Apple on Friday issued a preview release of Script Editor, the authoring application for the company’s AppleScript language. Script editor 2.0 includes many enhancements and features for new scripters and seasoned veterans alike.
Version 2.0 has been completely re-written for Mac OS X and includes Simplified easier-to-use interface; Find and Replace in script text; Auto-wrapping of long script statements; Multiple undos; No 32K limit on script size; New Dictionary Browser with color coding and grouped events & classes; Application scriptability; Contextual Menu Scripts for faster script writing; and Support for Application Services.
Perhaps one of the biggest advances for AppleScript is the ability to control the GUI. The preview release uses a special version of the System Events application to enable AppleScript scripts to select menu items, push buttons, enter text into text fields, and generally control the GUI of most non-Classic applications.
Applications that were once unable to take advantage of the AppleScript technology, can now be controlled by scripts.
Apple has posted an overview of Script Editor 2.0 complete with example scripts in the following catoegories: The Script Window; Writing a Script; Running a Script; Saving a Script; Find and Replace; The Dictionary Browser; The Description Field; Application Preferences; The Contextual Menu Scripts; and The Script Editor Application Service.
Script Editor 2.0 preview is available to download from Apple’s Web site.