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mac-scripting - Automation scripts for macOS

This repository contains an assortment of MIT-licensed AppleScript or JXA (JavaScript for Automation) scripts for various macOS applications.

Getting Started with Scripting

AppleScript

The getting started guides Scripting Papers 3 for Mac with AppleScript and Scripting Bookends 13 with AppleScript contain a quick intro to AppleScript, and give concrete examples for scripting Papers 3 and Bookends 13, respectively. The guide's Resources section contains useful links to further info & tuturials about AppleScript.

JavaScript for Automation

During NSConference 2015, I've given a short introductory talk about JavaScript For Automation: A Quick Intro To Its Use For Debugging. Papers 3 was also used for the code examples in this talk.

List of scripts

See below for a summary of the scripts contained in this repository, and how to use them. For further info about a certain script, please see the script's README file in the script's subdirectory.

Bookends

Update group publications from attachment name

A sample script for Bookends which shows how to extract information from attachment file names, and set publication metadata accordingly. [More Info] [Download]

DEVONthink

DEVONthink Notes from PDF Annotations

Creates individual Markdown notes for annotations contained in PDF(s) that are selected in DEVONthink. The script matches the PDF annotation highlight color to DEVONthink labels, supports markup in PDF annotation notes to set the note's title, flag, rating, tags & custom metadata, can auto-fetch bibliographic metadata, and creates deep links that directly point back to the PDF annotation. [More Info] [Download]

Papers 3

Papers to Bookends

Exports all publications selected in your Papers 3 library to Bookends. The script will also transfer the publication's primary PDF (if there's any) and can also transfer the publication's rating, color label, flagged status, language, edition, citekey, and "papers://..." link. [More Info] [Download]

Papers to DEVONthink

Exports all notes & highlight annotations of all publications selected in your Papers 3 library to DEVONthink Pro. The script will also index the publication's primary PDF in DEVONthink Pro, and can also transfer the annotation's color & creation date as well as the publication's formatted reference, citekey, keywords, color label, flagged status, "papers://..." link and BibTeX metadata. [More Info] [Download]

FAQ

How to execute AppleScript scripts?

To open an AppleScript script (.applescript, .scpt or .scptd), drag it onto the app icon of the "Script Editor" app (which is located inside the Utilities folder within your Applications folder). Then click the "Run" button in Script Editor.

Note that you can also save the script as a self-contained application (which you can double-click to execute it), or run it from the system's script menu (see below).

How to use an AppleScript script with the system's script menu?

The system's script menu provides a convenient way to execute your scripts. This script menu can be enabled in the Script Editor prefs. For an illustrated guide which describes how to enable and use the system's script menu, please see iworkautomation.com: The script menu.

What if a script's README states that the script requires a scripting library?

If you download a precompiled .app or .scptd version of the script, then you won't need to do anything. In that case, any required scripting libraries are already included inside this signed script package.

If you want to edit and/or compile a script from its text (.applescript) version, you'll need to download & install any required scripting libraries separately. Scripting libraries used by scripts in this repository are stored in the ScriptingLibraries subdirectory.

Perform the following steps to make a scripting library available to any scripts executed from within your current user account:

  1. Find the correct scripting library in the ScriptingLibraries subdirectory of this repository.
  2. Download the scripting library's .scptd or .zip file to your desktop (or anywhere else). In case of a .zip file, double click it to unzip it.
  3. In the Finder, choose "Go to Folder" from the "Go" menu and paste ~/Library/ into it, then hit Return. This opens the (hidden) Library folder inside your home folder.
  4. Inside this Library folder, search for a folder named Script Libraries. If it doesn't exist, please create it with this exact name: Script Libraries
  5. Now copy the .scptd file (which you got in step 2) into that Script Libraries folder.

For more info about scripting libraries see macosxautomation.com: AppleScript Libraries and Mac Automation Scripting Guide: Using Script Libraries.