Automator workflows can be saved as workflows, regular Mac applications and plugins.

Workflows. When you double-click on a workflow, it launches Automator. Your workflow can be run via the run button.

Applications. These are self-contained Mac apps. This is the best way to save workflows you plan to send to others, since they launch when you double click on them and don't show Automator when they run. They also allow you to drag files onto the app icon to choose them.

Plugins. These integrate themselves into your system. They can launch when something is dropped in a specific folder and be called up via menus.
Automator 100 and a half.
(For those not yet ready for 101.)

What's Automator? There's so much confusion over an app that's designed to minimize confusion. Automator is a visual programming environment. It speaks in Actions instead of words. That's good for us: the programatically challenged. You assemble these Actions like building blocks into Workflows. Workflows are very flexible scripts. See? You're confused already. Since Automator is visual, let's do this visually.

• Start by double-clicking on your hard drive on your desktop.
HardDrive


• Double click on the applications file.
ApplicationsFolder


• Now double click on the Automator app.
OttoinList


Automator will start and bring up this screen:
OttoScreen
The left column is the Action Library. It's sorted by the application the actions work with. The next column is the Action column. If you double click on an action it's inserted into the right column, the Workflow. We'll create a workflow to process an image.
Candy_1_tn


• Double click on the candy image above. It will open in a window.
• Drag it to your desktop and close the window.
• Now drag this image from your desktop into the Automator Workflow window. Instead of the image you see this:

Action1

Automator has put the Get Specific Finder Items action into the workflow with the image file already in it. Automator is now scripted to grab the image. Now to make Automator do something with it.


Color Sync

•In the Library column on the left, click on Preview.
• Then from the Action column, double click on Apply ColorSync Profile. You get this warning:Action2Warning

Otto is looking out of you. To make sure you don't destroy things, Automator will add an action that will copy the file for you. (Since you're dragging the image from the same location where you'll be putting it, Automator will still replace the image, but that's for another tutorial.)

• Press Return. Your workflow should look like this:
Workflow
• From the Apply ColorSync Profile, click the List and choose Abstract/Black & White. You now have a workflow. Click on the Run button at the top right.
RunBttn
• Now double click on the image on your desktop and check it out.
Candy1Mono
You should get a monochrome image. Congtratulations, you're a programmer. Now let's turn it into an app.

• Click on the X on the right of Get Specified Finder Items.
X

This will delete it from the workflow. Why? The application will allow you to drop files onto the icon to choose the items, so this step isn't needed. Your entire application will consist of only 2 steps.
• From the menu, chose File/Save.
. SaveMenu


• Save it as an application instead of a workflow.
AppSave

Don't get too creative with app titles, or you won't remember what they do. I titled mine Drop Here for Monotone. That tells me exactly what the app does and the complete instructions on how to do it. This is how it will appear on your desktop:
AppIcon
You can now drag image files onto the icon and they're converted. If you drag them from a folder or iPhoto, the images will be copied. If you want the images to always be overwritten, delete the Copy Finder Items action from the workflow as well. To modify a Workflow, you call it up from the menu with File/Open Recent. Actions are a little different. Just drag the icon of your created app from your desktop to the Automator icon on your dock.