One of the big new features of Mac OS X 10.4 (a.k.a Tiger) is a program called Automator. The thought behind Automator is making scripting easy. Using a simple drag and drop process, anybody can create workflows or applications that automate boring and repetitive tasks. Unfortunately, this is still not as easy as it could be, and thus the reason for this article. Here, you can learn how to make a few simple workflows, and then use this knowledge to create your own.

Screenshot of Resize Images Workflow

Resize Images: This workflow will ask the user to select a folder (with the normal open dialog), get the contents of that folder, and resize all of the images within it. Only three actions are required, two from the Finder, and one from Preview.

Begin with the "Ask for Finder Items" action from the Finder list. Change the Type to "Folders." You can set the prompt to whatever you like, such as "Choose a Folder of Images." Next, add the Finder action "Get Folder Contents." The last thing to add is the Preview action called "Scale Images." A dialog will be presented to you, simply click Add. This action adds an extra "Copy Finder Items" action that needs to be removed (click on it and hit the delete key). Finally, you can set "Scale Images" to the size you want (this will set the horizontal size of the image, with the vertical size set proportionally) or a percentage of image sizes.

That's all there is to it. Now, you can save that workflow, or simply hit the Run key. Alternatively, you could save this as an application, and run it any time you need to resize a group of images. If you don't feel like creating this workflow yourself, you can download it here.

Screenshot of Backup Documents Workflow

Backup Documents: With this workflow you can easily backup your important files (located in your Documents folder) with only two actions. Save this as an application, and run it once a week to keep proper backups of the data you do not want to lose. You could easily expand this workflow to multiple folders if you wish.

Start by adding a "Get Specified Finder Items" action from the Finder list. Click on the little plus sign, navigate to the Documents folder inside your Home folder, and click the Open button. Next, add the "Burn a Disc" action from the the System list. Change the Disc Name to something like "Documents Backup." Check the "Append date" box, uncheck the "Erase first" box, uncheck the "Verify burned data" box, and select Eject Disc.

Save this workflow as an application, and run it as needed. To add more folders to your backup, simply use the plus button in the first action to continue adding as many folders as you want. Just be careful, you don't want to add more than a CD or DVD can store. Again, if you don't feel like creating this workflow yourself, you can download it here.

Screenshot of Birthday E-mails Workflow

Birthday E-mails: Another two action workflow grabs all the people who have birthdays today, from the Address Book, and sends them a nice birthday e-mail. Run this application on a daily basis to send everyone you love a nice greeting on their special day.

The first action to add is the "Find People with Birthdays" from the Address Book list. Make sure the date is set to Today. Next, open the Mail actions list, and add the "Send Birthday Greetings" action to the workflow. Type in a nice birthday message (make sure to not make it personal, as the message will be sent out to multiple people). Click on the "Random Image for Each Recipient" box to keep your friends and family guessing.

Save this workflow as an application, and run it daily to make sure you never forget a birthday (well, at least your Mac will never forget a birthday). You could even add the new application to your login items, in case you log in or start up your computer every day. One last time, if you don't feel like creating this workflow yourself, you can download it here.

Creating these workflows should have gotten you accustomed to the basics of Automator. Hopefully you can use this knowledge to make your life less mundane. Apple has given you the tool, and now it's up to you to use it.