Re: GUI Scripting requierments
Re: GUI Scripting requierments
- Subject: Re: GUI Scripting requierments
- From: Paul Berkowitz <email@hidden>
- Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2006 11:06:05 -0700
- Thread-topic: GUI Scripting requierments
On 4/10/06 10:42 AM, "Christopher Nebel" <email@hidden> wrote:
> On Apr 10, 2006, at 5:30 AM, patrick machielse wrote:
>
>> I have a question about GUI scripting; is there a document that
>> outlines the requirements for applications to support GUI scripting?
>>
>> I've noticed that some programs won't support it. The only mention
>> I've come across on apple.com says that GUI Scripting works on
>> 'most non-Classic' programs.
>>
>> Obviously, some non-Classic programs don't support it, but which ones?
>> Some Java apps, some Carbon apps, some QTApps?
>
> Essentially, the application has to be "accessibility-aware". GUI
> scripting works using the same hooks that all the other accessibility
> technologies -- such as full keyboard navigation and VoiceOver --
> use. Exactly what you have to do to support these hooks depends on
> how you write your application, but there's a broad outline at
> <http://developer.apple.com/referencelibrary/GettingStarted/
> GS_Accessibility/>. The short answer is that if an application uses
> all standard controls (buttons, checkboxes, etc.), then it's all
> taken care of for them. If they roll their own controls, then they
> have to do some work to make them accessible.
That web page refers to Accessibility features as being available in OS 10.2
and later. But - as I best recall - the extension to GUI scripting via
System Events' Processes Suite was added in a beta version of Sytsym Events
for OS 10.2.? no longer available, The minimum OS for GUI Scripting access
(support) is 10.3 Panther.
Then there's the whole issue of "which applications?", which, from a
scripter's point of view, has to be discovered via trial and error. As a
rough rule, virtually all Cocoa apps work mostly fine, so if you know an app
is Cocoa, it will usually work. (As Chris says, the developers may have
added custom controls that don't work, but it's uncommon.) For Carbon apps,
you really have to test them out. Carbon apps that are legacy apps from OS 8
days are ones that are especially likely to be resistant. Frequently menu
item selection works but buttons don't (e.g. Entourage).
>From a practical point of view, the best thing to do is get Prefab's UI
Browser. Not only is it by far the best way to do actual GUI scripting, but
it will tell you at a glance which controls are "viewable" by GUI scripting
and how to refer to them. You still have to test them out, though.
--
Paul Berkowitz
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