Geektool for Dummies: AppleScript

[TechExpertHD]

Not to be a hater, but I am fluent in AppleScript and I say that the warning introduction is not really necessary. AppleScript is an ENGLISH-LIKE SYNTAX programming language, it's not like Objective-C which is like learning a new language. If you know English, after a few days you can learn AppleScript. This is a very-well thought out and well done tutorial, but I think you are taking the "DONT TOUCH A FREAKING THING!" too seriously...

[CoolEnufForaMac]

@TechExpertHD As the person who has to answer the questions relating to this video, I would much rather narrow down the scope of the problem. You're right in saying that people aren't going to break their computer, especially with this script, but I didn't make this video for people like you. It's geared towards the person who is new to programming, and will more than likely bastardize a script if allowed to go to town on it.

[CoolEnufForaMac]

@TechExpertHD If it makes you feel better though, I can reupload this video with the warning, and make you the primary contact for any problems people may run into.

[TechExpertHD]

@CoolEnufForaMac Lolz :P haha forgot how many people need help!!

[CoolEnufForaMac]

@TechExpertHD Next time you have a criticism on a tutorial (not just mine, but any tutorial), scroll down and look at the comments. It'll give you an idea of who the target demographic is before you insult the intelligence of the video creator.

[bscsoundtehc]

Hi, i've got the scripts themselves working in the script editor but it doesn't want to load them. i've tried this as said above:

osascript /Users/(PUT YOUR USER NAME ON HERE)/Geektool/itunesartist.sc­­pt

and it didn't work. I am using Lion any ideas? And i have checked everything is spelt correctly :)

Also the weather forecast thing doesn't work, the Current temp and conditions work as well as the image but not the forecast, i'm clearly not meant to use geek tool :) Thanks for any help

[Lilo17x]

Great Work! Thank you so much, Thanks to you I have been able to edit my desktop =]

FTW you should make a video on the iTunes Artwork Scpt (how to display album artwork through desktop. Please =] )

[KcIrVaM420]

can you actually show us how to enter these applescripts into geek tool? the other video makes it a little difficult cause its different scripts. thanks!

[CoolEnufForaMac]

@KcIrVaM420 I already made a video on that. Calling out scripts in Geektool is the exact same, the only thing that changes is the filename.

[KcIrVaM420]

@CoolEnufForaMac i must be doing something wrong then cause its not working no matter what i do. even from watching other videos

[OraNgeyPoPSicleS]

That code is pleasing to the eyes, other's code make my eyes bleed. but i do have a question, when you set the variable "how" why are there parentheses around "time of current track"?

[tes7815]

I followed everything you said, and only messed with the "set info" and when I clicked run, it turned green so I know it was all good. But my question was what next? Can you tell me what to do from there to copy in the command box of geektool? I got the weather and other ones to work, but thats because I had the script. I dont have it now. Thank you!

[eseperez08]

This was really helpful thanks

[RnR4LIFE95]

sorry to bother you again- as you can probably tell im not that computer smart :P but on the applescript link above. i clicked on the "READ ME" and i says it cannot be opened...help! hahah thanks :)

[CoolEnufForaMac]

@RnR4LIFE95 No worries, that is my fault. I uploaded the stupid thing and it feels like giving me attitude. I am changing the link as we speak. Wait about 5 minutes, and it should be updated, if it's still not working, then let me know.

[RnR4LIFE95]

@CoolEnufForaMac the link to the ReadMe is working. i just want to make sure i'm not doing something wrong cause its not working for me. i enter the line on the ReadMe thing into "Command" on a shell. i tried it for all of the applescrpit things (iTunestitle,artist, and track). nothing is coming up in the shell box. help again! :S

[RnR4LIFE95]

can you do how to do the temp not just the image?

[CoolEnufForaMac]

@RnR4LIFE95 If you look at the files I attached, the image and the text are separate scripts. If you only want the text, then exclude the parts you don't want.

[RnR4LIFE95]

@CoolEnufForaMac THANK YOU SO MUCH! i feel stupid now for not scrolling down all the way. ive googled, youtubed, wki'ed, answers.com'd it and everything! yours was the only one that worked! thank you for all of your video's! now i have to go figure out how to do the itunes thing! hahahaha

[sulagshan1]

what happens if we mess with the other parts?

