Automation & Scripting

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Learn about scripting languages and automation frameworks available on the platform to automate repetitive tasks.

Automation & Scripting Documentation

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Batching CatalogSearchRequests for Spotify Playlist conversion
Hi! Im attempting to make a spotify to apple playlist converter and to do so am using the Catalog search functionality of the api. My question is, is there anyway to convert these songs to apple music urls (or ids) that does not spam api calls. I know you can batch catalog searches if you have apple music song ids, but I obviously dont have that since the song was shared from spotify. Any ideas/help is appreciated!
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452
Dec ’24
ShortCuts: Send email with email address as a parameter
Hello everyone, I would like to dictate a text with Shortcuts and then send it to one of two e-mail addresses (private or business). I would like to be able to select one of two email addresses. Unfortunately, I am not able to pass an email address as a parameter to the Send email function. Is it possible to do this? I'm new to apple and I'm all but not a programmer. So take pity on me :) Best, Niko
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449
Dec ’24
Apple Mail and Drag&Drop
I have been trying to accept drops from Apple Mail which do supply data with type identifiers : com.apple.mail.email The problem is that even though the drop says it does contain items for com.apple.mail.email it does provide the items for com.apple.mail.email. Mail dropped from Microsoft Outlook however confirms to the protocols and returns the items for com.apple.mail.email Is this a known issue with Apple Mail and is there are reason for what seems to be a non-compliance to it own standards in Apple Mail?
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408
Dec ’24
AppleScript nd adobe indesign
I have a bunch of images sized 540px on the long side (some portrait, some landscape). The other side could be any size, but will be less than 540. There are no square images. I want to be able to choose a folder containing the images, and want the script to do the following for each image: Place it at the center of the current page of the active indesign document. Scrape the filename from the image (without the extension), apply the pre-existing Paragraph Style 'Caption' to the text, and center the text 36 points (not pixels) below the image. Group the image and the text. Then create a frame with white fill, 540x600 pixels in size, send it to back, center it with the group created above, and group them. I've been pulling my hair out. Just can't get it to work.
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384
Jan ’25
Automation for message received
I would like to run an automation that sends a text message to my personal phone whenever my work phone receives a text message. In the “Message Contains” field of the message automation, an input is required. I put in a space, but that won’t work if someone sends me a one word text. Any suggestions?
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287
Jan ’25
Dynamically creating and modifying shortcuts
I am needing to add/delete shortcuts in our app without using the Add to Siri button. But have been stymied at every turn. The most recent example is some code that uses an "AppShortcutCenter" call, supposedly added in iOS 17. But there is no such thing as that which I can find. What gives, and what's needed to do custom shortcuts on demand programmatically?
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370
Jan ’25
Changing pad colour in Image Events
I'm trying to use Image Events instead of Photoshop to manipulate a bunch of images. I need to extend the canvas and have the padding be white. I've tried pad theImage to dimensions {545, 545} with pad color {65535, 65535, 65535} But that does nothing. If I remove the 'with pad colour...' part, it works but the pad defaults to black. I've looked everywhere, but there doesn't seem to be a solution. Is there one?
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334
Feb ’25
AppleScript help
Hello everyone, I would like to use AppleScript to transform a .csv file. To make things easier to understand, I'm attaching two files: 1- The original file in csv format 2- The file as I'd like it to look after I've run it through the script. Here are the steps involved 1-Open the file in numbers (Note: the file is located in the download folder). 2-Delete the first 6 lines 3-Delete all font styles and cell colors 4-Combine all cells in the nature of operation column of the same operation belonging to the same date in the first cell of the operation, deleting all spaces in the text is not necessary for each operation. 5- Delete all empty lines. I hope I've made my request clear. If any of you have the knowledge to do this, if it can be done at all, I'd be very grateful for their help in writing the script. Thank you in advance. 1.csv 2.csv
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398
Feb ’25
struggling with app automation
hi so im trying to create a simple app that has two pressable buttons that turn a spa mode on and off wishing another app so far I have the UI figured out the app works the only issue is right now when I press spa on I have setup so it opens Siri Shortcuts and enables the shortcut is there a way to make the app revert back to mine after the action is done? or is there another way to open the other app and navigate to the button within that app and enable it behind my app
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327
Feb ’25
Auto Dial - 911
My app monitors users heart beats and if critical reading is noticed, it auto -dials 911 for emergency and ambulance help. I was under the impression that auto-dial may not be permitted or possible on the platform. Can anyone confirm and provide any additional guidance on if it is possible in the newer SDK/API stack or using any 3rd party service ? Thank you in advance!!
