Apple AppleScript Finder Guide - Manual (Page 14)

C H A P T E R 1
Introduction to Finder Scripting
2
What Is Finder Scripting?
IMPORTANT
Finder scripts that return a lot of information may need as
much as several hundred kilobytes (K) of free memory to
work correctly. To see how much memory is currently free,
activate the Finder, choose About This Macintosh from the
Apple menu, and check the number labeled Largest
Unused Block in the About This Macintosh window. If a
script you’ve used successfully stops working, try quitting
one or more applications to make more memory
available.
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What Is Finder Scripting? 1
The Finder is a specialized application that controls the Macintosh desktop: the
working area of your screen where you can use the mouse and the keyboard to
open and close folders, manipulate files, and inspect or alter various aspects of
the computer’s operation. Finder scripting involves performing the same kinds
of tasks, except that instead of triggering actions with the aid of the mouse and
the keyboard, you trigger actions from scripts.
The Finder is both scriptable and recordable. A scriptable application is one that
can respond to commands sent to it when another application, such as the Script
Editor, runs a script. A recordable application is one that uses Apple events to
report user actions for recording purposes. When recording is turned on, the
Script Editor creates statements corresponding to any significant actions you
perform in recordable applications, including actions you perform in the Finder.
By recording or writing scripts that control the Finder, you can automate many
file management and networking tasks that you would otherwise have to
perform manually.
For example, the script that follows copies the items from a folder on the
startup disk to a folder on a different disk. Instead of opening all the folders
by double-clicking them then dragging the contents of the AppleScript
folder to a storage disk, you can run the script.