-------------------------------------------------------------------- FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT APPLESCRIPT Welcome to the AppleScript FAQ! Version .50 Friday, May 13, 1994 I started the AppleScript mailing list during April 1993. At the time, several of us on the Internet were playing with an as-yet- unreleased version of AppleScript and wanted to swap discoveries, ideas, and anomalies. Tim Keanani suggested a mailing list in the comp.sys.mac.programming list, and I volunteered to set it up and manage it since I was already managing several lists. Several people have recently expressed an interest in a collection of the questions that have appeared on the mailing list, so I decided to put together an FAQ to make up for my lack of archiving messages on the list. The purpose is to give some general background information about AppleScript, to answer those frequently asked questions about AppleScript, scriptable applications, and other OSA components, to point out hard-to-find features, and to report bugs in the program. If you submitted material and it does't appear here, it's probably because I just haven't had time to incorporate it yet. You can always send me email to make sure that I got your submission or just prod me. *********************************************************** Notice: This FAQ is under construction. Please do not redistribute it until the version number reaches 1.0 (note that it is now .50). Thank you for your cooperation. *********************************************************** FAQ Philosophy Though Apple events are in integral part of interapplication communication under System 7, they aren't documented for the average Mac user and aren't very easy to understand. AppleScript provides a more English-like interface, but extensive documentation for it and other scriptable applications has been hard to obtain. APDA has been selling the AppleScript Developer's Kit which includes the AppleScript Language Guide, but its $199 price tag has placed it beyond the reach of all but the most die-hard hobbyists. The AppleScript Runtime package was cheaper at $20.00, but it only came with the Language stack. AppleScript is now being provided with System 7 Pro, but it is currently version 1.0. I hope this FAQ will at least take care of some of the basic inquiries. This FAQ isn't a replacement for Apple's Scripting Language Guide or the third party books available. As a matter of fact, if you don't own System 7 Pro, the best strategy is to purchase one of the books available because the AppleScript Runtime package is bundled with them. Derrick Schneider's Tao of AppleScript was the first book available and is a good beginner's introduction to the language. Danny Goodman's The Complete AppleScript Handbook is also a good introduction to the language. Its advantage over Schneider's book is that it is a more structured approach. Answers assume version 1.1 unless otherwise indicated. New additions to the FAQ are flagged with "NEW." My own comments are in brackets ([]). Script commands and internet addresses in text appear between <>. What's New in This Version --------------------------------------------------------------- 5/11/94 Incorporated information about PowerMacintosh breakage. Added information about AS 1.1/Easy Open 1.03 conflict. Added information about Read/Write osax breaking on the PowerMacintosh. Added information about AS 1.1 and Script Editor 1.0. New information about the AppleScript Scripter's Kit. Added information about Mark Alldritt's Script Debugger. 4/18/94 Added the Frontmost memory leak information to the Bugs and Errors section. 3/17/94 Removed some sensitive information. 3/5/94 Added phone numbers for Main Event and Prefab Software. Made changes to the Version History section. Revised mailing list information. Added some programs and corrected some errors in the Scriptable Apps section. Added a FileMaker problem in the Bugs and Errors section. Several typos, spelling, and mechanical problems fixed. Your $.02? --------------------------------------------------------------- If you have suggestions, ideas, typo lists, whatever, for this FAQ, please let me know. What else should it include? I can be reached via the internet at: pfterry@lks.csi.com Snailmail: Fred Terry 313 Edinburgh Road Lawrence, KS 66049-1641 I do read the various comp.sys.mac newsgroups, but you should always email me if you want to be sure and reach me. When I'm under deadlines, I don't read the newsgroups at all frequently. This FAQ will always be available on gaea.kgs.ukans.edu. If interest warrants, I'll send it to the sumex and umich archives. Acknowledgments: --------------------------------------------------------------- Tim Keanini Tim originally encouraged me to start the AppleScript mailing list and