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323
Feb ’25
A script to open files from Finder in Vim
Here is an AppleScript script to make it possible double-click files in Finder so that they will be opened in Vim, by Normen Hansen: https://github.com/normen/vim-macos-scripts/blob/master/open-file-in-vim.applescript (it must be used from Automator). I try to simplify it and also to make it possible to use it without Automator. To use my own version, you only need to save it as application instead, like this: osacompile -o open-with-vim.app open-with-vim.applescript and then copy it to /Applications and set your .txt files to be opened using this app. Here it is, it alsmost works: -- https://github.com/normen/vim-macos-scripts/blob/master/open-file-in-vim.applescript -- opens Vim with file or file list -- sets current folder to parent folder of first file on open theFiles set command to {} if input is null or input is {} or ((item 1 in input) as string) is "" then -- no files, open vim without parameters set end of command to "vim;exit" else set firstFile to (item 1 of theFiles) as string tell application "Finder" to set pathFolderParent to quoted form of (POSIX path of ((folder of item firstFile) as string)) set end of command to "cd" & space & (pathFolderParent as string) set end of command to ";hx" -- e.g. vi or any other command-line text editor set fileList to {} repeat with i from 1 to (theFiles count) set end of fileList to space & quoted form of (POSIX path of (item i of theFiles as string)) end repeat set end of command to (fileList as string) set end of command to ";exit" -- if Terminal > Settings > Profiles > Shell > When the shell exits != Don't close the window end if set command to command as string set myTab to null tell application "Terminal" if it is not running then set myTab to (do script command in window 1) else set myTab to (do script command) end if activate end tell return end open The only problem is the if block in the very beginning: if input is null or input is {} or ((item 1 in input) as string) is "" then What is wrong here? How to make it work? (Assuming it already works fine if AppleScript is used using Automator.)
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217
Mar ’25
Start multiple Live Activities in the perform() of App Intents
In my case, when two functions that start each Live Activity(not connected each other) are performed in LiveActivityIntent's perform(), it seems that only one will start. (It's the same to start independently with two Task{}) And, set one to 'opensIntent' and separate it by opening another LiveActivityIntent, the result is same. Also, every time I tap the Intent directly in the shortcut app, one activity will end within a matter of seconds, even if there are two for a while. But, If openAppWhenRun to true, it seem to works without any problems. I would appreciate it if you could give me a tip to fix this problem.
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166
Mar ’25
Using Automator
Hi Here is my problem. I have a large number of portrait pictures in my adobe lightroom catalogue which I need to email to the subjects of the portraits. These peoples names and email addresses are stored in my pictures metadata and I am able to export the pictures with accompanying text or CSV files containing the names & addresses. What I want to do is export the pictures in bulk and automagically create and send individual emails for each picture, preferably with the persons name in the salutation at the start of the email. I have done some googling trying to find a solution to this. I think that I need to use automator. (The lightroom option of mailing directly from within the programme isn't going to do the job, each mail would need to be addressed and written by hand each time). I have been playing around with it, but can see no way to populate the email address field or add the attachment. Can anyone help me out, with even just the basic outline, of how this would be achieved please?
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142
Mar ’25
Does DynamicOptionsProvider work on watchOS?
