I want to create a simple AppleScript:
define a folder (that will get all the images, docs etc.)
read a file (.txt for example)
download all the URLs into the folder with their original name
Currently, my file has one URL by line, no separator.
I found several scripts but they always do something I don't want, don't need or doesn't work.
I found one that is very close to what I want, but it's editing the names in the loop.
I didn't succeed to split the URL and keep the last part.
Here it is:
property desktopPath : path to desktop as string
set n to 1
repeat with urlLine in paragraphs of (read alias (desktopPath & "filename.txt"))
set qURL to quoted form of urlLine
if qURL ≠ "''" then
set dest to quoted form of ¬
(POSIX path of desktopPath & "URLs/" & n & ".jpg")
do shell script "curl " & quoted form of urlLine & " > " & dest
set n to n + 1
end if
end repeat
If you have any other solution, I take.
Thanks in advance
I found a script that is working fine.
You just need to be sure about the txt file: the list inside should not have any text format.
Weirdly I have to do a copy/paste through a text editor to remove every text format.
1/ Put the txt file on your desktop, 2/ Create a "download" folder on your desktop, 3/ Start the script
set theList to (path to desktop as text) & "Download.txt" -- File name with the URLs
set theFolder to (path to desktop as text) & "download" -- Folder name between quotes
set theFolder to quoted form of POSIX path of theFolder
set theImages to read alias theList as list using delimiter linefeed
repeat with i from 1 to count of theImages
set thisItem to item i of theImages
do shell script "cd " & theFolder & "; " & "curl -O " & quoted form of thisItem
end repeat
I have a string which represents a File/Folder in a Folder in POSIX notation:
/Users/surfacedetail/Desktop/Temp/Test1
I want to check if the the Test1 exists AND is a Folder. The following tells is that it exists:
if exists my POSIX file myFileOrFolder then
beep
end if
This works ok, but how to tell if it is a Folder or a File?
The problem is that this is part of a massive script, this is a better test, it uses system events, but it doesn't work. I think its something to do with how I am building the path string.
tell application "Finder"
set myScriptFilePath to (path to me)
set mySourceFolder to folder of myScriptFilePath
set myFileAliasList to the entire contents of mySourceFolder
set myPOSIXSourceFolder to URL of mySourceFolder
set myPOSIXSourceFolder to characters 8 thru -1 of myPOSIXSourceFolder as string
repeat with myFile in myFileAliasList
set myFileName to name of myFile
log "myFileName: " & myFileName
if (myFileName ends with ".txt") then
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to "."
set myFolderName to first text item of myFileName
set myFolderPath to myPOSIXSourceFolder & myFolderName as string
log "myFolderPath: " & myFolderPath
tell application "System Events"
if not (exists folder myFolderPath) then
beep
display dialog "Could not find Folder for File: " & myFileName
return {}
end if
end tell
end if
end repeat
end tell
You can do it with System Events without any type cast
set thePath to "/Users/surfacedetail/Desktop/Temp/Test1"
tell application "System Events"
if exists folder thePath then
beep
end if
end tell
Fixed it! It was because I wasn't restoring the text delimiter, it needed this:
set mySaveASDelimiters to AppleScript's text item delimiters
change delimiters
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to mySaveASDelimiters
I need to make thousands of folders from columns from excel. I've looked around the internet and have got close, but I need the naming structure to be
"LASTNAME, FIRSTNAME - ID"
Each of those are in a separate column in excel.
I've tried the code below and it works, but the naming structure is not what I want it to be.
display dialog " --Make Lotsa' Folders--
This AppleScript will create multiple folders using names from a text file that you specify."
set destination to (choose folder with prompt "Where would you like to make the folders?")
set textFile to (choose file with prompt "Select the text file you wish to use")
set folderNames to paragraphs of (read textFile)
repeat with oneName in folderNames
tell application "Finder" to make new folder at destination with properties {name:oneName}
end repeat
display dialog "Your folders are done." buttons {"OK"}
https://imgur.com/a/T2ske
https://imgur.com/a/L2al5 This is what the folder filename would be.
