New ebook: AppleScript+Xcode GUI App Source Collection

Piyomaru · June 24, 2025, 9:20am

I wrote brand-new ebook about AppleScriptObjC (AppleScript GUI App on Xcode) in Japanese.

AppleScript+Xcode GUI App Source Collection (Includes 170 Xcode Projects)

https://piyomarusoft.booth.pm/items/7090396

For those who want to develop macOS GUI apps using AppleScript and Xcode (AppleScriptObjC). 382-page PDF + Zip Archive

This book puts an end to the fragmented information on the web by providing 170 practical Xcode projects that are guaranteed to work. These projects have been confirmed to build as Universal Binaries that run on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. We have minimized complex jargon and technical explanations to focus thoroughly on “code that works.”

Through 30 chapters of simple and easy-to-understand examples covering the manipulation of major GUI components, you can efficiently acquire practical know-how cultivated through Mac App Store app development. There’s no longer a need to rely on uncertain code generated by AI like ChatGPT.

Aimed at those who understand the basics of AppleScript and Xcode, this book will be a one-of-a-kind “working blueprint” to take your Mac app development to the next level.

Window Basics
- Different Creation Methods for Single vs. Multiple Windows
- Main Operations on Windows from AppleScript
- Events Receivable from Windows
- Structure of Window-Related Sample Projects
- Note: Handler Description and Connection Display
Window Operation Examples
- Detecting Window Close
- Replacing Window Content
- Centering a Window on the Screen
- Getting Window Origin Coordinates and Size
- Forcing a Window to Display + Bring to Front
- Making a Window Fullscreen
- Quitting the App When a Window is Closed
- Forcibly Closing a Window
- Changing Window Stacking Order
- Colored Windows
- Translucent (Frosted Glass Effect) Windows
- Transparent Windows
Panel/HUD Panel Operation Examples
- Panels and HUD Panels
Dark Mode Support
- Making Windows, Menus, etc. Dark Mode Compatible

■ Chapter 3: Buttons

Button Basics
- What Buttons Can Do
- Main Operations on Buttons from AppleScript
- Events Receivable from Buttons
- Structure of Button-Related Sample Projects
- Note: Handler Description and Connection Display
Push Buttons + Others
- Detecting Button Clicks
- Identifying Clicks on Multiple Buttons
- Controlling the Enabled State of Multiple Buttons
- Identifying Clicks on Multiple Toolbar Buttons
- Dynamic Button Creation
- Dynamic Button Creation (Scroll View)
- Dynamic Button Creation/Deletion
- Receiving Events with an External Script
- Specifying Color for Button Title Text
Popup Buttons
- Initializing Popup Buttons
- Getting the Selected Item from a Popup Button
Combo Boxes
- Initializing Combo Boxes
- Adding Input Values to a Combo Box
- Getting the Value of a Combo Box
- Clearing the Selection of a Combo Box
Segmented Controls
- Identifying Selection in a Segmented Control
- Enabling/Disabling a Segmented Control
Switches
- Getting the State of a Switch
- Setting the Value of a Switch
Radio Buttons
- Detecting the Selected Radio Button
- Selecting an Arbitrary Radio Button
Checkboxes
- Creating Checkboxes
- Setting the Value of a Checkbox
- Getting the Value of a Checkbox
Toolbar Buttons
- Identifying Clicks on a Segmented Control in a Toolbar
- Changing the Toolbar Display Mode
- Switching Between Multiple Toolbars
Detecting Button Double-Clicks
- Creating a Class for Double-Click Detection

■ Chapter 4: Text Fields

Text Field Basics
- What Text Fields Can Do
- Main Operations from AppleScript
Text Fields
- Reading from and Writing to a Text Field
- Reading/Writing with a Placeholder
- Showing/Hiding a Text Field
- Detecting the End of Editing in a Text Field
- Forcing Text Input Mode (Hiragana/Romaji)
- Truncating Text Field Content
Secure Text Fields
- Getting the Content of a Secure Text Field
- Setting Text in a Secure Text Field
Wrapping Text Fields
- Setting Text to a Field
- Getting the Text Content of a Field
- Setting Formatted Text to a Field
- Getting the Formatted Text Content of a Field
Steppers
- Manipulating a Field’s Value with a Stepper

■ Chapter 5: Text Views

Text Views
- Getting Formatted Text from a Text View
- Setting Formatted Text in a Text View
- Setting Formatted Text with Modified Line Spacing in a Text View
- Getting Plain Text from a Text View
- Setting Plain Text in a Text View
- Getting the Formatted Text of the Selection in a Text View
- Getting the Plain Text of the Selection in a Text View
- Loading Plain Text and Forcing Scroll to the End
- Loading Styled Text and Forcing Scroll to the End

■ Chapter 6: Date Pickers

Date Pickers
- Changing Date Picker Settings
- Setting the Date in a Date Picker
- Getting Date Data from a Date Picker
Calendar Pickers
- Setting the Date in a Calendar Picker
- Getting Date Data from a Calendar Picker
- Reference: Displaying a Calendar Picker

