The ObjectorQuestions? Comments? Support:TheObjector@theBoylanZone.net   

Welcome to "The Objector"
...the wonderful world of applescript objects & exploratory scripting!


The Objector is a Macintosh Application to help write Applescripts quicker by using an approach based on 2 steps;
   1) Find It
   2) Use It.

           

Exploratory Scripting

Exploratory Scripting is a technique to develop scripts with less effort. As you explore an application's actual, real life, live objects you'll be able to use what you've found immediately to build up the script you are working on. With this technique the object discovery is a breeze - you will learn what objects (& data) are available by browsing in a natural, efficient, and enjoyable way.

The Objector enables you to use the Exploratory Scripting technique and become more productive in your scripting endeavors. Using The Objector will allow you to quickly get what you need to know ... where you want it and when you want it! In other words, "The Objector" is an object browser that lets you find the object your looking for using a novel approach to presenting an object hierarchy (squarified treemaps, but that is another story). Once discovered, the object details are added to a script within the Script Editor application with just a single click. Using The Objector is a snap - just click your way through the hierarchy of the applications you want to control and you suddenly have exactly what you've been looking for - then click the export button and you can then begin using what you just found! Understanding how to script applications just got a lot easier.

Browsing Objects

The Objector is also an excellent learning tool to explore the multitude of applescript objects available, right now, on your computer. The Finder, for example, has objects for disks, folders, and files where each object has a rich set of properties that describe it. Mail, another great example of a scriptable application from Apple, has objects for accounts, mailboxes, messages, and recipients - just to name a few.

There is literally a whole new way of looking at your applications ... and The Objector brings that to life. While tools such as applescript editor will show you a nice display of each application's dictionary, the Objector will bring that dictionary alive by showing you all the real objects that are available to you right now in a clear and concise fashion that you control.


Using "The Objector"


Using "The Objector" you can see all the available objects of the currently running applications. When you start up you'll see all the running applications and be able to 'pick' one to drill down into.

For instance:

here is a screen shot of the first set of objects, the applications.



Clicking on 'iTunes' would present this set of objects



The objects (aka elements) are presented on the left side and the object properties are on the right.

At the highest level each object has a collection of elements (aka other objects). These collections are labelled at the top of each section along with the total count. The Objector shows the the objects within a collection, by name if available, so that you can drill down into them. You can drill down into either the collection or a specific object within a collection.

Clicking on 'Finder', the HD, and the Library folder would present this set of objects



Choosing the export to script editor button (right side) now would produce:

The Objector, in this situation, provides you with a list of other properties available for that object discovered within a comment that can easily be used as part of the script you're working on.

You are now using the object discovered - found it, used it ... done!

---------------------------------------------------FAQ---------------------------------------------------
* How do I enable using real objects (1.30)?
 To provide real objects Objector 1.30 needs a script installed in a special folder.
1) Download the Objector support script
2) copy that file to your ~/Library/Application Scripts/com.theboylanzone.Objector directory
3) open up the Objector->Preferences menu item and choose to enable real objects
 
* How do I get back to a previous object?
 Select a previous object by clicking on the name of that object - the blue underline text.
 
* Why don't I see all the apps that are running on my mac?
 Only those apps that support apple events, scripting that is, are shown within the Objector.
 
* Sometimes I get errors when running a resulting script - what gives?
 This happens occasionally, when the app being used doesn't support 'by name' access for a given object. For instance, when looking at Microsoft Excel 'recent file' objects the Objector will show the object by name but Excel does not support accessing these objects by name. To fix this change the script to reference the object by number. In other words change the 'get recent file "abc.xlsx"' to 'get recent file 1'.
 
* Are there any properties that The Objector treats special?
 Yes, within the Finder there is a property known as "entire contents" that is not fetched from the app. This was causing a small (haha) delay when trying to get that property value for objects of type disk. Kind of amusing, to me, that the Finder actually does support getting this property at the disk level - be careful!

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