I'm curious, why DynamicOptionsProvider is available on watchOS? Is there any way to present options to the user? For example in Emoji Rangers project: struct EmojiRangerSelection: AppIntent, WidgetConfigurationIntent { static let intentClassName = "EmojiRangerSelectionIntent" static var title: LocalizedStringResource = "Emoji Ranger Selection" static var description = IntentDescription("Select Hero") @Parameter(title: "Selected Hero", default: EmojiRanger.cake, optionsProvider: EmojiRangerOptionsProvider()) var hero: EmojiRanger? struct EmojiRangerOptionsProvider: DynamicOptionsProvider { func results() async throws -> [EmojiRanger] { EmojiRanger.allHeros } } func perform() async throws -> some IntentResult { return .result() } } On watchOS we usually use recommendations() to give the user predefined choice of configured widgets. Meanwhile in AppIntentProvider recommendations are empty: struct AppIntentProvider: AppIntentTimelineProvider { ... func recommendations() -> [AppIntentRecommendation<EmojiRangerSelection>] { [] } } Does it imply that there's a way to use DynamicOptionsProvider on watchOS somehow? BTW, WidgetConfiguration.promptsForUserConfiguration() is one of the methods that are not available on watchOS. And also, the Emoji Ranger project doesn't show widgets (complications) on watchOS out of the box.
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282
Mar ’25
AppIntent, should I delete previous donations to the system and how?
Hi, In my application I am donating AppIntent instances that I have to the system using the donate() API. I recently came across this article that talks about deleting donations but it does not mention how to handle AppIntent instances. I am wondering when working with dynamic AppIntents (with different properties that can change in the future), should I be worried about "outdated" donated AppIntent instances? And if yes how can I delete previously donated AppIntent instances.
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199
Mar ’25
App Intents doesn't works in widgets
I’m trying to develop a widget with a button that triggers an app intent. I integrated the app intent into my app within a separate app framework. I tested it with Shortcuts and Siri, and it works well—it opens the app on the required screen. However, when I added a button Button(intent: MyIntent()) to my widget, it doesn’t work at all. The only clue I found is the following message in the Xcode debug console: “No ConnectionContext found for (some big integer)” when I tap on the widget's button. However, I see the same message when running it through the Shortcuts app, and in that case, it works fine. Does anyone know what might be causing this issue? My Intent: public struct OpenTextInputIntent: AppIntent { public static var title: LocalizedStringResource = "Open text input" public static var openAppWhenRun: Bool = true @Parameter(title: "Predefined text") public var predefinedText: String @Dependency private var appCoordinator: AppCoordinatorProtocol public init() { } public func perform() async throws -> some IntentResult { appCoordinator.openAddMessage(predefinedText: predefinedText) return .result() } } My widget's view: struct SimpleWidgetView : View { var entry: SimpleWidgetTimelineProvider.Entry var body: some View { ZStack(alignment: .leadingTop) { button } } private var button: some View { Button(intent: OpenTextInputIntent()) { Image(systemName: "mic.fill") .resizable() .aspectRatio(contentMode: .fit) .iconFrame() } .buttonStyle(PlainButtonStyle()) .foregroundStyle(Color.white) .padding(10) .background(Circle().fill(Color.accent)) } } Intents Registration in the app target: struct MyAppPackage: AppIntentsPackage { static var includedPackages: [any AppIntentsPackage.Type] { [FrameworkIntentsPackage.self] } } struct MyAppShortcutsProvider: AppShortcutsProvider { static var appShortcuts: [AppShortcut] { AppShortcut( intent: OpenTextInputIntent(), phrases: ["Add message in \(.applicationName)"], shortTitle: "Message input", systemImageName: "pencil.circle.fill" ) } } What I'm missing?
