AppleScript Dictionary Explained in Plain English

An entry taken from the AppleWorks 6 Dictionary:

make v : Make a new element
make
new type : the class of the new element.
at location specifier : the location at which to insert the element
[with data any] : the initial data for the element
[with properties record] : the initial values for the properties of the element
--> specifier : to the new object(s)

Some things to note about dictionary entries

1) The first line, make v : Make a new element, is the basic definition of the term

2) The second item in the first line in italics (v here) describes the term as an English part of speech, here, a verb. This is significant, because AppleScript is written basically like sentences in English.

3) Text in bold is to be written literally

4) All plain text is not to be taken literally and is a description of the element or term in bold.

5) Text within straight brackets are optional parameters that may not apply for what you want to do.

6) Blue, underlined text is a link to a further definition of the term or attribute.

In the 'make' example above (omitting optional stuff), you could say:

make new document at desktop

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This is rather lengthy. The items covered here are: Open,Print,Quit,Activate,Close,Count,Data Size,Delete,Duplicate,Exists,Make,Move,Select. Note that parameters enclosed in square brackets '[]' are optional (this is a common convention).

open v : Open the specified object(s)
open specifier : list of objects to open
[using specifier] : the application file to open the object with
[with properties record] : the ini tial values for the properties, to be included with the open command sent to the application that opens the direct object

Examples:

tell application "Finder" to open home

tell application "Finder"
open item "Document 1.cwk"
end tell

print v : Print the specified object(s)
print specifier : list of objects to print
[with properties record] : optional properties to be included with the print command sent to the application that prints the direct object

Example:

tell application "TextEdit"
print the front document with properties {copies:2, collating:true, starting page:1, ending page:1, pages across:1, pages down:1, error handling:standard} without print dialog
end tell

quit v : Quit the Finder
quit

Although the definition comes with the annotation 'Quit the Finder', it can be directed to an application:

tell application "FileMaker Pro" to quit

activate v : Activate the specified window (or the Finder)
activate [specifier] : the window to activate (if not specified, activates the Finder)

Example:

tell application "Finder" to activate

close v : Close an object
close specifier : the object to close

Example:

tell application "Finder"
set frontWind to (get name of front window)
close window frontWind
end tell

count v : Return the number of elements of a particular class within an object
count specifier : the object whose elements are to be counted
each type : the class of the elements to be counted
--> integer : the number of elements

Examples:

repeat with x from 1 to (count records)
...
end repeat

count text items

data size v : Return the size in bytes of an object
data size specifier : the object whose data size is to be returned
[as type] : the data type for which the size is calculated
-->integer : the size of the object in bytes

Example:

tell application "Finder" to get data size of front window

delete v : Move an item from its container to the trash
delete specifier : the item to delete
--> specifier : to the item that was just deleted

Example:

tell application "Finder"
activate
select (every file of front Finder window)
delete selection
end tell

duplicate v : Duplicate one or more object(s)
duplicate specifier : the object(s) to duplicate
[to location specifier] : the new location for the object(s)
[replacing boolean] : Specifies whether or not to replace items in the destination that have the same name as items being duplicated
[routing suppressed boolean] : Specifies whether or not to autoroute items (default is false). Only applies when copying to the system folder.
--> specifier : to the duplicated object(s)

Example:

tell application "Finder"
activate
duplicate item 1 of front Finder window to desktop
end tell

exists v : Verify if an object exists
exists specifier : the object in question
--> boolean : true if it exists, false if not

Example:

if not (folder "Database Backups" exists) then...

make v : Make a new element
make
new type : the class of the new element
at location specifier : the location at which to insert the element
[to specifier] : when creating an alias file, the original item to create an alias to or when creating a file viewer window, the target of the window
[with properties record] : the initial values for the properties of the element
--> specifier : to the new object(s)

Example:

tell application "Finder" to make new folder at desktop with properties {name:"New Folder",label index:1}

move v : Move object(s) to a new location
move specifier : the object(s) to move
to location specifier : the new location for the object(s)
[replacing boolean] : Specifies whether or not to replace items in the destination that have the same name as items being moved
[positioned at list] : Gives a list (in local window coordinates) of positions for the destination items
[routing suppressed boolean] : Specifies whether or not to autoroute items (default is false). Only applies when moving to the system folder.
--> specifier : to the object(s) after they have been moved

tell application "Finder"
set targetFolder to the target of front Finder window
set targetFiles to (every document file of targetFolder)
move targetFiles to desktop positioned at {500, 350}
end tell

select v : Select the specified object(s)
select specifier : the object to select

Examples:

select text 1 thru 36 of paragraph 10

tell application "Finder"
set desktopPath to (path to desktop)
select folder "untitled folder" of desktopPath
open the selection
end tell

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Be sure to precede statement with tell application "AppleWorks 6" and activate, if the application is not currently running. What is covered here: select,copy to clipboard,cut,paste,insert,revert,start slides,stop slides,speak,menu,menu item.

select v : Select the specified object
select specifier : the object to be selected

An AppleWorks 6 text document:

tell document 1
select ( paragraphs 1 thru 5 )
end tell

copy to clipboard v : Copy the current selection to the clipboard [Application must be 'active'/at front]
copy to clipboard [specifier] : optional object to be selected (else the current selection is used)

