I am pleased to announce the immediate availability of Version 2.5 of Script Timer, a script, Automator workflow, and application scheduling product for Mac OS X, Version 10.3 and later. Script Timer is released as universal binary.
Script Timer lets you schedule the execution of AppleScript, perl, and shell scripts, as well as Automator workflows (OS X 10.4 and up only), and applications. Scheduling options include specific times of the day, week, month, or year, regular intervals ranging from one second to any number of weeks, when the computer enters or leaves an idle state, just before the computer goes to sleep or just after it wakes up, and when you log into or out of your account. Using a feature called Dynamic Scheduling, you can also arrange for an AppleScript script to schedule on the fly any other script, application, or workflow at a time of its choice.
Script Timer consists of three separate modules, an editor (Script Timer itself) that you use to create and manipulate scheduling data files, a background scheduling engine that reads the data files and does the actual scheduling work, and an optional scheduling engine status monitor whose icon appears in the system status bar to the right of the main menu bar to show you the current status of the scheduling engine and to allow you to control it, and to open Script Timer. The scheduling engine is aided by three small background tools that monitor system idle state, accept sleep and wake notifications from the operating system, and launch Automator workflows. The scheduling engine runs in the user domain, which allows it to be easily controlled by the status monitor's menu or a Start/Stop button in a data file window, and provides for greater security. A log file records each action, including error messages and optional messages returned from a script, allowing for easy troubleshooting and script results recording. The application comes with more than half a dozen sample scripts that illustrate its use, including examples of Finder and third party application scripting, and the use of scripts taking input parameters. Also included is Track Timer, a script that provides an interface between Script Timer and iTunes for automated music play.
Version 2.5 includes more than twenty new features and improvements.
Chief among these are:
- the ability to schedule scripts at log out time,
- the ability to schedule Automator workflows to run just before sleep and just before log out, and
- the addition of an optional scheduling engine status monitor to allow the user to quickly determine the state of the scheduling engine and to control it.
Please go to <http://www.appsandmore.com> for more details. (Just click on the Script Timer button.)
Don Hall
-- Donald S. Hall, Ph.D. Apps & More Software Design, Inc. http://www.appsandmore.com don at appsandmore dot com "Schedule your scripts with Script Timer"
