Learn to Script: A note and an encouragement

DEVONthink Automation
1

Just a note of thanks to the people who have contributed scripts over the years. It is great to see such willingness to share this stuff. (I won’t name names - you (should) know who you are :smiley: ).

However, let me encourage everyone to start learning this stuff themselves.

  1. Sometimes the offering is more proof-of-concept than a finished product. It is meant to help someone “get over the hump” - a learning tool.

  2. Applescript is, at its core, pretty easily understandable. Reading an Applescript is generally pretty easy for a layperson. You may not understand everything going on from beginning to end but it’s using pretty basic words you’re familiar with: tell, set, repeat, …
    Additionally, DEVON apps have very deep and powerful Applescript libraries to give you the options to automate in ways that many other apps don’t.

  3. Many times a contributor is a very busy person that doesn’t have time to continually support a script. I know some people will say, “I’m too busy to write scripts, let alone learn to write them.” but here’s the truth for most Scripters (remembering very, very few are professional Scripters)… they didn’t have the time either, they MADE the time.

Not only do these Forums provide great DEVONthink-specific scripting info, but I encourage you to check out MacScripter for all kinds of Applescript related help. And Google will yield tons of helpful links too.

Thanks again to all who participate. Happy learning! :smiley:

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+1. I for one am extremely grateful to those who contribute scripts and, IMHO, they do so with patience and kindness as my very recent experience is witness, (see Make an Index Document (RTF) for a Selection of Documents). In this particular case a great deal of work and time has been saved and I, unlike Bluefrog, am VERY happy to publicly thank Korm for this. 8) I will take up your suggestion and try to learn to write AppleScript myself but my problem is that so often I do not know what I want to achieve until I see someone else ask for it!

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BTW there is something wrong with your link to Macscripter, it comes up with a can not be found error here. :frowning:

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LOL - typo. Fixed and pointing directly to the OS X Forum. There is a ton of information beyond this Forum but this is the most relevant to my post. Thanks, Allsop.

And let me offer a suggestion (and the starting point for many of my scripting adventures). Ask yourself: “What if I could do THIS…?”

I have long believed there are two types of computer Users: Those that do what the computer allows them to do, and those that make the computer do what THEY WANT it to do. Those in the second group become the coders (and there’s nothing stopping anyone from joining the club. :smiley: ) (Those in the first group just buy more software. 8) LOL)

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My first two scripts :slight_smile: Very simple but they do something which I do hundreds of times a day—move a DTPO window to a new position and back to the edge of the desktop when I need to. The joy is I can now move it to an exact position which helps enormously. Can’t believe how pleased I am with myself! :smiley: :smiley: :smiley: Thanks BLUEFROG for your encouragement.

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Why not post your scripts for others to use or learn from?

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@Allsop: Wonderful! See how something so simple can be so enjoyable. And it’s YOU in control of this. Careful though - it can be highly addictive! 8)

PS: I agree with korm. Start a new thread with your code and (1) people can learn or get inspired by the idea, and (2) someone may be able to give you some tricks or help you be more succinct in your coding. Kinda like a mini-MacScripter. :mrgreen:

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Thanks Korm and BLUEFROG for your encouragement. Although reluctant, as my scripts are very very simple, I will indeed start a new thread. Cheers.

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As soon as my [insert all sorts of colourful words here] PHD is complete - my next project, learning to script/code.

Cannot wait to open that door. Or rabbit-hole. Or black-hole.

Unicorns. :stuck_out_tongue: