Mac OS X Tiger/Meet the Applications/Automator

Automator is a powerful app for quickly accomplishing a set of repetitive or time-consuming tasks. It allows the user to automate actions for other apps to take. The user does this by creating "workflows," sets of commands for the automator to take.

File:Apple automator .app fullscreen 1.png

Fig 1:The Automator interface

When to Use Automator

One should use Automator if one must accomplish a series of simple, repetitive tasks and UI (user interface) is not an issue. The Automator should generally be used only for very simple actions, for creating a complicated workflow can take longer than the time saved.

Creating a Workflow

To create a workflow, simply drag the desired actions from the left pane to the central one. One will notice that the inputs and outputs of each action link. These show where information flows from one action to the next. This can be turned off by clicking on the input then clicking "Ignore results from previous action."

Fig 2:The "run" and "stop" buttons, located in the upper-righthand corner of the main Automator window (see Fig 1).

Using a Workflow

After a workflow has been created, it can be run by clicking the "run" button in the upper-right hand corner. The workflow will then execute all specified actions. A workflow can be canceled at any time by clicking "stop" (next to "run")

List of Actions

This section lists all actions that can be taken by Automator. They are grouped by application of origin, as they are in Automator.

Address Book
Name	Definition
Filter Address Book Items	Determines if input items match specified criteria
Find Address Book Items	Allows searching for groups or people
Find People with Birthdays	Gets contacts whose birthdays are within a specified timeframe
Get Contact Information	Gets specified information from a selected contact
Get Selected Address Book Items	Takes text and converts it into Address Book items
Get Specified Address Book Items	Takes specified Address Book items and passes them on into the next action.
Group Mailer	Receives Address Book items and sends a message to them with a specified subject, body, and attachments.
Automator
Name	Definition
Ask for Confirmation	Displays a popup with a specified messages and customizable buttons. The affermative button allows the workflow to continue, the negative button stops the workflow.
Pause	Pauses the workflow for a specified time, then continues it.
Run AppleScript	Allows an AppleScript script to be entered and run.
Run Shell Script	Allows a Shell Script to be entered and run.
Run Web Service	Combines text from the previous action with the output from a specified web service.
Run Workflow	Runs a specified workflow.
View Results	Displays the output of the previous action in Automator
Wait for User Action	Displays a dialog, and waits for the user to click "Continue." A timeout perion can be set.
DVD Player
Name	Definition
Finder
Name	Definition
Font Book
Name	Definition
iCal
Name	Definition
iDVD
Name	Definition
Image Capture
Name	Definition
iPhoto
Name	Definition
iTunes
Name	Definition
Keynote
Name	Definition
Mail
Name	Definition
PDF
Name	Definition
Preview
Name	Definition
QuickTime Player
Name	Definition
Safari
Name	Definition
Spotlight
Name	Definition
System
Name	Definition
TextEdit
Name	Definition
Xcode
Name	Definition