Automation Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Fake.app makes powerful Web automation easy

by Brett Terpstra (Sep 6th, 2010)

Todd Ditchendorf (Celestial Teapot Software) is probably best known for creating Fluid, a Site-Specific Browser app that we love to talk about. While Fluid was a great and well-executed idea, Todd's latest app, Fake, is truly inspired. The easiest way to describe Fake is to say it's Automator for ...

Savant: iPad to "Redefine home automation"

by Dave Caolo (Feb 16th, 2010)

Automating one's home with a Mac isn't new. Indigo has been around for a while, as has XTension. Heck, you can even feed your dog remotely. The folks at Savant offer a way to control your home or office's entertainment system, climate, security cameras, lighting and more with an iPhone or iPod ...

Sikuli can automate any UI by taking screenshots

by Mike Schramm (Feb 1st, 2010)

This is pretty impressive --of course there are already lots of ways to automate actions on your Mac, and odds are that you may have messed around with scripting or Automator more than once before. But Sikuli is a new app that makes automating as simple as taking screenshots. Instead of programming ...

TweetMyMac: Remote control of your Mac via Twitter

by Aron Trimble (Sep 2nd, 2009)

Important safety tip: Please read the instructions for TweetMyMac carefully, especially the part about creating a separate Twitter account for your Mac -- do not use your regular Twitter account, or anyone you follow will be able to control your machine. We have previously covered some of the ...

Use iCal to tweet automatically

by Aron Trimble (Jul 17th, 2009)

Recently, the question came up of how to automatically "tweet" a birthday message to a friend or loved one on their special day. After thinking on this question for some time I finally came to a solution. As it turns out, intrepid TUAW blogger Dave Caolo wrote a Mac 101 article all about attaching ...

Mac mini and Dropbox: Getting it done

by Dave Caolo (Jun 27th, 2009)

Yesterday I wrote about my love of the Mac mini. So dependable and unobtrusive, it's the Honda Civic of computers. In the post, I briefly described how we use Dropbox to send routinely-updated Keynote files to the mini. A few of you wrote to ask for details, so I decided to share that information ...

WWDC Demo: QuicKeys 4

by Victor Agreda, Jr. (Jun 24th, 2009)

WWDC isn't all about iPhone apps. Long before the iPhone was a twinkle in Steve's eye, WWDC was all about developing for the Macintosh. I had a chance to sit down with the guys behind QuicKeys, a venerable Mac app that will save you a lot of time on repetitive typing tasks. I got a look at the ...

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 ...

Meerkat 1.2, 100% more AppleScript support

by Brett Terpstra (May 27th, 2009)

If you work from non-secure networks (coffeehouses, airports, hotels, etc.), or if you've ever wanted to bypass a firewall (YouTube or TUAW blocked at work?) you may be familiar with SSH tunneling. It's come up more than once here on TUAW. It allows you to conduct your Internet business through a ...

Mac Automation: Make your text speak its mind

by Cory Bohon (Apr 13th, 2009)

Have you ever wanted to type something into your Mac and have it record what you typed audibly using any one of the Mac OS X voices? It's easily done with a few Automator actions, and in this Mac Automation post, I'll show you how. Open Automator and find the following actions, then drag them to ...

Woof! An iPhone-controlled dog treat dispenser

by Steven Sande (Dec 4th, 2008)

While you're geeking out with your techie friends building battle bots or pumpkin cannons, why not give your dog a little love at the same time? TUAW reader Stephen Myers sent us a link about a fun little project he worked on. He wants to be able to check on his dog's well-being and reward the dog ...

AppleScript: Integrating shell scripts

by Cory Bohon (Jun 23rd, 2008)

We've talked about AppleScript how-tos before. AppleScript is fun and all, but what if you already know how to write shell scripts? Well, did you know that by integrating shells scripts into AppleScript, you can create simple applications that do useful things? It's true, and I am going to show ...

Keyboard Maestro 3 adds macro recording and remote access

by Mat Lu (Apr 9th, 2008)

The well-known macro application Keyboard Maestro has been updated to version 3 and adds some interesting new features. In addition to a revamped interface, the new release allows you to record macros (series of key presses, mouse clicks, etc.) and play them back via various triggers. There are also ...

Mac Automation: automating Microsoft Excel 2008

by Cory Bohon (Mar 17th, 2008)

This is the second part of Mac Automation: automating Microsoft Office 2008. In this how-to, I will show you how to create an importer for Microsoft Excel 2008. This importer will allow you to type text in TextEdit.app (or other text editor) and import it into an Excel file. For this automation, you ...

AppleScript language guide updated, finally!

by Cory Bohon (Mar 12th, 2008)

Many people have criticized Apple for not updating their AppleScript language documentation regularly (myself included). Scoff no more, because Apple updated their documentation yesterday. The last update to the AppleScript language documentation was on May 5, 1999 -- almost 9 years ago. For anyone ...