Automator creates workflows, which are chains of standard operations based on typical operations performed by most applications. These generic workflows allow you to automate tedious, repetitive, and routine tasks that you often need to perform on your computer. With Automator, you don't even need to know any programming language to create generic workflow actions. For those who are not good at writing command scripts(shell scripts) or even just afraid command line Terminal, Automator application is best way creating programs to automate typical routine tasks. All you have to do is map out the operations you want to perform and see if Automator has common events and actions that you can use to perform those operations.

For example, imagine you need to rename, resize, and then send e-mail set of photographs. This entire sequence of operations can be programmed as an Automator chain of actions, which can then be executed automatically. Let's look at another example - let's say you need to backup copy specific folder was created every time you put something new into it. Automator can help you here too. Or let's say if you just want to close all your running applications from the Dock, Automator already has a procedure that does just that. All of the examples above look at basic tasks, but you can create more complex procedures - either by writing programs in AppleScript or using advanced and additional Automator events and actions.

In this article I will show several simple examples procedures that will clearly demonstrate the development of solutions using Automator. In addition, I recommend that you visit several Web sites dedicated to Automator programming. These sites provide additional information on the development of document flow procedures, and ready-made solutions are also available for download. Here are just some of the most informative Web sites dedicated to Automator:

• Apple Mac 101: Automator Tutorial (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304759).
• Automator World (http://automatorworld.com) is a site where a large number of ready-to-use workflow procedures are available, as well as useful tips, recipes and news about the Automator app.
• Ready-made solutions (actions and document flow procedures) are available for free download on the Apple website: http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/automator.

Automator procedure for closing all applications

Let's begin our introduction to Automator 2.0, which comes with Mac OS X Leopard, by creating a simple automated procedure that will close all running applications except Finder. If you do not want to see a list of Automator procedure starting points every time you launch this application, click the Automator option on the left side of the menu bar and select Disable Starting Points.

The Automator application, represented by the Otto icon, is located in your Applications folder (Otto is the name of the robot). When you open the application, you will see a list of starting points from which you should begin developing document flow diagrams (Fig. 3.27). Select the Custom option and click the Choose button.

If you have previously used (or are still using) the first version of Automator (part of Tiger), then it may have caused (or continues to cause) you some complaints. It's true that you can create great automated routines with this early version, but if something goes wrong, the routine simply doesn't work, and it's very difficult for the user to figure out why it's failing. This flaw has been fixed in Automator 2.0 and later. You are now able to examine each step of the automated procedure and see what results it returns. This feature is very important for those who really want to use Automator to automate routine and frequently repetitive tasks.

At this stage, you will see a window consisting of five parts. In the left column, you'll see a list of apps, Finder features, and utilities that include actions and the events that are set for them. In the same column you will also find intelligent groups of folders, with the help of which you can organize all your actions (elementary operations) and automated procedures. The middle column lists all available actions and events that can be found by searching or clicking on one of the items listed in the first column. The area below the first two columns provides short description selected actions. The box below this area provides copyright information for each action. The larger panel, located to the right, is designed to create a chain of actions that form an automated procedure.

Assembling a procedure is done by dragging actions and events from the middle column. Drag and drop is done using the standard drag and drop technique. The simplest automated procedures consist of a single action or event, while more complex procedures require additional input. Actions and events must be ordered. For example, some actions require the identification of one or more files in which information will be passed on to subsequent actions and events.

At the top of the window there is a toolbar with five buttons. Extreme left button,Hide Library, allows you to hide the first two columns. The Media button gives you access to all audio files stored in your iTunes library or created with GarageBand, your photos created with iPhoto and Aperture, and videos created with iMovie '08, iPhoto, iTunes and stored in your Movies folder. All these multimedia files can be used to create automated procedures.