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108
Mar ’25
Difficulties with Get Contents of URL
I’ve created several shortcuts that tell me the stock price of a given company. The shortcut queries Yahoo Finance using Get Contents of URL, with the URL https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/TICKER SYMBOL/, for example https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/PLTR/ for Palantir or https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/AAPL/ for Apple, etc. Then it uses RegEx to parse out the numbers which it then formats and displays in a notification. Simple. It works great for several stocks, but for some reason, it does not work correctly for Palantir. It shows an older “previous close” price. Oddly, when I go to the website myself, it shows me the current stock price. So for today Mar 21 https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/PLTR/ shows me $90.96 (correct) but the shortcut, via Get Contents of URL, shows $87.39 (incorrect). This $87.39 price is listed further down in the page as a "previous close” price. I don’t get it. Here is a link to my Palantir shortcut: https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/edea6ee0261245f49b078efc74d632dd Here is a link to my Apple shortcut: https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/54a416393203432aa356fe76373e3f8b So the question is, why does Get Contents of URL show an old stock price but when I go to the site myself, it shows the correct stock price … and only for Palantir? I have about six shortcuts running correctly. Palantir is the only one that does not work. Been banging my head on this one for weeks. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you, Rob
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Mar ’25
NSUserActivity in application(_:continue:restorationHandler:) not recognized as INStartCallIntent
Hello, experts! I'm working on a VOIP application that handles audio calls and integrates with CallKit. The problem occurs when attempting to redial a previously made audio call from the system's call history. When I try to handle the NSUserActivity in the application(_:continue:restorationHandler:) method, it intercepts the INStartAudioCallIntent instead of the expected INStartCallIntent. Background Deprecation Warnings: I'm encountering deprecation warnings when using INStartAudioCallIntent and INStartVideoCallIntent: 'INStartAudioCallIntent' was deprecated in iOS 13.0: INStartAudioCallIntent is deprecated. Please adopt INStartCallIntent instead. 'INStartVideoCallIntent' was deprecated in iOS 13.0: INStartVideoCallIntent is deprecated. Please adopt INStartCallIntent instead. As a result, I need to migrate to INStartCallIntent instead, but the issue is that when trying to redial a call from the system’s call history, INStartAudioCallIntent is still being triggered. Working with Deprecated Intents: If I use INStartAudioCallIntent or INStartVideoCallIntent, everything works as expected, but I want to adopt INStartCallIntent to align with the current iOS recommendations. Configuration: CXProvider Configuration: The CXProvider is configured as follows: let configuration = CXProviderConfiguration() configuration.supportsVideo = true configuration.maximumCallsPerCallGroup = 1 configuration.maximumCallGroups = 1 configuration.supportedHandleTypes = [.generic] configuration.iconTemplateImageData = UIImage(asset: .callKitLogo)?.pngData() let provider = CXProvider(configuration: configuration) Outgoing Call Handle: When making an outgoing call, the CXHandle is created like this: let handle = CXHandle(type: .generic, value: callId) Info.plist Configuration: In the info.plist, the following key is defined: &lt;key&gt;NSUserActivityTypes&lt;/key&gt; &lt;array&gt; &lt;string&gt;INStartCallIntent&lt;/string&gt; &lt;/array&gt; Problem: When trying to redial the audio call from the system's call history, the NSUserActivity received in the application(_:continue:restorationHandler:) method is an instance of INStartAudioCallIntent instead of INStartCallIntent. This happens even though INStartCallIntent is listed in NSUserActivityTypes in the info.plist and I want to migrate to the newer intent as recommended in iOS 13+. Device: iPhone 13 mini iOS version 17.6.1
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206
Mar ’25
Improving And Scaling App Intent Support
Platform and Version iOS Development Environment: Xcode 16.2.0, macOS 15.3 Run-time Configuration: iOS 18.3, 17.x Description of Problem We have started migrating some of the app’s core functionality over to App Intents. Our first release of App Intent support focused on two settings a user can modify on their Bose products, Audio Modes and Immersive Audio, giving users the ability to modify these settings via Siri and shortcuts. The implementation uses two separate shortcuts for each setting type, with each shortcut supporting a single phrase for Siri each: “Change my Bose mode to ” and “Change my Bose immersive audio to ”. Each shortcut uses their own App Intent, and each App Intent has support for optionally providing both a product and a setting when performing the intent. Failing to provide a device, which happens when the intent is performed via Siri, simply auto selects a currently connected Bose product. Failing to provide a setting, like in cases where a user says “Change my Bose ” without providing a setting will simply have Siri confirm the setting the user wants to change before changing the setting. We are using AppEntity to identify a Bose product for both App Intents. Because the App Intent for