answered some of the early questions. Jon Pugh Jon is the original Apple event registrar and all-around helpful guy. He is just released on an MPW tool that compiles and runs AppleScript scripts along with a new version of his Jon's Commands osax). John W. Baxter John lives in a wet country and is another helpful guy. John answers lots of questions on the mailing list and in NEWS. Leonard Rosenthal Leonard is the director of advanced technology at Aladdin Software, and the one responsible for making StuffIt Deluxe/Lite scriptable. He also helped Dave Newman add scripting to Microphone II. Peter Fleck manages the HyperCard FAQ. I borrowed his format for this FAQ because it was one of the cleanest and easiest to read I'd ever seen. Thanks, Peter. Other acknowledgements are included with topics. Who I am --------------------------------------------------------------- I am a freelance writer and consultant. I became interested in Apple events while revising the QuicKeys 2.0 manual for CE Software. That was the first version of the program to support Apple events, and it was fun to send events to HyperCard. I wrote a book about QuicKeys a year later (The Automatic Mac, Brady Books), and I scattered Apple event examples throughout the book as well as devoting a chapter to them. ============================================================== ------------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS ---------------------- BASICS What is AppleScript? How do I learn AppleScript? Version history. GENERAL Where can I get my AppleScript questions answered? Is AppleScript available on Windows? Are there other scripting systems besides AppleScript? AppleScript vs. UserTalk. Is there another script editor besides Apple's. SELECTED SCRIPTING INFO Reasons why a script doesn't work How can I stop a script from running? How can I learn to write scripts? Do I need to save each script before I can try it? If I try to use it after I change it, the older version is used. Some of my command lines are too long and difficult to read on my screen. SCRIPTING ADDITIONS What are sripting aditions? What is the plural of osax BUGS AND PROBLEMS APPLESCRIPT PRODUCTS AND RELATED APPLICATIONS SCRIPTABLE APPLICATIONS BOOKS AND OTHER SOURCES OF INFO What's a good AppleScript book? What other information is available about AppleScript, Apple events, the Object Model, and Open Scripting Architecture? FTP INFO - WHERE TO FIND THE FILES WHAT ELSE ============================================================= ->BASICS What is AppleScript? ------------------------------------------------------------- AppleScript is a scripting language for the Macintosh. It is an English-like language that has been compared to batch files on PCs, but it is more like UNIX shell scripts in its power and flexibility. How do I learn AppleScript? ------------------------------------------------------------- Probably the best approach to learning AppleScript is to buy one of the available AppleScript books or the Scripting Kit and work through the scripts in the book. Constantly fooling around with AppleScript also helps. Because Apple event and object model support in third party applications is currently rather spotty, you will quickly discover that what works in one program may not work in another. Experience is the best teacher in these cases. Another anvenue for learning how to script is to study the scripts that others have written. Look at the example scripts that are supplied with the Scripting Kit. You can also watch the progress of Apple events in the Log window (AppleScript 1.1) to learn more about how scripts work. If you are working with an application that is recordable, you can record actions in the application and then study the scripts that it produces. Since the application is "writing" the script, you will get a better idea of the commands that it understands and the how they should be scripted. AppleScript version history. ------------------------------------------------------------- 1.1 Developer's Toolkit and Scripting Kit versions both released 1/94. This version incorporated the Apple Event Manager 1.03 extension, which was previously separated, into the AppleScript extension. A second version of the AppleScript 1.1 Scripting Kit released in April/May 1994 contains FaceSpan (formerly, Frontmost) and the Scriptable Finder. 