■ Chapter 7: Image Views

Image Views
- Loading an Image into an Image View
- Saving an Image from an Image View
- Taking a Photo with an iOS Device Camera and Loading It
- Loading an Image into an Image View + Applying a Filter (CI Filter)
Color Wells
- Setting Color Information in a Color Well
- Getting Color Information from a Color Well (RGB Values)

■ Chapter 8: Path Controls

Path Controls
- Setting Path Information in a Path Control
- Getting Path Information from a Path Control
- Setting File Types that Can Be Received
- Setting to Receive Folders Only

■ Chapter 9: Sliders

Sliders
- Sharing a Slider’s Value Among Multiple Components
Circular Sliders
- Sharing a Slider’s Value Among Multiple Components
Level Indicators
- Displaying a Numerical Value with a Level Indicator

■ Chapter 10: Progress Indicators

Determinate Progress Bars
- Animating a Progress Bar
- Displaying a Progress Bar on the Dock Icon

■ Chapter 11: Table Views

Table View Overview
- Methods for Creating Table Views
Cell-Based Table Views
- Table View for Displaying Text
- Table View for Displaying Text + Level Indicators
- Table View for Displaying/Editing with a Popup
- Table View for Various Display/Editing
- DATASOURCE Format Not Recommended for Use
View-Based Table Views
- Text-Based Table View
- Table View with Text + Popup Menu

■ Chapter 12: Outline Views

Outline Views
- Creating Fixed Data for a Tree Controller
- Getting the Data of the Selected Row
- Editing Tree Data on the Screen
- Displaying Tree Data + Fixed Popup
- Displaying Tree Data + Variable Popup

■ Chapter 13: Split Views

Split Views
- Switching the Divider Direction of a Split View
- Loading a View into a Split View
Tab Views
- Switching the Displayed Tab in a Tab View
- Changing the Border Display of a Tab View

■ Chapter 14: Menus

Menus
- Using Menus
Dock Menus
- Using Dock Menus
Status Bar Menus
- Using Status Bar Menus
- Changing the Title and Icon

■ Chapter 15: Popovers

Popovers
- Displaying a Popover
- Closing a Popover
- Calculating Display Position from a Segmented Control

■ Chapter 16: Address Book People Picker

Address Book People Picker View
- To Use Address Book Data
- Displaying the Address Book and Getting Selected Data

■ Chapter 17: AVKit Player View

AVKit Player View
- Movie Playback
- Movie Playback + Cueing to a Fixed Second
- Detecting Silent Parts in a Movie + Cueing to Each Location

■ Chapter 18: MapKit View

MapKit View
- Map View Basics
- Displaying an Address in a Map View
- Displaying a Pin for a Specified Address on the Map
- Making the Map Display Type Changeable

■ Chapter 19: OSAKit View

OSAKit View
- Creating a Simple Script Editor
- Loading and Executing AppleScript
- Loading AppleScript and Getting the Execution Result

■ Chapter 20: PDFKit View

PDF View + Thumbnail View
- Displaying PDF Content and Thumbnail Images

■ Chapter 21: WebKit View

WebKit View
- Web View Basics
- Displaying Web Content ① (Online Content)
- Displaying Web Content ② (Local HTML or String)
Checking Internet Connection
- Checking Internet Connection
Downloading Web Content
- Downloading Web Content

■ Chapter 22: Services

Services
- Services Basics
- Xcode Project that Constitutes a Service
- Calling a Service Created with AppleScript

■ Chapter 23: Document-Based Apps

Document-Based App Basics
- Basics of Document-Based Apps
Explanation of Document-Based Apps
- Running a Document-Based App
- Document Open → Button Click Action Log
- Location of Internal Event Handling Scripts
- Processing When a Document is Opened
- Processing When a Document is Saved
- Pay Attention to Remaining Memory During Development/Operation of a Document-Based App

■ Chapter 24: External App Control

External App Operation
- Basics of External App Operation
- Settings for an External App Operation Project
- Calling an External App Operation Script
External App Operation (Sandboxed Version)
- External App Operation Settings within a Sandboxed App ①

■ Chapter 25: Making Apps Scriptable

Basics of Making Apps Scriptable
- Basics of Scriptable Apps
Creating an AppleScript Dictionary (sdef)
- First, Let’s Observe an Actual AppleScript Dictionary!
- A Look at the Contents of an AppleScript Dictionary
- Structure of an AppleScript Dictionary
- Structure of an AppleScript Dictionary/Command
- Items that Constitute Each Suite of an App
- Reference: Apple Events Codes of Major Apps
- Items to Decide When Creating a Command
- Creating a Minimal sdef with One Command
Adding an sdef to an Xcode Project
- AppleScript Support Work in an Xcode Project
- Adding a Program to be Called from AppleScript
- Processing the Command Execution Part
Calling from an External Source for Confirmation
- Getting Application Properties
- Executing the “test command” Command
- Returning a General Record
- Returning App-Reserved Label Attribute Values and a General Record

