[MW Forums]

Many of the changes in Safari 3 have been known since Apple released a beta of the browser in June. Many of the changes in Automator 2 have been overshadowed by other additions and enhancements in Leopard. Rob Griffiths evaluates both OS X mainstays, looking at what's new with each app. more

[kresh]

Thanks Rob. That was a very nice piece on Automator 2.
Automator in Tiger has been a hit and miss affair for me in Tiger. Sometimes it's just plain akward to get Automator to do what you want. Automator 2 sounds like a huge improvement, and you're right, I haven't heard it's features trumpted much.
These are the kinds of articles that keep me coming to MacWorld! /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[zwei]

I have found a lot of instances where my automator actions end up being 3 easy automator actions with a custom AppleScript at the end to finish it off. I'm used to AppleScript, so it doesn't really matter all that much ...but Automator 2 sounds like things are going to get a heck of a lot easier!
Automation is one of the biggest reasons I love the Mac. I'm very happy to see they are still focused on making it better in each release. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[Terrin]

With OS 9 I used to have a ton of useful scripts. For instance, if I wanted to go to an online bank account. I would record a script that launched the browser, went to the website, and logged me into my account. That would save me a lot of time because once the script was recorded all I would have to do is double click on the script. Moreover, all that was necessary to record the script was me hitting a record button. From that point on, it would record all my actions. With the switch over to OSX, I lost the ability to record scripts like that. At least, it wasn't as clear on how to do this, and scripts I tried to record wouldn't work.
I'd appreciate it if somebody could tell me if it is possible to do that anymore?

[uchuugaka]

You forgot to mention the ability to rearrange tabs and the other assorted tabbed browsing improvements...
Safari 3 beta has been a joy, though the occasional crash often wiped the View settings.
I'm sweating the wait or update to Leopard... buy it ( or jump on a new machine ) or wait a few weeks to see what others suffer first.
Gotta get my hands on the new dev tools though... ( @ _ @)'

[griffman]

Given that the Safari 3 Public Beta has been out for months, and we've covered its major features here a couple times, I focused on the few things that are totally new in 10.5 -- mainly the web clip feature.
-rob.

[Ubert]

Great write up on Automator. I'm so glad that Automator is getting an overhaul. I have created a couple dozen Automator apps in which I've had to delve into AppleScript. It's good to know that now I should be able to just record an action rather than trying to combine Automator and AppleScript to do the same thing.

[montgomery_burns]

I've read that the new version of Safari has controls for zooming PDF files viewed in the browser. Does it also have controls for rotating a PDF 90 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise?

[Schneb]

I agree totally with Kresh & Ubert regarding Automator 2.

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This ability to record actions in Automator is a long-awaited addition.

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You're not just whistling Dixie. I've been waiting and crying for this ever since OS6 and Macromaker!! Remember the little cassette recorder interface?
As for Safari, it's still not going to replace Firefox. Why? No support for extensions. I cannot live without my AdBlocker and Google Notebook button.

[Imaginos1892]

Does "Reopen All Windows And Tabs From Last Session" include history within the tabs?
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Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!!

[tatilsever]

Can Safari-3 let me shift focus to the tab created by "Open New Tab", but keep the focus on the current tab when I "Open Link in New Tab"?

[ohno]

I have a script for that very same purpose. Try this;

tell application "Safari"
activate
make new document
set URL of document 1 to "https://www.yourbankloginpage.com"
end tell

--wait for the page to load. Your delay time may vary.
delay 5

--this is with my bank asking for my account number and then my password
tell application "System Events"
tell process "Safari"
keystroke "myaccountnumber"
keystroke return
delay 3
keystroke "mypassword"
delay 1
keystroke return
end tell
end tell

[Terrin]

I do not know why people keep saying that. Safari does support extensions. There just aren't as many of them as there are for Firefox. For instance, I use the Saft plugin for Safari. It greatly enhances the feature set on Safari, including blocking ads. Check out:
http://pimpmysafari.com/plugins/
As far as Google Notebook goes for Safari, I suspect if enough people complain, Google will eventually develop a plugin for Safari. The issue is Google, not Apple.

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As for Safari, it's still not going to replace Firefox. Why? No support for extensions. I cannot live without my AdBlocker and Google Notebook button.

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[Terrin]

Nice, I will try this. Yet, I still wish I could make that happen by hitting a record button. Hitting a record button meant I didn't need to know scripting language. Banking is just one of many useful scripts I had.

Quote:

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I have a script for that very same purpose. Try this;

tell application "Safari"
activate
make new document
set URL of document 1 to "https://www.yourbankloginpage.com"
end tell

--wait for the page to load. Your delay time may vary.
delay 5

--this is with my bank asking for my account number and then my password
tell application "System Events"
tell process "Safari"
keystroke "myaccountnumber"
keystroke return
delay 3
keystroke "mypassword"
delay 1
keystroke return
end tell
end tell

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