1.0 Runtime released 9/93. The Runtime kit contained all of the AppleScript components, the Script Editor and Scriptable Text Editor, but it did not contain a manual--only the Language at a Glance stack. This version of AppleScript was included with System 7 Pro. 1.0 Developer's Toolkit released 4/93. The Developer's Toolkit included headers, sample code, and sample applications and scripting additions. It included the Scripting Language Guide and a CD and floppy. ============================================================= ->GENERAL Where can I get my AppleScript questions answered? ------------------------------------------------------------- Since Apple has included AppleScript, the Script Editor, and the Scriptable Text Edtior with System 7 Pro, a number of users are becoming interested in scripting their Macs. I have seen AppleScript questions posed and answerd in comp.sys.mac.programming, comp.sys.mac.hypercard, and comp.sys.mac.system on NEWS. Rumor has it that a comp.sys.mac.applescript or scripting newsgroup should appear soon. I started an AppleScript mailing list in mid April of 1993. You can subscribe to it by sending the message SUB MACSCRPT Joe Scripter to listserv@dartmouth.edu. While still relatively small (about 250 subscribers), most of the AppleScript luminaries are on it--including the Apple programmers who wrote AppleScript. Questions from beginning to advanced scripting issues as well as all manner of odd and trivial matters have been answered there. If you have an AppleLink account, you can pose questions in the AppleScript Talk forum. Because of the audience, the questions may be a little more technical there, but I have seen simple questions answered without flammage. If you have an account on either AOL or CompuServe, you might want to check out the MacDeveloper forums. Is AppleScript available on Windows? ------------------------------------------------------------- Though there hasn't been an official statement, Apple has made comments in some of their marketing brochures and at a WWDC that a Windows version of AppleScript will be available sometime in 1994. Are there other scripting systems besides AppleScript? ------------------------------------------------------------- Frontier was the first scripting system on the Macintosh and can be considered the most powerful. The trade-off, if you are a new programmer, is that the its scripting language (UserTalk) is more like C than HyperTalk or AppleScript. Frontier has been around for 2 years, and Userland recently shipped version 3.0, so you can get some idea of the head start they have over AppleScript. UserLand maintains forums on CompuServe (go userland) and AOL (enter the userland keyword). You can email userland.dts@applelink.apple.com. They can also be reached via snail mail at UserLand Software, 400 Seaport Court, Redwood City, CA 94063 (415/369-6600, 415/369-6618--fax). Suggested retail price (U.S.) is $249.00. ControlTower has also been around since the early days of Apple events. It was one of the first programs that read the aete (or dictionary) of another program. It allowed you to construct a script in much the same way that Scripter does. Michael Odawa of Simple Software wrote Control Tower. Simple Software's last address was 220 Redwood Hwy., Suite 42, Mill Valley, CA 94941, 415/381-2650. HyperCard is arguably the oldest scripting system for the Macintosh since it has been around since 198?. While HyperTalk is easy to learn and program it, HyperTalk scripts are confined to HyperCard. Programmers have made a valiant effort to extend HyperTalk by writing XFCNs and XCMDs, but HyperTalk has always been trapped inside of HyperCard. In some ways this makes it more like a macro language than a programming or scripting language. But I'm walking on thin ice in this comparison. The latest version of HyperCard (2.2) is scriptable and OSA compliant. MacPerl is a Macintosh port of the UNIX Perl programming language. Perl (practical extraction and report language) was written by Larry Wall. Mattias Neeracher and Tim Endres have ported Perl to the Mac as a standalone application and as an MPW tool. MacPerl is primarily worth noting because Perl is a very good language for manipulating text and because it can be called from AppleScript. Mattias has said that he will convert MacPerl to a scripting component once he completes a port of Perl 5. The latest version is always available from nic.switch.ch (130.59.1.40) in the directory /software/mac/perl. TCL [an abbreviation for Tool Command Language that is pronounced "tickle"] was created by John K. Ousterhout. In the UNIX world, it is a simple scripting language for controlling and extending applications (sound familiar?). In the Mac world TCL has already made an appearance in Pete Kehler's Alpha text editor. It is also the basis for Tim Endres application Tickle which provides a scripting environment for several common UNIX and Mac utilities. More importantly, Tim has already ported TCL as an OSA component. The most recent release of Tickle includes an OSA component version of the J language. The most recent version of Tickle can be obtained from ftp.msen.com (148.59.1.8) in the directory /pub/vendor/ice/tickle. AppleScript vs. UserTalk. ---------------------------------------------------------- [under