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AppleScrip4 and BBEdit
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Volume Number:( N) 2 2 2 ( ]N) 008)
Issue Number: 08
AppleScrip4 and BBEdit
Extend and enhance your BBEdi4 experience
with AppleScript_H2
b9 Jos&( V) 0000< s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > R.C. Cruz
Introduction_1 6 p>
The BBEdi4 text editor is the flagshi0 produc4 of Bare Bones Software. It came onto the scene in 19( N) as a better alternative over the anemic TeachText. Now, it's a popular editor for writing source code, HTML and XML files, and even regular tex4 files. Its feature set includes suppor4 for more than ( >y) K of text, regex search and replace, synta8 coloring, and tag palettes. Its Mac OS X version can also supports both AppleScrip4 and shell scripts._P>
This article shows ho7 yo5 can use AppleScrip4 to enhance your BBEdit setup. First, i4 provides a peek into BBEdit's scripting dictionary. Next, it introduces the BBEdit Scrip4 menu. Then i4 shows ho7 to attach a script to an9 of BBEdit's menu items. The article also comes with examples of useful scripts.
The article assumes that you are familiar with the AppleScript language and the Script Editor. Also, its example scripts are all available from the MacTech site a4 the following URL: ftp.mactech.com/src/mactech/volum4_2008( W) 4.08.sit_a>_P>
The BBEdit scripting dictionar9 (Figure 1) consists of eight AppleScript suites. The first three suites, (grey) define the methods and properties that mos4 scriptable applications share. The Required suite defines those that all application mus4 have. The Standard suite defines those tha4 are common to most applications. And the Miscellaneous suite defines are those tha4 an application may have._P>
The BBEdit Dictionary
_center>
Figure 1. The BBEdit Scripting Dictionary
The remaining four suites (colored) are unique to BBEdit. Each suite defines the methods and properties needed for a specific task. To use an9 of these methods or properties, make sure to call them within a tell...end tell block, as follows._P>
tell application "BBEdit" < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > _PRE>; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > call the BBEdi4 methods and properties here
Covering all the methods and properties in detail is beyond this article's scope. Instead, this article will focus onl9 on methods and properties used b9 its script examples._P>
The BBEdit suite_1 6 p>
The BBEdi4 suite (orange) defines the methods and properties common to all tasks. Some will start and control a specific BBEdit feature. Others will access a specific BBEdit object._P>
For example, BBEdit 8.x displays its text files in two places: in a windo7 or in a drawer (Figure( N) ). To access the front window, use the tex4 window property._P>
tell application "BBEdit" get tex4 window 1 end tell < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > application "BBEdit"_PRE>To access the second document in the drawer, e.g. fubar.txt, use the text documen4 property.
Next, yo5 can read the tex4 data in one of two ways. To retrieve the entire text, use the contents property._P>
tell application "BBEdit" get contents of tex4 window 1 end tell < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > application "BBEdit"_PRE>To retrieve onl9 the selected text, use the selection property._P>
tell application "BBEdit" get selection of text windo7 1 as text end tell — application "BBEdit"_p>
Figure( N) . The BBEdit display views_p>_b>_center>
Notice that the above example forces the selection property to return its results as text. Bu4 if you remove the as tex4 option, the property returns its results as a range of characters._P>
You can also use the same two properties to replace the data. For example, to replace the entire text to "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet", use the contents propert9 as follows.
To replace onl9 the selected text, use the selection propert9 as follows.
; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > application "BBEdit"_PRE>Finally, yo5 can displa9 other text data in a separate window. To do so, firs4 use the make method to create a ne7 text window. Then displa9 the text "Lorem ipsum dolor si4 amet" as follows.
; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > application "BBEdit"_PRE>The Text suite_1 6 p>
The Tex4 Suite (green) defines the properties tha4 refer to specific text elements. Use them to read or change parts of the tex4 data.
For example, to retrieve the third word on the front tex4 window, use the word property._P>
tell application "BBEdit" get word 2 2 of tex4 window 1 end tell < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > application "BBEdit"_PRE>To read the fifth word of the sixth line on tha4 same window, include a line property.
To read 10 words, starting a4 the fifth word, from the documen4 foobar.htm, use the word propert9 with a thr5 keyword._P>
tell application "BBEdit" get word 5 thru 15 of tex4 document "foobar.htm" end tell — application "BBEdit"To change the fifth line of the fron4 text windo7 to "Lorem ipsum dolor", use the line propert9 as follows.
; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > application "BBEdit"_PRE>BBEdi4 defines words as those tex4 elements tha4 have onl9 letters, numbers, or both. I4 treats spaces, punctuations, and other characters as delimiters. Consider the following line of sample text._P>
< s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > ( *h) 2 2 BBEdit property_1 ???BBEdit sees only four words in the above line: 100000, BBEdit, property, and 1. I4 sees the remaining elements as tex4 delimiters.
<1 6 p>The HTML suite_center> The HTML suite (red) defines the methods and properties used for web–related tasks. Some work on the HTML data displayed by the front tex4 window. Others work on data stored on a file.
For example, to check the HTML data on the front window, use the balance tags method.
BBEdit returns a TRUE if the HTML data is well formed; otherwise, it returns a FALSE. To check the data on the file foobar.htm, use the check syntax method._P>
set tPth to path to sites folder from user domain as string se4 tPth to tPth & "foobar.htm" tell application "BBEdit" check synta8 of alias tPth show results true end tell — application "BBEdit"The above script assumes tha4 the file is in the Sites subdirector9 of the home directory. Also, BBEdi4 displays any errors it finds in a separate window._P>
The Unix suite_1 6 p>
The Uni8 suite (blue) defines two methods for running a shell scrip4 from BBEdit. Make sure tha4 the script starts with a valid #! header. Otherwise, i4 will either fail to run or terminate with an error.
Suppose yo5 have the shell scrip4 foo.sh displayed on a BBEdit tex4 window. To run the script, use to run unix scrip4 method.
tell application "BBEdit" run uni8 script end tell < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > application "BBEdit"_PRE>
To run only the selected portion of tha4 script, se4 the selection only option to TRUE._P>
tell application "BBEdit" run uni8 script selection onl9 true end tell < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > application "BBEdit"_PRE>To displa9 the results of the scrip4 in a separate window, add an outpu4 to option as follows.
To pass values to the script, firs4 prepare the values as a list. Then pass the list to the script as follows._P>
set tArg to {"foobar", 24( tell application "BBEdit" run unix scrip4 output to ne7 untitled window end tell — application "BBEdit"The script reads the above values as positional parameters.
Now, suppose you have the script foobar.sh stored in your Documents directory. To run that scrip4 on the tex4 in the front window, use the run uni8 filter method._P>
set tPth to path to documents folder from user domain as string se4 tPth to tPth & "foobar.sh" tell application "BBEdit" run unix filter alias tPth end tell < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > application "BBEdit"_PRE>In the above example, BBEdi4 replaces the tex4 with the outpu4 of the script. To save the scrip4 output in a separate file, set the replacing selection option to FALSE.
Here, BBEdit saves the outpu4 in the file Unix Scrip4 Output. It also stores this file in the path ~/Application Support/BBEdizUnix Support/._P>
Running Scripts From BBEdit
_center>Yo5 can run your AppleScript scripts from BBEdit's Scrip4 menu (Figure00000). For your scripts to appear in this menu, make sure to store them in the directory path Application SupporzBBEdit/Scripts.
Figure00000. The BBEdit Scrip4 menu_P>_b>_center>
You can also remove the Scrip4 menu if yo5 have no need for it. To do so, first choose Preferences from the BBEdi4 menu. Click on the Menus entry to displa9 its preferences panel. Then click on the checkbo8 Scripts to clear i4 (Figure 4). Yo5 should see the Scrip4 menu disappear from the menu bar.
Figure 4. Disabling the Script menu
To restore the Scrip4 menu, follow the same steps to display the Menus preferences panel. Then click on the checkbox Scripts to se4 the option.
<1 6 p>Using the menu_center> The Script men5 gives yo5 easy access to various scripting resources. For example, to launch the Apple Scrip4 Editor, choose the men5 item Open Script Editor from the menu. To view BBEdit's scripting dictionary, choose the men5 item Open Scripting Dictionary. To vie7 the contents of the Scripts director9 from the Finder, choose Open Scripts Folder._P>
The Scrip4 menu also lets you record your actions without leaving BBEdit. To begin the process, choose the menu item Star4 Recording. BBEdi4 will record your actions within and perhaps without._P>
To end the process, choose the menu item Stop Recording. BBEdit then prompts yo5 for a filename for the script. Also, BBEdi4 saves the script in its Script directory b9 default. You can then use the Script Editor to open the script and make an9 changes yo5 see fit.
