AppleScript Focus / Rename File (and clicking anywhere) - macos

on run {input}
set filepath to POSIX path of input
do shell script "touch " & quoted form of filepath & "untitled"
return input
end run
Is what I have so far, and it works, but is there a way to then focus on the file then trigger a rename? I dont want the rename to be automatic, just trigger the event (like pressing "return" while you have a file selected). And I dont want to use any sort of modal...
Quick Side question: is there a way to set this so that i dont have to select a folder or file directly, but can do it by, lets say, clicking in a white space in a folder as long as it's in Finder? Right now I have my "Service receives selected" to "files or folders" in Finder.app.
== UPDATED CODE ==
on run {input}
set filepath to POSIX path of input
do shell script "touch " & quoted form of filepath & "untitled"
tell application "Finder"
activate
set target of Finder window 1 to POSIX file "/Users/oscargodson/Documents/designs/untitled"
end tell
tell application "System Events"
tell process "Finder"
keystroke return
end tell
end tell
return input
end run
If i hardcode the path it works! But how do I get it as a var that works?

Here's one way. I think a modal window where you ask for the name would be better but you can try this. Notice you do not use "POSIX path" in this code. Applescript doesn't use POSIX paths. Also {input}, as indicated by the brackets around it, is a list of items. Therefore you act on the items of the list, and in this case we act on the first item.
set filepath to item 1 of input
tell application "Finder"
activate
reveal filepath
end tell
tell application "System Events"
tell process "Finder"
keystroke return
end tell
end tell
EDIT: With your updated code, here's a working script...
on run {input}
if (class of input) is not list then set input to {input}
set theFolder to (item 1 of input) as text
try
alias theFolder
tell application "Finder"
if (class of item theFolder) is not folder then error "input is not a folder."
activate
set theFile to make new file at folder theFolder with properties {name:"untitled"}
reveal theFile
end tell
delay 0.2
tell application "System Events"
tell process "Finder"
keystroke return
end tell
end tell
on error theError number errorNumber
tell me
activate
display dialog "There was an error: " & (errorNumber as text) & return & return & theError buttons {"OK"} default button 1 with icon stop
return
end tell
end try
return input
end run

tell application "Finder"
activate
reopen -- in case there are no open windows
set target of Finder window 1 to POSIX file "/Applications/Safari.app"
end tell
reveal and select always open a new window, set target and set selection don't.
I don't know why, but when set selection it used in column view, you can only select items in the entire contents of the target of the front window. The same thing doesn't happen in other views, so it seems like a bug.
Fix for the code in the edited question:
on go(input)
set p to POSIX path of (input as text)
set p2 to p & "untitled"
do shell script "touch " & p2
tell application "Finder"
reopen
activate
set target of Finder window 1 to POSIX file p2
end tell
delay 0.3 -- time to release modifier keys
tell application "System Events" to keystroke return
end go
tell application "Finder"
set fold to folder (path to documents folder)
end tell
go(fold)
(That on go and the last lines are just for testing.)

I've created an AppleScript based on the #regulus6633's one, but with some improvements.
Note: This answer was originally posted as an AskDifferent answer. I'm copy/pasting here for convenience.
The idea is to create an Automator workflow and assigning a shortcut to it using the following steps:
Open Automator and create a Service;
Set the input to no input, and the application to Finder.app;
Drag and Drop the Run AppleScript workflow element onto the grey space;
Put the contents of this AppleScript in the textbox;
Save the workflow with a reasonable name (like New File);
Go to Settings -> Keyboard -> Shortcuts -> Services and assign a shortcut to it.
Now, let's show the AppleScript:
set file_name to "untitled"
set file_ext to ".txt"
set is_desktop to false
-- get folder path and if we are in desktop (no folder opened)
try
tell application "Finder"
set this_folder to (folder of the front Finder window) as alias
end tell
on error
-- no open folder windows
set this_folder to path to desktop folder as alias
set is_desktop to true
end try
-- get the new file name (do not override an already existing file)
tell application "System Events"
set file_list to get the name of every disk item of this_folder
end tell
set new_file to file_name & file_ext
set x to 1
repeat
if new_file is in file_list then
set new_file to file_name & " " & x & file_ext
set x to x + 1
else
exit repeat
end if
end repeat
-- create and select the new file
tell application "Finder"
activate
set the_file to make new file at folder this_folder with properties {name:new_file}
if is_desktop is false then
reveal the_file
else
select window of desktop
set selection to the_file
delay 0.1
end if
end tell
-- press enter (rename)
tell application "System Events"
tell process "Finder"
keystroke return
end tell
end tell
For convenience, I'm putting this AppleScript in this GitHub Gist.

