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Sams Teach Yourself AppleScript in 24 Hours

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Sams Teach Yourself AppleScript in 24 Hours

Book

  • Sorry, this book is no longer in print.
Not for Sale

Description

  • Copyright 2002
  • Dimensions: 7-3/8" x 9-1/8"
  • Pages: 432
  • Edition: 1st
  • Book
  • ISBN-10: 0-672-32518-7
  • ISBN-13: 978-0-672-32518-2

AppleScript, built into the Macintosh OS, is used by hndreds of companies and countless individuals to automate tasks, control applications, automate Web sites, and more. It's a scripting language that uses natural, English-like syntax -- much easier to code than most scripting languages.

Sams Teach Yourself AppleScript in 24 Hours offers a clearly written, well organized introduction to AppleScript. The book starts with running existing scripts, then teaches the reader to write simple scripts to create shortcuts and increase productivity on the Mac OS, then moves on to working with popular Macintosh applications with scripts.

Downloads

Downloads

All the code developed for the book in one convenient download - 419 kb -- code.hqx

Sample Content

Online Sample Chapters

Running the Scripts You Already Have

Running the Scripts You Already Have

Table of Contents

(NOTE: Each chapter concludes with a Summary, Q&A, and Workshop.)

Introduction.

Who Should Read This Book. How This Book Is Organized. Conventions Used in This Book.

I. GETTING STARTED WITH APPLESCRIPT.

Hour 1. Introducing AppleScript.

AppleScript Success Stories. Scripting Versus Point-and-Click. What Makes AppleScript Special: Syntactical Scripting. How AppleScript Works: Overview. AppleScript Syntax. AppleScript Syntax for Programming.

Hour 2. Using AppleScript.

Script Files. Applets. Droplets. Toolbar Scripts. Script Menu. Scripting Additions. Where to Get Scripts.

Hour 3. Running the Scripts You Already Have.

Basics. Finder Scripts. Info Scripts. Web Services. Mail Scripts. Navigation Scripts. Script Editor Scripts. Folder Action Scripts. ColorSync and FontSync Scripts.

Hour 4. Getting New Scripts from Apple and Running Them.

The iPhoto Collection. The iDVD Collection. The iTunes Collection. The QuickTime Collection. The Toolbar Scripts.

Hour 5. Third-party Scripts and Applications That Simplify Your Life.

Sites for Scripts. Utility Scripts.

Hour 6. Looking Behind the Scenes: How These Scripts Work.

Blocks. Subroutines. Handlers. Recursive Processing.

Hour 7. Basic Programming Concepts.

Units of Control and Definition. Conditional Statements. Repetition. Try Blocks.

II. WRITING SCRIPTS WITH SCRIPT EDITOR.

Hour 8. Introducing Script Editor.

Finding Your Way Around Script Editor. Creating a Script. Checking Syntax. Working with Dictionaries. Looking at the Result. Looking at the Event Log.

Hour 9. Basic AppleScript Syntax.

Tell Blocks. Commands. Variables. Expressions. Control Statements. Optional Words. Script Structure.

Hour 10. Scripting the Finder.

References. Inheritance. Standard Suite: Terms That Most Applications Support. Finder Basics. Finder Items. Container and Folders Suite. Files Suite. Window Classes Suite. Legacy Suite.

Hour 11. Scripting Mac OS X Applications from Apple.

Reading a Dictionary. iCal. Help Viewer. Mail. Address Book. TextEdit. DVD Player. Internet Connect. Print Center. Disk Copy. Image Capture Scripting. Terminal.

Hour 12. Scripting Mac OS X Applications from Third Parties.

Scripting America Online. Scripting AppleWorks. Scripting FileMaker. Scripting Microsoft Office. Scripting Internet Explorer. Scripting Photoshop. Scripting Retrospect.

Hour 13. Interacting with Users.

Telling the User Something. Asking the User Something. Other Ways of Communicating with Users. Aqua Human Interface Guidelines.

III. WORKING WITH APPLESCRIPT STUDIO.

Hour 14. Introducing AppleScript Studio.

Getting AppleScript Studio. What Is AppleScript Studio? Getting Started with Project Builder. Looking at Interface Builder.

Hour 15. Building a Graphical AppleScript Studio Application.

Writing a Simple AppleScript Studio Application. A (Very) Little Programming Background. Using Menus.

Hour 16. Writing Code for AppleScript Studio.

Working with Tab Views. Using Pop-up Menus and Combination (Combo) Boxes. Finding Out About Events. Using Sliders. Using the Color Well and Image Views. Using Progress Indicators. Using Formatters.

Hour 17. Planning and Debugging AppleScript Studio Applications.

Project Builder Preferences. Project Builder Targets. Project Builder Styles. Debugging Overview. Debugging with Script Editor. Debugging with Project Builder. Debugging with Project Builders Debugger.

Hour 18. Adding Help to AppleScript Studio.

Eliminating the Need for Help with Application Design. Catching Errors. Providing Documentation. Providing Help Tags. Providing Button-driven Help. Interacting with Help Viewer.

Hour 19. Using Documents and Data Sources with AppleScript Studio.

Working with Table and Outline Views. Working with Data Sources. Exploring the AppleScript Document Template. Working with Documents: High-level Approach. Working with Files: Low-level Approach.

IV. ADVANCED SCRIPTING.

Hour 20. Advanced AppleScript Syntax.

Script Objects. GUI Scripting.

Hour 21. Creating AppleScripts to Control Multiple Applications.

Basic Script Design. Extracting Data from Address Book and Placing It in Text Edit. Extracting Data from FileMaker and Placing It in Text Edit. Extracting Data from Address Book and Placing It in InDesign. Extracting Data from FileMaker and Placing It in InDesign. Creating Dynamic Pages with InDesign.

Hour 22. Using AppleScript Across a Network.

Mounting Remote Disks. How AppleScript Works Across a Network. What You Need to Do on the Client Mac. What You Need to Do on the Server Mac. Using AppleScript to Process CGI Requests. Using Web Services. Using Web Services with Script Editor. Using Web Services with AppleScript Studio.

Hour 23. Beyond AppleScript: Using Services.

A Services Overview. How Services Work. Enabling Services with AppleScript Studio. Why Use Services with AppleScript Studio? Services from Script Editor.

Hour 24. Beyond AppleScript: Shell Scripts, Perl, and Other Scripting Languages.

Using Terminal. Running AppleScript from Terminal. Running AppleScript As Commands from Applications. Automatically Running Scripts. Other Scripting Languages.

V. APPENDIXES.

Appendix A. Constants and Predefined Variables.
Appendix B. Operators.

Arithmetic Operators. Boolean Operators. Containment Operators. Equality Operators. Comparison Operators.

Appendix C. Third-party Script Editors.

Smile. Script Debugger. PreFab UI Browser.

Glossary.
Index.

Updates

Submit Errata

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