How to get around Required "open" of MY OWN Automator Apps EACH time ... AGAIN!?

Question

How to get around Required "open" of MY OWN Automator Apps EACH time ... AGAIN!?

Will try to remain calm, but I am at my wits end with Apple right now.

Backstory, when Apple released Yosemite they started giving nag notices for all apps that aren't from the App Store. Fine. Security is good. But it also was happening from the little 2-step Automator applications I created to run the automation for my community's nonprofit radio station. Making hours of work for me as I had to either say up until wee hours of morning to click on the "open" button when the calendar events were scheduled to open Smart Playlists I created.

I thought that was behind me. Then this morning I screen shared in (more on that) and saw a notice that a restart had paused because a user was connected. I have periodic restarts set up to help with other mysterious bugs that appear to be fixed by restarting. Only I was greeted with install. I had not clicked on install in App Store or anywhere else so this surprised me. When the install completed I couldn't screen share in. So I had to drive to the studio. What I found was ALL of my sharing settings were now unchecked!

Anyway, now I am back to where I was months ago with Yosemite. I am required to click "OPEN" each time a calendar event tries to open one of the automator scripts (all they do is choose a smart playlist and then play it!).

I am not a programmer, and neither are any of the volunteers at the studio. Do I need to code sign these little apps so I don't have repeats of this with every OS update?

If you got through that here is a little more detail.

I create Automator Applications which Get Specified iTunes Item (smart playlists I created) and then Play Playlist. Those are saved as Applications in the Applications folder. Then I create a calendar event, and using the custom alerts to open the application I created. This is how my radio station rebroadcasts show.

It doesn't matter what preference I use in Security Settings of System Preferences. Even turning off the safety net results in the same thing.

I have asked this question here previously and have not had a solution, so dazzle me!

Posted on May 6, 2015 11:19 AM

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Answer 1

May 6, 2015 3:30 PM in response to rickscullyvermont

I create AppleScript applications, and Automator applications, workflows, and services. I am not prompted with an open challenge when these are run. They work fine.

In System Preferences ▸ Users & Groups, I have allow user to administer this computer checked.
In System Preferences ▸ Security & Privacy, under Accessibility, I have Automator and AppleScript checked.

Do these settings make a difference in your Automator application behavior?

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Answer 2

May 7, 2015 5:35 AM in response to VikingOSX

VikingOS

I did not have Automator set to allow control of the computer, but even after following your instructions above, I am still having the issue. Maybe it will help if I describe what I am doing.

I create a simple 2-step Automator Application that Gets Specified iTunes Item (A Smart Playlist) and then Play iTunes Playlist. I export this as an Application. I know I can export it as a Calendar Event, but problem is that since Yosemite when I do this the calendar event wants to run as soon as I click save! (it used to just create the calendar event). This is problematic because it means I must schedule the time I create new items to when there is a live person in the studio because otherwise it will interrupt whatever is playing in iTunes.
I create a new Calendar event and using the Custom Alert setting to open the app I created as a particular time. (Don't get me started that these files NEVER open at the time of event as they should and instead start 50 secs or so after the computers clock reads.)

This allows me to play any content I have in Smart playlists at a particular time.

What happened back in October, with introduction of Yosemite, is that at when the calendar event opens the sequence it now stops and prompts me to open the application/file for the first time. That is problematic on many levels, but mostly because some of the calendar events fire in the middle of the night. So I navigated to the folder where the Automator apps are and I right-click and Open. This starts the Smart Playlist with no problem, and usually means the next time the scheduled calendar event occurs the file plays fine.

Or so I thought. With the introduction of 10.10.3 the entire calendar now must be redone again.

I need a solution that won't require me to do this every time Apple releases an OS update.

I am open to any permanent solution, and am even willing to code sign, BUT I am not a programmer (and shouldn't need to be to open Automator apps on my own computer) and my eyes glaze over when I try to learn.

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