Please try this:
set destination to (choose folder with prompt "Where would you like to make the folders?")
tell application "Microsoft Excel" to set usedRange to string value of used range of sheet 1
repeat with i from 2 to (count usedRange)
tell item i of usedRange to set folderName to item 1 & ", " & item 2 & " - " & item 3
tell application "Finder" to make new folder at destination with properties {name:folderName}
end repeat
display dialog "Your folders are done." buttons {"OK"}
As mentioned in the comments the Finder is very very slow while creating the folders one by one, this is a faster solution keeping the way to parse Excel (which is pretty fast by the way) but using the shell mkdir command with a composed parameter list to create the folders.
set destination to (choose folder with prompt "Where would you like to make the folders?")
tell application "Microsoft Excel" to set usedRange to string value of used range of sheet 1
set nameList to {}
repeat with i from 2 to (count usedRange)
tell item i of usedRange to set end of nameList to "'" & item 1 & ", " & item 2 & " - " & item 3 & "'"
end repeat
set {TID, text item delimiters} to {text item delimiters, ","}
set mkdirParams to "/{" & (nameList as text) & "}"
set text item delimiters to TID
do shell script "/bin/mkdir " & quoted form of POSIX path of destination & mkdirParams
display dialog "Your folders are done." buttons {"OK"}
I'm trying to create an applescript that prompts for a job name, then a desired directory in which to create a folder with the job name. It then should create a series of subfolders within the initial folder with names such as "job name-Links" & "job name-PDFs" etc.
I've cobbled this script together from different sources & would like feedback on how to improve it, because I'm sure it's ugly as sin.
tell application "Finder"
activate
set jobNum to text returned of (display dialog "Enter a job number:" default answer "[JobNumber]-[Description]")
set folderpath to POSIX path of (choose folder with prompt "Select client folder")
do shell script "/bin/mkdir -p " & quoted form of folderpath & "/" & quoted form of (jobNum) & "/" & quoted form of (jobNum & "-Links")
do shell script "/bin/mkdir -p " & quoted form of folderpath & "/" & quoted form of (jobNum) & "/" & quoted form of (jobNum & "-PDFs")
do shell script "/bin/mkdir -p " & quoted form of folderpath & "/" & quoted form of (jobNum) & "/" & quoted form of (jobNum & "-Supplied")
do shell script "/bin/mkdir -p " & quoted form of folderpath & "/" & quoted form of (jobNum) & "/" & quoted form of (jobNum & "-Versions")
end tell
Any thoughts & comments would be greatly appreciated. This is my first attempt at a script. I thought I'd post this because I've hunted for this specific use case for ages and only found bits and pieces. Hopefully someone can help me out so other will find it useful too.
Another idea would be to create a template of the desired folder structure somewhere, then have the script copy that structure with the client prefix. A couple of benefits to this method are that you don't need to change the script if folders are added to the template (the handler will also add to existing structures), and you don't have to figure out how to script complex (or large) structures.
