Automation Tools

Computers are supposed to make our lives easier, right? They canif we "teach" them to perform repetitive tasks automatically.

For example, when I start work in the morning, I start my computer and launch the applications I use every day: Mail, iCal, iTunes, InDesign, and Photoshop. I check my e-mail, delete the junk mail, and start playing one of my iTunes playlists. Then I open the folders and documents I'm working on: book chapters and the folder in which I store the chapter's files. When I'm done with a book's chapter, I save it as a PDF file, create an archive of the chapter's folder, and upload it all to my publisher's FTP site. There's a lot of repetitive tasks heretasks my computer has been trained to do automatically at my request. This saves me timelet's face it: my Mac can do things a lot faster than I can.

Mac OS X includes two tools for automating repetitive tasks:

• Automator, which is brand new in Mac OS X 10.4, enables you to build workflows that automate tasks in multiple applicationsall without knowing a single line of programming code.

• AppleScript is a scripting language that enables you to automate tasks and extend the functionality of Mac OS.

This chapter takes a closer look at these two automation tools.