Related

AppleScript : How do I delete a POSIX path?

I am trying to clear out a shell script file if it exists but I keep running into the errors.
tell application "System Events"
set fileList to POSIX path of disk items of mdFolder
end tell
-->check to see if there is a shell script in the destination folder
repeat with i from 1 to count of every item in fileList
set thisFile to item i of fileList
set oasd to AppleScript's text item delimiters
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to "/"
set fileName to last text item of thisFile
if fileName is equal to "ditaShell.sh" then
tell application "System Events" to delete thisFile
end if
end repeat
tell application "Finder"
-->create new file for shell script
make new file at mdFolder with properties {name:"ditaShell.sh"}
display dialog "Created new file"
end tell
I get this error message:
System Events got an error: Can’t make "/Users/xxxxxxxxx/Desktop/DITAConversions/Input/ditaShell.sh" into type disk item.
I solved it, was overthinking the problem:
tell application "Finder"
delete (every file of folder mdFolder whose name is "ditaShell.sh")
-->create new file for shell script
make new file at mdFolder with properties {name:"ditaShell.sh"}
display dialog "Created new file"
end tell

Relative path to AppleScript exported as .app

I have an AppleScript exported as a .app file because I need it to run on log in.
This is my code:
repeat
tell application "System Events"
repeat with desktopNumber from 1 to count of desktops
tell desktop desktopNumber
set picture to "~/Desktop/script/img.jpg"
end tell
end repeat
end tell
end repeat
The path to the script is ~/Desktop/script/script.app/Contents/Resources/Scripts/main.scpt
I'd like to put the image in the Resources folder as well and make the path relative so i can put the folder anywhere without changing my script so I tried
set desktopPicture to ((container of container of (path to me)) as text) & "/img.jpg"
repeat
tell application "System Events"
repeat with desktopNumber from 1 to count of desktops
tell desktop desktopNumber
set picture to desktopPicture
end tell
end repeat
end tell
end repeat
But that gives me the error Can’t make container of container of alias \"Macintosh HD:Users:Me:Desktop:script:script.app:Contents:Resources:Scripts:main.scpt\" into type text.
System Events is not able to expand the tilde ~.
If you want to refer to ~/Desktop/script/img.jpg using relative paths you could use
tell application "System Events" to set desktopPicture to file "img.jpg" of folder "script" of desktop folder
or
set desktopPicture to alias ((path to desktop folder as text) & "script:img.jpg")
Consider that in both cases AppleScript will throw an error if the file does not exist.

Applescript to open terminal, run command, and show - Not working

I´m trying to create a keyshortcut to open terminal in current folder. Looking around, I found this code to create a service (the part of adding the shortcut to this service is solved), only added things are the "; clear" and some of the "activate" so it shows
on run {input, parameters}
tell application "Finder"
activate
set myWin to window 1
set theWin to (quoted form of POSIX path of (target of myWin as alias))
tell application "Terminal"
activate
tell window 1
activate
do script "cd " & theWin & ";clear"
end tell
end tell
end tell
return input
end run
It is not working as i would like.
troubles:
it opens two windows in terminal, have no idea why. It has nothing to
do with the added "activate"… it has always donde that
if I select an item on finder ( a folder ) it opens its parent directory and i would
like it to open the selected folder
this is my very first try with Applescript so if the error is obvious i just can't see it
Thanks in advance
The do script command already opens a window in Terminal. Try it this way:
tell application "Finder" to set theSel to selection
tell application "Terminal"
set theFol to POSIX path of ((item 1 of theSel) as text)
if (count of windows) is not 0 then
do script "cd " & quoted form of theFol & ";clear" in window 1
else
do script "cd " & quoted form of theFol & ";clear"
end if
activate
end tell
I like the reopen approach better...
tell application "Finder" to set currentFolder to target of front Finder window as text
set theWin to currentFolder's POSIX path
tell application "Terminal"
if not (exists window 1) then reopen
activate
do script "cd " & quoted form of theWin & ";clear" in window 1
end tell