property template : "/path/to/template/folder" -- the folder structure to copy from
on run -- example
set jobNum to text returned of (display dialog "Enter a job number:" default answer "[JobNumber]-[Description]")
set folderPath to (choose folder with prompt "Select a location for the client folder")
tell application "Finder" to try
set clientFolder to (make new folder at folderPath with properties {name:jobNum})
on error number -48 -- folder already exists
set clientFolder to (folderPath as text) & jobNum
end try
copyFolderStructure_toFolder_withPrefix_(template, clientFolder, jobNum)
end run
to copyFolderStructure_toFolder_withPrefix_(source, destination, additions) -- copy folder structure using mkdir
set {source, destination} to {source as text, destination as text}
if source begins with "/" then set source to POSIX file source
if destination begins with "/" then set destination to POSIX file destination
set {source, destination} to {source as alias, destination as alias}
set additions to additions as text
tell application "Finder" to set theFolders to (folders of entire contents of source) as alias list
set folderNames to ""
repeat with someFolder in theFolders -- set up the folder names parameter for the shell script
set {tempTID, AppleScript's text item delimiters} to {AppleScript's text item delimiters, ":"}
set namePieces to text items of (text ((count (source as text)) + 1) thru -2 of (someFolder as text))
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to ("/" & additions)
set namePieces to space & quoted form of (additions & (namePieces as text))
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to tempTID
set folderNames to folderNames & namePieces
end repeat
do shell script "cd " & quoted form of POSIX path of destination & "; mkdir -p" & folderNames
end copyFolderStructure_toFolder_withPrefix_
You can do something like this:
set TID to AppleScript's text item delimiters
-- Ensure the answer is formatted properly
repeat
try
set theAnswer to text returned of (display dialog "Enter a job number:" default answer "[JobNumber]-[Description]")
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to "-"
set {jobNum, jobDes} to {text item 1 of theAnswer, text item 2 of theAnswer}
exit repeat
on error
display dialog "Please enter your response in this format [JobNumber]-[Description]" buttons {"Cancel", "Try again"} default button "Try again"
end try
end repeat
set folderpath to POSIX path of (choose folder with prompt "Select client folder")
set folderNames to {"-Links", "-PDFs", "-Supplied", "-Versions"}
repeat with aName in folderNames
do shell script "mkdir -p " & quoted form of (folderpath & jobNum & "-" & jobDes & "/" & jobNum & "-" & jobDes & aName as text)
end repeat
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to TID
mkdir can create a hierarchy, just put these names in the {}
Example : '/destFolderPath/jobName/prefix'{"suffix1","suffix2","suffix3","suffix4"}
Here is the script.
set jName to my getJobNum()
set folderpath to POSIX path of (choose folder with prompt "Select client folder")
do shell script "mkdir -p " & (quoted form of (folderpath & jName & "/" & jName)) & "{\"-Links\",\"-PDFs\",\"-Supplied\",\"-Versions\"}"
on getJobNum()
activate
text returned of (display dialog "Enter a job number:" default answer "[JobNumber]-[Description]")
tell the result to if it is not "" then return it
getJobNum() -- else text returned is empty
end getJobNum
Important, if you plan to have slashes in the name, you must replace them by the colon character, it's easy to add a handler in the script to replace them, otherwise it will create other subfolders.
I'm no scripter, but I was looking for the same kind of structured folder solution. After going over these other examples, I came up with a slightly modified version for setting up project folders for our group of designers.
set TID to AppleScript's text item delimiters
-- Ensure the answer is formatted properly
repeat
try
set theAnswer to text returned of (display dialog "Please create a job folder, with the name in this format:" default answer "JobNumber-JobCode-ClientDescription")
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to "-"
set {jobNum, JobCod, CliDes} to {text item 1 of theAnswer, text item 2 of theAnswer, text item 3 of theAnswer}
exit repeat
on error
display dialog "Please enter your job details in this format [JobNumber]-[JobCode]-[ClientDescription]" buttons {"Cancel", "Try again"} default button "Try again"
end try
end repeat
set folderpath to POSIX path of (choose folder with prompt "Where to create your project folder?")
set folderNames to {"Links", "Client_input", "SourceBuilds", "Review-Proofs"}
repeat with aName in folderNames
do shell script "mkdir -p " & quoted form of (folderpath & jobNum & "-" & JobCod & "-" & CliDes & "/" & aName as text)
end repeat
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to TID
I'm using a variant of jackjr300 script to generate a website folder template/
do shell script "mkdir -p " & (quoted form of (folderpath & jName & "/")) & "{\"codey\",\"js\",\"fonts\",\"images\"}"
Plus another run to generate the subfolders and populate those with an existing frameworks and scripts with a duplicate folder action.
Very handy Thanks ...!
The first thing you could do to improve your script is don’t use shell scripting. Shell scripting is like a jackhammer, but what you are doing only requires the tiniest hand-held hammer.
