Hello-
Trying to write a script for integration with our FileMaker 7 Database to allow users to automatically create the requisite folder(s) when starting new projects, and check for an existing project folder. Our project designations are made up of a code (ie. IR001) and a name.
I started with something like this (I’m using constants for the FM values for now):
-- job info from FMPro7
set jobNumber to "IR004"
set jobName to "TestingFun"
set jobfolder_name to jobNumber & "_" & jobName
--lets make a folder!
tell application "Finder"
with timeout of 100000 seconds
--get the name of the current application in case an error must be reported
set the_front_application to (every process whose frontmost is true)
if the_front_application is {} then set the_front_application to application "Finder"
try
--have the user select a destination folder and store the path to the folder in the variable: chosen_folder
set destination_folder to choose folder with prompt "Where should I put this project?"
set destination_folder to destination_folder as text
if folder (destination_folder & jobfolder_name) exists then
set warningText to "A folder for this project already exists."
display dialog warningText buttons {"OK"} default button "OK"
else
make new folder in folder destination_folder with properties {name:jobfolder_name}
end if
end try
end timeout
end tell
It worked, but I needed to allow a little more flexibility in checking for existing folders, as they may well not have the exact same name as what the user is putting in the DB… so I need to check all the contents of the parent folder, read the folder names, and check for the job number, since that has to be there in any instance.
I started writing my own for this instance, got confused, and ran into Jonathan Nathan’s “List Folder Contents” on this site. I modified it slightly at the end to convert its results to a string and check for my job number.
-- job info from FMPro7
set jobNumber to "IR004"
set jobName to "TestingFun"
set jobfolder_name to jobNumber & "_" & jobName
global jobFolderList
-- All the Folder Shenanigans
set the_folder to choose folder with prompt "Where should I put this project?" as string
set file_types to {} --file types, set to {} and inc_folders to true to just return folders
set with_subfolders to false --list subfolders or not (recursion)
set inc_folders to true --include folders in the list of files to return
set the_files to get_folder_list(the_folder, file_types, with_subfolders, inc_folders)
return the_files
makeFolder()
on get_folder_list(the_folder, file_types, with_subfolders, inc_folders)
set the_files to {}
tell application "Finder" to set folder_list to every item of folder the_folder
repeat with new_file in folder_list
try
set temp_file_type to file type of new_file
on error
set temp_file_type to "fold"
end try
if file_types contains temp_file_type or file_types = {} then set the_files to the_files & {new_file as string}
if temp_file_type = "fold" then
if inc_folders = true and file_types ? {} then set the_files to the_files & {new_file as string}
if with_subfolders = true then set the_files to the_files & my get_folder_list((new_file as string), file_types, with_subfolders, inc_folders)
end if
end repeat
set jobFolderList to the_files
------- converting to string to check for duplicate project
set oldDelimiters to AppleScript's text item delimiters
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to ", "
set jobFolderList to jobFolderList as string
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to oldDelimiters
--return the_files
return jobFolderList
end get_folder_list
This Worked, but I couldn’t get it to work WITH my other script, and it was getting really dirty. So I tried turning my folder Making into a function, pulled the string conversion and comparison into it’s own that returned a boolean, and then could make the new folder or notify the user based on that.
-- All the Folder Shenanigans
set the_folder to choose folder with prompt "Where should I put this project?" as string
set file_types to {} --file types, set to {} and inc_folders to true to just return folders
set with_subfolders to false --list subfolders or not (recursion)
set inc_folders to true --include folders in the list of files to return
-- job info from FMPro7 - (temporarily using constants for testing)
set jobNumber to "IR004"
set jobName to "TestingFun"
set jobfolder_name to jobNumber & "_" & jobName
set warningText to "A folder for this project already exists."
-- Lets run this show
set the_files to get_folder_list(the_folder, file_types, with_subfolders, inc_folders)
return the_files
set isDupe to makeStringAndCheckForDupes(the_files, jobNumber)
return isDupe
set isMade to makeFolder(the_folder, jobFolderList, jobNumber, warningText)
return isMade
-- FUNCTIONS --
on get_folder_list(the_folder, file_types, with_subfolders, inc_folders) -- countesy of Jonathan Nathan, MacScripter.net
set the_files to {}
tell application "Finder" to set folder_list to every item of folder the_folder
repeat with new_file in folder_list
try
set temp_file_type to file type of new_file
on error
set temp_file_type to "fold"
end try
if file_types contains temp_file_type or file_types = {} then set the_files to the_files & {new_file as string}
if temp_file_type = "fold" then
if inc_folders = true and file_types ? {} then set the_files to the_files & {new_file as string}
if with_subfolders = true then set the_files to the_files & my get_folder_list((new_file as string), file_types, with_subfolders, inc_folders)
end if
end repeat
return the_files
end get_folder_list
on makeStringAndCheckForDupes(thelist, job)
set oldDelimiters to AppleScript's text item delimiters
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to ", "
set thelist to thelist as string
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to oldDelimiters
if thelist contains job then
return true
else
return false
end if
end makeStringAndCheckForDupes
on makeFolder(the_folder, isDupe, jobNumber, warningText)
tell application "Finder"
with timeout of 100000 seconds
--get the name of the current application in case an error must be reported
set the_front_application to (every process whose frontmost is true)
if the_front_application is {} then set the_front_application to application "Finder"
--set visible of every process whose name is not "Finder" to false
try
mount volume "afp://192.168.0.18:548/SawtoothServerProjects" as user name "InfoRetail" with password "hello"
--have the user select a destination folder and store the path to the folder in the variable: chosen_folder
if isDupe = true then
display dialog warningText buttons {"OK"} default button "OK"
else
make new folder in folder the_folder with properties {name:jobfolder_name}
end if
end try
end timeout
end tell
end makeFolder
That’s where I am now, but I can’t seem to get it all to work… I’m new to applescript, and I’m not sure where it’s going wrong or if there’s a way to step through the flow with a debugger or what. Anyone see what I’m missing, or have suggestions for how to make it work another way?
Thanks-
Brendon
More importantly, returning them outside of the function appears to stop the script, which was my problem.