Any users of PreFab UI Actions?

Scripting Forums AppleScript | Mac OS X
#1

I’m having some trouble creating my first attached script with UA Actions, was hoping to get a little help from someone else who has been through the process.

–Kevin

#2

Kevin,

If you can post the text of the script you’re having problems with, someone might be able to take a look at it and help, but without specifics, we aren’t able to be much help.

#3

Kevin,

I wrote PreFab UI Actions. If that’s the software you’re asking about, give me a specific description of what you’re doing that isn’t working, and I’ll see what I can do to help. Feel free to e-mail us directly at the PreFab e-mail address given in the documentation, if you prefer.

Bill Cheeseman

#4

How’s that for support, Kevin? Hope you’ll keep us posted here - I don’t always find UI Actions transparent to use either.

Adam

#5

I e-mailed ya Bill (from Clorox), no word back yet. :wink:

I usually try to cover my bases here to keep projects moving. Not all (most?) companies are not all that, shall we say, responsive?

Basically I can’t get UI Actions to respond to anything Illustrator CS is doing. Scripts that attach to selecting menu items, which worked in tests with other applications, just do nothing in Illustrator. I’ve checked with UI Browser that Illustrator seems to be able to respond to all kinds of UI events, but UI Actions doesn’t seem to be getting the messages. For example, this…


tell application "UI Actions"
	set affected_element to affected UI element of UI action "Adobe Illustrator CS-AXMenuItemSelected"
end tell

tell application "System Events"
	tell process "Adobe Illustrator CS"
		set event_value to title of affected_element
	end tell
end tell

tell application "Finder"
	display dialog event_value with icon note buttons {"OK"} default button "OK"
end tell

…if I set it up for other applications like Script Debugger, works just peachy. I wrote thise just to make sure I wasn’t doing something wrong–just to verify via an “echo” that UI Actions and the target application were on speaking terms with each other… What I have in mind is much more complicated. :wink:

But the above does not work in Illustrator CS (11.0.0). I haven’t tried InDesign CS yet, as I need that working too.

FWIW: I’m not blaming Prefab, I know Adobe products to be annoying beasts to script. Like the whole “Photoshop has to be commanded by JavaScript” or “buy this special book in order to script me” business. bleh bad as Microsoft. I’m just here to solve a problem for my employer. :slight_smile:

–Kevin

#6

It wasn’t so bad once I wrapped my head around the syntax. More convoluted than I thought it would be, but I knew in advance that UI scripting of any sort is tricky and annoying. I originally was after UI Browser (man what a handy tool!), I got UI Actions as something to fiddle with. I like keeping my toolbox flexible.

One habit I’m still getting into is not jumping straight into a “solution” and solve all the “sub problems” separately first. Start with snippets, then put it all together. Alot less of a troubleshooting headache. :wink:

Hence I was frustrated bu UI Actions at first because it didn’t seem to work. So tried something really, REALLY basic to make sure it worked, then moved that knowledge to the more complex issue.

I’m betting either the syntax to capture Illustrator’s UI goings-ons is a bit different or it simply doesn’t work with Illustrator. Or I’ve run-afoul some odd UNIX security issue on our corporate profile. :wink: