Reading from a text list and renaming files

Scripting Forums AppleScript | Classic Mac OS
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#1

I am trying to activate FileMaker Pro with actionscript but nothing seems to work. Here is a piece of code that I think should work.

-----code -----------------

tell application “FileMaker Pro”
activate
end tell

-----code -----------------

I recieve the following error wil trying to run the code

-----error----------------

Execution Error

Application isn’t running

-----error----------------

Does anyone have an idea what else I can try to do? :?

#2

You code works fine for me.
When you run it… Is FileMaker already running? If it isn’t, you could also try this:

launch application "FileMaker Pro"

Or this one:

tell application "Finder" to open application file id "FMP5"
#3

This is a long shot but have you tried adding the version number? FileMaker normally doesn’t append a version number but…

tell application “FileMaker Pro 6”
activate
end tell

And it sounds silly but check the name carefully to be sure it hasn’t been renamed and use Get Info to check that the extension is still the correct “.app”. That’s about all I can think of from a tech’s standpoint. I’d probably trash the preference file if these didn’t work. Then probably reinstall FM if all else failed.

#4

I tried al of the above but none seem to work. I have no idea why not. Tried installing FileMaker Pro again. Didn’t help. Then I tried the following code and that seemd to work.

---- code ----------------------------------------------------

tell application “Finder”
activate
select file “HARDDRIVE:Applications:FileMaker Pro 6 Folder:FileMaker Pro”
open selection
end tell

---- code ----------------------------------------------------

:slight_smile:

#5

:shock:
OK folks here we go…
I need to develop a script that allows teachers to process a set of files to prepare them for students taking an assessment of their computer skills. The files are performance tasks they must complete. The naming of the files CORRECTLY is critical to the scoring. Needless to say this is a pain for little ones, Grade 3.

So here’s the thinking:
I have a text file with student codes
I have a folder with the files for the test.
I am trying to write a script that will:
Duplicate the folder (got it)
Read and rename the files in the folder to be the code of the user’s unique name from a text file
Repeat for all names

I know I know its simple…But I am lost in the forest with too many trees…