[OS X] Using workflow services

[Joonikko]

Here's a little "tutorial" / PSA about creating and using Automator workflows on OS X since I don't think a lot of people even know that this feature exists and how much time & effort it can save.

You can easily create a workflow service using Automator. Open it and create new "Service" (or alternatively you can just create a workflow and move it to the "~/Library/Services" folder manually).

Here's a screenshot of the "spaces to underscores" script

File with all of the workflows from my ~/Library/Services folder:https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/43554214/OSX/services_12-10-2013.zip

Includes the following Automator workflows:
- File name modification: (replace spaces with underscores and vice versa)
- Sequential file renaming (currently just set to file_001, file_002...)
- Image conversion (JPG, PNG, PSD, TGA, TIFF)
- Image resizing
- Change text case: (ALL CAPS, Initial caps, lowercase, Sentence case)


How to install:
1) Open Finder
2) press cmd+shift+G
3) type ~/Library/Services
4) Move all the files to the folder

For the use of the image conversion & resizing scripts, you'll need to install Python 3.2 since they rely on the concurrent.futures module (link included below) and you'll also need to make the Python 3.2 the default version to run when typing "python" in terminal, this is done by running the following command:

sudo cp /usr/local/bin/python3 /usr/bin/python

Demo video:
[video] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZsRLiJj8oI [/video]



Sources & other links:

- http://www.python.org/getit/releases/3.2/
- http://polygonspixelsandpaint.tumblr.com/post/15187344510
- https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/Darwin/Reference/ManPages/man1/sips.1.html
- http://arstechnica.com/information-...timate-creative-content-os-ubercreate-os-1-0/

I hope this helped somebody.
- Joonikko

 

[WaLLy]

Automator is freaking awesome! I don't use it as often but it came quite handy at my old work place.

 

[Titoezz]

Should use Automator more often... Makes me feel like a windows user though, as most things don't work out of the box in windows :troll2:

 

[Kreubs]

Should use Automator more often... Makes me feel like a windows user though, as most things don't work out of the box in windows :troll2:

Problem between keyboard and chair... :rolleyes:

I wish I knew how to use python better