Scripting a third party application

I’m very new to AppleScripting, as a matter of fact, I just started a couple of days ago. At work, users use an application named Roundhouse, that among other things, is used to administer ads before they are published on the newspaper. Apparently this application can be scriptable, I was able to open the dictionary and look at classes and events for it. My question is how to include these events in the script? I looked at the events and there is one called fetch, which is used to fetch a job order number. I wrote:

tell application “Roundhouse”
fetch “0000140140”
end tell

and the script give me an error right and the first double quotes.

One more thing, is there a site anyone would recommend to get started on learning AppleScript? I already looked at some of the scripts included in the application, I’ll continue playing with them to get a feel for it. Thanks!

There are a few places to check on-line, and some good starter documents as well. Here at MacScripter, we have a Links Page that may point you somewhere. Be advised that we are in the middle of upgrading that section, so don’t be surprised if there are difficulties with links and categories. Also, we have an archive entitled unScripted that contains some useful material for the beginner as well. The AppleScript Sourcebook is another place to look for information to get started.

There is a free download of an older PDF document that is very well written and can help get you started. Our Books and Resources section has all sorts of texts to choose from. My personal favorite is Beginning AppleScript by Steve Kochan. It is very well written, and can be digested quickly.

Scripting applications is not difficult, once you learn how the terms all relate to one another. You may consider starting another thread with the application name in the subject line, as well as searching this forum for that name as well.

Good luck,

Thanks Craig. I actually already purchased the book and should be receiving it this week. Thanks!