Porting a large script from 9 to X

Ray_Barber · February 5, 2004, 4:55pm

Hi all! New to the boards, and fairly new to applescript. I have an app that I developed for a printing company using OS 9, that I am trying to port to OS X and I seem to be hitting my head against this unyielding brick wall.

This is a drag and drop application that takes a folder and searches for certain types of files inside and moves them to different locations on our server. Here is the problem I am having. I can’t seem to make this script go down more than one level deep. If I drop the file type on it, it sends it to the right place, but if I drop a folder, it tells me it “can’t get the class asty” of the folder I am dropping. Why wouldn’t it be able to to know that it is a folder I am dropping. I have tried simple file references and alias references and it doesn’t seem to make a difference.

This is a real problem for me because I actually need this script to search about five levels deep to be effective. As of right now I can’t even get it to go one.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

Here is the script as it stands now:

property typelist : {"LWFN", "lwfn", "ffil", "tfil", "FFIL", "Font file", "font file", "font suitcase", "Font Suitcase", "PostScriptï¿½ font", "Data-fork font suitcase", "OpenTypeï¿½ font", "TrueTypeï¿½ font", "PostScriptï¿½ font"}
property extensionlist : {".ttf", ".otf", ".dfont"}

on open the_files -- this activates the file or folder dropped on the application
	
	set destination to "Mac Imaging:Font Backup:"
	
	set job_number to display dialog "Enter the Job Number" default answer "Job Number" -- this creates a dialog box for the user to enter a job number and sets the results of what the user enters to the variable job_number
	set new_folder_name to text returned of job_number -- this sets the variable new_folder_name to the results of the previous dialog box
	
	tell application "Finder"
		activate
		set item_list to items of folder "Font Backup" of disk "Mac Imaging" as string
		if item_list contains new_folder_name then
			set non_dupe_job_number to display dialog "That Job Number already exists.  Font Backpack will now add the word new to the folder name you entered and continue.  Font Backpack will attempt to copy the fonts again; however, if the fonts are still in use by Suitcase, they will not copy."
			set new_folder_name to text returned of job_number -- this sets the variable new_folder_name to the results of the previous dialog box
			make new folder at destination with properties {name:new_folder_name & " new"} -- this creates a folder named with the results from the dialog box, the job number
		else if item_list does not contain new_folder_name then
			make new folder at destination with properties {name:new_folder_name} -- this creates a folder named with the results from the dialog box, the job number
		end if
		
	end tell
	
	try -- this tells the Finder to check if the file dropped is a font.  If the file is a font, it duplicates the file onto the server "Mac Imaging" into a folder called "Font Backup"
		tell application "Finder"
			repeat with a_file in the_files
				set the iteminfo to info for a_file
				if (file type of a_file is in {"LWFN", "lwfn", "ffil", "tfil", "FFIL", "Font file", "font file", "font suitcase", "Font Suitcase", "PostScriptï¿½ font", "Data-fork font suitcase", "OpenTypeï¿½ font", "TrueTypeï¿½ font", "PostScriptï¿½ font"}) or (the file type of the iteminfo is in the typelist) then
					duplicate a_file to folder (alias destination & new_folder_name)
				end if
			end repeat
		end tell
	end try
	
	-- this entire try statement tells the Finder to search through the files dropped onto the application down two levels deep from the initial directory for any files that are fonts.  If they are fonts, it duplicates the file onto the server "Mac Imaging" into a folder called "Font Backup"
	tell application "Finder"
		repeat with a_file in the_files
			if kind of a_file is in {"folder", "FLDR", "fldr"} then
				open a_file
				repeat with b_file in a_file
					set the iteminfob to info for b_file
					if (file type of b_file is in {"LWFN", "lwfn", "ffil", "tfil", "FFIL", "Font file", "font file", "font suitcase", "Font Suitcase", "PostScriptï¿½ font", "Data-fork font suitcase", "OpenTypeï¿½ font", "TrueTypeï¿½ font", "PostScriptï¿½ font"} or (the file type of the iteminfob is in the typelist)) then
						duplicate b_file to folder (alias destination & new_folder_name)
					else if kind of b_file is in {"folder", "FLDR", "fldr"} then
						open b_file
						repeat with c_file in b_file
							set the iteminfoc to info for c_file
							if (file type of c_file is in {"LWFN", "lwfn", "ffil", "tfil", "FFIL", "Font file", "font file", "font suitcase", "Font Suitcase", "PostScriptï¿½ font", "Data-fork font suitcase", "OpenTypeï¿½ font", "TrueTypeï¿½ font", "PostScriptï¿½ font"} or (the file type of the iteminfoc is in the typelist)) then
								duplicate c_file to folder (alias destination & new_folder_name)
							else if kind of c_file is in {"folder", "FLDR", "fldr"} then
								open c_file
								repeat with d_file in c_file
									set the iteminfod to info for d_file
									if (file type of d_file is in {"LWFN", "lwfn", "ffil", "tfil", "FFIL", "Font file", "font file", "font suitcase", "Font Suitcase", "PostScriptï¿½ font", "Data-fork font suitcase", "OpenTypeï¿½ font", "TrueTypeï¿½ font", "PostScriptï¿½ font"} or (the file type of the iteminfod is in the typelist)) then
										duplicate d_file to folder (alias destination & new_folder_name)
									end if
								end repeat
							end if
						end repeat
					end if
				end repeat
			end if
		end repeat
	end tell
	
	
	--in an effort to clean up a bit, this piece of script tells the Finder to close all the windows it opened while searching.	
	tell application "Finder"
		close every window
	end tell
	
	-- this tells the application Suitcase to load the fonts from the intial set dropped onto the application
	with timeout of [600] seconds
		tell application "Extensis Suitcase X1"
			activate
			tell window "Add Fonts"
				open the_files
			end tell
		end tell
	end timeout
	
	
	-- and to make life really good, this part tells the Finder to reopen the initial directory dropped onto the application if it was a folder
	tell application "Finder"
		open the_files
	end tell
	
	tell application "Finder"
		activate
	end tell
	
end open

julifos · February 5, 2004, 5:29pm

“asty” is “file type”, and folders don’t own a file type. You can try this:
Pseudo-code:

try
     if (file type of a_file is in {"......
on error --> this is a folder, not a file!
     --> do whatever with this folder
end try

Ray_Barber · February 5, 2004, 5:35pm

I have also tried referring to a folder by kind (as opposed to type) which you could do in OS 9 but doesn’t seem to work in OS X. Do folders have a kind in OS X?

To use the method you mentioned, JJ, wouldn’t I have to include every other type of file on the computer for it to be able to say, if it’s not this then it’s a folder. I would have to include every other file type wouldn’t I? Is that feasible or am I missing the point?

julifos · February 6, 2004, 1:47pm

They do, but it returns a localized string. Eg:

tell application "Finder"
	kind of (path to "cusr") --> "Carpeta", in my system
end tell

As far as I know, the only items in the system which don’t own a “file type” are directories (folders, disks, etc.). The method is very simple:
get file type of “x” → on error = “x” is a disk, folder, external volume, etc… but not a file
You could also coerce it to text and see if it ends with “:” (which is also a typical flag for stuff-which-is-a-dir). Eg:

tell application "Finder"
	set x to item 1 of desktop
	if (x as text) ends with ":" then
		display dialog "The " & (kind of x) & space & (name of x) & " is not a file!"
	end if
end tell

You can also use the “info for” command, from Standard Additions:

tell application "Finder"
	set x to item 3 of desktop
end tell

folder of (info for (x as text)) --> false, if file; true, if folder