As the entry implies, AppleWorks must be activated:

activate
tell document 1
select paragraph 5
copy to clipboard
end tell

cut v : Cut the current selection to the clipboard [Application must be 'active'/at front]
cut [specifier] : optional object to be selected (else the current selection is used)

activate
tell document 1
select paragraph 2
cut
end tell

paste v : Paste from the clipboard to the current selection [Application must be 'active'/at front]
paste [values/formulas/formats] : special things that can be pasted
[transpose boolean] : transpose the data diagonally?

select word 1 of paragraph 1
copy to clipboard
paste after paragraph -1

insert v : Insert a file into a document
insert alias : the file to insert
[at location specifier] : the location at which to insert the file
[using translator text] : the name of the translator to use to import the document
[with fields list of text] : the field order to use when inserting into a database (use "" to skip a field)

tell application "Finder"
set insertDoc to (choose file "Get data:")
tell application "AppleWorks 6"
activate
tell document 1
insert insertDoc
end tell
end tell
end tell

revert v : revert to the last saved version of a document
revert document : the document to be reverted

tell application "AppleWorks 6"
activate
tell document 1 to revert
end tell

start slides v : Start the slideshow for the current document
start slides
stop slides v : Stop the slideshow, returning to the normal application state
stop slides

These are shown together for obvious reasons:

tell application "AppleWorks 6"
activate
tell document 1 to start slides
delay 20
tell document 1 to stop slides
end tell

To move to the next page (slide), you click on the current page

speak v : Use PlainTalk to speak some text
speak specifier : the text to speak
[using voice text] : the name of the PlainTalk voice to use

tell document 1 to speak ( paragraphs 1 thru 5 ) using voice "Junior"

menu n : a menu
elements
contains menu items.
properties
name (text, r/o) : the name of the menu
id (integer, r/o) : the menu id
menu item n : a menu item. Use "select" to perform a menu item action.
elements
contained by menus.
properties
name (text, r/o) : the name of the menu
index (integer, r/o) : the menu item number
enabled (boolean, r/o) : is the menu item enabled?
checked (boolean, r/o) : is the menu item checked?
check character (text, r/o) : the character used to check this menu item

tell application "AppleWorks 6"
activate
tell document 1 to select menu item "Open..." of menu "File"
end tell

Although TextEdit is a fairly basic text application, it can be used very effectively in conjunction with AppleWorks 6 to 'fill in the gaps' in AppleWorks' (and others) scripting capabilities.

Since my focus here is TextEdit, I wont get into the details on how to integrate TextEdit scripting with other programs, but if you have read the section above on AppleWorks, you should have a pretty good idea of how to go about this. If you haven't looked at it, please do.

Now lets look at TextEdit's Standard Suite:

close v : Close an object.
close specifier : the object for the command
[saving ask/no/yes] : Specifies whether changes should be saved before closing.
[saving in alias] : The file in which to save the object.

Example:

tell application "TextEdit"
activate
set defaultDocName to (choose file name with prompt "Enter a name for this document before closing")
close document 1 saving yes saving in defaultDocName
end tell

count v : Return the number of elements of a particular class within an object.
count specifier : the object for the command
[each type] : The class of objects to be counted.
--> integer

Examples:

set countWords to (count words in front document)
display dialog countWords

count characters in word 1 of document 2

delete v : Delete an object.
delete specifier : the object for the command

Example:

delete word 1 of document 1

duplicate v : Copy object(s) and put the copies at a new location.
duplicate specifier : the object for the command
[to location specifier] : The location for the new object(s).
[with properties record] : Properties to be set in the new duplicated object(s).

Example:

exists v : Verify if an object exists.
exists specifier : the object for the command
--> boolean

Example:

tell application "TextEdit"
activate
exists document 1
end tell --> true because, when TextEdit is activated, it creates a new empty document ie 'Document 1'

get v : Get the data for an object.
get specifier : the object for the command
--> any

Example:

get word 3 of document 1

make v : Make a new object.
make
new type : The class of the new object.
[at location specifier] : The location at which to insert the object.
[with data any] : The initial data for the object.
[with properties record] : The initial values for properties of the object.
--> specifier

Example:

make new document with properties {text:"New Text Document"}

move v : Move object(s) to a new location.
move specifier : the object for the command
to location specifier : The new location for the object(s).

Example:

open v : Open an object.
open alias : The file(s) to be opened.
--> document

Example:

set openFile to (choose file)
open openFile

print v : Print an object.
print alias : The file(s) or document(s) to be printed.
[print dialog boolean] : Should the application show the Print dialog?
[with properties print settings] : the print settings

print front document with properties {copies:2, collating:true, starting page:1, ending page:1, pages across:1, pages down:1, error handling:standard} without print dialog

quit v : Quit an application.
quit
[saving ask/no/yes] : Specifies whether changes should be saved before quitting.

Example:

tell application "TextEdit"
activate
set defaultDocName to (choose file name with prompt "Enter a name for this document before quitting")
quit saving yes
end tell

save v : Save an object.
save specifier : the object for the command
[as text] : The file type in which to save the data.
[in alias] : The file in which to save the object.

Example:

save front document as text in "New Text File"

set v : Set an object's data.
set specifier : the object for the command
to any : The new value.

Example:

set DocName to document 1
--Result: document "Untitled" of application "TextEdit"

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