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Automator....
- Thread starter mbopy22
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Check out the following link. It might give you enough of an introduction. It's a video, which might work better for you.mbopy22 said:
Video Introduction to Automator (start here):
http://www.atomiclearning.com/osx_tiger_orientation#
(Scroll down to "Creating an Automator Workflow".)
Also, which tutorial/document did you read on the Apple Web site?
Basically, Automator is supposed to make life a little easier by allowing you to perform commands within many different applications. These commands, all strung together, make up a workflow. So, for example, you might have a workflow that does the following.
- Go into a folder named "new images" and resize the pictures inside of it.
- Rename the files inside that folder to "image_1.jpg", "image_2.jpg",etc.
- Create a new QuickTime slideshow containing all the images.
- Attach the QuickTime movie file to a new email message.
The example above is a simple one and can be written in a few minutes. You can be much more elaborate than this. I have an Automator action that grabs certain folders, copies them to an external drive, places them into a new, compressed disk image, deletes the originals, and then renames the disk image with the current date. It's a simple workflow too, but takes several different steps to get it done.
You can also check out AutomatorWorld.com, which has lots of free workflows. Download a few that interest you, then open them up and look at the steps. Automator is easy enough that you can learn most of what you need to know from simply looking at examples that work.
mbopy22 said:
Tough to answer in a few sentences, but here goes.....
Automator is a utility that allows you to string various actions together into a step by step sequence. Each step in the sequence does a specific task and then passes on to the next task until the sequence completes.
Most tasks have an input and an output, so a single task would take some information from the previous task, perform it's action, and then pass the results to the next task. You have to make sure that these inputs and outputs are compatible, i.e. that the output of one task is compatible with the input of the next task.
A sequence of actions is called a workflow, and once tested can be saved as a workflow, which you can edit later, or as a standalone 'application' that runs like any other application.
The best way to understand what is going on is to load an example workflow and study it. If you open Automator and look in the left pane you will see a section called Example Workflows. Double-click the one called Copy Unread Mail to iPod Notes and it will open in a window. You can see the actions in the right pane running from top to bottom, and see how they link with data that passes from one to the other. If you follow the flow, you can see what happens step by step to get your unread mails into an iPod note.
In the Action column are all the actions you can add into the workflow, by dragging them into the workflow
There are plenty of workflows already available to do different things, I recommend you head over to Automator World and download a few to see how they work.
If you have something specific you want to use Automator for, then post back here and maybe we can help you get something going