What is Automator?

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what is automator? and in the FINDER can someone explain wat all the services tabs do?
 
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what is automator? and in the FINDER can someone explain wat all the services tabs do?
 
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Well the Automator is there to help you with repetitive processes. For example, if you want to rename a batch of files, you can use the Automator.

Finder keeps an index of all the files you add, edit or rename. Whenever you search a certain term the "Spotlight" (integral part of Finder) will display all the occurrences instantaneously. Finder is the Windows equivalent for Macs.

Services Tabs? What do you mean?
 
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what is automator? and in the FINDER can someone explain wat all the services tabs do?

Like the person above me said, Automator is a program that lets you teach your Mac what to do step by step by assembling a series of visual building blocks called actions. Drag actions into the right order, click a big Run button, and your Mac faithfully runs each action one at a time.

Services:

Chinese Text Converter - This utility converts selected text that you've written in Chinese using its simplified text system into the Chinese traditional text system - or vice versa.

Disk Utility - This one lets software programmers and system administrators check to make sure that disk image files they have created haven't been altered - without even having to double click and "mount" the disk image.

Finder - The three commands listed in this submenue work only in one situation: When you've highlighted some text that precisely matches the name and folder path of any icon, such as ~/doncuments/Marge.jpg. At that point you can choose any of these commands from the Services, Finder submenue:

  • Open - Opens the icon. This command, in effect, lets you open any file on your hard drive, from within any Coacoa program, without having to switch to the Finder. For instance, you could keep a list of your favouirte files and programs in a TextEdit document, ready for opening without having to leave the program.
  • Reveal - Takes you to the Finder, where the specified icon is highlighted and its enclosing folder opened into a window.
  • Show Info - Switches to the Finder, where the Get Info window for the specified file opens.

If what you have highlighted isn't the name and path of a document, you will just get and error message.

Font Book - is a font managing program. It can put your fonts into collections (subsets) or Libraries (collections of collections).

Grab - is a screen capture program in your Applications - Utilities folder. You use it to turn what you see on screen into graphics files.

Import Image - lets you import a digital photo from a scanner or digital camera. Like Grab it only works in Cocoa programs.

Look up in Dictionary - is another way of accessing the Tiger Dictionary program.

Mail - this command works only after you've highlighted in a Cocoa program, or a file in Finder.

Make new sticky note - copies whatever text you have highlighted, switches to your stickies program, creates a new sticky note, and pastes your selected material in it.

Open URL - When you highlight a Web address in any program, choosing this command fires up your web browser and takes to to that URL.

Script editor - is for Apple script fans.

Search with Google - Highlight a phrase like "H R Giger" and hit this command, it will take you to your web Browser and search Google.

Send File to Bluetooth device - is great for transferring files between two Macs on the fly or on a plane without any cables.

Speech - doesn't just display text on screen it can actually read it out loud.

Spotlight - is another access to the search files function.

Summarize - After highlighting some text the Mac analyzes the sentences you have highlighted and after a moment, launches Summary Service.

TextEdit - you have to have some text highlighted first:

  • New Window Containing Selection - On a web page, this command automatically starts up TextEdit, creates a new untitled document, and pastes the highlighted text.
  • Open Selected File - This command only works if what you have highlighted matches the name and folder path of a TextEdit document. You can choose "Services" - "TextEdit" - "Open Selected File" to find and open a document in TextEdit.

I hope that is what you wanted. And what you meant.

Ok I give up I'm not that smart, I just looked it up in the OS X manual I have. :black:
 
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from a manual or not, it is a good comprehensive answer for which u aree to be complemented.
Is the manual u have hard copy or in eformat please?
 
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You might wish to get the excellent book Mac OX X Tiger Edition, The Missing Manual. It will explain all of this and MUCH more. The services in particular are amazing once you figure out how to use them. There are so many though that it would take a HUGE post to explain them all. All are dealt with in the above book. I have it and can recommend it unreservedly.
 
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WOw thank you very much! BUT when would i really use automator
 
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You might wish to get the excellent book Mac OX X Tiger Edition, The Missing Manual. It will explain all of this and MUCH more. The services in particular are amazing once you figure out how to use them. There are so many though that it would take a HUGE post to explain them all. All are dealt with in the above book. I have it and can recommend it unreservedly.

Precisely. I should have replied earlier after my initial post. But things got busy for a while.

Study and what have you. Not to mention some new additions to my own Mac family.
 

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