AppleScript in a Nutshell

Apple Event Registry

Along with scripting components, another important OSA element is the Apple Event Registry. The Registry is an Apple Computer-maintained database that maps all of the Apple events that the Mac OS standard software uses to a corresponding English-language command. This means that the activate AppleScript command is mapped to an activate Apple event, quit is mapped to a quit Apple event, and so on. You can use the Registry to discover the Apple event codes that are used by the Mac’s standard software (such as the Appearance control panel, the ColorSync extension, or Sherlock 2). Section 1.2.4 describes what these codes are.

Tip

The AppleScript software development kit (SDK) includes a FileMaker Pro file that contains the Apple Event Registry for AppleScript Version 1.3.4. Go to http://developer.apple.com/sdkfor more SDK information.

To make them easier to understand and incorporate into applications, Apple events are logically grouped into suites or categories, such as the Database Suite, the Standard Suite, and the Text Suite. All Mac applications are required to support four Standard Suite events (open, print, quit, and run; this was the “Required Suite” prior to AppleScript 1.3). This does not mean that all Mac programs do support these events; software developers don’t go to jail if they have not implemented these Apple events in their programs. However, this does mean that the vast majority of applications will reliably quit if, for example, your script ...