Re: iWork Pages
Re: iWork Pages
- Subject: Re: iWork Pages
- From: T&B <email@hidden>
- Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2005 10:48:58 +1100
I'm not. It's easy to tell if an application is scriptable:
Is it an apple app? It's probably not scriptable.
38 Total Apps
-------------------------
30 Supported
6 limited or unsupported
Well done for pointing out that some Apple programs are actually quite
scriptable (while a few are dismal). Yes, Apple's scripting support has
certainly come a long way. But the lack of scripting support in Pages
just baffles me, for many reasons:
1. Apple seems to always be preaching "it's easy to make your Cocoa
applications scriptable" and generally encouraging developers to make
their applications scriptable. But they (at least the Pages team) don't
practice what they preach - I loathe hypocrisy. I don't want to see
Apple bringing in AppleScript support as an afterthought, after
preaching to others to incorporate it from the ground up. Practice what
you preach.
2. Possibly the most stand out arena for AppleScript is in automating
desktop publishing work flow. I recall seeing several examples and case
studies, such as a video extolling how the LA Times (or similar) had
saved hundreds of thousands of dollars by scripting Quark XPress to
handle it's text and picture layout etc. Desktop publishing is the
obvious and historically valued beneficiary of AppleScript solutions.
Granted, Pages might not be quickly adopted by large design houses, but
its abilities (especially in image management) far exceed AppleWorks
which has already satisfied the publishing needs of many businesses.
3. Automator is the new (yet to be released) visual scripting
environment for AppleScript. I've seen demos promoting the automating
of downloading pictures from the Internet or camera, placing them in a
document, and outputting in some final form, etc. Pages is the logical
and perhaps only affordable program that seems available for end print
production. How can they possibly promote Automator in this fashion
without having the new Apple brandad desktop publishing program "in the
fold".
4. Apple says "we're building iWork as the successor to AppleWorks". It
look a few years of badgering, but Apple eventually incorporated a
fairly extensive object model in AppleWorks (It still needed work, but
it had a good basis. I consulted on some last minute scripting testing
for the AppleWorks 6 release). iWork has gone back to zero AppleScript
support. To start all over again is absolutely painful.
5. While iWork is "being built" (ie adding features that it obviously
needs, like spreadsheet integration), AppleScript could obviously make
it more usable, with developers and users extending its abilities,
leveraging off other programs.
Sal, I suspect you've thrown your hands up in the air in disbelief over
this one, as I have. But, come on, what is Apple thinking?
Tom
T&B
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