AppleScript: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition

Timers, Hooks, Attachability, Observability

A number of applications will trigger your script in response to the arrival of a certain day or time. Your choice of such an application will depend upon your particular needs (and possibly what you're willing to spend). Possibilities to examine include Script Timer , iDo Script Scheduler , and various cron front ends. There is also QuicKeys X, though this is rather pricey for what it does. Another option might even be iCal (which is already present on your computer); the alarm for an event or to-do item can involve running a script.

A hook is a point in an application's operation where it is willing to turn to you—or more exactly, to a script you've supplied—to ask what to do. Many sorts of application use a hook to let you customize their behavior at key moments. Such, for the most part, are the applications listed in "Automatic Location" in Chapter 2. Thus, one example is iCal: as I mentioned a moment ago, when an alarm fires, iCal can run a script in response. Similarly, Apple's Mail program and Microsoft Entourage let you create rules that are performed in response to the arrival of mail messages meeting certain criteria; one of the things a rule can do is to run a script.

Some applications have hooks as their life blood, so to speak. An example is Salling Clicker , which is all about responding to a handheld device (such as a Bluetooth phone) by running a script. Another example is Ovolab Phlink , which answers the phone and turns ...