Automator Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Mac 101: Encode media from Automator or the command line in Lion

by Kelly Hodgkins (Nov 22nd, 2011)

There's an easy way in OS X 10.7 Lion to convert video or audio from one format to another, using a fixed suite of conversion settings. One approach uses Automator and can be launched from the Finder. The other uses the Terminal application and the afconvert (for audio) or avconvert (for video) ...

DimScreen simply dims your screen

by TJ Luoma (Sep 19th, 2011)

Once upon a time, I had an application which would dim the screen of my Mac down to 0, and then exit. Somewhere along the way I seem to have lost the app and can no longer find it. Yes, I know I could just hold F1 and do the same thing manually, but I liked having an app that just did it for ...

Ask TUAW Video Edition: PDF and Scripting

by Justin Esgar (Mar 29th, 2011)

Andrew asked us about how to have a folder convert documents to PDF format so that he can sync them to his Dropbox. Today's show goes into how to use Automator and AppleScript to do some scripting, and we're going to demonstrate an iPad app that will convert documents for you on your ...

Fixing broken iTunes Automator workflows in iTunes 10

by Michael Rose (Sep 3rd, 2010)

If you depend on Automator workflows for managing music or other tasks in iTunes, the upgrade to version 10 may have come as a bit of a cold shock. Macworld pointed out that most available workflows for iTunes simply would not load with iTunes 10; a frustrating circumstance, to be sure. ...

Found Footage: MacOSXTutorials explores Mac Dropbox tips

by Steven Sande (Aug 31st, 2010)

As a Dropbox fan, I am always looking for new uses for the ubiquitous cloud storage service. Matt Fisher, whose videos have been featured on TUAW before, has produced a new video chock-full of great Mac OS X Dropbox tips. In this 10-minute clip, Matt shows: How to copy the Mac clipboard to ...

Apple patent details workflows, social networking links for iPhone

by Steven Sande (May 18th, 2010)

When we're working with our iPhones and sharing information with other people, it sometimes takes more steps than it should to perform a task. Patently Apple recently published information about an Apple patent application describing a new icon and process to make multi-step workflows easier to ...

Mac OS X's Automator: I learned it by watching you!

by Sang Tang (Mar 4th, 2010)

Mac OS X's Automator has the ability to perform specific tasks from its given set of actions. For example, with a Finder-based action, you can batch move copy, move or rename files that fit a certain criteria. Similarly, image-based actions allow you to batch edit images, be it resizing, rotating ...

Five customized Automator services to help save you time

by Sang Tang (Feb 2nd, 2010)

One gem in Mac OS X that sometimes gets glanced over is the Services menu. Lots of readers may not know yet that Snow Leopard brought with it the ability to create your own customized service in Automator -- in other words, you can get additional selections on a contextual menu when right-clicking ...

Ask TUAW: Automatic file sorting, Disk Utility, iPod battery replacement, and more

by Mat Lu (Jan 20th, 2010)

Welcome back to Ask TUAW, our weekly troubleshooting Q&A column. This week we've got questions about automatically sorting downloaded files, using Disk Utility to change partitions and format external drives, using a KVM in a multi-platform environment, replacing an iPod touch battery, and more. ...

Sal Soghoian talks Automator use in education

by Dave Caolo (Nov 13th, 2009)

Total Apps has published a nice guest post from Sal Soghoian, Apple's Production Manager for Automator, intended for teachers. He describes how educators have a limited amount of instruction time with the kids, and even less for maintenance tasks like making sure the proper software is installed, ...

Ask TUAW: Target disk mode, energy saver prefs, iTunes sharing and more

by Chris Ullrich (Sep 23rd, 2009)

Welcome back to Ask TUAW, our weekly Mac troubleshooting Q&A column. This week we've got questions about target disk mode, energy saver prefs, Safari file issues, iTunes album artwork, iTunes sharing and more. As always, your suggestions and questions are welcome. Questions for next week should ...

Ask TUAW: Making contact sheets, adjusting multiple files' properties, using network locations, and more

by Mat Lu (Sep 16th, 2009)

Welcome back to Ask TUAW, our weekly Mac troubleshooting Q&A column. This week we've got questions about making photo contact sheets, adjusting properties for multiple files at the same time in the Finder, automatically managing settings based on location, changing the spell check language in ...

Found Footage: The do-it-yourself wedding photo booth

by Steven Sande (Aug 17th, 2009)

What do you get when you mix a MacBook, a US$99 printer, some Ikea shower curtains, and lot of wedding guests? In the case of Mac user David Cline, you end up with a very happy sister! During planning for his sister Helen's recent wedding, Cline looked into renting a wedding photo booth that ...

Ask TUAW: OpenCL support in Snow Leopard, Boot Camp, automatic importing into iPhoto, and more

by Mat Lu (Jul 8th, 2009)

Wednesday means it's time for another Ask TUAW! For this edition we've got questions about what Macs will support Snow Leopard's forthcoming OpenCL acceleration, using Boot Camp with multiple partitions, connecting a Mac mini to HDMI, automatically importing images into iPhoto, and more. As always, ...

Snow Leopard offers more Automator "purrfection"

by Cory Bohon (Jun 11th, 2009)

If you know me, then you know that I love Automator and scripting things on the Mac. I believe that Automator should be something that everyone can take advantage of, not just the select few that already know how to use it well. That's why I've been working on the TUAW Mac Automation and ...