 | Mac OS X Automation | Lion Release Notes
Mac OS X Lion Automation Release Notes Automator and Services Building on the dramatic success of Automator and Services (Reborn in Snow Leopard), Automator in Lion becomes a smoother more powerful creator of automation recipes. Here are some of the new features for Automator and Services in Lion: Duplicating Workflows to Other Template Types The challenge of changing an existing Automator workflow into another type of Automator plugin has been resolved. Workflows can now be duplicated to another template types, such as from an applet to a service, or from a service to a print plug-in. Simply select Duplicate To… from the Automator File menu and a copy of the frontmost workflow will be created, displaying the template picker sheet allowing you to choose the type of workflow plugin to apply to the copied workflow. Easy Installation of Actions and Services Installer applications are no longer required in order to add an Automator action or service to your library of actions and services. Just double-click the action or service workflow files, and you will presented with a dialog prompting you to approve the installation of the selected action and service workflow files. If approved, any selected actions will be placed in the user Library > Automator folder, and any selected service workflow files will be placed in the user Library > Services folder, and be ready for use immediately. NOTE: see the sidebar entry Missing Library Folder? to learn how to edit the contents of these special folders. Versions Like many other document-based applications in Lion, Automator fully supports the new Versions feature so you can easily return a workflow document to a previously saved state. To return a saved document to an earlier version, choose Browse All Versions… from the popup menu at the top right of the workflow window, and the screen will switch to the Time Machine-like view where you can browse and restore to a previously saved version. New Actions Included in Automator for Lion are new actions with a focus on creating content for online and iOS distribution. There are actions for turning text into images, text documents into EPUB books, also actions for displaying and retrieving web content, and a set of media actions (services) enabling the desktop encoding of video and audio files. Here are a list of the important new actions: Text To EPUB File • This action creates an iBooks-compatible EPUB file from the text files passed to it. Optionally, the book can contain movie, audio, and image files chosen by the user. Optionally, the formatting of the passed RTF file can be preserved in the book. (learn more) Website PopUp • This action displays in a floating HUD, the webpage of the URL passed to it. (learn more) Create Banner Image from Text • This can creates an image (with an alpha channel) of the text passed to it using the chosen style settings. Optionally, the current styling of the passed RTF text can be used instead. (learn more) Get Contents of Webpages (Webarchive type) • Automator in Lion introduces a new workflow data type: web content. This action will retrieve the contents of webpages located at the passed URLs, as Mac OS X webarchive data. (learn more) Save Images from Web Content • This action takes as input, web content, and then extacts any images within the passed datat and writes them to a folder on disk. The example workflow shown below, will extract the images from the current webpage displayed in Safari: (learn more) Encode to MPEG Audio • Encodes AIF, WAV, and CAF files into MPEG audio files using the chosen settings. The action is an interface to the new afconvert command-line utility, and is used in the new Lion Finder Service Encode Selected Audio Files. (learn more) Encode Media • Encode movie source files into MPEG content using the chosen settings. The action is an interface to the new avconvert command-line utility, and is used with the new Lion Finder Service Encode Selected Movie Files. (learn more) Create Annotated Media File • This action creates annotated versions of passed movie files. The action is an interface to the new avmetadata command-line utility. (learn more) Enhanced RTF Support Many of the text-based actions in Automator now support the use of Rich Text Format strings. For example, the new Text To EPUB File will accept RFT text as inut, retaining the formatting when generating a new EPUB file from the passed text. The new Create Banner Image from Text action also supports RTF text as input. In addition, Rich Text is now an input type for creating Automator Services. New Filtering Options for Text Input in Services Data Detectors support in creating Automator service workflows has been enhanced in Lion. Text objects, such as URLs, dates, or phone numbers, can now be both detected and filtered from selected text used as input to service workflows. This means that you now have the option to use either the entire text selection containing the text objects as input to the workflow, or use just the detected text objects themselves as input. (below) An example service, created using the new Data Detectors input filtering options, that enables to dialing of phone numbers embedded within text in a web page: New Input Controls Many actions have the option to ignore input from a previous action in a workflow. To make it easier to access this control, it has been moved into the action options drawer, which is displayed when you click the Options button at the bottom left of the action view. New Services Lion contains two new services for encoding movie or audio files on the desktop. Both services are enabled by default, and will appear in the Finder's action or contextual menus when the appropriate types of files are selected: Encode Selected Movie Files (learn more) Encode Selected Audio Files (learn more) TOP NEW ACTIONS IN LION Text to EPUB File Website PopUp Create Banner Image from Text Encode to MPEG Audio Encode Media Create Annotated Media File Get Web Content/Save Images from Web Content ABOUT AUTOMATOR/SERVICES To learn more about how to create your own Automator workflows and services using this action, watch these short movies: Introduction to Automator Introduction to Services MISSING LIBRARY FOLDER? As part of simplification of the Mac OS X desktop experience, the user's Library folder has been hidden by default. This presents a challenge for those using Automator and other automation technologies that incorporate specific directories within the user Library as repositories for the various types of automation documents they create. Specifically, the Workflows, PDF Services, Scripts, Automator, and Services folders, within the user Library folder, are all required destinations for automation documents. To access the automation documents within these hidden directories, select Open… from Automator's File menu, and select the desired folder from the popup menu at the bottom of the forthcoming open panel dialog. Doing so will display the contents of the chosen folder in the dialog window. You can select the document to edit from the displayed list of documents. If you wish to delete existing automation documents, or change the conttents of the displayed automation folder, simply type Command-R (⌘-R) while the open panel is displayed, and the folder will de revealed on the desktop. You can then edit the contents of the directory in the Finder. NOTE: you can also access the contents of the user Library folder by holding down the Option key while clicking on the Finder's Go menu. Doing so will add the Library menu item to the list of specified directories: FOR ACTION DEVELOPERS Lion includes updates for action and application developers, notably: Updated action APIs with better error handling AMCustomInputType for custom service types Webarchive and Rich Text types available Regarding how to implement your own custom Automator data types for your application: An application declares its custom types via the AMCustomServiceTypes key in its Info.plist file. This key contains an array (list) of UTIs that shall be considered custom service types. Automator and LaunchServices will find apps with these types at runtime and add them to the input types menu in the Services header when that app is selected in the menu. The application vending the view from which the Services will be invoked must implement the standard cocoa API. This is described in the Services Implementation Guide. The data you put on the Pasteboard must be of the UTI that you declare as custom in your Info.plist. This data must to be put on the pasteboard as a "data" property list value, containing the serialized (binary) form of an AppleEvent descriptor (specifier). It is important to remember that the specifier needs to have a PSN added, since it will be used outside the process calling the Service. In Automator, it is necessary to have actions that are declared as taking that custom type. When Automator gets the data from the client app and runs the Service, the data will parsed and turned into an NSAppleEventDescriptor. This NSAppleEventDescriptor will be given directly to the first action of the Service workflow. Disclaimer Mention of third-party websites and products is for informational purposes only and constitutes neither an endorsement nor a recommendation. MACOSXAUTOMATION.COM assumes no responsibility with regard to the selection, performance or use of information or products found at third-party websites. MACOSXAUTOMATION.COM provides this only as a convenience to our users. MACOSXAUTOMATION.COM has not tested the information found on these sites and makes no representations regarding its accuracy or reliability. There are risks inherent in the use of any information or products found on the Internet, and MACOSXAUTOMATION.COM assumes no responsibility in this regard. Please understand that a third-party site is independent from MACOSXAUTOMATION.COM and that MACOSXAUTOMATION.COM has no control over the content on that website. Please contact the vendor for additional information.