The Record button allows you to record sequences of actions. This - new feature, introduced in Automator 2.0. It will be discussed in more detail a little further. The Run button is used to run an automated procedure, allowing you to test it and see how it works in practice. Of course, there is also a Stop button, with which you can interrupt the running automated procedure.

In the Library panel, which contains the first two columns, click the Actions button and select the Utilities option. Go to the next column, scroll down and find the Quit All Applications action. Drag this action to the right panel designed to assemble an automated procedure. As a result, the Automator application window will look like shown in Fig. 3.28. At this point, you can optionally test the automated procedure by clicking the Run button on the toolbar. As expected, this procedure will close all running applications, including Automator.

If you want the system to prompt you to save changes before closing the application, leave the Ask to Save Changes checkbox selected. If you want some applications to remain running and not be closed (if they are running), you can add them to the Do not quit list by clicking the Add button. At the bottom of the window describing the action there are three additional options. When performing an automated procedure or action, click the Results button if you want to check whether the action was completed successfully. In case of failure, you will receive an explanation of the reasons.

Clicking the Options button allows you to specify choices that you can make before or during the execution of an automated procedure or action. In this particular example, if you select the Show this action when the workflow runs option, you will be able to cancel the action before it is executed, and add or remove the applications listed in the automated procedure (Figure 3.29). The Descriptions button provides Additional information about how this automated procedure will work and what results are planned to be obtained with its help. In addition, it gives some guidance on the actions and events included in it.

Once your automated procedure has been written and tested, you will need a method to run it without having to launch the Automator application itself. To achieve this goal, save the automated procedure as an application. For this purpose, select File → Save from the menu. Select the folder where you want to save your new automated procedure. You may want to save it in your personal Applications folder or in a separate folder that you can create specifically to store all of your automated routines. Then from the File Format list, select the Application option (Fig. 3.30). Of course, you can save a procedure as a set of actions (to do this, select the Workflow option), but in this case, when you click on your procedure, it will expand in Automator. If the automated procedure is saved in application format, it will behave exactly like any other application installed on your computer.

You can create a similar automated process to selectively close applications, so that only the applications on the list are closed. To do this, drag the Quit Application action (located in the list directly after the Quit All Applications action) for each application that you want to close automatically, and save the entire automated procedure as an application.

After you save an automated procedure as an application, you can locate it where you saved it and drag that application's icon into the Dock, placing it next to the Finder icon. This way you will be able to very quickly (in fact, with a single mouse click) close all running applications, without having to do this procedure individually for each of the running applications.

Access to view media files

If you are an experienced user of iLife programs such as iMovie and iDVD, or iWork programs such as Keynote or Pages, then you probably know that each of these applications has a special browser for viewing media files designed to select and use images from your iPhoto library (or Aperture 1.5, if you have installed that software).

However, imagine a situation where you need to access your iPhoto or Aperture photos while working with applications that don't have media browser functionality. In this case, the Automator application will again come to your aid. Using Automator, you can create a browser for photos or audio files that you can access from anywhere (for example, from the Finder).

To do this you will need to do the following:

1. Launch Automator 2.0 and select the Custom option.
2. In the leftmost column of the Automator browser, select the Photos option. Then go to the second column and select the Ask for photos option. If you want to create a similar browser for music files stored in your iTunes and GarageBand libraries, click the Music Actions option in the Automator library, and then select the Ask for Songs option in the middle column.
3. Drag the Ask for photos action into the main automated procedure editing window.
4. In the Prompt field, enter a descriptive text string, such as Get My Photos.
5. Now select File → Save As from the command menu and save the automated procedure as an application. It's convenient to save the new application in the Applications folder, from where you can drag it onto the Dock, which will provide fast access to the application. Additionally, you can save an automated procedure as a plug-in file (File → Save As Plug-in), which can be accessed by multiple users on Mac OS X. different ways. For example, if you saved a procedure as a Finder plugin, you can access the plugin by clicking Ctrl key or by selecting the command More → Automator → Get My Photos from the context menu. You can save the plugin as a script, after which it will be saved and accessible through the Scripts menu, which you can add to the menu bar (run /Applications/AppleScript/AppleScript Utility and select Show Script Menu in menu bar).
6. Now you just need to click on the new application icon in the Dock, and the iPhoto or Aperture photo browser will appear on the screen (provided that one or both of these applications are installed on your computer - Fig. 3.31). Now you can drag and drop the desired photos into your application, where you can manipulate the picture with high resolution the way you please.

