Applescript Editor not recording

Question

Applescript Editor not recording

I was on the phone with Apple support today and when they couldn't figure out the problem, they just told me that they don't provide support for Applescript. I don't see how they can't provide support for their own software? I thought I was on the phone with MS.

Anyway, maybe someone can help me figure this out. When I open Script Editor and hit record, the only things that it will record are actions I make on Finder. Actions I make on iTunes, iCal, Address Book, etc. does nothing. About a month ago it worked just fine. I even used it on VPC. Now, I get nothing. Does anyone have any idea what it might be? What is really weird is that it also does not work on my iBook. I have the exact same problem. Could this be a software conflict?

Any help would be appreciated. Especially since Apple won't stand behind their product.

IBook G4 and G5 Quad, Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Posted on May 1, 2006 6:13 PM

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Answer 1

Camelot

Level 9

58,599 points

May 2, 2006 1:47 AM in response to Community User

This question has been asked many times before.

In order to record actions AppleScript requires support by the application - the application has to tell AppleScript what it's doing so that AppleScript can record the actions.

To date very few applications support recording. The Finder is one but few other applications do.

There isn't much you can do about this other than petition the application vendors (including Apple) to better support AppleScript in their apps.

On the other hand, recorded scripts are rarely optimized - they're too literal in many cases. They can be a useful introduction to working with an app but you'll find that most scripts need extensive editing before they're truly useful.

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Answer 2

May 2, 2006 7:43 AM in response to Community User

About a month ago it worked just fine. I even used it on VPC.

AFAIK this was never possible with AppleScript. Were you thinking of a third-party recording app? While AppleScript is advertised as a user-level technology, it's supported as a developer-level technology. This means no* telephone support. In Script Editor help you'll find links to Apple's online documentation for AppleScript under the "Learning more" section. For free one-on-one support this and other AppleScript communities are your best option. Welcome!

* Limited telephone support is available to developers for a price.

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Answer 3

Cyclosaurus

Level 6

12,915 points

May 2, 2006 6:18 PM in response to Community User

It worked in the past so its
a software issue. I am curious if anyone has a fix.

Yes, in OS-9 and earlier, Apple broke it starting with OS-X.

Most of Apples own apps simple don't work, the irony is some third party apps do work. 🙂

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Answer 4

May 3, 2006 2:46 AM in response to Community User

If you're trying to record Classic applications then you can use the classic Script Editor:
/Applications (Mac OS 9)/Apple Extras/AppleScript/Script Editor

Note that the classic Finder does not exist on new machines. But you can record actions in, for example, classic QuickTime Player:
/Applications (Mac OS 9)/QuickTime/QuickTime Player

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Answer 5

Camelot

Level 9

58,599 points

May 3, 2006 6:24 AM in response to Community User

> There are many applications that support applescript

There are many applications that support AppleScript.
There are not many applications that support AppleScript Recording.

An application can support AppleScript, give rich access to its objects and data and allow you to automate it up the wazoo and still not give you a single line of AppleScript when you try to record its actions.

Supporting AppleScript and supporting AppleScript Recording are not the same thing.

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Answer 6

May 2, 2006 5:46 PM in response to Michael Henley

There are many applications that support applescript. I tried everything I have that says it is supported and it did not worked. It worked in the past so its a software issue. I am curious if anyone has a fix.

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