Here is your original script:
tell application "Finder"
activate
set jobNum to text returned of (display dialog "Enter a job number:" default answer "[JobNumber]-[Description]")
set folderpath to POSIX path of (choose folder with prompt "Select client folder")
do shell script "/bin/mkdir -p " & quoted form of folderpath & "/" & quoted form of (jobNum) & "/" & quoted form of (jobNum & "-Links")
do shell script "/bin/mkdir -p " & quoted form of folderpath & "/" & quoted form of (jobNum) & "/" & quoted form of (jobNum & "-PDFs")
do shell script "/bin/mkdir -p " & quoted form of folderpath & "/" & quoted form of (jobNum) & "/" & quoted form of (jobNum & "-Supplied")
do shell script "/bin/mkdir -p " & quoted form of folderpath & "/" & quoted form of (jobNum) & "/" & quoted form of (jobNum & "-Versions")
end tell
Compare to a “de-shelled” version, which is easier to read, write, and maintain:
tell application "Finder"
activate
set jobNum to text returned of (display dialog "Enter a job number:" default answer "[JobNumber]-[Description]")
set theClientFolder to (choose folder with prompt "Select client folder")
set theSubFolderNames to {"Links", "PDFs", "Supplied", "Versions"}
repeat with theSubFolderName in theSubFolderNames
make new folder at theClientFolder with properties {name:jobNum & "-" & theSubFolderName}
end repeat
end tell
Notice that the variable “folderpath” has changed to “theClientFolder” because choose folder does not return a path, it returns an alias object for the chosen folder. The command for telling Finder to make a new folder is “make new folder at [alias where you want the folder to be made]” so you don’t need to convert that alias into a path to make new folders inside of it.
Notice also that the names of the folders have been declared as variables in a list, which makes them easier to read or change later. Even somebody who does not know AppleScript could open this script and change the name of the “PDFs” folder to “Documents” or something like that.
Another improvement I could suggest would be to make the way that you’re gathering the input from the user a little more sophisticated. You seem to be asking for 2 items of information other than the client folder — job number and job description — so use 2 dialog boxes, because that will be easier for the user and less error-prone because you can give 2 actual examples of what you want them to input. You can also improve the appearance of those dialogs in a few ways. And you can add a little error handling — if the user cancels the dialogs you’re presenting, that generates errors. You can handle them gracefully by checking if the user clicked “OK” or not.
Here is a version of your script with the user input cleaned up a bit:
tell application "Finder"
activate
display dialog "Enter a job number:" default answer "100" buttons {"Cancel", "OK"} default button "OK" with title (the name as text) with icon note giving up after 180
if the button returned of the result is equal to "OK" then
set theJobNumber to the text returned of the result
display dialog "Enter a job description:" default answer "Photos" buttons {"Cancel", "OK"} default button "OK" with title (the name as text) with icon note giving up after 180
if the button returned of the result is equal to "OK" then
set theJobDescription to the text returned of the result
try
choose folder with prompt "Select client folder:" default location (the path to the desktop folder as alias) without multiple selections allowed, invisibles and showing package contents
set theClientFolder to the result
on error
set theClientFolder to ""
end try
if theClientFolder is not equal to "" then
set theSubFolderNames to {"Links", "PDFs", "Supplied", "Versions"}
repeat with theSubFolderName in theSubFolderNames
make new folder at theClientFolder with properties {name:theJobNumber & "-" & theJobDescription & "-" & theSubFolderName}
end repeat
end if
end if
end if
end tell
This will give you dialog boxes that say “Finder” at the top and include the Finder icon, which will give up after 180 seconds (to prevent at timeout error) and which, if the user presses “Cancel” at any point, will just die gracefully without generating any errors. You can tweak the default answers for the input dialogs so that they help the user put in the right input, for example, if job numbers are 4 digits, put a 4 digit number here. And the choose folder prompt will start by showing the Desktop — you can change that to another location if there is a disk or folder where you store all your client folders:
choose folder with prompt "Select client folder:" default location (disk "Clients" as alias) …
To be clear, shell scripting is awesome, but I recommend you only use “do shell script” to get at unique features of the UNIX layer, like PHP functions, Perl regex, and so on. Anything that is already available to you in the Mac layer is going to be easier and safer to use, and easier to read, write, and maintain in AppleScript. Especially really basic things like creating folders.