[CoolEnufForaMac]

@sulagshan1 Try it and find out.

[pkachurek]

Awesome vid! Thanks so much for the info! NOTE: For those users (like me) who were banging their heads against the wall because the scripts were running fine in AppleScript but not in GeekTool, watch those spaces when you save them into whatever directory they end up in. There is a BIG difference between: SpiTunesArtist.scpt (good) and SpiTunes Artist.scpt (bad). Don't leave blank spaces in the script name. Hope this helps a few folks!

[NerdsPwnN00bs]

How do you apply it to your wallpaper?

[NerdsPwnN00bs]

@NerdsPwnN00bs Never mind. :)

[CoolEnufForaMac]

@NerdsPwnN00bs Lol, I had high hopes that you would figure it out.

[ayrtons41]

couldn't I give up XD

[CoolEnufForaMac]

@ayrtons41 Lol. If you can't get it to work, then you can always just use the unmodified script.

[ayrtons41]

@CoolEnufForaMac no actually the script works I press run and it does work its just when I try put it in geektool it doesn't work, but I'll figure it out.

[CoolEnufForaMac]

@ayrtons41 Ah then you're probably not calling it correctly. Make sure there is a space between osascript and the file directory.

[meetmeatthearmpit]

That's fucking intense. I've been needing an idea for something to do, ill try this :D

[MrKevinfarts]

uhm, are you even able to restart computer geektool shells and images? Cause I tested it and when I came back, it got all messed up. Some were missing and so were out of place. I know Im doing something wrong.. help!D:

[KLASSS0124]

Excellent tutorial! SO HELPFUL!! THANX A LOT...!! LOL

[PhileyBusterSanneh]

can you do a tutorial on how to enable the iTunes artwork? Please.

[ShotsDesignsHD]

no offense, but you could easily make this code much much shorter, and work all in one script; but nice tutorial none the less.

[CoolEnufForaMac]

@ShotsDesignsHD I know. I personally only have two scripts, one for the "Now Playing" and one for all the other information, that way I can make sure that they are displayed with different fonts on my desktop.

[ShotsDesignsHD]

@CoolEnufForaMac oh, yeah for different fonts I could see using multiple scripts. I just use one to save me come confusion when I'm making new geeklets.

[ByPass117]

My text doesn't refresh when iTunes changes ???

[drrobertoboogie97]

@ByPass117 Open System Preferences, click Geektool, click on the text, there would be a property window. In the window, right below the code, you have the refresh rate which should say 0. Change it to 1.

[ByPass117]

My Text Is Not Refreshing When Itunes Changes Activities ???

[F4RR3LLthehacker]

Very Good...........

[bit10n]

Do you have a script that displays the current time of the track ? Like a counter, with one second intervals.

[rsxdragon12]

finally got it to work! :D

1) Open Finder. Click on YOUR User name (i.e. John).

2) Create a folder called "GeekTool"

3) Get the scripts you downloaded from this video and put them into GeekTool folder.

4) Go to Geektool in Systems Preferences. Open it.

5) Drag a Shell onto the desktop.

6) This will be the same for all the itunes scripts. On the command line type:

osascript /Users/(PUT YOUR USER NAME ON HERE)/Geektool/itunesartist.sc­pt

Hope this helped! :]

[KMR617]

@rsxdragon12 dude you were a huge help, thanks a ton

[rsxdragon12]

@KMR617 Np. Glad I could help! :]

[grbaseball00]

@rsxdragon12 once we've done that what do I do with the scripts

[CoolEnufForaMac]

@grbaseball00 I'm assuming that you're referring to calling the scripts out into Geektool. Watch my latest video (I tried to post the link, but YouTube won't let me). I'm adding an annotation to the end of this video as we speak.

[sherman842]

@grbaseball00 im wondering as well !

