global variables in automator

Hi all, I want to ask if in automator exists something like “global variables”.

At the beginning of a workflow, I need to store output from some action. Then I need to perform other actions and at the and I need to put the stored value as an input to another action.

Thank you for any suggestions.

Jose

ajosea,

There are a few ways to do this.

  1. Download Temporary Storage actions:

This is a set of actions that can hold info and then return it.

  1. Likewise, you can just use your clipboard to do this. In the System Library there’s the Copy to Clipboard action. To call the info back up, Use:

return (the clipboard)

at the appropriate place in a Run Applescript action.

  1. If you’d prefer the return clip in an action, Ric Latham has created one:

http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/automator/returntheclipboard.html

This is used with the Copy to Clipboard action.

Note that if you’ll be sharing your action, I’d recommend 2. The other options will only work if the added actions are installed on the other user’s machine.

Kevin