Applescript: make new folder structure if it doesn't exist - macos

Question

I've been searching through message boards trying to figure out how to execute this script. Essentially the goal is to be able to run this script while inside a folder and if certain folders do not exist, these folders would then be created. If they do already exist, nothing happens. Here's what I've cobbled together so far:
property archivesFolder : "Archives"
property imagesFolder : "Images"
property proofreadFolder : "Proofreading"
property proofFolder : "Proofs"
property sourceFolder : "Source"
try
tell application "Finder" to set theLocation to (folder of the front window as alias)
end try
tell application "Finder"
if (exists folder archivesFolder) then
(* do nothing *)
else
make new folder at theLocation with properties {name:archivesFolder}
end if
if (exists folder imagesFolder) then
(* do nothing *)
else
make new folder at theLocation with properties {name:imagesFolder}
end if
if (exists folder proofreadFolder) then
(* do nothing *)
else
make new folder at theLocation with properties {name:proofreadFolder}
end if
if (exists folder proofFolder) then
(* do nothing *)
else
make new folder at theLocation with properties {name:proofFolder}
end if
if (exists folder sourceFolder) then
(* do nothing *)
else
make new folder at theLocation with properties {name:sourceFolder}
end if
end tell
What am I doing wrong ? (forgive my n00b code formatting, at work and can't figure out how to create code blocks) Also, is it possible to this not just on the front window, but on a folder that is just selected? Any help given would be awesome.

Answer 1

I suggest two options (to run the script):
Option 1: Take that code (assuming it does what you plan), and save it as an application (with Script Editor).
Then, just drag that application to your window toolbar (you need to have the toolbar visible). To do that, hold the command key while dragging.
Option 2: Use Butler: http://manytricks.com/butler/
(there is a free version, I don't know your OSX version).
It allows you to define system-wide shortcut keys for applescript scripts.
Create a smart item (applescript); paste the code there, and in the name of the script add the shortcut keys: example: create folder here ⇧⌥⌘N
EDIT:
According to your comment, I understand your problem and I can tell you that you were missing the path (the current folder, in your case theLocation)
So, in every case of if (exists folder archivesFolder) then you need to add the of theLocation like this: if not (exists folder archivesFolder of theLocation) then
Finally, knowing that you won't do any thing if the folder exists, just test the false case.
I tested this code and am posting it here:
property archivesFolder : "Archives"
property imagesFolder : "Images"
property proofreadFolder : "Proofreading"
property proofFolder : "Proofs"
property sourceFolder : "Source"
try
tell application "Finder" to set theLocation to (folder of the front window as alias)
end try
tell application "Finder"
if not (exists folder archivesFolder of theLocation) then
make new folder at theLocation with properties {name:archivesFolder}
end if
if not (exists folder imagesFolder of theLocation) then
make new folder at theLocation with properties {name:imagesFolder}
end if
if not (exists folder proofreadFolder of theLocation) then
make new folder at theLocation with properties {name:proofreadFolder}
end if
if not (exists folder proofFolder of theLocation) then
make new folder at theLocation with properties {name:proofFolder}
end if
if not (exists folder sourceFolder of theLocation) then
make new folder at theLocation with properties {name:sourceFolder}
end if
end tell

Answer 2

You can also use a shell script with mkdir, since the option to create intermediate folders won't error if the folder already exists.
# define a list of folders - items will need to be quoted if they contain spaces, etc.
property theFolders : {"Archives", "Images", "ProofReading", "Proofs", "Source"} -- can also nest, e.g. "Inside/One"
try
tell application "Finder" to set targetFolder to (target of the front window) as alias
on error -- no window
set targetFolder to (choose folder)
end try
# build a parameter string from the folder list
set {tempTID, AppleScript's text item delimiters} to {AppleScript's text item delimiters, space}
set {theFolders, AppleScript's text item delimiters} to {theFolders as text, tempTID}
do shell script "cd " & quoted form of POSIX path of targetFolder & "; mkdir -p " & theFolders

Answer 3

Try this:
tell application "Finder"
set theLocation to (target of front window) as string
set folderNames to {"archivesFolder", "imagesFolder", "proofreadFolder", "proofFolder", "sourceFolder"}
repeat with theFolder in folderNames
try
make new folder at theLocation with properties {name:"" & theFolder & ""}
end try
end repeat
end tell

Answer 4

This is a script I did to sort a bunch of medical files into subfolders based on the date of service (explaining the "text 5 thru 14" in the script; the files are named according to a pattern so the script can extract the date of service from the filename). Rather than check if the folder already exists, I just put the make folder instruction in a try block; if the folder already exists, the 'try' fails, but the script continues under the assumption that the folder already exists. Using the 'text' item instead of 'character' returns the extracted string as a single string and not as an array of characters that have to be converted back into a string.
tell application "Finder"
set theDirectory to "Internal Disk:Users:steven:Documents:Vondalee:Medical"
set theFiles to every file in folder theDirectory whose name extension is "pdf"
repeat with eachFile in theFiles
set theFileName to the name of eachFile
set theFolder to text 5 thru 14 of theFileName
try
make new folder at theDirectory with properties {name:theFolder}
end try
move eachFile to folder theFolder of folder theDirectory
end repeat
end tell