the Audio Modes setting has a larger number of supported values (up to 15 maximum), we are also using AppEntity to identify these settings. We are using AppEnum to identify available settings for the Immersive Audio App Intent, as only 3 static values are supported. Our original implementation of App Intent support had quite a few phrases supported for each shortcut. We had explicit support for direct synonyms of the verb “Change” in other phrases, supporting words like “Switch” and “Set”. We also had support for words that are like the word “Change”, but not directly related, like the word “Toggle” for instance. We also had support for phrases with or without the setting in each phrase. However, early on we had a lot of trouble with phrase detection with Siri. Siri had a hard time identifying what shortcut was being requested, as well as not being able to identify what settings the user was providing for the setting parameter of each App Intent. While researching potential fixes for this issue, we found a response to a thread in the Apple forums (https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/759909) that seemed to indicate that Siri phrase recognition was very much an aggregate process. With the total number of phrases supported combined with the available settings for each phrase further compounding the total number of phrases Siri needs to learn to recognize for each shortcut. So, to hopefully improve Siri phrase detection, we added logic to limit the amount of Audio Mode settings supported based on what Audio Modes the user had setup on their Bose products. But, more importantly, we limited the number of explicit phrases supported for each shortcut to just a single phrase. In our testing, not only did this improve phrase recognition, but support for synonyms like “Set” or “Switch” seemed to implicitly still be recognized by Siri. The issues we ran into with Siri phrase detection above has us a bit concerned about scaling App Intent support to other settings and features for our products in the future. Our app supports the ability to modify a large number of settings on their Bose products, with support constantly expanding to new products as they are released. Our roadmap for App Intent support was initially very ambitious, supporting much more than just the two settings mentioned above. But our initial experience with App Intents has us tapering our expectations a little bit as far as how much can be supported in total for App Intents. One thing we also noticed is less than optimal display of default shortcuts in the Shortcuts app. The default shortcuts appeared like so, with shortcuts displayed based on available settings fro each shortcut: However, we could not find a way to indicate to users that one particular section pertained specifically to the Audio Mode setting and the other to the Immersive Audio setting. The only information the user has to make this determination for themselves is the available settings (or shortcuts) for each. This may not be immediately clear to a new customer who might be using one of our products for the first time. This display of default shortcuts in the Shortcuts app has us wondering if our shortcuts implementation is what is intended as far as support for the Shortcuts app is concerned. We did survey default shortcuts displayed by other third-party applications and they mostly dealt with navigation with a single section containing default options clearly indicating where the user can navigate with a shortcut. We couldn’t find an example of an application supporting the ability to change different setting types, with each setting type having their own available values for each. So, to summarize the questions we have concerning App Intent support: What can we do with our App Intents and Shortcuts implementation to guarantee optimal performance with Siri? What is an ideal number of phrases to support for each Shortcut. What limitations should we be placing as far as the total number of available settings for each Shortcut. Are there phrases that might work better than others for what we’re trying to achieve with App Intent support? i.e. Is “Change my Bose mode” or “Change my Bose immersive audio” a good phrase to use for this kind of functionality? Or should we be using different verbs or wording? Assuming optimal support of each Shortcut above. What is a reasonable expectation as far as how many different supported shortcuts we can scale to support at the same time. One issue we ran into early on was Siri confusing one shortcut with the other and triggering the wrong App Intent at times. While this was ultimately resolved, this outcome seems much more likely the greater the number of individual shortcuts supported. Are there any recommendations on how to display these App Intents to customers as far as default shortcuts in the Shortcuts app is concerned? Is what we currently display for default shortcuts in the Shortcuts app what was initially intended for third party support for App Intents? If what we are currently displaying is expected, would it be possible to support the ability to provide additional context to each section of default shortcuts displayed? We would like to indicate to the user that one set of shortcuts pertains to the Audio Modes settings, and the other to Immersive Audio. Something along the lines of a section header like some of the first-party apps use. Are there any recommendations or tips for supporting App Intents, particularly phrases for Siri, in other languages?
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147
Apr ’25