How To Build An AppleScript-Based Cocoa-Application
This page describes how you can build a simple AppleScript Application using XCode on Snow Leopard (10.6)[1].
Creating a Wikipedia-Application[2]
Creating the project
I used XCode 3.2.1 on Snow Leopard (10.6[3]) to create this project.
Choose "New Project…" from File Menu
Choose "Cocoa-AppleScript Application" from Templates
...and save it somewhere.
Adding a Web View
Add an Outlet
...using this snippet:
property ourWebView : missing value (* This is an outlet to out WebView which we created in Interface Builder *)
Double-Click the Interface-File
As you can see, the outlet ourWebView is already visible in Interface Builder.
Search for WebView and drag it into your window
Resize the WebView to fill the window
Set Size-Settings for automatic resizing
Connect the Outlet to the WebView
Opening an URL
Tell the WebView to open an URL
Paste this...
tell ourWebView to setMainFrameURL_("http://www.wikipedia.org")
into the method applicationWillFinishLaunching_.
You made it!
Run the app and enjoy!
More
Finetuning
There is some of finetuning that you might want to consider:
- Save the window position
- Create and set an application icon
- Set version information and copyright
- Customize about box
- Add custom behaviour, e.g. creating an PDF from an web page, or saving bookmarks...
- Adding buttons for something you want to (paste text, translate text, look word up in Dictionary...)
- Stuff
- Download the above Sample Media:AppleScriptCocoaSample.zip
- Helpful links:
- http://www.macosxautomation.com/applescript/develop/index.html (Please note that, as of now (2010-10-11), the downloadable project is missing the connections between the App Delegate and the UI Elements)
- You might also be interested in the same thing done with Ruby: 5 Easy Steps To Your First RubyCocoa Application
- Short link to here: http://wurst-wasser.net/t/r.php?u=ASCocoaHow2
- Footnotes: