Basic help with Automator?
Basic help with Automator?
- Subject: Basic help with Automator?
- From: davec <email@hidden>
- Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 11:41:57 -0700
I'm trying to automate copying & pasting of highlighted text from
Firefox to another app (MagicJack). I do this all the time, manually,
so I know it's possible.
I start Automator and drag the action "Copy to clipboard" to the right pane.
Then -- since there is no action regarding pasting text -- I choose
"Watch Me Do".
I click the Automator's Record button
I press Cmd-Tab to bring MagicJack to the front and press Cmd-V.
I click Automator's Stop button.
The resulting steps in the script(?) now include several "Cmd" steps
(I presume these are really "Cmd-Tab" although they don't say this)
which I delete, leaving just the "Cmd-V" next to the icon for the
MagicJack app.
I want this to be available in the contextual menu (ie, when I
right-click) so I save it as a Plug-In called "Dial Phone Number".
I have 2 problems.
1) When I click on the Run button at the top of the Automator window,
nothing happens. Something apparently runs (I hear a beep when it's
finished), but there is no indication that anything has been copied
or pasted (I highlighted some text in the Automator window to provide
a source for the Copy command).
What am I doing wrong?
(I note that the description of the "Copy To Clipboard" action says
"Text passed in from the previous action". There is no previous
action, only the highlighted text in the frontmost application
window. Is this valid input to this action?)
2) There is no Automator item in the contextual menu. How do I add this?
And a real newbie question: why are there 3 Contextual Menu Items folders:
Library/Contextual Menu Items
System/Library/Contextual Menu Items
~/Library/Contextual Menu Items
I presume this relates to scope: if you want an action available to
one user or all users, you choose the appropriate destination for
your action?
I'm fumbling with the basics. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Dave
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