Watch Me Do function

The more actively you use Automator and explore its capabilities, the more conveniently you will be able to organize and automate your work. In addition, if you thoroughly study Apple's classic automation program, AppleScript, you will learn how to create even more complex and advanced automated procedures. However, if you can't or don't want to learn a programming language, you can use Automator to record keyboard and mouse sequences so you can create new actions outside of Automator's built-in standard actions.

To do this, you should use the Watch Me Do function, which is designed specifically for recording user operations and creating new automated procedures based on them. To use this feature, open the Universal Access preference settings panel (System Preferences → Universal Access) and enable accessory access. Keep in mind that activity recording does not work in all cases, but when available, this feature is quite useful.

Before testing this feature, create a WatchMe folder on your desktop and place a few unimportant files that you don't value in it. Then drag the folder into the Dock, where it will always be easily accessible. Next, perform the following operations:

1. Launch Automator and select the Custom option.
2. Click the red Record button on the Automator toolbar. As a result, the Automator interface will change - instead of the Automator window, a small black square will appear on the screen, indicating that all keyboard and mouse events will be recorded until you click the Stop button.
3. In this example, let's perform the following operations. While Automator is in recording mode, hover over the WatchMe folder in the Dock and Command-click it. When the folder opens on your desktop, press Command+A. Then click the Delete button on the toolbar. All files located in the WatchMe folder will be deleted to the Trash. Do not empty the Trash, but instead click the Stop button in the recorder window. You can return all files back to the WatchMe folder by pressing the keyboard shortcut Command+Z.
4. Now is the time to look at the automated Watch Me Do procedure, which reflects the result of recording all the actions performed in the previous step (Fig. 3.32). Click the Run button on the Automator toolbar. You will see how Automator will exactly reproduce all the cursor movements and keyboard shortcuts you performed in the previous step. After the automated procedure completes, press Command+Z in the Finder window if you want to cancel deleting files.
5. If you wish, you can perform the operation again, but this time change the playback speed by moving the Playback Speed ​​slider on the right side of the window to 10x so that the operation completes faster than the default.

Placement of automated procedures

Once you've created and saved your automated routines, you can expand your Home folder and navigate to the Library/Workflow/Application folder. Within it, you'll see folders for all the automated routines you've saved for your Finder, Folder, or iCal automated routines.

In addition, you can save your automated procedures for future development or modification. To do this, open the procedure you are interested in in Automator, select the File → Save or Save As command from the menu and save the automated procedure in Workflow format. You can save an automated procedure anywhere - when you open it, Automator will launch automatically, and you can continue the development process until you are completely satisfied with the result.

There's obviously a lot more to Automator than what's described in this section, but this recipe is intended to give you the bare minimum of knowledge and a basic idea of ​​where to start. Where you want to go and how much you want to simplify your life with automation is up to you. On a personal note, I would like to note that the time spent on learning the capabilities of Automator will pay off very quickly, and in the future you will be able to achieve significant savings in time and effort.

It so happened that, for all its focus on people far from technology, OSX has an absolutely geeky tool - Automator, which, undeservedly, is bypassed by most Mac users. Many have heard about its unprecedented capabilities, but which way to approach it and how to use it?

Today we will discuss the basics, in the following materials we will go further. I want to warn you right away that we will look at the basic principles of working with Automator, solve several everyday problems, but will not touch on Apple Script. The reason is that Apple Script is a programming language with its own syntax, logic, and structure. Trying to explain the basics that will allow you to create something of your own in the future, and not copy without understanding, is quite difficult. Therefore, we will not deceive anyone, but will show what can be done without this knowledge.

I won’t describe what each of the menu items in the screenshot below means, just click on them with your mouse and read the description.

Let's build learning from tasks. We formulate the problem, solve it, record the result, move on to the next one.

1. View the clipboard

From time to time there is a need to view the contents of the clipboard. You copied something important, but you were distracted, and after a couple of hours you forgot and accidentally replaced it important information in the buffer to some link.

What needs to be done. It is logical to assume that we will start viewing the contents of the clipboard through hotkeys. Accordingly, we need to create a service. Select the appropriate item when creating a new document.

1. Then we need to read the contents of the clipboard; to do this, select the item on the left side of the menu Utilities → Get clipboard contents, which we drag to free place on the right side of the window.
2. After this, the contents of the buffer need to be assigned to a variable; to do this, drag out the item on the work area Set variable value, click on it and give it a name, arbitrary. In the example, I simply called it: Buffer.
3. Now we need to display a notification with our text, to do this we drag out the menu item Show notification, we write whatever we want in the header, the main thing is that you understand what it is, and insert the variable from step 2 into the body. You can simply drag it from the bottom of the panel by clicking on the icon that looks like an inverted Pause button.

After this, save the received document, the name is arbitrary. And go to the system settings menu  → System Preferences → Keyboard → Keyboard shortcut, select a section Services and look for the service we just created.

She will need to assign a key combination. I suggest Ctrl + Command + =. To assign you need to click on the word add, to the right of the service name, the word add will be replaced with an empty rectangle, then press the desired combination. After that, close the settings, find any fragment, copy it, press Ctrl + Command + = and enjoy the result.

All your services are always present top menu [Application name] → Services and launching them should not be difficult.

I showed only one example with notifications, but use them more often, for example, to notify you about the status of completed work from other automators.

2. Smart folder

Often the task arises of quickly changing some data - for example, converting images from PNG → JPG. Automator has a folder action for this.

It works as follows. First, we indicate the folder from which the data will be taken, then the folder where it will be copied. Finally, we denote the action, in our case Photo → Change image format.

Then we copy files with the PNG extension into the first folder and find documents with the JPG extension in the second. At the same time, you can resize the image.

Self-test task:

• place a notification in the process that will provide information that the task has been completed;
• try to make sure that files from the source folder are deleted automatically after the operation is completed;

Conclusion

Today we looked at the most basic capabilities Automator. Just looked at the basics. I think that the topic is interesting, but considering the solution to my problems may not be exciting enough for readers.

Let's do the following: leave your wishes (needs) in the comments, and by the next issue I will try to answer how to do this. Or share how Automator helps you in your daily life!

The Automator tool on Mac may seem overly complicated, but it is actually very useful. You can create automated commands, actions or even programs to perform complex actions. The Automator program has a lot of useful features, which we will tell you below.

1. Rename several files at a time

Renaming files one at a time takes too long if their names should be similar. For example, the file name, its number and date. Let Automator do it for you.

1) From the available templates, select Process.

2) Make sure that in the menu on the left is selected Actions. In section Library select Files and folders.

3) Find the action in the menu on the right Rename objectsFinder and drag it into the working window.

4) A window will appear asking if you want to create copies of the objects or modify the originals. Make a choice.

5) On the menu Add date or time select the right option. You can add numbers to the current file names.

6) IN Finder Find the files you want to rename and drag them into the program window.

7) In the Automator window, click Launch.

The names of the selected files will be changed.

2. Change size images

1) Select action type Quick Actions.

2) On the menu The process gets the current select image files.

3) From the menu on the left, select Actions. In section Library click Files and folders.

4) From the menu on the left, select Photo.