I have a solution that copies the folder from a template location. It also creates a shortcut that allows to email the design manager with the subject as the job number/project number
global jobNum
global newJobFolder
set jobNum to text returned of (display dialog "Enter a job number:" default answer "")
set jobName to text returned of (display dialog "Enter a job name:" default answer "")
set jobMgr to text returned of (display dialog "Enter account manager email:" default answer "")
set folderpath to (choose folder with prompt "Select client folder")
set newJobFolder to my newFold(jobNum, jobName, folderpath, jobMgr)
on newFold(theNumber, theName, thefolder, jobMgr)
set emailAddress to jobMgr
set emailSubject to theNumber & " -" & theName
set bodyText to ""
set emailLinkFileName to theNumber & " -" & theName
set subNameList to {"Designs", "Documents", "Received"}
set itemCount to count of subNameList
set linkBody to "mailto:" & emailAddress & "?subject=" & my
replace_chars(emailSubject, " ", "%20") & "&body=" & my
replace_chars(bodyText, " ", "%20")
tell application "Finder"
set newJobFolder to (make new folder at thefolder with properties ¬
{name:theNumber & " " & theName})
repeat with i from 1 to itemCount
set aSubFolder to make new folder at newJobFolder with properties {name:jobNum & " " & item i of subNameList}
set theMailto to make new internet location file to linkBody at aSubFolder with properties {name:emailLinkFileName, name extension:"mailloc"}
set the name extension of theMailto to "mailloc"
end repeat
duplicate file "Users:ace:Dropbox:Company:0000-1_E.xlsx" of startup disk to folder (jobNum & " Documents") of newJobFolder
set name of the result to jobNum & " E.xlsx"
set theMailto to make new internet location file to linkBody at newJobFolder with properties {name:emailLinkFileName, name extension:"mailloc"}
set the name extension of theMailto to "mailloc"
end tell
end newFold
-- Generic find and replace functionality
on replace_chars(this_text, search_string, replacement_string)
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to the search_string
set the item_list to every text item of this_text
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to the replacement_string
set this_text to the item_list as string
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to ""
return this_text
end replace_chars
I'm trying to make an Applescript that takes a list of names and makes a set of folders from it. And then copies files from a choosen folder into each of these newly created folders.
I have search for the answer, but didn't understand them. So if you could be so kind to explaine what and why I should change the code, it would be a great learning experience for me.
set destinationFolder to choose folder
set {text returned:textReturned} to display dialog "enter folder names" default answer return & return & return
if textReturned is "" then return
set folderWithFiles to (choose folder with prompt "Where are the files at?")
repeat with aLine in (get paragraphs of textReturned)
if contents of aLine is not "" then
do shell script "/bin/mkdir -p " & quoted form of (POSIX path of dest inationFolder & aLine)
set folderNew to aLine & ":" as alias
set dest to folderNew on destinationFolder -- as alias
tell application "Finder"
duplicate every file of folderWithFiles to dest
end tell
end if
end repeat
Thanks in advance
Updated: posted answer to myself
Got help from StefanK at macscripter.net
Here is the complete code:
set destinationFolder to choose folder
set {text returned:textReturned} to display dialog "enter folder names" default answer return & return & return
if textReturned is "" then return
try
set theFiles to (choose file with prompt "Where are the files at?" with multiple selections allowed)
end try
repeat with aLine in (get paragraphs of textReturned)
if contents of aLine is not "" then
set newFolder to (destinationFolder as text) & aLine
do shell script "/bin/mkdir -p " & quoted form of POSIX path of newFolder
try
tell application "Finder" to duplicate theFiles to folder newFolder
end try
end if
end repeat