■ Chapter 26: App Icon

Changing the Icon on the Dock
- Dynamically Changing the Dock Icon
Displaying a Badge on the Dock Icon
- Displaying a Badge on the Dock Icon

■ Chapter 27: Dialogs

Text Input with the display dialog Command
- Basic Text Input with the display dialog Command
Text Input Dialog + Caret Control
- Text Input Dialog + Caret Control

■ Chapter 28: Animation

Displaying Animation with Core Animation
- Setting up a Core Animation Layer
- Displaying Animation with Core Animation

■ Chapter 29: Miscellaneous

Xcode Log Output
- Outputting Logs to the Xcode Log Area
Customizing the About Screen
- Creating Credits.rtf
- Automatic Display in the About Menu
- Copyright Notation Example in the About Menu
Logging Event Handlers
- Logging Various Event Handlers in Xcode
Droplets
- Writing a Droplet in Xcode
Real-time Key Scanning
Bundles
- Getting a File in a Bundle by Name and Type
Localization
- Outputting Messages for Each Language
- Localizing the GUI
Timer Interrupts
- Timers in AppleScriptObjC
Data Sharing Between Multiple AppleScripts
- Calling a Sub-AppleScript from AppDelegate
- Sharing Data Between Multiple AppleScripts in an Xcode Project
- Accessing Properties of the Main Script from a Sub-Script
Incorporating a Script Library
- Putting a Script Library into an Xcode Project
- Execution Result of This App
Ticker Display
- Displaying a Ticker on a Window
Changing the Mouse Cursor

■ Chapter 30: Components Not Covered in This Book

GUI Components Not Covered in This Book
- NSCollectionView
- NSBrowser

■ Afterword, Colophon

Krioni · June 24, 2025, 4:16pm

Wow! This looks incredible.
I’m jealous of the Japanese-knowing AppleScript developers out there.
What would you recommend for those of us who don’t know Japanese? Would the text and examples translate well enough with an automated translation?

red_menace · June 24, 2025, 11:15pm

There is quite a bit of English used, and the built-in translation works well enough for the various paragraphs and comments that are in Japanese - there aren’t big walls of text. The code itself is also mostly English, as that is the language used for most language terms and API method names, as well as the Xcode IDE. And, there are lots of colors and pictures - @Piyomaru knows his audience well.

I haven’t used Xcode for quite a while, other than to look at sample projects. I might have to take another look.

Piyomaru · June 25, 2025, 5:18am

Thank you for your interest.

Xcode is not localized. So, captured screens are almost in English.
This PDF is not protected. So, you can split the PDF in each page and set Google’s translation service (it accepts under 10 or 20 MB).

Piyomaru · June 25, 2025, 5:24am

Xcode is the most weakest AppleScript environment in the world. So, I have to agree with you.

But for solutions that require some kind of GUI, I still feel that Xcode is like arithmetic that should be reviewed every once in a while.

Since last year, I have been revising solutions I created long ago with Xcode, and although I have accumulated knowledge and experience to adapt it to the latest operating systems, I felt that if I didn’t put it all together in a book, it was in danger of disappearing from my mind, which is what led me to write this book.

First and foremost, this book was something I needed myself. From the bottom of my heart, and quite seriously.

Piyomaru · June 25, 2025, 5:26am

Next ebook, 98th book is “Cocoa Scripting Course, Attributed String”.

This series provides detailed information on using Cocoa from AppleScript, assuming the use of Script Editor and Script Debugger.

Piyomaru · June 25, 2025, 5:47am

Text based 3D cube rotation; a sample project in this ebook.

And…AppleScript Breakout.

This movie runs on CotEditor. It require to set fixed width font and narrow line spacing.
AppleScriptObjC (AppleScript on Xcode) render every frame as an attributed string.

So, you does not have to set application settings.

red_menace · June 25, 2025, 6:08am

Your book also got me looking at some of my example projects. About half of them are 10 years old, most likely in need of some improvements. I’ll have to see if I can find something that isn’t in your book.

Piyomaru · June 25, 2025, 8:36am

Ah… some of the projects are more than 10 years old. I read, checked, and revised the contents so that they work in the latest macOS environment.

I started writing e-books 7 or 8 years ago. Since then, I have specified the author’s name for each project. I started writing a large number of them about 4 years ago.

I apologize if I used a sample project without permission. If you would like to check the contents, I will send you the Japanese version and a sample project. Please let me know your contact information by message or other means.

red_menace · June 25, 2025, 3:54pm

A lot of my Xcode AppleScriptObjC projects were written in the Snow Leopard and Yosemite days as I learned how to do things using the Cocoa API - a few are even conversions from old AppleScript Studio stuff. It isn’t that I was going to look if you might be using one of them or their contents, I was wanting to see if there might be any that used something that was not in your book, although you covered pretty much all of the main controls. Sorry for any misunderstanding.

I have also been doing more using only a script editor, since Xcode can be a bit overwhelming (and is a huge download). The scripts tend to go beyond simple examples when you start combining stuff, though.

New ebook: AppleScript+Xcode GUI App Source Collection

Table of Contents