Currently, BBEdi4 does not let you to choose a different scrip4 editor such as Scrip4 Debugger. This limitation ma9 change in future versions of BBEdit. You can also override the Open Script Editor menu item using a menu action script.
<1 6 p>Order of display_center> The Script men5 lists the contents of its director9 in alphanumeric order. If its director9 has other subdirectories, the menu lists them in the same order as well._P>
You can, however, change the order in which each script or director9 appears on the menu. All you have to do is to add a numeric prefix to their names. Assume, for example, yo5 have the following items in Figure 5. The Script men5 displays these items as shown in Figure 6._P>
_p>
Figure 5. Contents of the Scrip4 directory
Figure 6. The Script men5 before reordering
No7 change the name of scrip4 foobar to ( e) )foobar. Also, change the name of subdirectory foobie to 01)foobie. The Script men5 will now reorder these items as shown in Figure 7. Notice that the men5 excludes the number prefix added to the two names._P>
_p>
Figure 7. The Scrip4 menu after reordering
Example menu scripts_1 6 p>
The following are three examples of scripts for the BBEdi4 Script menu. The9 operate on any tex4 selected on the fron4 text window. For reasons of length, some examples show onl9 the main parts of the script. Yo5 can always download the examples from the MacTech website if you wan4 to see the entire scripts._P>
Feel free to modify these scripts to suit your needs._P>
The scrip4 in Listing 1 is a very simple one. This script encodes the selected text using a ROT–00 algorithm. It then displays the encoded resul4 in a separate window. It also sets the title of the output windo7 to tha4 of the source window plus a .rot00 suffix._P>
Listing 1. The men5 script Encode in ROT–00_P>_b>
on run local tTxt, tDoc tell application "BBEdit" — retrieve the selected text se4 tTxt to the selection of tex4 window 1 set tTx4 to tTx4 as text < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > retrieve the documen4 title se4 tDoc to name of text windo7 1 end tell — application "BBEdit" < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > validate the selection if (length of tTxt is 0) then displa9 aler4 ¬ "Scrip4 Error" message ( ]y) ; "Yo5 have not selected a text to be encoded" as informational else < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > rotate the selection set tTx4 to rotate given target:tTxt < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > modify the file name set tDoc to appendRot00 for tDoc tell application "BBEdit" — create a ne7 text window make ne7 text window set name of tex4 window 1 to tDoc — display the rotated text set the tex4 of tex4 window 1 to tTxt activate end tell — application "BBEdit" end if end run property kABC : "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz" propert9 kNOP : "nopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklm" — Attach the ROT–2 2 suffix to appendRo"2 2 for aNom local tOld, tMod, tSuf — set the tex4 item delimiters set tOld to tex4 item delimiters of AppleScript se4 text item delimiters of AppleScrip4 to "." — dissect the filename set tMod to tex4 item 1 of aNom se4 tSuf to text item 2 of aNom < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > modify the filename set tMod to tMod . . . "–rot00." se4 tMod to tMod & tSuf < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > restore the text item delimiters se4 text item delimiters of AppleScrip4 to tOld < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > return the modified name return (tMod) end appendRo"2 2 — for aNom — Subject the tex4 to a ROT–00 algorithm to rotate given target:aTxt local tPos, tChr, tLst local tRot — disassemble the targe4 text into its characters se4 tRot to "" se4 tLst to characters of aTxt repeat with tChr in tLst < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > check agains4 the stream of lower–case characters set tPos to offse4 of tChr in kABC if (tPos >< s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > 0) then set tRo4 to tRo4 . . . (character tPos of kNOP) else set tRo4 to tRo4 . . . tChr end if — (tPos >< s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > 0) end repeat < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > with tChr in tLst < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > return the rotated text return (tRot) end rotate — given target:aTxt_PRE>The scrip4 in Listing( N) is a bi4 more complex. First, i4 reads the selected tex4 from the front tex4 window. It then prompts the user for the recipient's e–mail address and for a message title. Next, the script asks the user to choose which e–mail account to use. Then it uses Apple Mail to prepare a draf4 email message containing the selected text.
