Automator for Workflow Productivity (Mac)
Automator is an application included within Mac OS X (Tiger & Leopard) that implements point-and-click (or drag-and-drop) creation of workflows for automating repetitive tasks. Automator enables the repetition of tasks across a wide variety of programs, including the Finder, Safari, iTunes, iPhoto, Mail, Preview, TextEdit and others. It can also work with third-party applications such as Microsoft Office or Adobe Photoshop. Accomplish all of your time- consuming, repetitive manual tasks quickly, efficiently and effortlessly with Automator Workflows. It’s simple to create custom Workflows just by dragging items, pointing and clicking. Perform the task once using your Automator Workflow or many times — even share your Workflows with others. For example, you can rename a group of image files so they all share the same base name but are numbered sequentially (ProductShot001.jpg, ProductShot002.jpg, etc.) in seconds. Once they’re renamed, Automator can automatically scale every image to a designated size, and then attach it to a new email message and send the message. After you create a Workflow, you execute it by clicking the Run button in the Workflow document window. Automator performs each step in the Workflow in order for you until your work is done. If that isn’t enough great news, here’s even more: Developers are extending the reach of Automator by creating new Actions for their applications and you can expand your library by downloading new Actions from third-party developers. Come and learn how to effectively use this easy answer to more difficult Apple scripting!