5) On the right select Rescale images and drag the activity into the working window under the Finder activity.

6) Set the image size in pixels or percentage.

Save the Automator file and name it Image Size. When you want to use an action, you can find it by right-clicking on the image or in the menu Service.

3. Change the image format

1) Select action type Quick Actions.

2) From the menu on the left, select Actions. In section Library select Files and folders.

3) On the right select Request objectsFinder

4) From the menu on the left, select Photo.

5) Change image format under Finder.

6) On the menu Conclusion select required format Images.

To use an action, select an image and click Launch in the Automator window. A copy of the image in a different format will be saved in the same folder. The original will also be preserved.

4. ConvertPDFto images

1) Select action type Quick Actions.

2) From the menu on the left, select Actions. In section Library select Files and folders.

3) On the right select Request objectsFinder and drag the action into the working window.

4) From the menu on the left, select PDF-files.

5) out the window Process PDF pages as images under Finder. Select the default format, resolution and other data.

When you want to use an action, select the PDF file and click Launch in the Automator window.

5. Merge multiple PDF files into one

1) Select action type Quick Actions.

2) From the menu on the left, select Actions. In section Library select Files and folders.

3) On the right select Request objectsFinder and drag the action into the working window.

4) From the menu on the left, select PDF-files.

5) On the right, select and drag Merge PDF pages into the working window under the Finder action.

6) Customize the settings to your liking.

To merge PDF files, select them and click Launch in the Automator window.

6. Add a mode switch to the dock

1) Select action type Program.

2) From the menu on the left, select Actions. In section Library select Utilities.

3) Changing the interface design.

4) Under the Change Theme action, select: Light /Dark.

5) Select menu File and press Save.

6) Name the file and save it to your desktop.

Now you can simply drag the file into the Dock and use it to switch between dark and light themes.

7. Create birthday greetings

1) Select action type Program.

2) From the menu on the left, select Actions. In section Library select Contacts.

3) On the right select Find Happy Birthday Contacts and drag the action into the working window. Under Action, select the day on which birthdays will be checked - today, tomorrow or next week.

4) From the menu on the left, select Mail.

5) On the right, select and drag Send birthday greetings in the working window under the Contacts action. You can select a postcard, send random ones, and also add a message.

6)

When you run the program and a birthday is found, a window will open with a greeting email template. All you have to do is click Send.

8. Convert text to speech

1) Select action type Quick Actions.

2) From the menu on the left, select Actions. In section Library select Text.

3) On the right, select and drag into the working window Get document contents TextEdit.

4) From the same menu, select Pronounce and drag the action below the previous one. You can choose your preferred voice.

To convert text, select it and click Launch in the Automator window.

9. Start Screen Recording

1) Select action type Program.

2) From the menu on the left, select Actions. In section Library select Movies.

3) On the right select New screenshot and drag the action into the working window.

4) From the same menu, select Start recording and drag the action below the previous one.

5) Select menu File and in it Save.

6) Name and save the file in Programs.

You can add this program to your desktop or even your dock and quickly launch it from there.

10. Close all programs

1) Select action type Program.

2) From the menu on the left, select Actions. In section Library select Utilities.

3) On the right, select and drag into the working window End all programs. You can enable the option Request to save changes to avoid losing unsaved data. You can also add exclusion programs to Don't complete

4) Select menu File and in it Save.

5) Name the file and save it in Programs.

One of the most underrated tools on Mac continues to be . It is thanks to this utility that it is possible to automate a huge number of daily routine tasks. In this material we will give examples of 6 ways to use Automator with your favorite browser on .

Opening a web page at a specified time every day

On weekdays I get up at six in the morning and leave for work by eight o'clock. Every time ten minutes before going out, I check the weather to figure out what to wear. So why not make the forecast open automatically at 7:50 on weekdays? Automator can easily handle this and other tasks described below.

