AppleScript-Python Passing Filename

Contents

• It’s Simple
• Declare Codes to an App
• How to Set a File Input?
• How to Save Outputs in an External File?
• Group Codes Using ()
• Get Filename
• Get Rid of Extension
• How to Check Data Type
• Pass A List to Python
  • Pass a Workable File Path to a Python Script in AS

Gist

It’s Simple

It’s a note just in case I forget it.

Firstly, I treat you or myself as a person who know nothing about AppleScript (AS thereafter) or coding.

Declare Codes to an App

To run an action (actually my scripting journey started from iOS with Drafts which symbolically called a trigger, some codes, a launcher as a action to my understanding, so take it easy), I need to write

tell application "APPNAME"
	SOMECODES
end tell

How to Set a File Input?

In Hazel, running an AS on the target file requires a simple placeholder theFile. Here I’m going to write in AppleScript Editor (which is a stock app of OS X), and check the output within AppleScript Editor. So I need to know how to set a file input. We know Hazel before AS, so I let the naming rules inherit from the people’s app but not from deeply hid language or something.

Note that AS uses HSF path. For me, simply buy a copy of Path Finder and copy HSF path in that app. XtraFinder is free, but for me, Path Finder is expensive and complex and after trying for some time I believe it’s the best alternative to Finder.

set theFile to "Macintosh SSD:Users:henry:Desktop:1.py”

How to Save Outputs in an External File?

This’s useful when the outputs include special characters, such as \", and maybe only in the external file, you can have confidence to say that’s the correct outputs you want.

do shell script "echo " & VARIABLE & " > ~/Desktop/test.txt"

Group Codes Using ()

I can group one action with a pair of parentheses. This could be vague, just do some tests to see the grouping’s effects yourself.

Get Filename

alias needs to be used.

set theName to name of (theFile as alias)

Get Rid of Extension

Note that name and extension are devided by “.”, and for example the file is 1.py, by set AppleScript's text item delimiters to ".", from left to right, the first text item is 1, the second text item is py, corresponding, in AS, the value of text item 1 is 1 and the value of text item 2 is py. From right to left, the first text item is marked as -1. So the value of text item -1 is py and the value of text item -2 is 1.

set theName to name of (theFile as alias)
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to "."
if number of text items of theName > 1 then
	set theName to text items 1 thru -2 of theName
end if

Later I will chain the AS to a Python script and I don’t want another delimiter, so I continue to use “.” and negative text item becomes seemingly more meaningful, because, the number of parameters to pass to the Python script is uncertain.

How to Check Data Type

In coding, data type is always important. Beginner should not mistake them. Because I cannot pass a data, whose type is a list, to Python script and maintain the data as a list type data. So I do it in a hard way. Ok, before that, to check the data type is simple. Type class DATA in a single line, and tap Run button, the below output row will show the returned result.

Pass A List to Python

set theItems to ""
repeat with i from 1 to count of theName
	set theItems to theItems & "\"" & ((item i of theName) as text) & "\"" & ","
end repeat
set theItems to text 1 thru -2 of theItems

Here "\"" means character ", and for example theName is a.b, then the final value of theItems is "a","b". I already have curly brackets ready in the Python script, so it will finally become {"a","b"}, which is a list type data in Python.

Pass a Workable File Path to a Python Script in AS

set thePath to POSIX path of theFile
do shell script "python /PATH/TO/THE/PYTHON/SCRIPT" & theItems & " " & quoted form of thePath

At last, don’t forget put end tell at the end of the AS.

If you have a workable and meaningful Python Script to test with the AS, that’s good, otherwise the above will be less meaningful to look at.

The final AS is

tell application "Finder"
	
	set theName to name of (theFile as alias)
	set AppleScript's text item delimiters to "."
	if number of text items of theName > 1 then
		set theName to text items 1 thru -2 of theName
	end if
	
	set theItems to ""
	repeat with i from 1 to count of theName
		set theItems to theItems & "\"" & ((item i of theName) as text) & "\"" & ","
	end repeat
	set theItems to text 1 thru -2 of theItems
	
	set thePath to POSIX path of theFile
	
	do shell script "python /PATH/TO/THE/PYTHON/SCRIPT" & theItems & " " & quoted form of thePath
	
end tell