Mac: Automator - a little tutorial

In our Mac Automator tutorial you will learn how to use the versatile program. There are many possible uses and programs you create yourself can save a lot of work and time.

Mac Automator: Choose template

1. Start the "Automator" program in the Applications folder on your Mac.
2. You can then create a new project by clicking on "New Document" at the bottom left.
3. Now you have to select a template. For a program that automatically performs actions for you, you should use the "Program" template.
4. The user interface of the program is now divided into several columns. On the left side you will see the "Library" templates. This includes pre-prepared process steps such as reading files.

Using the Mac Automat interface

In Mac Automator, you can select and connect different building blocks to create workflows:

• On the left side of the program you will find ready-made blocks that the Mac Automator provides for you. You can choose from these when building your own program.
• In the large column on the right you will find the blocks you have selected. Here you can configure and move individual steps. You can drag elements from the list on the left and look at the possible options.
• In the lower part you see a text field with information. If you click on some of the ready-made modules on the left side, you can read an explanation of the procedure in the lower area.

Tutorial on the most important Automator components

You will need some of the pre-made actions for almost every Automator program. Here is an explanation of the key elements:

• "Files & Folders"> "Ask for Finder Objects": This module asks you at the beginning of a process for files that can then be used later. You will need this element for almost every program.
• "Files & Folders"> "Copy / Move / Duplicate Finder Objects": Copying and moving files is important so that you can continue to use the original files despite changes to the data.
• "Files & Folders"> "Find Finder Objects": If you want to automatically search your computer for specific files - for example, filtered by the creation date - you can use this element.
• "Movies"> "Media encoding": With this module you can have videos automatically encoded with Quicktime. The quality and compatibility can be changed in the settings of the element.
• "Music"> "Import files to iTunes": This element accepts files from the "Ask for Finder Objects" operation and adds them to an iTunes playlist. For example, you could use it to search media for music and automatically add found tracks.

Now that you have got to know the most important elements, you can start your first Automator program. In another tutorial, we will explain how to use the Automator to automatically rename files.