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. thumb|right|250px|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." frame|right|200px|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