Jump To:
Leopard Reference: Scripting & Automation
AppleScript is Apple's native scripting technology. It enables users to directly control applications and parts of the Mac OS by creating English-like scripts. Developers can make applications scriptable--that is, capable of being called from and used within AppleScript scripts. Also, applications can execute scripts and send Apple events to take advantage of features of other scriptable applications. The Automator application provides a graphical interface for combining individual AppleScript-based actions to create an automated workflow.

A guided introduction and learning path for developers new to AppleScript.  
Document Descriptions
On Off
Display

Sort by
Title
Sorted by
Date
AppleScript Studio Terminology Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the scripting terminology for AppleScript Studio, through version 1.4.
2007-10-31
NSScriptKeyValueCoding Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the informal protocol used to provide additional key-value coding capabilities in a scriptable application.
2007-10-31
NSScriptCommand Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to represent a scripting statement and the information needed to perform the operation it specifies.
2007-07-20
NSScriptClassDescription Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to encapsulate the scriptability information for a scriptable class.
2007-07-17
Apple Event Manager Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the C API for interapplication communication using Apple events.
2007-07-13
NSAppleScript Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class that provides the ability to load, compile, and execute scripts.
2007-07-10
NSPositionalSpecifier Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to specify an insertion point in a container relative to another object in the container.
2007-06-29
NSScriptObjectSpecifier Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the abstract class used to instantiate objects that represent references to scriptable objects.
2007-06-29
Open Scripting Architecture Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API for compiling and executing scripts in applications and writing scripting components.
2007-05-07
NSAppleEventDescriptor Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to access the basic data structures in an Apple event.
2007-04-10
NSScriptCommandDescription Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to provide a description of a script command.
2007-04-10
NSScriptSuiteRegistry Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used as the top-level repository of scriptability information for an application at runtime.
2007-04-10
NSIndexSpecifier Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the position of an object in a collection.
2007-04-01
NSCloseCommand Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to close a scriptable object or objects--typically a document or window.
2006-06-28
NSRelativeSpecifier Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to specify an object in a collection by its position relative to another object.
2006-06-28
NSSpecifierTest Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to apply a test to compare a specified object to another object.
2006-06-28
NSWhoseSpecifier Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to specify every object in a container that matches a defined condition.
2006-06-28
NSAppleEventManager Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to work with Apple event handler routines and to suspend and resume event handling.
2006-05-23
NSAppleScript Additions Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes additions to the NSAppleScript class to provide syntax-highlighted script source.
2006-05-23
NSCloneCommand Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to clone a scriptable object or objects.
2006-05-23
NSComparisonMethods Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for default comparison methods in the NSSpecifierTest class.
2006-05-23
NSCountCommand Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to count the number of objects of a specified class in the specified object container.
2006-05-23
NSCreateCommand Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to create a specified scriptable object.
2006-05-23
NSDeleteCommand Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to delete a specified scriptable object or objects.
2006-05-23
NSExistsCommand Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to determine whether a specified scriptable object exists.
2006-05-23
NSGetCommand Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to get the specified value or object from the specified scriptable object.
2006-05-23
NSLogicalTest Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to perform logical operations in determining the scriptable objects a command acts on.
2006-05-23
NSMiddleSpecifier Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to specify the middle object in a collection.
2006-05-23
NSMoveCommand Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to move the specified scriptable object or objects.
2006-05-23
NSNameSpecifier Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to specify an object in a collection (or container) by name.
2006-05-23
NSPropertySpecifier Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to specify a simple attribute value, a one-to-one relationship, or all elements of a to-many relationship.
2006-05-23
NSQuitCommand Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to quit the specified application.
2006-05-23
NSRandomSpecifier Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to specify an arbitrary object in a collection.
2006-05-23
NSRangeSpecifier Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to specify a range of objects in a container through two delimiting objects.
2006-05-23
NSScriptCoercionHandler Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class that provides a mechanism for converting one kind of scripting data to another.
2006-05-23
NSScriptExecutionContext Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class that provides a shared instance of the context in which the current script command is executed.
2006-05-23
NSScriptingComparisonMethods Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the informal protocol used to define a set of methods for comparing script objects.
2006-05-23
NSScriptObjectSpecifiers Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the informal protocol used by scriptable objects to provide a fully specified object specifier to themselves.
2006-05-23
NSScriptWhoseTest Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the abstract class used to represent expressions for testing scriptable object inclusion.
2006-05-23
NSSetCommand Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to set values in a scriptable object.
2006-05-23
NSUniqueIDSpecifier Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to specify an object in a container by unique ID.
2006-05-23
NSWindowScripting Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the category on NSWindow for scripting basic properties and commands of windows in scriptable applications.
2006-05-23