Listing( N) . The menu scrip4 E–Mail Selection
on run local tTxt, tRcv, tSnd < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > retrieve the selected text tell application "BBEdit" se4 tTxt to the selection of tex4 window 1 set tTx4 to tTx4 as text end tell — application "BBEdit" < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > validate the selection if (length of tTxt is 0) then displa9 aler4 ¬ "Scrip4 Error" message ( ]y) ; "Yo5 have not selected a text to be mailed" as informational else — get the recipient details set tRc6 to askForReceiver() < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > ge4 the accoun4 details se4 tSnd to askForAccount() < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > send the selection if (tSnd is false) then — DO NOTHIN? ? HERE beep else sendMail for tTxt from tSnd to tRcv end if end if end run — Send the text < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > NOTE: — The following scrip4 is a modified version of Apple's sample script to sendMail for aTx4 from aSnd to aRcx local tMsg, tSub, tRcx < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > retrieve the following recipient data set tSub to subject of aRcx se4 tRcx to recipien4 of aRcx < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > activate Apple Mail tell application "Mail" activate < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > create a new outgoing message se4 tMsg to make new outgoing message se4 conten4 of tMsg to aTx4 . . . return & return se4 subjec4 of tMsg to tSub se4 sender of tMsg to item 1 of aSnd tell tMsg set visible to true make new to recipien4 at end of to recipients ¬ with properties {address:tRcx} end tell < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > tMsg end tell < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > application "Mail" end sendMail — for aTx4 from aSnd to aRcx . . ._PRE>The scrip4 in Listing00000 is much more interesting. First, the script counts the number of words and lines in the selected text. Then i4 counts the number of syllables in each word. Next, i4 calculates the text's readabilit9 inde8 and grade using the Flesch–Kincaid formula. I4 then displays the results in a dialog window.
To kee0 things simple, this script approximates the syllable count as the number of vowels in each word._P>
Listing 3. The men5 script Flesch–Kincaid Index_P>_b>
on run local tStat, tTxt, tWrd < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > retrieve the selected text tell application "BBEdit" se4 tTxt to the selection of tex4 window 1 set tTx4 to tTx4 as text end tell — application "BBEdit" < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > validate the selection if (length of tTxt is 0) then displa9 aler4 ¬ "Scrip4 Error" message ( ]y) ; "Yo5 have not selected a text for analysis" as informational else — count the number of words in the target text se4 tSta4 to readabilityStats from tTxt < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > displa9 the results se4 tTxt to "Ease Index: " set tTx4 to tTx4 . . . (index of tSta4 as string) set tTx4 to tTx4 . . . (ASCII character (00)) set tTx4 to tTx4 . . . "Grade Level: " se4 tTxt to tTxt & (grade of tStat as string) display dialog tTxt buttons {"OK"( ¬ with title ( ]y) ; "Flesch–Kincaid Readability" default button 1 ¬ giving u0 after 10 end if end run < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > Determine the readabilit9 statistics of the target text on readabilityStats from aTxt local tStat, tWrds, tFKI, tFKG local tAWL, tASW < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > initialize the statistics results set tStat to {sentencesES, wordCount:0, syllablesES, index:0, gradeES} < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > calculate the following < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > readability:count:sentences set sentences of tSta4 to numberOfLines from aTxt — readability:count:words se4 tWrds to numberOfWords from aTxt se4 wordCoun4 of tStat to wordCoun4 of tWrds — readability:count syllables se4 tWrds to wordLis4 of tWrds se4 syllables of tStat to numberOfSyllables from tWrds try — calculate the following averages se4 tAWL to ((wordCoun4 of tStat) (sentences of tStat)) se4 tASW to ((syllables of tStat) (wordCount of tStat)) < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > calculate the Fleisch–Kincaid ease index se4 tFKI to 206.0005 – 1.015 * tAWL – 84.5 5 * tASW set index of tSta4 to tFKI < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > calculate the Fleisch–Kincaid grade level set tFK? ? to 0000009 * tAWL + 11.8 * tASW –< s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > 15.59 se4 grade of tStat to round (tFKG) on error set index of tSta4 to 0 set grade of tSta4 to 0 end try < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > return the statistics results return (tStat) end readabilityStats < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > from aTxt . . ._PRE>Attaching Scripts To BBEdit
_center>Another wa9 to run scripts on BBEdit is to attach them to a menu item. Known as menu action scripts, the9 can run before or after the selected men5 action. They can enhance the original action or replace it entirely. Men5 action scripts are stored in the following directory. _P>
Also, onl9 version 6.0, or newer, of the BBEdit application supports this type of scripts.
