Basics of AppleScript

01 - Comments

(*
Script - Comments
@author - Nayan Seth
© Tech Barrack Solutions Pvt Ltd
*)

--This is a single line comment
#This is a comment too but still single line

(*
This is a 
multi
line
comment
*)

#Comments are ignored by AppleScript. Its used for explaining something.

02 - Say Command

(*
Script - Say Command
@author - Nayan Seth
© Tech Barrack Solutions Pvt Ltd
*)

say "Hi I am a Mac"

say "Hi I am a Mac" using "Zarvox"

03 - Beep Command

(*
Script - Beep Command
@author - Nayan Seth
© Tech Barrack Solutions Pvt Ltd
*)

beep --beeps 1 time
beep 5 --beeps 5 times

04 - Tell Command

(*
Script - Tell Command
@author - Nayan Seth
© Tech Barrack Solutions Pvt Ltd
*)

tell application "Finder"
	empty the trash
	open the startup disk
	beep 10
	say "Hi. how are you doing today?" using "Victoria"
end tell

tell application "Finder"
	empty the trash
	open the startup disk
end tell

# The commands below can be used inside the tell command too

beep 10
say "Hi. how are you doing today?" using "Zarvox"

05 - Variables

(*
Script - Variables & Arithmetic
@author - Nayan Seth
© Tech Barrack Solutions Pvt Ltd
*)

--(Program 1) Integers

set x to 5

--(Program 2) Floating Point Numbers

set y to 10.5

--(Program 3) Use variables to create new variable

set pictureWidth to 1920
set pictureHeight to 1080
set resolution to pictureWidth * pictureHeight

06 - Strings & Dialogs

(*
Topic - Dialog
@author - Nayan Seth
© Tech Barrack Solutions Pvt Ltd
*)

--(Program 1) Strings and Strings and Strings only

set emptyString to ""
set spaceString to " "
set stringText to "Hello World"


--(Program 2) Display Dialog

display dialog "Hello World" --displaying a dialog with text

--(Program 3) Next up we will see how to use String variables in Dialog

set hello to "Hello World" --creates variable hello
display dialog "hello" --prints hello in dialog and not contents of hello variable
display dialog hello --prints contents of hello variable.

--(Program 4) Now its time to merge strings and display it

set firstName to "Nayan" --variable stores my first name
set lastName to "Seth" --variable stores my last name
set myName to firstName & " " & lastName --variable stores first name and last name
display dialog myName --dialog prints the merged string that is myName

--(Program 5) Length of strings

set strLength to the length of "Nayan" --strLength is equal to the length of "Nayan" that is 5

--(Program 6) Escape Sequences

set exampleString to "Nayan is \"Awesome\"" --adds " in String itself
display dialog exampleString
set exampleString2 to "Nayan is		Awesome" -- \t adds tab space. On compiling tab space is added
display dialog exampleString2

--(Program 7) Escape Sequences in Dialog

display dialog "Nayan \\\" Seth"

--(Program 8) Coercion

set input to "15" as number
set numToString to 15 as string

--(Program 9) Dialog with Custom Buttons

display dialog "Yo!!!" buttons {"Click Me", "Don't Click Me", "Test Me"} default button 1

07 - Lists

(*
Topic - Lists
@author - Nayan Seth
© Tech Barrack Solutions Pvt Ltd
*)

--(Program 1) Declaring Lists

set myList to {"MacBook Pro", "iPad", "iPhone"} --this will print the list too in result tab

--(Program 2) Print List

get myList

--(Program 3) Merging Lists and Printing the Merged List

set laptop to {"MacBook Pro"}
set tablet to {"iPad"}
set phone to {"iPhone"}
set devices to laptop & tablet & phone
get devices

--(Program 4) Modifying Lists

set seasons to {"summer", "spring", "winter"}
set item 2 of seasons to "monsoon"
get seasons

--(Program 5) Modifying Lists 2nd Method

set buy to {"phone", "usb", "pc"}
set 2nd item of buy to "pen drive"
get buy

--(Program 6) Modifying Lists 3rd Method

set musicList to {"songs", "lyrics", "artists"}
set first item of musicList to "albums"
set last item of musicList to "playlists"
get musicList

