Even saving an AppleScript as an app and calling that is sometimes necessary. You sometimes need to get a bit sneaky and write a shell script and call that from Automator or write an AppleScript and call that.

Automator is a way into this workflow and job control as a learning exercise although it is not always obvious how to solve a problem. Way back in the past, I used to write big shell scripts on UNIX systems. One liners are probably somewhat limited but with a bit of extra work it is really useful. You can get so much productivity leverage in return for quite modest amounts of programming. Start by creating a new document in Automater and selecting “Application” as the document type.I love this kind of stuff. Whether it’s the news, Reddit, (of course!) or another site, it’s the same each and every day. Open Specific Web Pagesįar too many of us start every day with the same set of websites. Note that dictation is not the same as a voice command through Siri.Īs there are too many examples to show you all of what Automator can do, let’s take a look at a few basic examples.

By using Accessibility’s enhanced dictation option, voice-driven workflows can be established.

Dictation Command: this workflow runs whenever a specified dictation is used.

An action will generally be performed as images are being imported from a camera, iPhone, iPad, etc.

Image Capture Plugin: this workflow is used in combination with the built-in Image Capture application on the Mac.Calendar Alarm: this workflow will be set to run whenever a preset Calendar event occurs that has been set up in the native Calendar application.This will take a PDF document from the print menu and perform whatever action you have established. Print Plugin: this workflow is enabled within the Print dialog wherever printing can occur.The Services menu is often found at the bottom of the right-click menu where available. Quick Action: this workflow is best used with Finder Windows, the Touch Bar or the Services menu.This may be used to process data or start an action. Application: this workflow is standalone and only runs when you open it or drop files or folders on it.Workflow: any workflow that can be run within the Automator app itself is the easiest way to use Automator.

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