I see that being able to open password protected iWork files from AppleScript is now possible from 11.0 and up.. I am running Keynote 11.1 and the dictionairy for Keynote, Pages and Numbers do not specicfy how to open a password protected document. It only shows how to remove the password once the document is opened. Has anyone had any luck opeiong a password protected iWorks file from Applescript?
If the password is set by you and remembered in your keychain, then as long as the Keynote document resides in your home directory, it will just open normally in Keynote v11.1 by getting the password from the keychain. Otherwise, when you attempt to open the password-protected Keynote document, you will get a password entry dialog which Keynote has no means to autofill by any AppleScript effort:
Keynote v11.1, macOS 11.4
I think a script will start to open a document. But as far as I can tell it won't "feed in" a password, perhaps because that would render security measures meaningless.
Instead the user is prompted to enter a password (perhaps via Touch ID if the password is saved in a keychain) and then a script can remove the password and save the file.
SG
Yes, there is Keynote AppleScript dictionary support to set or remove a password from a document. In either case, you would need to provide a plain-text password in your AppleScript which is not sensible, or capture the output of a display dialog with a hidden answer and then pass that variable to either the set or remove password verbs. I haven't tested that to see if it would work.
Sure you can open a password-protected document as I described previously, but there is no means for Keynote to do so without your manually entering the password for that document whose password was not stored in Keychain. You read too much into that quoted context from that What's new in Keynote for Mac content.
What about this blurb from Keynote 11's release notes:
Use AppleScript to change a presentation password or open password-protected presentations.
from: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207247
To me, that reads it is 100% possible to open password-protected presentation files.
I think the idea is that you have to set the password manually. Once that's done it is now possible to use AppleScript to open it (and change it). Which of these are you trying to do?
SG
I am in need of the same. I have hundreds of iWork files with multiple passwords that can be used to open the files. Being able to script in the password attempts would be a huge time saver.
But since it's not possible, I got to waste an entire day manually attempting to open the files and remove passwords. Something that should have taken less than 5 minutes (as with MS Office files) took multiple hours.
BMayhem wrote:
Being able to script in the password attempts would be a huge time saver.
A huge time saver for hackers too! Right.
If someone has gone to the trouble to set passwords on documents then one has to presume that was done for a reason.
SG
I understand where you are coming from, but load of other tools allow command line options to open a password protected file, compression tools, microsoft office.. with your logic, turning on a computer could do harm so it would be best to not turn on the computer.
Believe me, I understand what you are saying. But the release notes say:
Keynote changelog:
Which at face value is not true. It cannot open password protected files via apple script.
Alternative point of view, it was always possible, you just have to manually enter the password.
I have no desire to argue with you or go way off topic on semantics.
Thank you and good day sir.
You can give feedback to Apple via Keynote > Provide Keynote Feedback in your menu. Perhaps they could have tweaked the wording of the release notes to prevent misunderstandings.
To me, though, the behavior is consistent with the wording. As in my example above, it is indeed now possible open a password-protected document with AppleScript, remove the password and save it again, without entirely opening up documents to automated hacking. For me that emphasis on security (requiring user input at a critical point) is a good thing!
SG
Thank you for your input.
I don't think I read too much into the release notes, I just think they are not truthful. I guess it's just not possible like it is with Microsoft Office documents..
Keynote changelog:
Anyone have any luck?
I am trying to build a script that I can feed in a password, open a keynote file, remove password, save file.
True, but there are also good reasons to be able to quickly unlock files too. You have to remember that not everything is for nefarious purposes.
How can Keynote and AppleScript differentiate between valid and “nefarious” requests?
Except by asking for a password if security concerns were enough to justify the inconvenience of setting one.
SG
how to open a password protected file from Applescript?
