Have you ever wanted to automate multiple tasks? You can do this in Mac OS X 10.4 using a feature called Automator. With Automator, you can set up tasks to run automatically at any time, and even set them up to run repeatedly at a specified time. You can perform such tasks, called workflows in Automator, as open a file and have it print at a certain time, or send e-mail messages to selected contacts in your Address Book.
Each workflow is made up of actions. You create a workflow by adding actions together and then saving the workflow. Each action is a separate task that, when combined, performs the workflow you create.
- From the Finder, select Applications from the Go menu.
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- Double-click on Automator from the Applications listing. The main Automator window will appear.
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The left-hand pane contains the list of actions you can choose, and the right-hand pane is the work area (Workflow Editing Area) where you build your workflow.
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- Decide on the task you'd like to automate. (To illustrate how to set up a task, we'll create a sample workflow of searching for everyone in the Address Book with birthdays during the current month, and then send them an e-mail birthday greeting.)
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- Click on a group in the Library list to all the actions related to that group .
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- Select the actions that best fit each parts of the workflow you're creating by dragging the action name to the workflow pane on the right. (In the example below, we'll select the actions to build a sample workflow to send a birthday greeting to Address Book contacts.)
- As you drag and release an action into the work area, it will expand into a separate window (within the work area).
- If you want, choose from any available options.
- Continue to perform steps 5 through 7 until you've matched up each part of your workflow with an appropriate action.
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Each action will also be assigned an order number. However, if you need to, you can reorder your actions by clicking on and then holding your mouse pointer on the action window, then dragging the window to the correct location. The action windows are renumbered automatically.
If you insert an action that either doesn't belong in the workflow, or isn't in the correct order, the text on the right-hand side of the action window will be colored red, as shown below. (Notice in the completed workflow that once the "Send Outgoing Messages" action was moved into the correct position, the text converted to black.) |
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The completed sample workflow is shown below. |
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- Click on the Run button when you're ready to test out your workflow.
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After you've gotten your workflow to run successfully, the message Workflow Execution Completed will appear at the lower right of the Automator window.
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- Select Save from the File menu.
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- Type in the name you want to give your workflow.
- Select where you want to save the workflow.
- Click on the Save button when you're ready to save the workflow.
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