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Introduction to Scripting iCal
by Benjamin S. Waldie
For the past couple of articles, I have discussed scripting specific
applications. By now, you should be starting to realize AppleScript
terminology varies from application to application. Some applications
don't support AppleScript at all, some are more scriptable than
others, some have more confusing terminology, etc. Even as become
more knowledgeable as a scripter, you will find that there is a
learning curve whenever you need to script a new application.
Browsing the application's dictionary, and any accompanying
documentation or example scripts is usually your best bet for
learning how to script a new application.
This month, I will continue to discuss application-specific
scripting, and this time, I will focus on iCal. Please note that all
sample code within this article was written and tested with Mac OS X
Tiger 10.4.x. Many times, software updates will introduce changes in
the AppleScript terminology of a given application or process.
Therefore, if you are using an older system, some code may not work
properly, or may need to be adjusted slightly to work on your machine.
Working with Calendars
Let's begin by discussing the highest-level class within iCal's
object hierarchy, a calendar. In iCal, a calendar contains events and
to do's, which we will discuss a little later. For now, let's talk
about creating calendars, locating them, and more.
Making a New Calendar
More than likely, you are working with existing calendars within
iCal, such as a "Home" or "Work" calendar. However, should you need
to, you do have the ability to create calendars via AppleScript.
iCal actually contains a command specifically for creating calendars,
called simply enough create calendar. This command has an optional
parameter, which will allow you to specify the calendar's name. The
following sample code demonstrates the creation of a calendar with
the use of this command.
tell application "iCal"
create calendar with name "My Calendar"
end tell
One thing to take note of when using this command is that it does not
produce a result. Because of this, you cannot place the newly created
calendar into a variable for future reference. As an alternative to
the create calendar command, you can also use the make command. This
may be a better choice in this situation, as the make command does
produce a result, that result being the newly created item. For
example, the following code demonstrates how the make command can be
used to create a calendar. In this example, the result of this
command - the newly created calendar - is placed into a variable
called theCalendar, which I can now reference later in my script.
tell application "iCal"
set theCalendar to make new calendar with properties {title:"My
Calendar"}
end tell
--> calendar 3 of application "iCal"
Getting a List of Calendars
If you are working with existing calendars, you may need to write
code that will retrieve a list of these calendars. The following code
demonstrates how to retrieve a list of all existing calendars.
tell application "iCal"
set theCalendars to every calendar
end tell
--> {calendar 1 of application "iCal", calendar 2 of application "iCal",
calendar 3 of application "iCal"}
The previous code will return references to your existing calendars.
However you , may only need to retrieve the names of your calendars.
To do this, simply retrieve the title of every calendar. For example:
tell application "iCal"
set theCalendarNames to title of every calendar
end tell
--> {"Home", "Work", "My Calendar"}
Changing Calendar Views
Within iCal, you have the option to view calendars in several
different ways. You can use scripting to change calendar views as
well. The following example code demonstrates how to change the
calendar view to display in day view mode.
tell application "iCal"
switch view to day view
end tell
The following sample code demonstrates how to change the calendar
view to display in week view mode.
tell application "iCal"
switch view to week view
end tell
The following example code demonstrates how to change the calendar
view to display in month view mode.
tell application "iCal"
switch view to month view
end tell
So, with the use of the code above, you can actually customize the
viewing experience of iCal for the user, as your script processes.
Subscribing to a Calendar
In addition to creating calendars, you can also write code to
subscribe to a calendar, using a calendar URL. The following code
demonstrates how this is done.
tell application "iCal"
GetURL "webcal://ical.mac.com/ical/DVDs.ics"
end tell
Please note that, when subscribing to a calendar via AppleScript,
some manual intervention will be required. iCal will pop up a few
dialogs, allowing users to confirm that they actually do want to
subscribe to the calendar, and also allowing them to configure
subscription settings. See figure 1.
Figure 1. Calendar Subscription Dialog
Working with Events and To Do's
Now that we have discussed calendars, let's talk about elements of
calendars. Specifically, we will walk through several tasks involving
events and to do's.
