Add an action to create a temporary folder for the zip archive

Follow these steps to create the workflow: 1. Here you’ll create a simple but useful workflow to zip up some selected file(s) and email the zip file to a specified email address. This is indicated by a little arrow symbol between the 2 actions: Many actions have an output (such as a piece of text or a file name) that is then passed to the next action as an input. You can then save your workflow and run it whenever you like. You string actions together to make a workflow, which is a script of tasks for Automator to run. What are actions, workflows and variables? I’ll cover variables in another tutorial here we’ll concentrate on actions and workflows.Īctions are simple tasks that Automator asks other apps to carry out, such as “New Folder” or “Pause iTunes”. There’s also a small bottom-left pane that describes each action or variable. The Automator window contains an Actions/Variables area (on the left) and a Workflow pane (on the right):

For now, just choose the Custom icon, as shown above, then click Choose.

These options just provide basic templates to get you going. When Automator starts, you can choose a starting point for a new workflow: To run Automator, open your Applications folder in the Finder and double-click the Automator icon. The workflow, called “Zip and Send”, will zip up selected file(s) and automatically email the resulting zip archive to an address you specify. In this beginner Automator tutorial I’ll walk you through the process of creating a simple Automator workflow, from start to finish. This comes down to AppleScript – an easy-to-learn scripting language for getting apps to do things – and Automator, a drag-and-drop tool for creating a series of automated actions, known as a workflow. One really nice thing about Mac OS X is the ease with which you can automate tasks.

Best mac automator workflows