I know it’s a bit confusing because a Workflow is a workflow. Workflow: you run Workflows within Automator.I want to cover the most commonly used mini-programs (called “Workflows”) that you might create in Automator.Īs of this writing, here are the eight types of Workflows you can create. For years it has been a way to do everything from creating shortcuts that allow you to manipulate files, rename files, perform an action on anything placed in a folder, etc. In short, Automator is a way to, in essence, write “code” on the Mac without being a computer programmer. That is why Automator on the macOS is one of my favorite tools for giving me boosts of productivity. Especially if you’re able to increase the speed of things you do on any kind of regular basis. Onto the Tutorial.In today’s topsy-turvy, busy world, the faster you can get things done, the better. The only thing I do to set this Rube Goldberg-esque sequence into motion is to download a new book using either Adobe Digital Editions or Kindle for Mac. From there, every time a book is added to that folder, Calibre knows to add it into my Calibre library, will delete the book (to avoid duplicates) and if it is DRM free, Calibre will convert it into my preferred format. I’ve set up Automator to “watch” the folders where I download my ebooks – either in epub, pdf, or Kindle – and move them into a separate folder.

These types of programs really are harnessing the power of your computer and making the device work for you. I’ve just started researching Automator and I’m blown away at what it can be set up to do for you. In the future, rather than executing each step individually, you simply run the macro.īut MAC Operating Systems have a macro utility built right in. A macro utility essentially records a number of repetitive steps to complete a task. It was the first time I had heard about Hazel, a low priced software that serves as a macro utility. While the user did this to automatically strip the DRM from the books, the tutorial is smart for any one who wants to create an ongoing catalog of their purchases. I saw a post the other day about using Hazel + Calibre to automatically import your Kindle files into Calibre. This is a MAC only post but next week Brian will author a post for PC users

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