Making a New Event
Like calendars, events can be created with AppleScript. To do this,
use the make command. When creating an event, you will most likely
want to specify values for various attributes of that event. For
example, for an event, you may want to specify the event's name,
description, location, etc. This can be done as the event is created,
with the use of the with properties parameter. The following sample
code demonstrates how to create a new all-day event for the current
day, with a specified name, description, and location.
tell application "iCal"
tell calendar "My Calendar"
set theDate to current date
make new event at end with properties {description:"Event
Description",
summary:"Event Name", location:"Event Location", start
date:theDate,
allday event:true}
end tell
end tell
--> event 1 of calendar 3 of application "iCal"
To create an event that falls within a specific time period, you may
specify the start date and end date properties of the event. For
example, the following example code will create an event at the
current date and time, with a length of 2 hours.
tell application "iCal"
tell calendar "My Calendar"
set theCurrentDate to current date
make new event at end with properties {description:"Event
Description",
summary:"Event Name", location:"Event Location", start
date:theCurrentDate,
end date:theCurrentDate + 120 * minutes}
end tell
end tell
--> event 1 of calendar 3 of application "iCal"
Making a New To Do
The process of creating a to do is virtually the same as that of
creating an event. Again, you can use the make command, and you may
optionally specify properties to be applied as the to do is created.
The following sample code will create a to do with a specified
summary, description, and due date.
tell application "iCal"
tell calendar "My Calendar"
set theDueDate to (current date) + 30 * days
make new todo at end with properties {description:"To Do
Description",
summary:"To Do Name", due date:theDueDate}
end tell
end tell
--> todo 1 of calendar 3 of application "iCal"
To find a complete list of event and to do properties, consult the
appropriate class in the iCal suite in iCal's AppleScript dictionary.
Finding an Event or To Do
Many times, you may be working with existing events or to dos. If
this is the case, then you might need to locate the appropriate event
or to do in some way. The best way to locate something in iCal is to
do so by its unique ID. In iCal, calendars, events, and to do's all
have unique ID's, which can be retrieved by AppleScript from the
item's uid property. The following sample code demonstrates how to
retrieve the ID of an event.
tell application "iCal"
tell calendar "My Calendar"
set theEvent to first event
return uid of theEvent
end tell
end tell
--> "1BCA3512-F3A9-4BCB-A0FD-BE812968D371"
If you have the ID of an event or to do, you can then find the item
by its ID. The following code shows how to locate an event by its
unique ID.
tell application "iCal"
tell calendar "My Calendar"
set theEvent to first event whose uid = "1BCA3512-F3A9-4BCB-
A0FD-BE812968D371"
end tell
end tell
--> event 1 of calendar 3 of application "iCal"
This same technique may be used to locate a to do by its unique ID.
Viewing an Event or To Do
AppleScript can also be used to display a specific event or to do
within iCal. To do this, use the show command, and specify the item
that you want to display. For example, the following sample code will
cause iCal to display and select a specific event, which, in this
case, is stored in a variable named theEvent.
tell application "iCal"
tell calendar "My Calendar"
show theEvent
end tell
end tell
Deleting an Event or To Do
Just as you can create events and to do's in iCal, you can also
delete them. To delete an item in iCal, use the delete command and
specify the item that you want to delete. For example, the following
code will delete a specified event that is stored in a variable.
tell application "iCal"
tell calendar "My Calendar"
delete theEvent
end tell
end tell
Working with Alarms
If you are an avid iCal user, then you are probably already aware
that events and to do's can be configured with alarms. There are
multiple types of alarms that you can configure manually, which can
also be configured via scripting. AppleScript can be used to create
the following types of alarms:
Display Alarm - This type of alarm will display a message to the
user, letting the user know about a scheduled event or to do. With
the use of scripting, you can set the trigger interval or date for
this type of alarm.
Mail Alarm - This type of alarm will send an email message to the
current user, notifying the user of an upcoming event or to do. Like
a display alarm, the trigger date or interval for this type of alarm
may be set via scripting.
Open File Alarm - This type of alarm will open a file at a specified
time. AppleScript can be used to set the date or interval for the
alarm. It can also be used to specify the path to the file that
should be opened. An alarm of this nature can be extremely useful if
you want a script to trigger at a specific time.
Sound Alarm - This type of alarm will produce an audio alert about an
upcoming event or to do. For this type of event, AppleScript may be
used to specify the date or interval, as well as the name or file
path of a sound to be used for the alert.