Using Automator or Applescript or both to recursively print documents to PDF

I have a massive set of files (4000+) that are in an old Apple format (Appleworks). My employed needs them all updated to PDF. By opening the documents in Appleworks and using the system print dialogue, I can save them to PDF—this is ideal. I'm a complete nub with Applescript/Automator, however.
Using a Python script I was able to gather all the Appleworks files from my bosses computer and put them in a directory; each file is then in a subdirectory with a .txt file containing its original location (where, eventually, I will have to put them back).
I need the script to move recursively through this massive directory, getting every file that's neither a folder nor a .txt document, and save it to PDF in the same directory in which the original file was found. ie.
/Appleworks/Boss_File_1/
will contain
/Appleworks/Boss_File_1/Boss_file_1.cwk and
/Appleworks/Boss_File_1/path.txt
But must eventually also contain /Appleworks/Boss_File_1/Boss_File_1.pdf
I can get half way with either solution, but don't know how to make them work together. The Applescript I'm using looks like:
set appleworksFolder to choose folder
tell application "Finder"
set folderItems to (files of entire contents of appleworksFolder)
repeat with I from 1 to number of items in folderItems
set the_doc to item I of folderItems
if name of the_doc is not "path.txt" then
try
tell application "AppleWorks 6"
open the_doc
tell application "System Events"
tell process "Appleworks"
keystroke "p" using command down
click menu button "PDF" of window "Print"
click menu item "Save as PDF…" of menu 1 of menu button "PDF" of window "Print"
click button "Save" of window "Save"
end tell
end tell
end tell
end try
else
tell application "Finder"
delete the_doc
end tell
end if
end repeat
end tell`
This opens the print dialogue but never gets any further and I have no idea why. I realize this script also doesn't deal with putting the document back in its original folder, but in Applescript I could easily enough do this if I could get past the actual printing-to-PDF bit.
Meanwhile, in Automator, using this workflow:
Get Specified Finder Items
Get Folder Contents
Filter Finder Items (by kind and then by file extension is not .txt)
Open Finder Items (with Appleworks)
I then am stuck; using the actual Print Finder Items and choosing Adobe PDF seems to actually do nothing at all, and recording myself using the print to pdf process live is useless because I don't know how to get Automator to retain the path the file originated from and ensure it prints to it.
If anyone can help me put this together somehow, I'd be enormously grateful. Thanks.
Convert using Pages
If you have Pages (part of iWork), it can open .cwk files and save them as PDF: just replace your if block with this:
if (the_doc's name extension is not "txt") then
set newName to my makeNewFileName(the_doc, "pdf")
try
tell application "Pages"
open (the_doc as alias)
set thisDoc to front document
save thisDoc as "SLDocumentTypePDF" in newName
close thisDoc saving no
end tell
on error
display dialog "Error: cannot export " & (name of the_doc) & " to PDF."
end try
end if
(you will need this custom function makeNewFileName):
(* prepare new file name with extension ext *)
on makeNewFileName(finderItem, ext)
tell application "Finder"
set fname to finderItem's name
set thePath to (finderItem's container) as alias as text
return (thePath & (text 1 thru ((length of fname) - (length of (finderItem's name extension as text))) of fname) & ext)
end tell
end makeNewFileName
(complete working script)
GUI scripting
Alternatively, you could do GUI scripting upon AppleWorks as you attempted, but it has the disadvantage that you cannot programmatically specify where to save the PDF file.
This snippet works for me:
tell application "AppleWorks 6"
open the_doc
activate
tell application "System Events" to tell process "AppleWorks"
keystroke "p" using command down
delay 1 -- or longer, if it takes longer
click menu button "PDF" of window "Print"
click menu item "Save as PDF…" of menu 1 of menu button "PDF" of window "Print"
delay 1 -- or longer
click button "Save" of window "Save"
end tell
end tell
Unfortunately, AppleWorks doesn't seem to properly listen to AppleScript's close command, therefore you may need to close the file by also simulating the cmd+W keystrokes.
Try this:
set appleworksFolder to choose folder
set thePath to POSIX path of appleworksFolder as string
tell application "Finder"
set folderItems to files of appleworksFolder
repeat with aFile in folderItems
set {name:fileName, name extension:nameExtension} to aFile
set filePath to POSIX path of (aFile as alias) as string
if nameExtension is not "txt" then
set theLocation to POSIX path of (aFile as text)
set baseName to text 1 thru ((get offset of "." & nameExtension in fileName) - 1) of fileName
set destLocation to (thePath & baseName & ".pdf")
set theCommand to "/System/Library/Printers/Libraries/./convert -f \"" & filePath & "\"" & " -o " & "\"" & destLocation & "\"" & " -j \"application/pdf\""
do shell script theCommand
else
tell application "Finder" to delete aFile
end if
end repeat
end tell
I needed to do this today on Mountain Lion with a bunch of RTF receipts; here's how I did it:
#!/bin/bash
for file in *.rtf ; do
filename=$(basename "$file")
/usr/sbin/cupsfilter "$file" > "$filename.pdf"
done
Worked great; super easy. No Automator or AppleScript silliness.

