Where can I read the help for all Do Shell Script commands?
For example, there is a "test" command. Which reference book mentions this command? I.e. I want to go to some website, all the Do Shell Script commands will be there, and among these commands I will find the "test" command.
Or are there no such directories and the programmer should randomly find commands on the Internet on random sites?
AppleScript
RSS for tagAppleScript allows users to directly control scriptable Macintosh applications as well as parts of macOS itself.
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Hello.
How to write this command correctly on a Macbook, in the script editor, so that I can click the "Run script" button and the script will give the result:
if there is no folder, then report that there is no folder,
if there is a folder, then report that the folder exists.
do shell script "test -d 'Users/user/Desktop/New folder'"
Now, if the folder exists, an empty string ("") is returned, if the folder does not exist, the script editor reports that an error has occurred.
In general, my task is to write a script that checks the existence of a folder.
For our iOS inception e2e test, sometimes the test is blocked by the Mac pop-up window alert. The possible pop-up as follows:
Java Access Pop-up
Accessibility Pop-up
SystemProperty Pop-up
and so on......
In order to fetch the unexpected pop-up dialog window when executing e2e tests. I write a simple Apple script get_popup_windows.scpt as follows:
tell application "System Events"
set allProcesses to processes whose background only is false
-- Log the count of allProcesses
log "Number of processes found: " & (count of allProcesses)
set dialogInfos to {}
repeat with eachProcess in allProcesses
try
tell eachProcess
log "Process Name: " & (name of eachProcess as text)
set allWindows to (windows whose subrole is "AXStandardWindow" or subrole is "AXDialog")
log "Number of allWindows found: " & (count of allWindows)
repeat with eachWindow in allWindows
set uiElements to UI elements of eachWindow
log "eachWindow: " & (name of eachWindow as text)
set the end of dialogInfos to {title:(name of eachWindow as text), processName:(name of eachProcess as text)}
end repeat
end tell
end try
end repeat
end tell
return dialogInfos
However, when I execute the script: osascript get_popup_windows.scpt
The result as follows:
Number of processes found: 10
Process Name: Terminal
Number of allWindows found: 1
eachWindow: scripts — osascript get_popup_windows.scpt — 143×41
Process Name: Google Chrome
Number of allWindows found: 1
eachWindow: Gemini - Google Chrome - Will
Process Name: sublime_text
Number of allWindows found: 0
Process Name: Notes
Number of allWindows found: 0
Process Name: Music
Number of allWindows found: 0
Process Name: Finder
Number of allWindows found: 0
Process Name: app_mode_loader
Number of allWindows found: 0
Process Name: Simulator
Number of allWindows found: 0
Process Name: app_mode_loader
Number of allWindows found: 0
Process Name: Script Editor
Number of allWindows found: 0
title:scripts — osascript get_popup_windows.scpt — 143×41, processName:Terminal, title:Gemini - Google Chrome - Will, processName:Google Chrome
=> I cannot fetch the target pop-up window in the Mac desktop.
Please guide me if you have any suggestions, thanks.
In order to fetch the unexpected pop-up dialog window when executing e2e tests. For example:
I write a simple Apple script get_popup_windows.scpt as follows:
tell application "System Events"
tell process "SystemUIServer"
set securityAlertWindows to (every window whose subrole is "AXDialog")
set securityAlertTitles to {}
repeat with securityAlertWindow in securityAlertWindows
set securityAlertTitle to (securityAlertWindow's title as text)
set end of securityAlertTitles to securityAlertTitle
end repeat
end tell
end tell
return securityAlertTitles
However, when I execute osascript get_popup_windows.scpt
It returns empty even when there is a popup window in my mac.
Does anyone know the reason? Thanks for help.
Will
I made a simple applescript app to run a shell script and display a notification when it ends, it runs pretty well but I did't want the app appearing in the dock, so I added LSUIElement = true in the info.plist, and now the script runs but the app does not notify. Is there a way to have a background app (does not appear in the dock) with the ability to display notifications?
