Remove the quoted form of POSIX path

Use code such as:

items 2 thru -2 of "\"/Users/conmeubonailleuco/Temporaire/converted/01.One Way Ticket.mp3\"" as string

(139074)

Once you've gotten the quoted string, run it through the line I posted above, putting it just after 'of' in the line.

(139077)

If the list only contains one string, use code such as:

set str to "(\"/Users/conmeubonailleuco/Temporaire/converted/02.Knockers.mp3\")"

set str to (items 3 thru -3 of str as string)

return str

For lists with multiple strings:

set str to paragraphs of "(

\"/Users/conmeubonailleuco/Temporaire/converted/01.One Way Ticket.mp3\",

\"/Users/conmeubonailleuco/Temporaire/converted/02.Knockers.mp3\"

)"

set str_new to (item 1 of str) & return

repeat with this_paragraph from 2 to (count str) - 1

set str_new to str_new & (items 1 thru 2 of item this_paragraph of str as string) & (items 4 thru -2 of item this_paragraph of str as string) & return

if item -2 of str_new is "\"" then set str_new to (items 1 thru -3 of str_new as string) & return

end repeat

set str_new to str_new & item -1 of str

The previous line was designed to be used on individual strings, instead of a list of them.

(139078)

For lists formatted the way in this thread, it's only easily removable for single-item lists. For AppleScript's own lists, it's also easily removable; a list of this type will look like:

{"/Users/conmeubonailleuco/Temporaire/converted/01.One Way Ticket.mp3", "/Users/conmeubonailleuco/Temporaire/converted/02.Knockers.mp3"}

(139081)

Hello

I guess you're talking about the backslash + quote in result of an applescript like the following:

- applescript

do shell script "automator -i 'a 1.txt a 2.txt a 3.txt' ~/Desktop/a.workflow"

- ~/Desktop/a.workflow

Run Shell Script aciton

{

shell => /bin/bash,

pass input => as arguments,

code => as follows

}

for f in "$@" do echo "$f" done

- result (in result pane/window of (Apple)Script Editor)

"( \"a 1.txt\", \"a 2.txt\", \"a 3.txt\" )"

If it is the case, these backslashes along with the enclosing quotes at the beginning and the end are only in result pane/window of (Apple)Script Editor and actual resultant text printed by /usr/bin/automator is:

( "a 1.txt", "a 2.txt", "a 3.txt" )

However, this simply demonstrates how /usr/bin/automator is broken by design, which does not conform to standard unix command conventions with regards to passing arguments and printing outputs. Especially its output format is quite useless and cannot be used in pipe in normal means. Indeed the output should have been:

a 1.txt a 2.txt a 3.txt

and command invocation should have been:

/usr/bin/automator ~/Desktop/a.workflow 'a 1.txt' 'a 2.txt' 'a 3.txt'

---

Do you have any particular reason to use this flawed command via "do shell script" command in applescript? It seems to me very peculiar and overly complicated approach considering the fact that you're trying to use the output from /usr/bin/automator.

Regards,

H

Yes, you're correct. Automator is a vehicle without steering. I would avoid automator in the first place rather than wasting time in clearing up its mess...

As for the useless output from /usr/bin/automator, you can neither use it as input to next shell command nor next automator action without clearing those stupid parentheses, quotes, commas and indent spaces.

Here're some options:

1) Provided that the external automator workflow you're invoking by /usr/bin/automator via "do shell script" command consists of a Run Shell Script action, invoke the shell script in the action directly by "do shell script" command in AppleScript. In other words, write everything in AppleScript or shell script without resorting to some poor Automator facility.

E.g., Given that shell script in a Run Shell Script action is as follows:

#!/bin/bash for f in "$@" do echo "$f" done

and a workflow ~/Desktop/a.workflow consisting of the single action is invoked by /usr/bin/automator as follows:

do shell script "/usr/bin/automator -i 'file 1 file 2 file 3' ~/Desktop/a.workflow"

then replace it with the following:

do shell script "/bin/bash -s <<'EOF' - 'file 1' 'file 2' 'file 3' for f in \"$@\" do echo \"$f\" done EOF"

which will return:

file 1 file 2 file 3

and you may convert it into AppleScript list by getting the pargraphs of it.

2) Bother yourself to clear up the output's mess of /usr/bin/automator.

E.g., Given the same assumptions in 1), use this:

do shell script "/usr/bin/automator -i 'file 1 file 2 file 3' ~/Desktop/a.workflow | sed -En 's/\"?,?$//; s/[[:space:]]+\"?(.*)$/\\1/p'"

which will return:

file 1 file 2 file 3

* Note that the sed(1) code in 2) only works with workflow with Run Shell Script action because Run AppleScript action yields output in different format when run by /usr/bin/automator. Also in 2), you cannot handle filename containing linefeed character due to the limitation of /usr/bin/automator whereas you can handle it in 1) by adapting shell script and AppleScript so as to use \0 for output line separator.

Observed and tested under OS X 10.6.8. Later versions may possibly vary.

Good luck,

H

Addendum.

You mentioned modularity. So here's an alternative version of previous option 1).

1a) Save the shell script in the Run Shell Script action as separate file (as a modular command) and invoke it by do shell script command.

E.g., Given the same assumptions in 1), save the shell script:

#!/bin/bash for f in "$@" do echo "$f" done

in ~/Desktop/a.sh and invoke it by the following:

do shell script "~/Desktop/a.sh 'file 1' 'file 2' 'file 3'" result's paragraphs

which will return AppleScript list:

{"file 1", "file 2", "file 3"}

Regards,

H

Hello

You get the said error because you're passing the whole (theWorkflow & theOptions) as the workflow argument to /usr/bin/automator. Also your sed code is missing the trailing apostrophe.

Correction would be as follows. I have changed some variable names and added code to build -i argument of /usr/bin/automator.

set theFiles to {"/path/to/file1.flac", "/path/to/file2.flac"} set theArgs to "" repeat with f in theFiles set theArgs to theArgs & f & linefeed end repeat if theArgs ends with linefeed then set theArgs to theArgs's text 1 thru -2 -- theArgs = "/path/to/file1.flac" & linefeed & "/path/to/file2.flac" set theWorkflow to "/Users/conmeubonailleuco/Library/Mobile Documents/com~apple~Automator/Documents/Encode Audio Files.workflow" set thePostprocessor to " | sed -En 's/\"?,?$//; s/[[:space:]]+\"?(.*)$/\\1/p'" set theAutomatorScript to "automator -i " & theArgs's quoted form & " " & theWorkflow's quoted form do shell script theAutomatorScript & thePostprocessor

Regards,

H

I have revised sed code so as to handle escaped quote and escaped backslash in output of /usr/bin/automator correctly.

You may replace:

set thePostprocessor to " | sed -En 's/\"?,?$//; s/[[:space:]]+\"?(.*)$/\\1/p'"

with:

set thePostprocessor to " | sed -En 's/\"?,?$//; s/[\\]\"/\"/g; s/[\\]{2}/\\\\/g; s/[[:space:]]+\"?(.*)$/\\1/p'"

Regards,

H