AppleScript for Dummies [Paperback]

Tom Trinko (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1568849753 | ISBN-13: 978-1568849751 | Publication Date: December 21, 1995 | Edition: 1

"More than a publishing phenomenon, ‘Dummies’ is a sign of the times." — The New York Times "We only buy software that has a …For Dummies book to help us learn." — Dennis Schurgin, Happy …For Dummies^® Reader

Free AppleScript "Cheat Sheet" Inside!

AppleScript^® For Dummies^® is the friendly, easy-to-follow guide that gives you the information you need to become more productive using your Mac. You'll discover how AppleScript automates the dull, boring tasks that currently take up too much of your time and also see how Apple has made it easy for you to give orders to your Mac so that it does the boring stuff.

Inside find helpful advice on how to:

• Use AppleScript to automate tasks in programs such as Word, Excel, FileMaker Pro, and the Finder
• Arrange applications to work together to accomplish complex tasks
• Find out where to get and how to install AppleScript (it's free with System 7.5)
• Control applications that aren't even scriptable
• Master tools that will make scripting easier and fun
• Browse a long list of applications that you can tame with AppleScript
• Pinpoint where to get more information on the Internet and elsewhere
• Discover the hidden meaning behind all the hacker jargon

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Scripting for Mac OS® X is not only easy, it’s fun!

Give your Mac marching orders to automate iLife®, Office 2004, the Internet, and more

Wish you could write a script to save time? You can, and this book shows you how! With AppleScript – a language remarkably like English – you can make your Mac do lots of boring, repetitive chores (sorry, laundry’s not one of them). Then you can spend your computer time being creative, having fun, and getting more done!

The Dummies Way

• Explanations in plain English
• "Get in, get out" information
• Icons and other navigational aids
• Tear-out cheat sheet
• Top ten lists
• A dash of humor and fun

Discover how to:

• Automate tasks in Word, Excel, and FileMaker Pro
• Script the Finder
• Unite applications to handle complex jobs
• Squash script bugs
• Control applications that aren’t scriptable
• Create autonomous scripts

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

About the Author Tom Trinko has been programming the Mac since 1984 and has worked on many different types of computers. He's a real Mac fanatic who devotes his rare sane moments to developing the Ultimate Mac Script, which will allow him to take control of the entire world.

Product Details

• Paperback: 396 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (December 21, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568849753
• ISBN-13: 978-1568849751
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,026,551 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars poorly written, November 16, 1999

By 

Jerad Walters (Wheat Ridge, Colorado) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: AppleScript for Dummies (Paperback)

This book gives the basics but little more. What rates it a one star, however, is the inane writing. The descriptions of the AppleScript functions are flat and uninteresting, and the book itself is poorly organized and bears no trace of even the most minor editing. Even worse, the author has this infuriating habit of inserting feeble little jokes at the start of almost every paragraph. It makes for some of the worst writing I have ever encountered. If you're looking for a serious discussion of AppleScript, do yourself a favor and invest in Danny Goodman's far superior AppleScript handbook.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Poorly written, June 3, 2000

By 

Field Medic (United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: AppleScript for Dummies (Paperback)

If this book is for dummies then I must be an idiot. There are major gaps in the logic and it assumes that you have done lots of programming before getting this book.

Don't waste your money

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars poorly organized, not good as a reference, August 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: AppleScript for Dummies (Paperback)

I found the author spent too much time trying to be cute. The topics in the book seem to jump around rather than flow from one to another. After reading the book, and working with AppleScript I do not feel I am any further ahead. If you want to do something productive with AppleScript I would look into another book.