I need to translate various items from a Numbers file. I used chatGPT to help me write a script which receives a cell range and translates them using Google Translate. The problem I am having is that it only translates the first and last items in the desired cell range. Please help me integrate a way to have it translate the whole range, i.e (D435:D440). Here is the script:
-- Define the document file path
set filePath to "file path here"
-- Define the sheet, table, and cell range
set sheetName to "Sheet 1"
set tableName to "Table 1"
set cellRange to "D429:D433"
-- Function to translate text from Spanish to English using Google Translate API
on translateText(textToTranslate)
set baseURL to "https://translate.googleapis.com/translate_a/single?client=gtx&sl=es&tl=en&dt=t&q="
set encodedText to do shell script "python -c \"import urllib, sys; print urllib.quote(sys.argv[1])\" " & quoted form of textToTranslate
set translatedText to do shell script "curl -s \"" & baseURL & encodedText & "\""
set translatedText to my parseTranslatedText(translatedText)
return translatedText
end translateText
-- Function to parse the translated text
on parseTranslatedText(translatedText)
try
set translatedText to quoted form of translatedText
set translatedText to do shell script "python -c \"import sys, json; print json.loads(sys.argv[1])[0][0][0]\" " & translatedText
return translatedText
on error errMsg
return "Error translating text"
end try
end parseTranslatedText
-- Function to get the contents of a cell range
on getCellRangeValues(filePath, tableName, sheetName, cellRange)
set cellValues to {}
tell application "Numbers"
set doc to open filePath
tell sheet sheetName of doc
set tbl to table tableName
repeat with cellRef in words of cellRange
set end of cellValues to value of cell cellRef of tbl
end repeat
close doc saving no
end tell
end tell
return cellValues
end getCellRangeValues
-- Function to set the translated text in a cell range
on setTranslatedValues(filePath, tableName, sheetName, cellRange, translatedValues)
tell application "Numbers"
set doc to open filePath
tell sheet sheetName of doc
set tbl to table tableName
repeat with i from 1 to count of words in cellRange
set cellRef to word i of cellRange
set value of cell cellRef of tbl to item i of translatedValues
end repeat
close doc saving yes
end tell
end tell
end setTranslatedValues
-- Main translation process
try
-- Get the Spanish texts from the specified cell range
set spanishTexts to getCellRangeValues(filePath, tableName, sheetName, cellRange)
-- Translate the Spanish texts to English
set translatedTexts to {}
repeat with textToTranslate in spanishTexts
set translatedText to translateText(textToTranslate)
set end of translatedTexts to translatedText
end repeat
-- Set the translated texts in the specified cell range
setTranslatedValues(filePath, tableName, sheetName, cellRange, translatedTexts)
display dialog "Translation completed successfully."
on error errMsg
display dialog "Error: " & errMsg
end try
The only way i have been able to bypass cell access errors is by indicating both the sheet and table numbers. Also I found a post that metions using the word 'Item' when working with a specific cell in a cell range. Thank you for your help.
I found this older post, which modifies the cursor size via AppleScript. I managed to update it to work in Ventura and Sonoma, but only in a kludgy manner.
Here's the working code:
set theSystemVersion to system version of (system info)
tell application "System Settings"
reveal anchor "AX_CURSOR_SIZE" of pane id "com.apple.Accessibility-Settings.extension"
delay 1.0
tell application "System Events"
if (text 1 thru 2 of theSystemVersion) is "13" then
set contentView to group 2 of scroll area 1 of group 1 of group 2 of splitter group 1 of group 1 of window "Display" of application process "System Settings"
else
set contentView to group 3 of scroll area 1 of group 1 of list 2 of splitter group 1 of list 1 of window "Display" of application process "System Settings"
end if
set theSlider to slider 1 of contentView
set stash to value of theSlider
if value of theSlider is 1.0 then
--set value of theSlider to 4.0
repeat while value of theSlider is less than 4
increment theSlider
end repeat
say "Big Mouse" using "Ralph"
else
--set value of theSlider to 1.0
repeat while value of theSlider is greater than 1
decrement theSlider
end repeat
say "Tiny Mouse" using "Ralph"
end if
stash
end tell
end tell
The problem is the two commented out lines: In the original post, those commands work to set the slider to an exact value. In Ventura and Sonoma, they do nothing at all—no errors, just nothing. The script runs fine, but it won't change the cursor size.
The only way I got it to work is via the method you see here—repeatedly incrementing or decrementing the value of theSlider until it was either 4 or 1. (The setting of 'stash' seems completely unnecessary, but I left it there anyway.)
Does anyone know why the command to set a specific slider value is failing? I'd like to be able to set it in one pass, as this method is slow and ugly.
thanks!
I am trying to write a script that will perform an operation in Numbers document TEST on sheet GAMES (it’s a bunch of random number generations for a game show simulator) look at the output in cell B66 of that sheet, output it in cell B3 on another sheet called TRIALS2 then perform the operation again and output the new result on sheet TRIALS2 in cell B4 and so on for 2000 repeats. Here’s the script I have but I get an error message. The document is open and I have confirmed all the document and sheet names are correct. There is definitely something in cell B66 of Sheet GAMES in document TEST. What am I missing?
tell application "Numbers"
activate
tell document "TEST"
repeat 2000 times
tell sheet "GAMES"
set inputValue to value of cell "B66"
end tell
tell sheet "TRIALS2"
set table1 to table 1
set outputColumn to column "B"
set nextRow to (get cell (3 + (count of rows of table1)) of outputColumn)
set value of nextRow to inputValue
end tell
end repeat
end tell
end tell
Here is the error message:
error "Numbers got an error: Can’t get cell "B67" of sheet "GAMES" of document "TEST"." number -1728 from cell "B67" of sheet "GAMES" of document "TEST"
Hi there,
I've created an Automator app running an Apple script to toggle a setting within the "systems preferences".
I'm on German systems settings, so I hope you can make any sense out of the below...
The intention is to toggle a setting within "Desktop & Dock" off and on again (i.e., just toggle the blue switch left and right in one go). I've attached screenshots to make clear what I mean.
I've been running the following Apple Script (for only a few weeks so far), and it worked perfectly fine until just recently:
on run {}
repeat 2 times
tell application "System Settings" to activate
tell application "System Events"
tell process "System Settings"
click menu item "Schreibtisch & Dock" of menu "Darstellung" of menu bar 1
delay 2
tell window "Schreibtisch & Dock"
click checkbox "Beim Programmwechsel Space auswählen, der geöffnete Fenster des Programms enthält" of group 9 of scroll area 1 of group 1 of group 2 of splitter group 1 of group 1
end tell
end tell
end tell
end repeat
end run
Now, since a few days, it keeps throwing an error message as follows:
"System Events" has received an error: "group 1 of window "Desktop & Dock" of process "System Settings"" cannot be read. Invalid index.
I'm not sure whether I've made an update of the MacOS in the meantime or what the reason could be. As mentioned, I'm not using the script for too much time, only a few weeks so far (mid-February).
My MacOS version: Sonoma 14.3.1
Macbook Pro 16" 2021 (Apple M1 Pro)
Unfortunately, my research did not point me into the right direction, I couldn't find an answer as to what exactly I'd need to change.
Would much appreciate if anyone can help me set the correct index, or how to otherwise correct the script.
Thanks a lot! S.
I've been using Apple Script below for gathering every title & url of opening tab from browser window.
It's been works fine for a few years but it's failed recently (maybe in last two weeks).
#!/usr/bin/env osascript -l JavaScript
// url.js
function run(arg) {
arg = arg.toString()
let browser = ''
switch(arg) {
case 'chrome':
browser = 'Google Chrome'
break;
case 'edge':
browser = "Microsoft Edge"
break;
default:
browser = 'Google Chrome'
break;
}
Application(browser).windows().forEach((window) => {
console.log('\n\n')
window.tabs().forEach((tab) => {
const url = tab.url()
const name = tab.name()
console.log(`${name}\t${url}`)
})
})
}
It's been works like below (imagine that you open https://example.com on edge)
$ url.js edge
example.com https://example.com
But I found it failed today.
$ url.js edge
execution error: Error: Error: Application isn't running. (-600)
of course I'm make sure Edge browser up and running. Same error for Chrome.
I keep my environments(os, browser etc) up-to-date but I don't know which updates affects here.
Any thoughts or helps are welcome.
Settings
MacBook Pro M2
Sonoma 14.2.1
Edge 122
Chrome 122
Hi there,
Currently, we are working on the enterprise project that using data in ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.dock.plist to get detail design of the original Dock (as autohide, orientation).
It still has been worked until macOS 13.* as description as below:
But, It has been changed in macOS 14.*
Is there any alternative method to do that in macOS 14.* and later?
Hello - I have a lot of photos and videos that end up in my downloads folder from amusement park photographers and rides. The problem is that when I go to download a recent trip the amusement park website downloads everything all over again, and creates a lot of folder and files in a random sequence. So I have to go through each folder and find the "new" files that I want to add to the Photos app.
Could you please help me write a script that would search through the entire downloads folder, and copy all of the files that are of photo or video type, created on or after a specified date, into a new folder within the downloads folder? This is effectively just eliminating the subfolders that the website download process created.
From there I would go to the newly created folder and sort by created date to obtain the new photos I want to add to the Photos app.
Hi Community,
I'm in need of some assistance with an AppleScript that increments the due date of reminders in the Apple Reminders app by one day. The reminders are set with a due date but do not have a specific time associated with them; they are just set to occur at some point during the day.
The challenge I'm facing is that when I use AppleScript to add one day to the due date, the script is setting the new due date with a time of midnight. Since the original reminders do not have a time (just a date), I want the script to increment the date without adding a time.
Here is the script I'm currently using:
set myList to list "My List"
repeat with myReminder in reminders of myList
if (due date of myReminder is not missing value) then
set currentDueDate to due date of myReminder
set newDueDate to currentDueDate + (1 * days)
set due date of myReminder to newDueDate
end if
end repeat
end tell
I am looking for a way to preserve the 'date only' attribute of the reminder when adding a day, so it does not default to a time of 00:00.
