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bananabar

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 10, 2008
218
0
I loved the idea of Automator but, in four years, have never used it (either because I can't work out how to make it do what I want or because I've found another way to do it).

Out of interest, what do you use it for?
 

TEG

macrumors 604
Jan 21, 2002
6,618
165
Langley, Washington
I just started using it. I use it to convert file names of files I put on my website. Most of these have long file names since the were processed in iTunes, but I just remove some characters and spaces then I can FTP them. While it isn't necessary for one or two files, but when I start some mass uploading of several hundred files, it will help immensely.

Now I really just need to work on creating a script to FTP the files automatically to my server then most of my work will only take a few minutes, instead of 30-40 minutes.

TEG
 

dolphin842

macrumors 65816
Jul 14, 2004
1,172
29
I use Automator for a few simple things. The simplest workflow I have just launches a set list of apps I usually use when I first boot up my Mac. I'm a big fan of the feature that lets you put commands into the Finder contextual menu: I have workflows that erase CD-RWs, set the desktop background, FTP stuff to servers, and encode sound files as mp3, aac, or aiff (great for prepping files for Final Cut).
 

krye

macrumors 68000
Aug 21, 2007
1,606
1
USA
I created an automator action to copy the contents of my thumb drive to a folder on my hard drive. This way if I lose it, break it, or it gets stolen, I know exactly what was on it the time I last time I had it in the computer. This way when I replace it I don't have to hunt and peck for all the files I like to keep handy.

Also, I have an automator action that batch reduces the size of images, then zips them up, and attaches them to an email. Very handy for sending pictures to Mom and Dad.

Automator comes in very handy for things like this.
 
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