--(Program 7) Getting Items From List

set bag to {"books", "assignments"}
set engineering to the last item of bag

--(Program 8) Last Item Minus

set newspaper to {"articles", "author", "advertisements"}
set itemValue to item -1 of newspaper

--(Program 9) Size of List

set college to {"departments", "classes"}
set listSize to the length of college

--(Program 10) Partition of List

set vowels to {"a", "e", "i", "o", "u"}
set letters to items 2 through 4 of vowels

--(Program 11) Reverse a List

set reverseList to reverse of {1, 2, 3}

--(Program 12) Random Value

set randomValue to some item of {"success", "failure", "life", "fun"}

--(Program 13) Coercion

set bank to "money in the bank"
set myBankList to bank as list

--(Program 14) Merging Different Types

set cards to {"deck"}
set cartoon to "dragon ball z"
set playingCards to cartoon & cards

--(Program 15) Merging Different Types & Applying Coercion

set cards to {"deck"}
set cartoon to "dragon ball z"
set playingCards to (cartoon as list) & cards

--(Program 16) Characters

set myLetters to every character of "Nayan Seth"

--(Program 17) Delimiters

set myName to "Nayan Seth"
set oldDelimiters to AppleScript's text item delimiters
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to " "
set studentData to every text item of myName
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to oldDelimiters
get studentData

--(Program 18) Add Custom Delimiters to String

set myData to {"Nayan", "Seth"}
set oldDelimiters to AppleScript's text item delimiters
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to "|"
set myName to myData as string
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to oldDelimiters
get myName

08 - Dialogs (Advanced)

(*
Topic - More on Dialogs
@author - Nayan Seth
© Tech Barrack Solutions Pvt Ltd
*)

--(Program 1) Button Pressed

set myName to "Nayan Seth"
set dialogName to display dialog myName buttons {"Cancel", "Ok"} default button 2
set buttonName to button returned of dialogName
display dialog "You pressed " & buttonName

--(Program 2) User Input

set myName to display dialog "What is your name?" default answer ""
set textValue to text returned of myName
set lengthSize to length of text returned of myName

--(Program 3) Coercion

set myAge to display dialog "What is your age?" default answer ""
set studentAge to text returned of myAge as number

09 - Records

(*
Topic - Records
@author - Nayan Seth
© Tech Barrack Solutions Pvt Ltd
*)

--(Program 1) Declaring Records

set propertyName to {age:20}

--(Program 2) Retrieving Data From Records

set studentData to {myName:"Nayan Seth", myAge:20}
set studentAge to myAge of studentData

--(Program 3) No of Properties in a Record

set studentData to {myName:"Nayan Seth", myAge:20}
set recordSize to count of studentData

--(Program 4) Importing Data From One Record To Another Via Intermediate Variable

set studentData to {myName:"Nayan Seth", myAge:20}
set studentAge to myAge of studentData
set newStudentData to {age:studentAge}

--(Program 5) Importing Data From One Record To Another Directly

set studentData to {myName:"Nayan Seth", myAge:20}
set newStudentData to {age:myAge of studentData}

--(Program 6) Trying to Create Copy

set studentData to {myAge:18}
set copyStudentData to studentData
set myAge of studentData to 20
get copyStudentData

--(Program 7) Copy Command

set studentData to {myAge:18}
copy studentData to copyStudentData
set myAge of studentData to 20
get copyStudentData

10 - Conditional Statements

(*
Topic - Conditional Statements
@author - Nayan Seth
© Tech Barrack Solutions Pvt Ltd
*)

--(Program 1) Simple Comparisons

30 = 30
"nayan" = "nayan"

--(Program 2) if else

if true then
	-- insert actions here
end if

if false then
	-- insert actions here
end if

--(Program 3) if condition

set myAge to 20
if myAge is greater than or equal to 18 then
	beep
	display dialog "You are eligible to Vote"
	say "You are eligible to Vote" using "Zarvox"
end if

--(Program 4) if and else

set myAge to 17
if myAge is greater than or equal to 18 then
	beep
	display dialog "You are eligible to Vote"
	say "You are eligible to Vote" using "Zarvox"
else
	display dialog "You are not eligible to Vote"
end if