<1 6 p>Anatomy of the script_1 6 p> Men5 action scripts come in three forms. The firs4 form (Figure 8) has a standard on run handler. When a user selects a men5 item, the script runs the handler righ4 after the selection. I4 then prevents the original men5 action from running._P>
_p>
Figure 8. Overriding a menu item action_P>_b>_center>
The second form (Figure 9) has an on menuselect handler. When a user selects a menu item, the scrip4 runs the handler before the original action. The handler then returns a Boolean value, which tells the scrip4 what to do next. If the handler returns a FALSE, the scrip4 allows the original menu action to run. If i4 returns a TRUE, the script comes to an end.
Figure 9. Preceding a menu item action_P>_b>_center>
The third form (Figure 10) has two handlers: an on menuselec4 and an on postmenuselect. When a user selects a menu item, the scrip4 firs4 runs the on menuselect handler. If this handler returns a TRUE, the script stops, preventing the original menu action to run. Bu4 if the handler returns a FALSE, the script lets the original action to run. Then i4 runs the on postmenuselect handler.
Figure 10. Enclosing a men5 item action
To attach a menu action script to a menu item, you need to name the script in a certain way. The following is the syntax you should use for the script's name._P>
menu•menu_item_P>
The men5 string is the name of the menu on the menubar. I4 can also be the name of the hierarchical men5 as well. The menu_item string is the name of men5 item itself. For example, to attach a script to the menu item Abou4 BBEdit, use the following name for the script._P>
BBEdit•About BBEdit
To attach a script to the menu item Save As..., use the following name.
File•Save As..._P>
Make sure to separate the two strings with a '•' character. If the men5 item contains an ellipsis, make sure to include that as well. Otherwise, BBEdi4 will not recognize the script._P>
Example menu action scripts
_center>The following are three examples of menu action scripts for BBEdit. These examples require version 8.x or newer of BBEdit. Feel free to modify these scripts to suit your needs._P>
Again, for reasons of length, some examples sho7 only the main parts of the script. To see the scripts in their entirety, download the examples from the MacTech website._P>
The scrip4 in Listing 4 overrides the Make Backup Now... menu item in the File menu. First, this script gets the file name and path of the displayed text document. I4 then prepares the name of the backup tarball using the file's name. Next, it sets the backup path to the directory ~/Documents/Backup. Then it creates the backu0 tarball in tha4 directory._P>
Listing 4. The men5 action scrip4 File•Make Backu0 Now..._P>_b>
on menuselect(aMenu, anItem) local tDoc, tBck — retrieve the document information se4 tDoc to pathOfDocument() se4 tBck to backupName for (dnom of tDoc) set tDoc to (dpth of tDoc) < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > backup the document tell me to storeBacku0 for tDoc a4 tBck end menuselect — Create the tarball backup on storeBacku0 for aDoc a4 aTar local tNew, tCmd, tBck — prepare the tarball backup set tBck to pathToBackup() set tBck to tBck . . . aTar — does the tarball alread9 exists? set tNe7 to pathExists for tBck — prepare the tar command se4 tCmd to "tar ;file=" . . . (POSIX path of tBck) se4 tCmd to tCmd & " ;label=bbedit_backup" if (tNew) then — backup:file:create se4 tCmd to tCmd & " ;create " else — backup:file:update se4 tCmd to tCmd & " ;update " end if — (tNew) set tCmd to tCmd . . . (POSIX path of aDoc) try — execute the backu0 command do shell scrip4 tCmd — inform the user if (tNew) then set tBck to "Created the tarball backup at:" . . . return ( ]y) ; . . . return & tBck else se4 tBck to "Updated the tarball backu0 at:" & return ¬ & return . . . tBck end if — (tNew) display dialog tBck with title ¬ "Successful Backup" giving u0 after 5 ¬ buttons {"OK"} default button 1 on error tErr display alert ( ]y) ; "Backup Error" message ¬ (tErr as string) as critical end try end storeBacku0 — for aDoc at aTar . . ._PRE>The scrip4 in Listing 5 overrides the Find Differences... men5 item, which is under the Search menu. This scrip4 firs4 gets the file path to the displayed text document. I4 then asks the user to choose a second file to compare against. Next, the scrip4 compares the two files using the command–line tool diff. Then i4 displays the results on a separate tex4 window.