construction--I haven't finished this yet since it'll take more than 5 minutes. Can you explain the differences objectively and without religious fanaticism in less than 100 words? If so, send it to me.] Is there another script editor besides Apple's? ---------------------------------------------------------- While the Script Editor, a.k.a. Toy Surprise, has a few unique features, it isn't really a development tool and it has some serious omissions. For instance, it doesn't have a Find command. Mark Alldritt (of Script Tools fame) is working on a replacment for Apple's Script Editor. His Script Debugger has debugging tools and a Find command (the two things most notably lacking in Script Editor). Main Event Software (202/298-9595) has shown their editor privately at several shows, but they went public with the program at the MacWorld 1994 Expo in SF. Scripter is a script development environment. It has the Find command that is missing in Script Editor along with a comment command, script builders, and a collections window to store links to your most frequently used scripts. Scripter also has debugging commands. It has Observe and Instant windows which let watch variables in your script while it is running and let you quickly test those short scripts. Scripter can pretty print your scripts the same way the Script Editor does. Besides these three editors, you can also use Frontier to write and record scripts. It doesn't provide you with pretty printing, but you can use its database to store your scripts in. Using Frontier also makes it easier to combine AppleScript and Fronter scripts. Unfortunately, Frontier's debugger does not work with AppleScript. Object Master from ACIUS (408/252-4444) is a sophisticated development environment that can replace the Think Project Manager and MPW's editor, but it also supports AppleScript. You can run scripts from the editor, though they are not pretty printed. You can use MPW to write and compile scripts if you have Jon Pugh's freeware RunScript tool. The recently released Tickle 5.01 has interpreter windows where you can enter and run scripts. The results of the script are pasted back into the window. See TCL just above for ftp information. ============================================================= ->SELECTED SCRIPTING INFO Reasons Why a Script Doesn't Run ------------------------------------------------------------- *"I've recorded and saved a script, but it doesn't run" Running recorded scripts which are compiled for you in the recording process does not always work. So if you record the first script in the "Getting Started" manual and save it as an application, it may only display the title box and then immediately quit. This is a bug in AppleScript/Script Editor. The work around is to re-compile the script using the Script Editor. [problem reported by Marc N. Cannava ; work around offered by Mark Alldritt ] How can I stop a script from running? ------------------------------------------------------------- If you are running a script from the Script Editor, you can type command-period to stop the script or click the Stop button. If the script running is a droplet, you can also type command-period. If you have a stay open script that won't quit, you can type shift- command-Q to stop it. How can I script an application that isn't scriptable? ------------------------------------------------------------- Several people are working on solutions to this problem. The most ready solution is to use one of the macroing programs to drive the application's interface. QuicKeys 3.0 is the most logical since it is OSA-complient (in less jargony terms, the QuicKeys Toolbox is an OSA component like AppleScript, or UserTalk). You can encapsulate a QuicKeys script that drives an application's interface within your AppleScript script. PreFab Software (617/628-9555, voice and fax;CompuServe: 70214,424) is working on an extension called PreFab Player that lets you select menu items and click buttons and checkboxes in applications. Due to QuicKeys size, PreFab Player would have a smaller memory footprint. At this time, PreFab only has the Frontier version working, though the AppleScript version shouldn't be far behind. Naturally, the Internet contains a solution. Ross Brown is working on an extension called Menu Events, which lets you control the menus in an application that is System 7 savvy though unscriptable. And James Davis has written an AutoType osax that lets you simulate keyboard activity from a script. AutoType sends keystrokes to the front application. Recently, Davis and Brown are talking about combining the functions of the two scripting additions. I compiled my script and some of the script changed. ------------------------------------------------------------ Typically, scripts