In the case of our example, these files will be photos, selected in iPhoto. The first thing we're going to want to do in our workflow is to pull in the files that we want to apply our batch tasks to. Put them into a new iPhoto album, with a dynamic name.Of course, photos are just one small aspect of what Automator can do, but that's what we'll use as an example during this tutorial. By first outlining the steps it would take to achieve our outcome manually, we can better translate this task into a workflow in Automator.īy first outlining the steps it would take to achieve our outcome manually, we can better translate this task into a workflowįor the sake of this tutorial, we're going to work with some images, selecting them, manipulating them and even putting them into an album in iPhoto. Additionally, you'll get a long list of actions that can be dragged-and-dropped into workflow to build it up.īefore we go any further, it's important to understand exactly what we want to achieve with Automator. When you launch into your document, you'll be presented with a blank canvas in which to build up your workflow.
We'll get more in depth with that in just a moment.įor the sake of this tutorial, we'll be making a workflow. A workflow is very similar, but it runs inside Automator and selects entities to deal with through special actions. If your workflow deals with items or files, you simply need to drag-and-drop files onto the app in order to run the workflow, meaning it's useful for doing things like image manipulation without needing to even open an application. What's the difference? An application is self-running, and doesn't need to be opened in Automator to be ran. There's a selection available, but the two we're really interested in are "Workflow" and "Application".Īn application is self-running, and doesn't need to be opened in Automator to be ran. When you open up Automator for the first time, you'll need to select a type of document that your workflow will take place in. The most basic workflows are made up of predefined actions that can be dragged into your workflow, but we'll also take a look at some of the more advanced functions, such as using variables to create dynamic outcomes and even let Automator record our actions so it can repeat them later, without your intervention. In this tutorial, we're going to keep things fairly basic and put together a workflow that grabs some images, resizes them and then puts them into a new iPhoto album. The fundamental setup of an Automator document is a workflow of actions that can be run without your intervention It's a fairly versatile tool that can be used for a lot of things, but the fundamental setup of an Automator document is a workflow of actions that can be run without your intervention. In this tutorial, we're going to take a look at the basics of Automator and build up our own workflow.Īutomator is a stock app in your OS X installation that's all about automating tasks and workflows for you.
Fortunately, OS X comes equipped with a much more efficient way of performing common, tasks: Automator.
It can be cumbersome to manually resize hundreds of photos, or perform some other repetitive task one-by-one.
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