MacOS – How to provide a default value to the “Ask For Text” automator function

automatormacos

I'm working on an Automator app that receives folders. So far it looks like this:

  • Set Value of Variable (var1)
  • Ask For Text (default answer set to "00000 Sample Job Name")
  • Set Value of Variable (var2)
  • execute bash script

Automator screengrab
Right now one issue that is bothering me is that when I run the app, the dialog that appears for "Ask for text" does not offer "00000 Sample Job Name" as the default, but rather the file path that was passed to the app and assigned to var1.

Why the heck would that be?

Automator 2.5, Mac OS X 10.10.5

Best Answer

Enable "Ignore this action's input" for the "Ask for Text" action to retain the default value you have specified.