only change it they have properties that change. The script may also change if it was orginally compiled under AppleScript 1.0 and then run under 1.1. [from Jon Pugh] Some of my script lines are too long and difficult to read on my screen. ------------------------------------------------------------- Like HyperTalk, AppleScript supports a continuation character if you want to break a line to make it more readable in the editor window. To insert the continuation character, type option-return. An "L"-shaped character is inserted at the end of the line and your cursor is moved to a new line. When the script executes, it treats the second part of the line as though it is on the original line. You cannot insert a continuation character within a string. The following script breaks because AppleScript interprets the two lines as separate statements [I've substituted -| for the continuation character]. --this breaks delete word 1 of paragraph 3 of document "Fundamentals " -| & "of programming" ============================================================= ->SCRIPTING ADDITIONS What are Scripting Additions? ------------------------------------------------------------- Scripting Additions are code resources that add commands and funtions to the AppleScript language. They are similar to HyperCard's XCMDs and XFCNs. The reside in the Scripting Additions folder inside of the Extensions folder. Once installed in the Scripting Addtions, they behave like a command in the AppleScript language. What is the plural of osax? ------------------------------------------------------------- This question was "hotly" debated on the mailing list. Jon Pugh offered the definitive answer "I believe I [am] in a position to make a definitive statement on the plurality of the name osax since I helped Donald Olson make up the term. First off, they are all lowercase. In multiples, we call them osaxen. In polite company, i.e. documentation, we call them Scripting Additions. "...[osax stands] for Open Scripting Architecture eXtensions. We wanted to call them osex, but didn't think the Apple laywers would let us get away with that. "Also, osaxen are not limited to scripting. If you have AppleScript installed and ANY program sends an event or uses a coercion defined in an osax, it will get called. Their use is not limited to AppleScript. However, AppleScript must be present for them to get loaded and used." ============================================================= ->BUGS AND PROBLEMS If you are running Script Editor 1.1 on a PowerMacintosh and you have Easy Open 1.03 installed, the formatting of your scripts will be wrong. You may see one word per line or only an " on a line. This appears to be a problem only when running in native mode, but not in emulated mode. [reported by Brian Hughes 5/10/94 and coroborated by Craig Richmond ] If you get a "Resource not found" error message when trying to open a dictionary, you are probably using Script Editor 1.0 with AppleScript 1.1. Some users have "upgraded" to the AppleScript 1.1 extension by downloading it from the Internet site of a developer who is shipping AppleScript with his product (the distribution license allows them to distribute the AS 1.1 and Frontmost extensions and the scripting additions from AS 1.1, but _not_ the Frontmost or Script Editor applications). The only solution is to get Script Editor 1.1 from one of the official sources or go back to AS 1.0. The Read/Write scripting addition from shipped with AS 1.1 breaks on the PowerMacs. At least one of the tests was performed on an 8100. [reported by Peter Lewis and coroborated by John Baxter 5/8/94] When running the Frontmost Editor (which was included with AppleScript 1.1) or a droplet built using Frontmost, 100k to 400k of system heap is used but not released when you quit either application. This is a known memory leak that SDU (the creator of Frontmost) is working on and says will be fixed in the next release. [first posted into the list by Adam Engst on 3/31/94] In FileMaker Pro 2.0vx, there is a bug that prevents FMP from correctly sending AppleEvents to applets created with the Script Editor. Specifically, FMP confuses the pathnames to applets, and all events are sent to the most recently created applet available! This problem was fixed in the FMP 2.1v1 update, but a similar problem exists with "applications" (frontlets ) created using the Frontmost interface builder. Claris is aware of this problem, and a fix is planned for a future update. [Lee Hoong] AfterDark is incompatible with the Apple Event Manager 1.0 that shipped with AppleScript 1.0. [I'm running a monitor card that is incompatible with AfterDark, so I can't confirm this.] ============================================================= ->APPLESCRIPT PRODUCTS AND RELATED APPLICATIONS The