Learn AppleScript: The Comprehensive Guide to Scripting and Automation on Mac OS X

AppleScript is an English-like, easy-to-understand scripting language built into every Mac. AppleScript can automate hundreds of AppleScript-able applications, performing tasks both large and small, complex and simple. Learn AppleScript: The Comprehensive Guide to Scripting and Automation on Mac OS X, Third Edition has been completely updated for Mac OS X Snow Leopard. Its all here, with an emphasis on practical information that will help you solve any automation problemfrom the most mundane repetitive tasks to highly integrated workflows of complex systems. Friendly enough for beginners, detailed enough for advanced AppleScripters Includes major contributions from expert AppleScripters: Emmanuel Levy, Harald Monihart, Ian Piper, Shane Stanley, Barry Wainwright, Craig Williams, and foreword by AppleScript inventor, William Cook What youll learn See how AppleScript represents information as objectsincluding numbers, strings, lists, and records. Learn how to manipulate these objects using commands and operators, and how to store them in variables. Organize your code using handlers and script objects. Understand how applications describe their objects and commands in dictionaries and how to interpret that information when learning to script applications. Manipulate the Mac OS X file system. Automate iTunes, Mail, iCal, and other popular lifestyle applications in Mac OS X. Discover sophisticated text processing techniques using regular expressions. Script professional productivity applicationsApple iWork, Microsoft Office, FileMaker Pro, and Adobe InDesign. Harness the power of the Unix command line in Mac OS X. Create your own Cocoa applications with the new AppleScriptObjC bridge. Who this book is for First-time scripters who want to automate tasks on their Macs; existing AppleScripters looking to develop proficient, professional, or guru-level knowledge and skills; professional Mac OS X developers wishing to understand this powerful and pervasive technology. Table of Contents Introducing AppleScript AppleScript in Principle AppleScript in Practice Writing Scripts in AppleScript Editor Understanding How Application Scripting Works Learning to Work with AppleScript Objects Working with Text Working with Numbers Working with Dates Working with Lists and Records Storing Objects in Variables More on Commands More on Operators and Coercions Making Decisions Using Conditionals and Loops Making Decisions When Dealing with Errors Interacting with the User Working with Files