Better
Otto Mechanics.
(Tips
to save you the trouble of finding out the hard
way.)
• Learn Action Quirks.
Not all actions work as predicted. This list of
Action Quirks
will take the frustration out of Automator.
• Use AppleScriptlets.
You can extend the power of Automator with the Run
Applescript action and
AppleScriptlets.
• Clear the cache.
If Automator gets sluggish: Apple-S to save your work.
Apple-Q to quit. Hold down the Option key when you restart
Automator to delete the cache. iTunes actions are notorious
for gumming up Automator.
• Delete Prefs.
Many Automator workflows and apps create their own
preferences file. Deleting them can sometimes be helpful if
you modify a workflow and it stops working. You'll find
them on your system here: HD/Library/Preferences. They're
titled "automator.YourAppName.plist".
• Avoid FileType Mismatch.
Automator can convert between some filetypes to bridge one
action to another. Check for red type on the right side of
the actions. This means Automator can't convert and your
workflow will most likely not work as written. Red type on
the first action in a workflow is usually fine if you plan
on saving your workflow as an app or plugin.
• Use TextEdit for scripts.
If you plan on sharing your workflows, it's best to do as
much text work as you can with TextEdit. Other apps
like
BBEdit
and
JEditX
offer more built-in Automator actions, but TextEdit is
already on every system and is free. You can extend
TextEdit's abilities with
AppleScriptlets.
• Quit Automator.
Exit Automator if workflows saved as applications and
plugins are behaving badly. It's not required to run these.
Otto tends to meddle in his offspring's
lives.
• Add delays.
Many times an Automator workflows calls actions and
functions that take time to complete. Sometimes Automator
doesn't know that one process hasn't been completed and is
on to the next one. The Pause action from the Automator
Library allows you to set a delay so a process can
complete. Likewise "Delay ?" (?=seconds) in AppleScriptlets
will do the same. All machines don't run at the same speed,
so if you intend to pass your workflow on to others, err
with a delay that's too long as opposed to one that's too
short.
•
Put Apps in App folder.
This is where Automator looks for additional actions that
are built into apps. If the app is not in your standard
Applications folder in the root of your hard drive, the
actions may not show up in Automator.
•
Run it again.
For whatever reason, Automator has a habit of of not liking
a workflow the first time you run it. Probably has
something to do with the preferences file that certain
workflows create. Always try urring a workflow twice before
you assume it needs more tinkering.