1 . Run (open explorer Finder → Programs or launch it via Spotlight search (keyboard shortcut Control (⌃)+ space).

2 . In the pop-up message, select " new document ».

3 Calendar notification", and then click the " Choose».

4 . In the left side menu in the section " Libraries" Choose a section " Internet».

5 . In the second column, find the parameter “ Get specified URLs"and drag it into the workspace located on the right.

6 . Remove the suggested web address and add the one you are interested in.

7 . Now from the second column drag the parameter " Display web pagesGet specified URLs».

8 . To check the functionality of our script, click the " Launch" in the upper right corner of the Automator window. The default browser should open and the specified page should open.

9 File → Save As... and save the calendar notification.

10. After the regular calendar opens, select the current day and event. In the right side menu, specify the start and end time of the event, as well as the repeat time, for example only on weekdays.

Now every day at 7:50 a.m. a notification will arrive on my Mac and a page with the weather will open. It’s also a good signal that it’s time to get ready for work.

Opening multiple favorite sites

Thanks to this mini-instruction, you will learn how to create a small algorithm that allows you to launch a few selected web pages. For example, you are in certain time browsing a group of news sites. Every time you have to open the same tabs, and so they clicked on special application, and everything is in plain sight.

1 . Repeat points 1-2.

2 . Specify "Document Type" Program».

3 . Go to the section again Internet" and drag the parameter " Get specified URLs» into the workspace.

4 . Add a few favorite sites.

5 . From the second column, drag the parameter " Display web pages" into the workspace immediately below the block " Get specified URLs».

6 . In the menu bar, go to the section File → Save As... and save the new program.

By launching the created program in the default browser, all tabs of interest will open.

Downloading all images on a page

Undoubtedly a useful option for a number of professions such as designers, journalists, and ordinary users. With such a utility, you will no longer have to download dubious widgets or sort through pages with code. The only negative is that you can only work in the Safari browser. If you know a way to perform a similar operation with other browsers, be sure to post in the comments.

1. Repeat points 1-2.

2. Specify " Process».

3 . Go to the section " Internet", but this time drag the parameter " Get current page from Safari».

4 . Next, drag the parameter “ Get images URL from web page" and in it select the option " on these web pages».

5 . And at the end add the parameter “ Load URL" and, if necessary, specify the download folder.

6 . In the menu bar, go to the section File → Save As... and save the new program.

Now to download all the images, open the page of interest in Safari, go to the folder where you saved the script and run it.

Will open . All you have to do is press the button " Launch" in the upper right corner and wait until the files are downloaded.

Downloading all audio and video files from a page

Well, now we will create a more specific, but no less useful script, thanks to which downloading almost all media content will not be difficult.

1 . Repeat points 1-3 previous instructions.

2 . Now drag the parameter " Get link URLs from web pages" If you leave a checkmark in the checkbox, all audio and video files will be downloaded from the domain on which the page is located, and if you uncheck it, all files from the page will be downloaded, regardless of what domain they are located on.

3 . Add the parameter " Filter URL" Thanks to the filter, you can specify your request.

For example, if you want to download only MP3 files, then in the bundle “ Path - contains" add " .mp3" (without quotes), if the video is in MP4 - " .mp4", and so on.

4 . Well, now it remains to add the already familiar parameter through which we indicate the location for saving files - “ Load URL».

Downloading using this script is carried out in the same way as in the previous paragraph.

I downloaded a selection of Mozart’s compositions in one click, otherwise I would have had to download each track separately.

Run web pages as a separate application

I don’t know why such a script might be needed, but if it’s possible, then someone definitely needs it. You can tell us about your options for using this lotion in the comments.

1 . Run Automator → New Document → Program.

2 Get specified URLs" and add the web address of interest.

4 . In the menu bar, go to the section File → Save As... and save the new program.

By launching a new application (in our case, “Yablyk”), the specified website will open in a separate dark window. It will appear on top of all windows.