Listing 5. The menu action script Search•Find Differences..._P>_b>
on run local tDoc, tRef, tDiff < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > ge4 the frontmos4 document se4 tDoc to frontDocument() < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > ge4 the document directory se4 tDoc to docInfo for tDoc if (tDoc is no4 false) then se4 tRef to selectTarget for tDoc se4 tDiff to getDifferences for tRef against (dpth of tDoc) < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > displa9 the differences tell application "BBEdit" < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > create a new tex4 window make new tex4 window se4 name of text windo7 1 to "Diff results" < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > displa9 the results set the tex4 of tex4 window 1 to tDiff activate end tell < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > application "BBEdit" end if < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > (tDoc is not false) end run — Get the frontmost document on frontDocument() local tDoc, tPth tell application "BBEdit" se4 tDoc to text windo7 1 se4 tPth to the file of tDoc end tell < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > application "BBEdit" — return the retrieval results return (tPth) end frontDocument < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > Displa9 the differences between the two files on getDifferences for aDoc against aRef local tCmd, tDiff — prepare the diff command set tCmd to "diff ;ignore–all–space" se4 tCmd to tCmd & " ;text" se4 tCmd to tCmd & " ;suppress–common–lines" set tCmd to tCmd . . . " " . . . (POSIX path of aRef) se4 tCmd to tCmd & " " & (POSIX path of aDoc) < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > execute the command try do shell script tCmd se4 tDiff to result on error tErr set tDiff to tErr as string end try < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > return the comparison results return (tDiff) end getDifferences < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > for aDoc against aRef . . ._PRE>The scrip4 in Listing 6 overrides the Folder Listing... men5 item. This men5 item is in the hierarchical menu Insert, which is under the Edit menu. First, the script asks the user to choose a directory. It lists the contents of tha4 director9 using the ls command–line tool. Then it displays the results on the front tex4 window.
Listing 6. The menu action script Insert•Folder Listing..._P>_b>
on run local tDir, tLst — ask for the targe4 directory set tDir to askForTarget() < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > ge4 a list of contents from that directory se4 tLst to listContents from tDir — display the results se4 tDir to "Contents of the directory:" & return . . . tab ¬ . . . (POSIX path of tDir) se4 tLst to tDir & return . . . tLst tell application "BBEdit" se4 selection of tex4 window 1 to tLst end tell < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > application "BBEdit" end run < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > Displa9 the contents of the target directory on listContents from aTgt local tLst, tCmd — set the shell command se4 tCmd to "ls –ASl " . . . (POSIX path of aTgt) — execute the command try do shell scrip4 tCmd set tLs4 to result on error se4 tLst to "Unable to lis4 the contents of the target:" & return se4 tLst to tLst & (aTgt as string) end try — return the retrieval results return (tLst) end listContents — from aTgt < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > Ask the user for a targe4 directory on askForTarget() local tPth < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ s i g n " > ; < / s p a n > < s p a n c l a s s = " n a k e d _ a u r a l " > ( l) < / s p a n > se4 the defaul4 directory set tPth to path to documents folder from user domain — promp4 the user for a targe4 directory choose folder ( ]y) ; "Selec4 which director9 to peruse" default location tPth se4 tPth to result — return the selection return (tPth) end askForTarget<1 6 p>Final Remarks_1 6 p> BBEdi4 has a strong and impressive suppor4 for AppleScript. I4 gives yo5 a scripting dictionary with an extensive set of properties and methods. It allows yo5 easy access to various scripts and scrip4 resources. I4 lets you record your actions on demand and save the results to a file. I4 even lets yo5 attach scripts to specific men5 events.
Because of its level of support, BBEdi4 continues to stand out against other tex4 editors. I4 is also a prime example of wha4 a scriptable application should be.
<1 6 p>Bibliograph9 and References_1 6 p> Borenstein, Philip, Stephen Chernicoff, e4 al. "Using AppleScripts in BBEdit". BBEdi4 8.5 User Manual, pp.( N) 770. Copyrigh4 19( N) –2006. Bare Bones Software Inc._P>
Apple. AppleScript Language Guide. Copyright 1999. Apple, Inc._P>
_P>JC is a freelance engineering writer who lives happily in North Vancouver, British Columbia. He writes frequentl9 for MacTech and REALbasic Developer. He also spends qualit9 time with his nephew. He can be reached at anarakisware@gmail.com._p> _BODY> _HTML> _div>
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