Automator and Services

Building on the dramatic success of Automator and Services (Reborn in Snow Leopard), Automator in Lion becomes a smoother more powerful creator of automation recipes. Here are some of the new features for Automator and Services in Lion:

Duplicating Workflows to Other Template Types

The challenge of changing an existing Automator workflow into another type of Automator plugin has been resolved. Workflows can now be duplicated to another template types, such as from an applet to a service, or from a service to a print plug-in.

Simply select Duplicate To… from the Automator File menu and a copy of the frontmost workflow will be created, displaying the template picker sheet allowing you to choose the type of workflow plugin to apply to the copied workflow.

Easy Installation of Actions and Services

Installer applications are no longer required in order to add an Automator action or service to your library of actions and services. Just double-click the action or service workflow files, and you will presented with a dialog prompting you to approve the installation of the selected action and service workflow files. If approved, any selected actions will be placed in the user Library > Automator folder, and any selected service workflow files will be placed in the user Library > Services folder, and be ready for use immediately.

NOTE: see the sidebar entry Missing Library Folder? to learn how to edit the contents of these special folders.

Versions

Like many other document-based applications in Lion, Automator fully supports the new Versions feature so you can easily return a workflow document to a previously saved state.

To return a saved document to an earlier version, choose Browse All Versions… from the popup menu at the top right of the workflow window, and the screen will switch to the Time Machine-like view where you can browse and restore to a previously saved version.

New Actions

Included in Automator for Lion are new actions with a focus on creating content for online and iOS distribution. There are actions for turning text into images, text documents into EPUB books, also actions for displaying and retrieving web content, and a set of media actions (services) enabling the desktop encoding of video and audio files.

Here are a list of the important new actions:

Text To EPUB File • This action creates an iBooks-compatible EPUB file from the text files passed to it. Optionally, the book can contain movie, audio, and image files chosen by the user. Optionally, the formatting of the passed RTF file can be preserved in the book. (learn more)

Website PopUp • This action displays in a floating HUD, the webpage of the URL passed to it. (learn more)

Create Banner Image from Text • This can creates an image (with an alpha channel) of the text passed to it using the chosen style settings. Optionally, the current styling of the passed RTF text can be used instead. (learn more)

Get Contents of Webpages (Webarchive type) • Automator in Lion introduces a new workflow data type: web content. This action will retrieve the contents of webpages located at the passed URLs, as Mac OS X webarchive data. (learn more)
Save Images from Web Content • This action takes as input, web content, and then extacts any images within the passed datat and writes them to a folder on disk. The example workflow shown below, will extract the images from the current webpage displayed in Safari: (learn more)