Opening titles containing specific keywords

Sometimes it can be difficult to find something useful even among hundreds of RSS headers. With Automator, you can run keyword searches among the titles of your favorite sites.

1 . Run Automator → New Document → Process.

2 . Drag the " Get specified URLs" and add an RSS link to the web address of interest.

To do this, go to the resource page and look for the icon or inscription with RSS. The link usually contains the word " feed».

4 . Drag the parameter " Extract URLs from articles" Attention! Some sites (including the website) require you to uncheck the box in order to receive addresses from different domains.

5 . All that remains is to add the parameter “ Display web pages».

6 . Save the script and click the " Launch» to initiate the process.

After launching in the browser by default, all tabs containing the specified will open keyword in the title.

And in the comments, be sure to write about your favorite use cases. .

The built-in automation tool “Automator” in Mac OS X can work wonders. However, many Mac growers ignore the program, considering it useless. To counter such judgments, here are five amazing Automator secrets from Snow Leopard.

1. Universal access to the media library

If you often work with iLife and iWork packages, then you are probably accustomed to using the built-in media browser - a panel that gives access to videos, photos and iTunes songs. However, due to the lack of this panel in other applications, users are forced to open the Videos, iPhoto or iTunes folder separately. Automator solves the problem.

Go to the Mac OS X Automation website and download the script

For example, to automate the backup of files from your desktop to another folder (for example, on another drive), specify the iCal Reminder template and create a sequence of actions like this: Get specified Find objects er, Get Folder Contents, and Copy Finder Items. (In the Files and folders section in the first column). Move the source folder for backup to the first step, leave Retrieve contents of folders as is, and in Copy Finder Objects specify the destination of the files (Backup folder). Now, when you click the Run button, you will see that all objects from the desktop will appear in the Backup folder. (To replace old files in a folder, check the “Replace existing files” checkbox).

When you save the process, the program will ask you to name the iCal Reminder, and then launch iCal with the event editing window. Here you can create a recurring event. For example, every day at 4:00 there will be backup all files from the desktop to another folder.

Note: Automator allows you to set up automatic desktop cleaning. Imagine, all the documents, photos, videos and other files accumulated during the day are miraculously sorted into the right folders when you turn off the computer. Setup instructions

4. Automatic import and slideshow

Automator includes an image capture plugin that is also incredibly useful. Create a new album in iPhoto (File -> New Album) and name it Photos of the Day. Open Automator, start new process and select the Image Capture Plugin template. In the first window, in the Libraries section, select the Photos object and create a process as follows: View photos, Import files into iPhoto, Get selected iPhoto photos, Play iPhoto slideshow.

In the Import Files to iPhoto action, specify Existing Album and Photos of the Day, and in the Get Selected iPhoto Albums, select Albums from the drop-down menu (which will change the action name to Get Selected Albums). Save the process (File -> Save) and name it Review and Slideshow.

Now connect your camera to your Mac (this could be an iPhone or iPad). Open Image Capture and at the bottom of the window, click Browse and Slideshow. Select the appropriate images and click the Import button. Now comes the fun part. After a couple of seconds, the View Image window will appear with the first photo, where you need to use the Reject and Approve buttons to filter the photos for import into iPhoto. iPhoto will then open, add the verified images to your Photos of the Day album, and start the slideshow!

5. Text from PDF

If you are looking for an easy way to extract text from PDF files, use Automator. Create a new Automator process and select Program in the templates window. Start a process with the following actions: Retrieve selected objects from Finder (section Files and folders) and Extract PDF text(PDF files section). To make your text look better, switch to Rich Text in the Extract PDF Text step. Specify a location to store the file, such as the “PDF to RTF” folder from the Save output to drop-down menu.

Now save the Automator application to your desktop. When you're ready to convert, drag any PDF document to the icon of the created application. After this, Automator will extract all the text from the PDF and place it in a new Text Document inside the specified folder.