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October 10, 2005

For anyone using my “Mail Sig from iTunes” script in Mac OS X 10.4...yes, it's broken. Specifically, Mail's signature scripting is broken. There's no workaround at the moment. As soon as this gets fixed, I'll post the news here.

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May 3, 2005

Now, in previous articles here, I've taken Apple to task for their inconsistent and in some cases, sub-standard/non-existent AppleScript support. Heck, any script support. It was, and is, stupid and short-sighted.

However, if I'm going to point the finger when they mess up, it falls to me to tell them when I think they've done right, and lately, they've done some right. In fact, they've done a whole passle 'o' right.

First off, Soundtrack Pro is scriptable. I haven't seen the dictionary, but it has one. Not only is it scriptable, but this fact is rather prominently displayed as a feature right on the main Soundtrack Pro page: In fact, you can even set up the program to process audio automatically using AppleScript.. It's not just scriptable, it's recordable.

That's right readers, one of the main pillars of Final Cut Studio is scriptable and recordable. I don't know how that got pulled off, but to whomever managed it, find me at the WWDC, I'll buy you a beer. This isn't just cool on it's own, it also makes Soundtrack Pro accessible from Automator via AppleScript Studio. Hot DAMN!!!

Minor update: Just received word from Apple that Soundtrack Pro is not recordable in the AppleScript sense. No matter, Recordabilty is not, nor should it be a deal-breaker. They still deserve all the praise here.

Good job Soundtrack Pro guys. Now, go over to your compatriots in the rest of Final Cut Studio, and hit them with the clue stick.

Shake is scriptable, albeit via its own language, and/or shell script. Regardless of this being due more to its origins or work from Apple, the point is this: it's automatable. And if you can shell script it, you can AppleScript it too. A 'true' dictionary is always nice, but I'll take shell. Because automation doesn't suck. Maybe the Shake folks can act as backup to the Soundtrack Pro guys, 'cause that clue stick gets heavy after a while.

QTSS Publisher is scriptable and how. It's not recordable, but i can live without that. (Recorded scripts tend to be real funky looking and need much work to get efficient) Take a look at it, someone put a lot of time and effort into it, and it shows. Again, good job QTSS Publisher folks. Amusingly, QTSS Publisher getting a dictionary is not surprising, the QuickTime folks have always had their heads on straight with regard to AppleScript. They can be the third vector of attack in support of the Shake and Soundtrack Pro folks.

Keynote 2 (only) has a dictionary but it's pretty much useless for anything beyond automating the playing of a presentation. You can't say, use AppleScript to yank stuff from a Word or OmniOutliner document and use that to create slideshows. You can with PowerPoint, since, ironically, Microsoft Office has better AppleScript support than iWork, but at least there's a dictionary. But no real pat on the back until it gives us the ability to do stuff.

With the latest updates, GarageBand now has a dictionary. It's not as ineffectual as Keynote 2's, in that you can actually do some stuff with it, but there's some stuff that's kinda silly. Like record enabled being read only. In fact, most of the track properties are read only, other than the instrument name and the track volume. However, the CPU load property of a song has some potential. If nothing else, it can show you which machines you need to update first in a lab situation, or which ones are having issues because of CPU load or other problems. Of course, if monitoring the CPU load causes a major CPU load, it's kind of useless. But it's cool. So, even though it's mostly read - only, GarageBand's dictionary has some real coolness, which gets it qualified praise.

The biggest praise must go, as always, to the Core OS AppleScript team. They've done some amazing new stuff, which I'll look at as soon as I get a gander at the release notes for the Core OS.

But I have to say, the increase in useful dictionaries, especially in the Pro Apps, which, up until NAB 2005 were a “No Automation” zone, is a a really good sign that maybe Apple is realizing that they have to lead, not follow with regard to AppleScript. They've a ways to go, but at least they're moving, and that's something.

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