleScripting, particularly in complex AppleScript-based projects. Some scripts may need to store user-entered data for later reference, perhaps during an entirely new session. Some may need a location to log activity or errors during processing. Others may need to access structured data, in order to do something fairly complex, such as building a catalog.

In this month's column, we will discuss the use of Database Events, a new and exciting feature in Mac OS X, for storage and access of data during script execution.  [Read more at MacTech.com...]

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