Encode to MPEG Audio • Encodes AIF, WAV, and CAF files into MPEG audio files using the chosen settings. The action is an interface to the new afconvert command-line utility, and is used in the new Lion Finder Service Encode Selected Audio Files. (learn more)

Encode Media • Encode movie source files into MPEG content using the chosen settings. The action is an interface to the new avconvert command-line utility, and is used with the new Lion Finder Service Encode Selected Movie Files. (learn more)

Create Annotated Media File • This action creates annotated versions of passed movie files. The action is an interface to the new avmetadata command-line utility. (learn more)

Enhanced RTF Support

Many of the text-based actions in Automator now support the use of Rich Text Format strings. For example, the new Text To EPUB File will accept RFT text as inut, retaining the formatting when generating a new EPUB file from the passed text. The new Create Banner Image from Text action also supports RTF text as input.

In addition, Rich Text is now an input type for creating Automator Services.

New Filtering Options for Text Input in Services

Data Detectors support in creating Automator service workflows has been enhanced in Lion. Text objects, such as URLs, dates, or phone numbers, can now be both detected and filtered from selected text used as input to service workflows. This means that you now have the option to use either the entire text selection containing the text objects as input to the workflow, or use just the detected text objects themselves as input.

(below) An example service, created using the new Data Detectors input filtering options, that enables to dialing of phone numbers embedded within text in a web page:

New Input Controls

Many actions have the option to ignore input from a previous action in a workflow. To make it easier to access this control, it has been moved into the action options drawer, which is displayed when you click the Options button at the bottom left of the action view.

New Services

Lion contains two new services for encoding movie or audio files on the desktop. Both services are enabled by default, and will appear in the Finder's action or contextual menus when the appropriate types of files are selected:

Encode Selected Movie Files (learn more)
Encode Selected Audio Files (learn more)

TOP

NEW ACTIONS IN LION

ABOUT AUTOMATOR/SERVICES

To learn more about how to create your own Automator workflows and services using this action, watch these short movies:

MISSING LIBRARY FOLDER?

As part of simplification of the Mac OS X desktop experience, the user's Library folder has been hidden by default. This presents a challenge for those using Automator and other automation technologies that incorporate specific directories within the user Library as repositories for the various types of automation documents they create.

Specifically, the Workflows, PDF Services, Scripts, Automator, and Services folders, within the user Library folder, are all required destinations for automation documents.

To access the automation documents within these hidden directories, select Open… from Automator's File menu, and select the desired folder from the popup menu at the bottom of the forthcoming open panel dialog. Doing so will display the contents of the chosen folder in the dialog window. You can select the document to edit from the displayed list of documents.

If you wish to delete existing automation documents, or change the conttents of the displayed automation folder, simply type Command-R (⌘-R) while the open panel is displayed, and the folder will de revealed on the desktop. You can then edit the contents of the directory in the Finder.

NOTE: you can also access the contents of the user Library folder by holding down the Option key while clicking on the Finder's Go menu. Doing so will add the Library menu item to the list of specified directories:

FOR ACTION DEVELOPERS

Lion includes updates for action and application developers, notably:

Updated action APIs with better error handling
AMCustomInputType for custom service types
Webarchive and Rich Text types available

Regarding how to implement your own custom Automator data types for your application:

An application declares its custom types via the AMCustomServiceTypes key in its Info.plist file. This key contains an array (list) of UTIs that shall be considered custom service types. Automator and LaunchServices will find apps with these types at runtime and add them to the input types menu in the Services header when that app is selected in the menu. The application vending the view from which the Services will be invoked must implement the standard cocoa API. This is described in the Services Implementation Guide.

The data you put on the Pasteboard must be of the UTI that you declare as custom in your Info.plist. This data must to be put on the pasteboard as a "data" property list value, containing the serialized (binary) form of an AppleEvent descriptor (specifier). It is important to remember that the specifier needs to have a PSN added, since it will be used outside the process calling the Service.

In Automator, it is necessary to have actions that are declared as taking that custom type. When Automator gets the data from the client app and runs the Service, the data will parsed and turned into an NSAppleEventDescriptor. This NSAppleEventDescriptor will be given directly to the first action of the Service workflow.

Disclaimer

Mention of third-party websites and products is for informational purposes only and constitutes neither an endorsement nor a recommendation. MACOSXAUTOMATION.COM assumes no responsibility with regard to the selection, performance or use of information or products found at third-party websites. MACOSXAUTOMATION.COM provides this only as a convenience to our users. MACOSXAUTOMATION.COM has not tested the information found on these sites and makes no representations regarding its accuracy or reliability. There are risks inherent in the use of any information or products found on the Internet, and MACOSXAUTOMATION.COM assumes no responsibility in this regard. Please understand that a third-party site is independent from MACOSXAUTOMATION.COM and that MACOSXAUTOMATION.COM has no control over the content on that website. Please contact the vendor for additional information.