Aperture 3 AppleScript details
Examples!
Aperture 3 AppleScript dictionary excerpt
Above is a screenshot of a portion of
Aperture 3’s dictionary. Notice the example! This is the first time
I’ve seen an example script in an application’s AppleScript
dictionary. The other nice addition is the text “Example Script” is
a hyperlink that opens the script editor with the example script in
a script window. No need to copy and paste the example script out
of the dictionary and into the script editor. Having example
scripts and snippets for each command and a few classes is huge as
it helps to educate the scripter on proper usage. I wish every
application had examples in its dictionary as it would save so much
time and frustration.
New classes, commands, and much more!
I think the dictionary does a good job explaining each item in the
dictionary so I’ll just list some of the more important additions
to the dictionary. I encourage everyone to check the dictionary out
and explore it as there may be some stuff in it you didn’t realize
existed and might be able to help in your automation efforts.
New Classes
1. Image Adjustment Preset
2. Trash-folder
3. Container
4. Image Version - this class isn’t new, but there are a few
properties new to 3.0 that are worth mentioning: color label,
latitude, and longitude.
New Commands
1. Apply Image Adjustment - this command applies an image
adjustment preset to an image version.
2. Reset All Image Adjustments - removes all image adjustments from
an image version.
3. Refresh Metadata - I believe this command does the same thing as
Metadata -> Update from Master command found in the GUI.
4. Restore - moves containers out of the Aperture Trash and into
the Library.
Enumerations
1. Color Labels - similar to color labels found in the Finder
Events
1. importActionForVersions - read on for more information on this
event.
Import Actions brick
This might be my favorite feature in all of Aperture 3 as it
essentially provides Aperture users with what I would call
“intelligent import”. Used in conjunction with the
importActionForVersions event, Aperture now has the ability to
perform actions on image versions at the end of an import based on
particular criteria. Say I want to add a particular adjustment
preset to all image versions whose ISO is greater than ISO 400. Or
maybe I like to organize my images by date. Rather than make
individual imports per date or organize the images in projects
manually, this brick allows me to automate that process. Or perhaps
you would like to import images you just took, quickly apply an
adjustment preset to all the images, and export all the newly
imported images out as versions so you can get them to a client.
I’m sure just about anything is possible with this brick.
Documentation
With the release of Aperture 3, Apple also provided documentation
on Aperture 3’s AppleScript capabilities. I think this is the first
time Apple has provided documentation for an application’s
AppleScript dictionary outside of the actual dictionary, assuming
you consider the dictionary documentation. I almost fell off my
chair when I found discovered this. Hopefully Apple releases
similar documentation for its other applications in the near
future.
You can download the PDF at apple.com/aperture/resource or directly here.
Granted most of the document’s contents are straight from the
dictionary but there is more there than what the dictionary
provides. For example, the appendix contains a containment &
inheritance diagram as well as mapping tables for EXIF, IPTC, and
the “other” metadata fields. The tables map between field names as
they appear in AppleScript to field names as they appear in the
application’s GUI. The document also contains example scripts and
special notes on usage.