--(Program 5) String Comparison if

set myName to "Nayan Seth"
if myName is equal to "Nayan Seth" then
	display dialog "True"
end if

if myName starts with "Nayan" then
	beep
end if

if "Nayan" comes before "Seth" then
	beep
end if

--(Program 6) Case Sensitive

set singleCharacter to "s"
set myName to "Nayan Seth"
considering case
	if myName contains singleCharacter then
		beep
	else
		display dialog "Does not contain " & singleCharacter
	end if
end considering

--(Program 7) Ignoring White Space

set fullName to "Naya n Seth"
set myName to "Nayan Seth"
ignoring white space
	if myName is equal to fullName then
		display dialog "Success"
	else
		beep
	end if
end ignoring

--(Program 8) Ignoring White Space

set fullName to "Naya n Seth"
set myName to "Nayan Seth"
ignoring white space
	if myName is equal to fullName then
		display dialog "Success"
	else
		beep
	end if
end ignoring

--(Program 9) Dialog Buttons and Actions

display dialog "My Name is Nayan Seth" buttons {"Cancel", "No", "Yes"} default button 3
if the button returned of the result is "Yes" then
	say "That is true"
else if button returned of the result is "No" then
	say "You clicked the wrong button"
end if

--(Program 10) Dialog Buttons and Actions Using Variables

set temp to display dialog "My Name is Nayan Seth" buttons {"Cancel", "No", "Yes"} default button 3
set buttonName to button returned of temp
if the buttonName is equal to "Yes" then
	say "That is true"
else if buttonName is equal to "No" then
	say "You clicked the wrong button"
end if

--(Program 11) Records if...else

set studentData to {myName:"Nayan", myAge:20}
if myName of studentData is equal to "Nayan" then
	display dialog "Success"
else
	beep
end if

--(Program 12) AND

set x to true
set y to true

if x and y then
	display dialog "True"
else
	display dialog "False"
end if

--(Program 13) OR

set x to true
set y to false

if x or y then
	display dialog "True"
else
	display dialog "False"
end if

--(Program 14) AND with Different Data Types

set x to true
set y to "xyz"
if x and y = "xyz" then
	beep
else
	say "False Condition"
end if

11 - Try Catch

(*
Topic - Try
@author - Nayan Seth
© Tech Barrack Solutions Pvt Ltd
*)

--(Program 1) Simple Example

try
	beep
	set x to 1 / 0
	say "I cannot speak this"
end try
say "Hey There"

--(Program 2) Number Exception

set temp to display dialog "Enter Age" default answer ""
set myAge to the text returned of temp
try
	set myAge to myAge as number
	display dialog myAge
on error
	display dialog "Please enter a number"
end try

--(Program 3) Error Message and Error Number

set temp to display dialog "Enter Age" default answer ""
set myAge to the text returned of temp
try
	set myAge to myAge as number
	display dialog myAge
on error the errorMessage number the errorNumber
	display dialog "Error " & errorNumber & " : " & errorMessage
end try

12 - Files & Folders

(*
Topic - Files and Folders
@author - Nayan Seth
© Tech Barrack Solutions Pvt Ltd
*)

--(Program 1) Choose a Folder

choose folder

--(Program 2) Open a Folder

tell application "Finder"
	open "Macintosh HD:Users:nayan:Desktop"
end tell

--(Program 3) Open a File

tell application "Finder"
	open "Macintosh HD:Users:nayan:Desktop:text.rtf"
end tell

--(Program 4) Set Path of File to a Variable

tell application "Finder"
	set thePath to file "Macintosh HD:Users:nayan:Desktop:text.rtf"
end tell

--(Program 5) Reference to File

tell application "Finder"
	set thePath to a reference to file "Macintosh HD:Users:nayan:Desktop:text.rtf"
end tell

--(Program 6) Move Files

tell application "Finder"
	move file "Macintosh HD:Users:nayan:Desktop:text.rtf" to "Macintosh HD:Users:nayan:Downloads:"
end tell

--(Program 7) Alias

set thePath to alias "Macintosh HD:Users:nayan:Desktop:text.rtf"
tell application "Finder"
	move file "Macintosh HD:Users:nayan:Desktop:text.rtf" to "Macintosh HD:Users:nayan:Downloads:"
	open thePath
end tell

--(Program 8) Move Files to Trash

tell application "Finder"
	move file "Macintosh HD:Users:nayan:Desktop:text.rtf" to trash
end tell