[CAZEMM]

If anyone is having trouble with this, put a space after 'osascript'. so it's like this "osascript /Users/Calum/Documents/Geektoo­ls/itunesartist.scpt"

[TimSilberDesigns]

Is there something wrong with what I put in? I'm not getting anything with this:

osascript /Users/TimSilber/Downloads/Gee­ktool Part 4/itunesartist.scpt

[rgaufman]

I'm interested in automating applications that do not show anything when applescript is set to "record". For example: tell application process "Acrobat" click the menu item "Recognize Text" of menu 1 of menu item "Tools" of the menu "View" of menu bar 1

How do I know what the elements names are in the interface? - there is a docked panel when I run the above, how do I get it's element name and number to be able to click things in it?

[ccypser]

I found out how to do the album artwork. But i can't post a link. Try a google search i guess.

[dfridson]

Thank you!!

[dfridson]

THANK YOU !!!!

[Yell0wzn0w]

How do I get it on my desktop? I just have 3 files. Now what?

[Epscylon]

@anjnlz23 Yes there is, but I'm not sure how it's done.

[Epscylon]

Do you know if there's any way to display how long the current track has been playing? As in, if a song were 3:00 minutes long and it had been playing for 1:30, is there a way to show that?

[IIJERiiCHOII]

@Epscylon on run set info to "" tell application "System Events" set num to count (every process whose name is "iTunes") end tell if num > 0 then tell application "iTunes" if player state is playing then set who to artist of current track set what to name of current track set how to (time of current track) set info to (who & " | " & what & " | " & how) end if end tell end if return info

end run

[SPcopyright]

are you some kind of college professor? the way you talk when telling this kind of reminds me of them.

[tecmobinc]

Can you please do a video on how to get the album artwork to display on the desktop, or just send me the directions.

[Jsheerin118]

I did everything you posted and it come out pretty good, however I was wondering how do you get your album art to show up?

[ajjotti]

do i save it as script or application?

[gkeiser415]

wrote the scripts out, pressed run and they are all working correctly. But how do i get the information to show up on the desktop?

[CoolEnufForaMac]

@gkeiser415 You need to call out the script in Geektool. There should be a "Read Me" in the folder you downloaded, open it up and the script along with instructions will be included in there.

[gkeiser415]

@CoolEnufForaMac - cant open the readme. have download all 4 scripts, made file "geektools", and entered "osascrpit /Use/gkeiser/geektool/itunes(a­ll four scripts)" in the shell. idk what I am doing wrong not sure if you can help?

[CoolEnufForaMac]

@gkeiser415 If that's exactly what you put in the shell, then you have a typo. It's "osascript" and you have "scrpit."

[Yell0wzn0w]

@CoolEnufForaMac The README doesn't open. =/

[deeksterN]

Absolutely fantastic! Brilliant video and amazing content thank you VERY VERY much!

[ShakaDelic716]

I need help with opening it on geektool. I saved the scripts in the "Geektool Part 4" folder but when I type in this: osascript /Geektool Part 4/itunesartist.scpt, nothing appears. What am I doing wrong?

[MrSNEVEETMetal]

ya i dont get how to put them on my desktop, i dont know what you mean when you say "call these bad boys out"? lol..?!

[davemalave95]

directions won't open

[CoolEnufForaMac]

I just tried both links and they worked for me. Did you try the text document?

[JamiesNikNaks]

hi ya great vid, but im having a bit of a problem with where to put the script. Do i just copy the script and put in to geektool? coz ive done that and it doesnt would. so i must b doin sometime wrong lol can u help please

[CoolEnufForaMac]

What you need to do is copy that information into Applescript Editor, and use the code in the directions to call it out.

[HuHHHHProductions]

I cant get it... I diddnt change your scripts at all!

[CoolEnufForaMac]

What did you put into the script to call it out in Geektool?

[HuHHHHProductions]

@CoolEnufForaMac wait.. I am confused on what i am supposed to put where it says file directory.... (where do i find that)

[CoolEnufForaMac]

There are instructions attached to the script. If you look there, it shows the line you're supposed to input so you can call it out in Geektool.

[flashman182]

I still can't get it into geektool.. do i just enter it into the command bar as a shell or am i missing something? Great Video though!

[CoolEnufForaMac]

Check the link in the side bar. It has instructions on how to enter it into Geektool.