Adding an Alarm to an Event or To Do
Let's take a moment to look at how an alarm can be created with the
use of AppleScript, for a given event or to do. For this first
example, we are going to create a display alarm. The following
example code will add a display alarm to a specified event.
tell application "iCal"
tell calendar "My Calendar"
set theEvent to event 1
tell theEvent
make new display alarm at end with properties {trigger
interval:-30}
end tell
end tell
end tell
--> display alarm 1 of event 1 of calendar 3 of application "iCal
In the code above, you will notice that the trigger interval property
of the event is set to -30. The trigger interval property may be
specified to configure when the alarm message should be displayed.
This property should be given a numeric value, signifying minutes. In
this case, I have specified a negative value of 30. This will cause
the alarm to trigger 30 minutes prior to the start date of the event.
Optionally, I can choose to specify a trigger date for the alarm,
rather than a trigger interval. This will allow me to configure the
alarm to trigger at a specific date and time, rather than on a
trigger interval. The following sample code will create a new display
alarm for a given event.
tell application "iCal"
tell calendar "My Calendar"
set theEvent to event 1
set theDate to (current date) - 3 * days
tell theEvent
make new display alarm at end with properties {trigger
date:theDate}
end tell
end tell
end tell
--> display alarm 1 of event 1 of calendar 3 of application "iCal"
Let's look at another type of alarm. This time, let's add an open
file alarm to an event. For this type of alarm, in addition to
specifying a trigger interval or date, we can specify a file path for
the item to be opened. The following example code demonstrates the
process of creating an open file alarm for a given event.
set theFile to choose file
tell application "iCal"
tell calendar "My Calendar"
set theEvent to event 1
set theDate to (current date) - 3 * days
tell theEvent
make new open file alarm at end with properties {trigger
date:theDate,
filepath:theFile}
end tell
end tell
end tell
--> open file alarm 1 of event 1 of calendar 3 of application "iCal"
If you look in iCal's dictionary, you may notice that the filepath
property of an open file alarm is defined as needing a POSIX style
path. As you can see from the code above, if you pass an AppleScript
alias reference, that will work as well. To pass a POSIX path, you
may need to convert the desired file's path. For example:
set theFile to POSIX path of (choose file)
--> "/Users/bwaldie/Desktop/FileToOpen.scpt"
Please note that if you configure an open file alarm to open a
compiled AppleScript file, the script will actually be loaded and run
by iCal, rather than simply opened. See figure 2. This is a great way
to create a workflow with scripts that trigger at scheduled intervals.
Figure 2. An Open File Alarm to Trigger a Compiled Script
Triggering Scripts and Automator Workflows from iCal
As we have seen above, there are ways to trigger an AppleScript from
within iCal. You can quickly and easily create events, and add open
file alarms to run compiled scripts, open script applications, etc.
You can also trigger Automator workflows from iCal, and Automator
makes the process of configuring such scheduled events a snap. First,
begin by creating an Automator workflow to perform any set of desired
tasks. Next, select Save as Plug-In... from the File menu within
Automator. From the plug-in type popup menu, select iCal Alarm. See
figure 3.
Figure 3. Creating an Automator iCal Alarm Plug-In
Click the Save button, and a new event will be created in iCal, which
will be configured to trigger the workflow. Now, you can adjust the
event, as needed, perhaps putting it on a repeating schedule. See
figure 4 for an example of a configured event.
Figure 4. A Configured Automator iCal Alarm Plug-In Event
In Closing
Hopefully, you are already thinking of the great possibilities for
creating scripts that interact with iCal, or that work in conjunction
with iCal. In addition to creating and interacting with calendars,
events, and to do's, you can also begin to schedule the execution of
your scripts, allowing you to really begin putting your computer to
work for you, perhaps at night, over the weekend, or whenever you are
away from your desk.
For a list of some existing iCal scripts, try searching for "iCal" in
the ScriptBuilders section of MacScripter.net at
http://
scriptbuilders.net/. For more information about creating and
scheduling Automator workflows, check out the help files that come
with Automator, or check out my Automator book, available from
SpiderWorks at
http://www.spiderworks.com/ books/automator.php.
Until next time, keep scripting!
Ben Waldie is author of the best selling books "AppleScripting the
Finder" and the "Mac OS X Technology Guide to Automator", available
from
http://www.spiderworks.com. Ben is also president of Automated
Workflows, LLC, a firm specializing in AppleScript and workflow
automation consulting. For years, Ben has developed professional
AppleScript-based solutions for businesses including Adobe, Apple,
NASA, PC World, and TV Guide. For more information about Ben, please
visit
http://www.automatedworkflows.com, or email Ben at
applescriptguru@???.
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