13 - Loops

(*
Topic - Loops
@author - Nayan Seth
© Tech Barrack Solutions Pvt Ltd
*)

--(Program 1) Creating a Loop

repeat 2 times
	say "This is a loop"
end repeat

--(Program 2) Creating a Loop using Variable

set i to 2
repeat i times
	-- commands to be repeated
end repeat

--(Program 3) Combining try, if...else and repeat

set temp to display dialog "Enter integer" default answer ""
set i to text returned of temp
try
	set i to i as integer
end try
if class of i is integer then
	repeat i times
		say "Hey this works"
	end repeat
else
	display dialog "Please enter integer"
end if

--(Program 4) Condition Based Loops

set condition to false
repeat until condition is true
	set temp to display dialog "Enter age" default answer ""
	set x to text returned of temp
	try
		set x to x as integer
	on error
		display dialog "Please enter a number"
	end try
	if class of x is integer then
		set condition to true
		
		if x is greater than or equal to 18 then
			say "Eligible to vote"
		else
			say "Not eligible to vote"
		end if
	end if
end repeat

--(Program 5) Working with Counters

repeat with counter from 1 to 5
	say "I ran " & counter & " kilometers."
end repeat

--(Program 6) Counters Increment

repeat with counter from 1 to 5 by 2
	say "I ran " & counter & " kilometers."
end repeat

--(Program 7) List of Folders in a Folder

tell application "Finder"
	set folderPath to choose folder "Select Folder"
	set folderList to every folder of folderPath
end tell
set actualList to {}
repeat with counter in folderList
	set fName to name of counter
	set actualList to actualList & fName
end repeat

14 - Handlers

(*
Topic - Handlers
@author - Nayan Seth
© Tech Barrack Solutions Pvt Ltd
*)

--(Program 1) Creating a Handler

on method1()
	display dialog "This handler was executed"
end method1

--(Program 2) Calling a Handler

method1()

--(Program 3) Parametrized Handler

on method2(input) -- parametrized handler
	display dialog input
end method2
method2("Hey There. I am Nayan Seth.") -- passing parameters value

--(Program 4) Parametrized Handler With Try, Repeat

on area(radius) -- parametrized handler
	set circleArea to pi * (radius ^ 2)
	display dialog "Area of Circle is " & circleArea
end area

set condition to false

repeat until condition is true
	set temp to display dialog "Enter radius of Circle" default answer ""
	set r to text returned of temp
	try
		set r to r as integer
	on error
		display dialog "Enter a valid number"
	end try
	if class of r is integer then
		set condition to true
		area(r)
	end if
end repeat

--(Program 5) Return Value from Handler

on large(a, b) -- parametrized handler
	if a > b then
		return a -- returns a value
	else
		return b -- returns a value
	end if
end large

set largest to large(15, 10) -- largest stores return value of handler large

--(Program 6) Return List from Handler

on square(s) -- parametrized handler
	set perimeter to 4 * s
	set area to s ^ 2
	return {area, perimeter} -- returns a list
end square

set squareList to square(5)

--(Program 7) Calling Methods in Tell

on completion()
	display dialog "Success"
end completion
tell application "Finder"
	empty trash
	completion() of me
end tell

I have your "AppleScript" book in apple books, but parts are unreadable because the text and background are reversed. The rest of my Mac and iBooks aren't dark. Do you have any suggestions or a link to your book elsewhere? Thanks for your help!

I have your "AppleScript" book in apple books, but parts are unreadable because the text and background are reversed. The rest of my Mac and iBooks aren't dark. Do you have any suggestions or a link to your book elsewhere? Thanks for your help!

Check the README.md in https://github.com/nayanseth/applescript

Dear Mr. Seth, Thank you for your fast help! Have you written any more books about AppleScript or JavaScript for macos or ios manipulation? Sincerely, Duane Bolden

…

On Sep 30, 2020, at 12:35 PM, Nayan Seth ***@***.***> wrote: @nayanseth commented on this gist. I have your "AppleScript" book in apple books, but parts are unreadable because the text and background are reversed. The rest of my Mac and iBooks aren't dark. Do you have any suggestions or a link to your book elsewhere? Thanks for your help! Check the README.md in https://github.com/nayanseth/applescript — You are receiving this because you commented. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or unsubscribe.