following list of AppleScript-related products includes commercial and shareware/freeware programs. I've indicated the current version number and how they support AppleScript. As more products become available, I'll add them to the list. If you know of any that I've missed, please let me know. [This is very inadequate. I'll be expanding this to add more information about the product, the company address, phone, fax, and email, and the price of the prodcut. I'd originally intended to include osaxen in this section, but I think I'll make that list separate.] Mark Alldritt, Script Debugger. Still in beta. It is a replacment for Apple's Script Editor that provides debugging features. Main Event Software, Scripter. Still in beta. It is a development environment that replaces Script Editor. In addition to a find command, Scripter also has debugging tools and script building aids. PreFab, PreFab Player. Still in beta. It allows you to script programs that aren't scriptable by selecting menu commands and buttons in dialogs. IT Makers, Snippets and Decoder Ring. These programs just started shipping. Decoder Ring reads the Dictionary from a scriptable application and creates a file that you can read with Snippets. Snippets is a Think Reference-like interface for reading and annotating the Dictionaries. ============================================================= ->SCRIPTABLE APPLICATIONS The following list of applications is probably incomplete, but it should give you a good starting point. I've included both commercial and shareware/freeware programs. I've also tried to indicate the current version number of the program and its level of AppleScript support. I've Apple's Guide to Scriptable Applications" by including codes in parentheses to indicate if a program is (S)criptable, (A)ttachable, or (R)ecordable. ACI, Object Master (SA) Core, Text, and Finder suites. Aldus, TouchBase Pro (S) Core and Personal Information suites; DateBook Pro (S) Core and Scheduling stuies: PageMaker 4.2 and 5.0 (S) Core suite and a "PageMaker suite" which contains do script and evaluate commands. Aladdin, SITcomm (SA) Core and SITcomm Telecommunications suites; StuffIt Deluxe (SR) Core and StuffIt suites: StuffIt Lite (SR) Core and StuffIt suites; Stuffit Expander 3.0.7 (S), Required and Expansion suites. Apple, HyperCard 2.2 (SA) Core, Required, and HyperCard suites: MPW Beyond, Beyond Rules (S) Core suite. Cambridge Scientific, ChemDraw Plus 3.1 (S) Core, Required, and ChemDraw suites; Chem3D Plus 3.0 (S) Subset of Core and Misc, Required, and Chem3D suites. Chang Labs, TableServer (S) Core, Text, Personal Information, and Table suites. Chena, Fair Witness 2.0 (SAR) Core, Text, Personal Information, Scheduling, Table, and Word services suites. Claris, FileMaker Pro 2.1 (S) Core, Database, and Table suites: MacProject (SA) Core, Scheduling, Table and Spreadsheet suites; MacWrite Pro 1.5 (S) Core and MacWrite Pro suites. Deneba, Canvas 3.5 (S) Core, Required, and Canvas suites. DeltaPoint, DeltaGraph Pro 3.0 [I haven't installed it yet, but a beta version was scriptable] DigiTalk, Smalltalk/V 2.0 [it is supposed to be scriptable, but I haven't played with it yet.] Endres, Tickle 4.1 (S) Core, Required, Scriptable TE, and Tickle (evaluate selection command) suites. Frontmost 1.0 (SA), Required and Frontmost suites. Note: all "applets" (or is that "frontlets"? ) created by Frontmost are also scriptable and attachable. Giles, Aaron, JPEGView 3.1 (S) Core and JPEGView suites. Heilman, Pocket 6.3 (S) Required suite. ISIS, ISIS Notes (SR) Core, Finder, and Custom event suites. IT Makers, Snippets and Decoder Ring (SAR) Core and Custom suites. Jundt, Kevin, Acid Jazz 1.1v1 (SR) Required and Acid Jazz (Do Script, Dial Phone) suites. Kehler, Pete, Alapha 6.53 (S) Required and Miscellaneous suites. Lewis, Peter. Anarchie (S) Standard (showabout and help commands) and Anarchie (find, fetch, store, list, and nlist commands) suites. Microsoft, Excel 4.0 (S) Core, Charting, and Spreadsheet suites; Word 6.0 [yep, it's right here in the Guie to Scrptable Applications, though the person I spoke with said it might be as much as six months away] (SR) Core, Text, and EGO suites. Neeracher, MacPerl 4.1.2 (S) Core, Required, Miscellaneous Standard (Show and Do Script commands), and Text suites. Nisus Software, Easy Alarms Now, Now Contact (S) Core and Required suites and the Entity object from the Collaborative Info suite. Now Up-To-Date 2.1 (S) Core, Required, and Schedule suites Portfolio, DynoDex 3.0 (S) Required and Dynodex suites, the Make Call command from the Telephony suite, and a Miscellaneous suite which contains a Do Menu command. Qualcomm, Eudora 2.01 (S) Core, Required, and Eudora suites. Quark, QuarkXPress 3.2 (S) Core, Text, and QuarkXPress suites. Trilobyte Software, ARACommander 