Apple Training Series: AppleScript 1-2-3 - Softcover

Soghoian, Sal; Cheeseman, Bill

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0321149319 ISBN 13: 9780321149312

Publisher: Peachpit Pr, 2009

Synopsis

We know what you’re thinking. You’ve heard about AppleScript. You’ve heard that it can do amazing things. You’ve heard that it can automate away the tiring, redundant, repetitive tasks you do with the computer.

All true. But you’re not sure about what’s involved with using it. Is it difficult? Is it programming? After all, you’re just a better-than average computer user. You know what you know, and your expertise serves you pretty well. But recently you’ve reached the point of asking yourself “Is there a better way?” The answer is “Yes.”

And relax, you just got lucky. This book is for you.

If you’ve never written a single line of computer code—this book is for you. If the most technical thing you do on the computer is calculate a column in Excel—this book is for you. If you’re tired of doing the same thing over and over—this book is for you.

It’s about being motivated to explore, understand, and take advantage of the tools you already own. AppleScript is free—the only price for its use is your desire to finally sit down and take a few moments to absorb and activate its magic.

This book starts at square one and walks you through the process of understanding and writing AppleScript—step by step, one concept at a time—until you find yourself suddenly creating powerful and useful automated solutions. And the lessons in this book are based on a decade of experience teaching hands-on classes to folks just like you. You can do this. You can become Master of your Computer Universe!

Still don’t believe us? Open the first chapter and start reading. You’ll see.

About this title

About the Author

Sal Soghoian discovered AppleScript in 1992 while looking for ways to automate publishing-related tasks at his service bureau. Since that time, he has remained a tireless evangelist for AppleScript and has served as the product manager for automation technologies at Apple for more than eleven years. His yearly all-day AppleScript training sessions at Macworld Expo are legendary and their common-sense hands-on approach is captured in this book.

Bill Cheeseman lives in Quechee, Vermont. He is well known in the AppleScript community as originator and long-time Webmaster of The AppleScript Sourcebook Web site and as the developer of two popular AppleScript utilities, PreFab UI Browser and PreFab UI Actions. He is also the author of Cocoa Recipes for Mac OS X: The Vermont Recipes, one of the first books about creating Cocoa applications for Mac OS X. When he isn’t writing software for Macintosh computers, Bill practices law as a civil litigator and trial lawyer.

From the Back Cover

You could be saving yourself time and money right now using tools you probably didn't even know you had. AppleScript, a powerful and free scripting tool included on every Macintosh, enables individuals, professionals, and businesses to save time and money by automating time-consuming, repetitive tasks. Hallmark, for example, used AppleScript to reduce the number of color proofs needed to create a greeting card from a range of 5 to 25 expensive proofs per card down to just two. The best part? You don't need a degree in engineering to create powerful, results-driven scripts.

In AppleScript 1-2-3 Apple's AppleScript product manager, Sal Soghoian, teaches beginners how to address nearly any automation task on the Macintosh. Broken down into three parts, the book starts by explaining AppleScript fundamentals through a series of hands-on how-tos designed to teach you how to write functional scripts. The second section expands on the knowledge gained in the first section with an in-depth examination of useful AppleScript tools and techniques, and the third section uses sample scripts to demonstrate how to automate Apple and third-party applications. If you're looking to work more productively by automating your workflow, you'll want this primer written by the leading expert in the field-no one knows more about AppleScript than Sal.

Edition details

• Publisher: Peachpit Pr
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0321149319
• ISBN 13: 9780321149312
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 879