Is there any way that I can add automator itself to the list of services I can automate? For example right now I can go and add a launch application action to the workflow and within that action launch automator. Effectively this creates a level of control over automator but only by routing it through the utilities action item. I know that you can add new application action libraries to automator to control any app that releases a library for it. So is there one for automator? Where is it if there is?
Add actions to control automator to automator
applescriptautomator
Related Solutions
Tested this on 10.7.1, Automator 2.2.
- Workflow - for me this defaults to
~/Documents, but these can be saved anywhere you like. - Application - same as above. When saving a workflow/application for the first time, it even lets you change the type in the save dialog.
- Services -
~/Library/Services - Folder Action - The actual workflow is saved in
~/Library/Workflows/Applications/Folder Actions. When creating the folder action, it asks for a folder to 'attach' to in the dropdown at the top. The actions will apply to the folder you choose here. - Print Plugin -
~/Library/PDF Services - iCal Alarm -
~/Library/Workflows/Applications/iCal - Image Capture Plugin -
~/Library/Workflows/Applications/Image Capture
Easy way to find this out in case you forget - after creating/saving one of the types that doesn't prompt you right away for a save location, right click the proxy icon in the title bar to see the path:
Try searching for and adding a Get Specified Finder Items action before your Get Folder Contents actions. This allows you to select the folder of which you would like to get and sort the contents.
Hope this helps!
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Best Answer
Automator itself does not ship with self referencing Automator actions.
GUI Scripting
Alternative approaches include using GUI Scripting to automate interactions with the Automator application. See Accessibility Preferences and GUI Scripting for an example of how to set this up on recent versions of Mac OS X.
automator Command Line Tool
OS X includes an automator command line tool. You can use this tool to incorporate your Automator workflows into other scripts. Through this tool you can pass in variables and thus manipulate the workflow's behaviour.
Beyond Automator
You may find GUI Scripting and the corresponding What Me Do action fragile or unpredictable. If so, consider tools such as Sikuli to help automate your Mac.