automatic lover

for anyone who's limped along (as i have) with third-party batchscript apps like "a better finder", mac osx tiger's automator facility is a revelation.

automator goes way beyond anything that was previously possible with the "better finder" series - and does it all with seamless osx integration and the appley elegance of the mac user interface that we've grown to know and love.

the first coolest thing about automator is that it's already built into your os. right-clicking (or control-clicking) on any item in the finder lets you select "automator" from the resultant pulldown menu, and from there you have instant access to a host of batch scripted functions that collectively can make life massively easier.

the second coolest thing about automator is the breadth and flexibility of the built-in scripts. "a better finder rename" is already suffering a massive inferiority complex right about now. here are just a few of the prelisted options: batch add for spotlight comments. combine text files. label finder items. sort finder items. combine pdf pages. crop images. rotate images. oh yeah, and... batch renaming. but of a scope and ease-of-use that "better finder" can only dream of.

the third coolest thing about automator is that you can save your scripts - and once saved, your scripts are always accessible system wide. no app launch needed, no "where did i save that file" brainfart moments, just pure unbridled zero-friction exhilarating slickness for your workflow.

automator in so many ways typifies what i love about osx: it's another one of those beautiful, invisible lifesavers lurking just below the surface of the os - which, once explored, invariably evokes the "how did i ever live without this thing?" slap-of-the-forehead moment of joyous wonderment. all hail cupertino!