Applescript to make new folder

I Want to make a new Folder command in apple script
Why dosent this script work?
tell application "Finder"
activate
end tell
tell application "System Events"
tell process "Finder"
tell menu bar 1
tell menu bar item "File"
tell menu "File"
click menu item "New folder"
end tell
end tell
end tell
end tell
end tell
You can do it more directly with AppleScript:
tell application "Finder"
set p to path to desktop -- Or whatever path you want
make new folder at p with properties {name:"New Folder"}
end tell
I don't know if running bash commands within AppleScript is cheating, but you can also do:
do shell script "mkdir ~'/Desktop/New Folder'"
Which is useful when you need to create sub folders on-the-fly when they don't exist yet:
do shell script "mkdir -p ~'/Desktop/New Folder/Bleep/Bloop'"
tell application "Finder"
activate
end tell
tell application "System Events"
tell process "Finder"
tell menu bar 1
tell menu bar item "File"
tell menu "File"
click menu item "new folder"
end tell
end tell
end tell
end tell
end tell
--you capitalize the N in new folder the new folder button is not capped.
NOTE: This can fail for two reasons;
(1) '~' trapped in singlequote won't parse.
(2) space in '/New Folder/' will break the path.
do shell script "mkdir -p '~/Desktop/New Folder/Bleep/Bloop'"
SOLVED:
do shell script "mkdir -p ~/Desktop/" & quoted form of "New Folder/Bleep/Bloop"
You can directly with an applescript script by simulating keystroke on ("N" and command and shift) this will create a new folder on the desktop or in the open Finder window.
Below the script, you can test it in the script editor
tell application "System Events" to tell process "Finder"
set frontmost to true
keystroke "N" using {command down, shift down}
end tell
Your script works if you add under "tell process" Finder "
"set frontmost to true"
Which give
tell application "System Events"
tell process "Finder"
set frontmost to true
tell menu bar 1
tell menu bar item "File"
tell menu "File"
click menu item "New folder"
end tell
end tell
end tell
end tell
end tell
tell application "Finder"
set thepath to alias "Macintosh HD:Users:JasonMagnuson:Documents:" as text
make new folder at thepath with properties {name:"nov_archive"}
end tell

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