Does anyone have experience with this, or can anyone provide guidance on how to accomplish this? I haven't found a way to specify 'no time' or 'all-day' in AppleScript for the Reminders app.
Any help or pointers would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!
Hi everyone,
I'd like to write a one-off app to make some modifications to my own Music.app (aka iTunes) library. This is for content that I have stored using iTunes Match, so it's effectively a library that dates back to the iTunes years.
However, from what I can see, APIs with modification support are essentially... nothing? I can get everything ready in a simple Swift command-line app using https://developer.apple.com/documentation/ituneslibrary, however I can't actually write any changes.
It seems that the only modification solution available is actually still AppleScript. Everything there still works, and in theory I could do the majority of the logic using iTunesLibrary and then do the modifications with AppleScript via NSAppleScript.
In order to do this, I just need an identifier that I can use to correlate items from each API. There is:
iTunesLibrary: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/ituneslibrary/itlibmediaentity/1809728-persistentid
AppleScript Item object for AppleScript has a "persistent ID" property which sounds like the same thing
There's also an id property
However, in my experiments it didn't appear that any of these correlated together
Of course, I could possibly re-write the whole thing using AppleScript, but that would be slow and painful!
So, posting here to see if anyone has any idea how or even if this can be done.
Hope someone can help! Thanks in advance
I made an application in Script Editor and it works as expected. But the app seems to be getting automatically deleted at random times. For example, I made it a few days ago, tested it successfully, then went back today to look for it and it was gone. Tested this multiple times.
I bit more detail about my process:
I wrote the app in Script editor, exported it as an Application with run-only checked and no code signing
after manipulating a few things (.plist file, .icns file), I then remove extended attributes and code-sign using terminal. I have an Apple developer account that I use to code-sign:
xattr -cr <path_to_app>
codesign -s <my_developer_account> <path_to_app_bundle>
then I copy the app into my Applications folder and test it successfully
a day or more later, the app is gone (and I haven't even opened it again)
Ventura 13.1, Mac Book Pro 2021
A TextEdit RTD or RTFD document will save various document properties that you access and edit by selecting:
File > Show Properties >
Is is possible to retrieve these properties on a currently open document via AppleScript and place them in the clipboard?
I am interested in storing some text in the Comments and later being able to copy it to the clipboard without having to manually open the properties window, selecting the text and copying it.
Hi!!
I tried posting about my issue on the macscripter forum, but haven't receieved any love there so I thought I would try giving it a go here. I'm trying to help automate my wife's business which uses mac and am having difficulty getting an applescript to trigger by mail rule. I am not an apple guy and myself use linux, so maybe i am overlooking something basic that I need to enable?
I gave the mail.app full disk access in the security panel. If I set a rule, like to move a message to another mail folder it executes without problems. However, I can't get any applescripts to run triggered by mail rule, even something very simple...like writing to the display or logging an event. I looked through the console and saw no error messages or any evidence even that the applescript tried to run. We are running the latest mac sonoma. I asked chatgpt for help trying to debug what was wrong but it ran out of suggestions for me as well. This problem is driving me crazy, I can't understand how a nice new mac computer I bought for my wife's business is failing at the most basic task... arrrgh. Any help greatly appreciated!!!
Hi. I have some Apple Script (below) that opens new Safari windows. How would I specify a particular Profile to use when opening the new window?
Thanks!
tell application "Safari"
set mydocument to (make new document at end of documents)
activate
end tell
Hey! Im new here and currently learning iOS/macOs development (SwiftUI), so...take me easy :) I want to create a simple macOS app to let user set time until computer power off. I found an example with AppleScript and use it on my app, but I found that App won't run with Sandbox enabled, and to deploy app on AppStore it show me that Sandbox must be enabled.
The script I want to use:
'tell application "System Events" to shut down'
I found some examples that add script onAbsolute path, but after I do that, it won't let me to distribute the app, only export to run local.
It is any way to make script running (no matter, if app ask for user permission/admin pass) ?
Hallo,
I created an AppleScript for my Synology NAS and saved it as NAS.app.
This starts the server and mounts the network drives.
If the script is run again when the server is already online, it can shut down the Mac and server.
That works very well.
But the next time I start the Mac, this app is immediately active again and may have to be closed manually.
I'm now looking for a way to prevent this.
How can I kill the app after issuing the shutdown command?
Here is the part with the Mac shutdown code.
set ProcNm_ to name of every application process whose visible is true
end tell
repeat with i_ from 1 to count items of ProcNm_
set TarProc_ to item i_ of ProcNm_
--display dialog TarProc_
try
if TarProc_ is not "Finder" then
tell application TarProc_ to quit "without saving"
end if
end try
end repeat
try
do shell script "sudo /sbin/shutdown -h +1"
end try
quit
I hope somebody can help me.
b. r.
Binh