2.0 (S) Required and ARACommander suite. Software Ventures, MicroPhone Pro (S) Required, Miscellany (get, set, and do script commands), and Microphone suites. Concurrent, Sum Total (S) A specialized Sum Total suite. Symantec, ThinkC 6.0 (S) Core and Think suites. UserLand Software, Frontier 3.01. (SAR) It supports the Required and Standard suites as well as a subset of the Miscellaneous suite. WordPerfect, WordPerfect 3.0 (SAR) Core, Required, Text, Micellaneous, OCE Mailer, and Word Processing suites. Working Software, Spellswell 7 (SAR) Core, Text, Finder and Word Services suites; Writeswell, Jr. 1.05 (SA) Core, Text, Finder and Word Services suites ============================================================= ->BOOKS AND OTHER SOURCES OF INFO What's a good AppleScript book? ------------------------------------------------------------- Besides the AppleScript Language Guide that ships with AppleScript, there are only two AppleScript books available: Derrick Schneider, Tao of AppleScript (ISBN 1-56830-075-1). This guide, created by the Berkeley Macintosh User's Group (BMUG), introduces you to the process of creating scripts with line-by-line instructions for each example. Ideal for getting started with AppleScript. Includes complete glossary to the AppleScript language and a disk with AppleScript, scripting additions, and scriptable applications. Price: $24.95 (U.S.); $31.95 (Canada.) Publisher: Hayden Books, 11711 N. College Ave., Carmel, IN 46032. (800) 776-BMUG Danny Goodman, The Complete AppleScript Handbook (ISBN 0-679-79148-5). Written by the author of The Complete HyperCard Handbook, this guide explains in detail all commands and usage of the AppleScript language. Covers topics such as error-checking, agent-creation, and common scripting mistakes. Includes disk with sample scripts, AppleScript, and TableServer. Price: $35.00 (U.S.); $46.00 (Canada.) Publisher: Random House Electronic Publishing, 201 East 50th Street, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10022. 212/751-2600, 301/848-1900 (orders), 212/572-6045 (international fax). What's the AppleScript Language Guide? ------------------------------------------------------------- System 7 Pro and HyperCard 2.2 owners with sharp eyes have noticed the sentence "For more information....see the AppleScript Language Guide" scattered through the documentation. Since an AppleScript Language Guide isn't included in either package, they've wondered where they can get it. Well, you have to buy the AppleScript Development Kit from APDA or get the AppleScript 1.1 Scripting Kit. Addison-Wesley also sells the Language Guide separately (ISBN 0-201-40735-3) [Chris Espinosa supplied this information]. What other information is available about AppleScript, Apple events, the Object Model, and Open Scripting Architecture? ------------------------------------------------------------- You can find more information about Apple events, OSA, and AppleScript in the New Inside Macintosh--Interapplication Communication. Price: $36.95. Publisher: Addison Wesley Publishing Company, Inc., Menlo Park, California. Available at technical bookstores and through APDA - U.S. (800) 282-2732; Canada (800) 637-0039; or international (716) 871-6555. You can also find information about Apple events in the earlier Inside Macintosh VI. The Apple Event Registry: Standard Suites is the last word on the structure of Apple events and the available suites and their events. It is dated now. For information about the Object Model, you have to turn to the Developer University MiniCourse: Apple events/AppleScript Programming Tutorial. It has a reprint of Richard Clark's article "Apple Event Objects and You" (develop 10, May 1992, pp. 8-32). Eric Berdahl's article "Better Apple Event Coding Through Objects" (develop 12, December 1992, pp. 58-83) provides more information about the Object Model. ============================================================= ->FTP INFO - WHERE TO FIND APPLESCRIPT FILES You can find most of the shareware and freeware AppleScript scripting additions and AppleScript-related software on the more popular Internet FTP archives. Both mac.archive.umich.edu and sumex.stanford.edu contain software. I have consolidated as much of this software as possible on gaea.kgs.ukans.edu. You will find scripting additions, sample scripts, and scriptable applications in the AppleScript directory. There are also AppleScript-related files in the QuicKeys and Frontier directories. ============================================================= ->WHAT ELSE? If there is a question that you think should included send it to me. I would also like to include any bugs or problems within AppleScript or any of the scriptable programs. If you know of additional sources of information, let me know so I can include them. .