[flashman182]

the instructions wouldn't load in text editor for some reason? any suggetsions?

[CoolEnufForaMac]

Try both links. One should be a downloadable file, the other oen should be live text you'll see through the browser. Once you can read the text through the browser, you can access the instructions.

[flashman182]

@CoolEnufForaMac alright I finally got it open but now i tried copying that script into the "command" bar of geektool (after changing it to the name of my file correctly without spaces) but it still isn't working. Thanks for the help by the way!!

[CoolEnufForaMac]

That script is written the way you should use it, so do not remove any spaces.

[flashman182]

yea but I have spaces in the name of my document so i delete those.. right? thats what it loooked like you did in yours. am i putting the script in the right place?

[CoolEnufForaMac]

No don't delete the spaces. The reason mine has no spaces is because every folder is written using one word.

[flashman182]

nope still didn't work

[CoolEnufForaMac]

Ah, when you input the script put any spaces in quotes.

[PWPTube]

Wow....you just saved me lots of time by explaining it simply and straight forward. It works great! Thanks.

[gunrer21]

that was awesom i tottaly fallowed along and it helped alot thanks!

[CoolEnufForaMac]

Oh thank goodness. I know this is a confusing subject, so I'm just glad it was able to help you.

[macintosh1010]

Great videos! I love it

[CoolEnufForaMac]

Thanks a lot, I appreciate it.

[pinkpuffdady]

hey i can't find apple script editor on my mac. its nowhere in utilities. i have apple script utility but that does't seem to be it. can you help?

[CoolEnufForaMac]

Try downloading the AppleScript to your computer and then open it. Since it's saved as an AppleScript document, the editor should open up.

[carlos31294]

im having trouble getting the scripts into geektool? what shall i do>?

[CoolEnufForaMac]

What Geektool script are you using to call the AppleScript out?

[GrlzRg00d2]

Hello and awesome Vid. I downloaded the file but when i tried to open the instructions it said file can not be opened. Can you maybe re-upload the how to file. Thanks

[CoolEnufForaMac]

I just checked the file, and it worked fine on my computer. When did you download the script, because the zip file and the text document are both new as of last night.

[GrlzRg00d2]

downloaded at megashare, ill try the new link and let you know.

[GrlzRg00d2]

Perfect thanks!! Keep up the good work.

[CoolEnufForaMac]

Phew! Thanks for the heads up on the script.

[CoolEnufForaMac]

OK, well I've noticed that MEGAUPLOAD is a tad too fussy, so I reuploaded the text document and the zip file to another host, see the description. Good luck, and let me know if it's still not working.

[kev2427]

Hey. Love all your videos. I was just wondering if you use an app to get all all of your info for your music I.E. album and artist info? My itunes looks messy because some of the info is missing or is not grouped together.

Thanks

Kevin

[CoolEnufForaMac]

Thanks, and I buy my music from iTunes, so it comes with all of the necessary information.

[steph29]

The document cannont be downloaded =S

[CoolEnufForaMac]

I just checked it on several browsers, and it works fine for me. I'll upload everything into a text document just in case.

[dderby001]

Hi, I have just watched your tutorial for Geektool 4 (great video by the way). Can you tell me how to get the code in to Geektool please.

[CoolEnufForaMac]

If you download the file, there's a text document with directions. Good luck!

[chessdude67]

Very interesting, but just don't have the time to work with this now, but I would like to learn this after the new year. Nice lesson. Looking forward to your videos. I'm glad Steve sent me over here. :-)

Thank you.

[CoolEnufForaMac]

Glad you liked it. Yeah, if you feel like modifying the script, it certainly could take a little while, but if you want it without the hassle, you can just download it and use it as it is and the whole process is down to 1-2 minutes. Thanks for watching, and hope you enjoy the future videos.

[nathanisthefisher]

Good vid.

[hallbe]

No thanks...I'm happy with my little weather picture! ;-)

[CoolEnufForaMac]

Haha, yeah this is geared toward a select audience, I just wanted to make sure I covered all aspects of desktop customization so people had the option of choosing what they wanted to do.

[CoolEnufForaMac]

First - Good luck to everyone with this video, it's a doozy.