Work with a set of additional tools for AppleScripts management on your Mac. Check out the options for basic scripting, content search, previewing, component adjustment, limitation activation and removal, dictionary comparisons, debugging, backup creation, etc.
Script Debugger is an authoring tool for AppleScripts. AppleScript is a language for creating script files that control computer actions and applications. It is basically a language for automating tasks.
Script Debugger is a scripting tool that helps users to create, edit and debug AppleScripts. It provides a very rich dictionary browser, so that script developers have quick access to needed information. The dictionary can be navigated through by requesting for several criteria to be taken into account, such as commands, classes, suites, records, events or enumerations. Modifications can be performed in the running application that is targeted by the script. The scripting tool allows for changes made to the targeted utilities to be tracked. With the help of the Explorer, values can be changed inside Script Debugger and the modifications made to the application running outside of the script will also be reflected in Explorer. In order for users to determine how to refer to an element, specified names can be displayed by Explorer and help can be provided in choosing the appropriate name, depending on current needs.
Script Debugger is a tool for creating, editing and debugging AppleScript scripts, where AppleScript is a language whose aim is to exchange data between applications and to control such applications so that repetitive tasks be automated.
v4.5 [Aug 12, 2010]
What's New In Script Debugger 4.5
Improved Editing
• The editor now fully supports Unicode on Leopard systems. Unicode text will be properly retained when scripts are compiled or opened, allowing you to include text in multiple languages and alphabets within your scripts.
• Script Debugger now ‘auto-saves’ recovery information whenever you execute a script. Should AppleScript, Script Debugger or a Scripting Addition crash, Script Debugger will recover the script the next time it’s launched, preventing the loss of valuable work.
• Script length limitations removed on Leopard systems. Script Debugger would previously lose its ability to display AppleScript formatting for long scripts (>3000 lines). This limitation no longer exists when running on a Leopard system.
• You can now split the editor vertically and/or horizontally. This lets you view and edit multiple sections of a script at the same time, enabling you to easily spot changes or similarities.
• The Find & Replace panel now provides Regular Expression searching using the ICU Regular Expression engine. This lets you perform powerful Regular Expression-based finds and text substitutions on your scripts without resorting to an external text editor.
• The editor now automatically closes AppleScript block structures as you type. If you type ‘repeat with i from 1 to 10’ followed by Return, for example, Script Debugger will automatically insert the matching ‘end’ statement, allowing you to enter AppleScript block structures more quickly.
• The editor now provides a Text Substitution feature that allows short keywords to be replaced with boilerplate code as you type. Typing ‘dd’, followed by a space, for example, causes ‘display dialog "message"’ to be inserted with ‘message’ selected. You can define your own text substitutions to suit your scripting environment.
• The editor now automatically closes parentheses and quotes as you type, making it easier to enter string literals, lists and records into your script.
• Script Debugger 3.0’s 'Edit with BBEdit' command has been reintroduced and now works with Bare Bones Software’s BBEdit and TextWrangler or with MacroMate’s TextMate text editors. This command lets you temporarily transfer a script to one of these editors to take advantage of their powerful features.
• The new Text Completion command includes explicitly declared identifiers from the script (handler names, global variable names, property names, script object names, local variable names, and variables appearing in ‘repeat with’blocks) and terms from the AppleScript, Scripting Additions, and current tell context dictionaries. Handler name completion includes parameters, allowing you to quickly enter terms as they are editing a script.
• A warning panel now appears when Script Debugger is about to launch applications to complete a Look Up Definition search. You can choose which applications to launch, thereby avoiding delays while applications launch as well as consumption of memory.
• When opening a script that may cause the launch of applications, Script Debugger now offers you the choice of opening the script or recovering its plain text source to avoid the delay in launching applications.
• Major improvements made to the UI for Editing Libraries include: a new popup button listing the libraries in Script Debugger’s Application Support/Libraries folder, making it possible to add libraries without going through the Open File panel; the ‘Relative To’ popup in the Add Library open panel now changes directories to match the relative path chosen; and the libraries toolbar button in the script window now offers a popup listing the libraries in Script Debugger’s Application Support/Libraries folder. This makes the management of libraries associated with a script vastly more efficient.
• Balance command now handles compound statements (tell x to y, if x then y), and balances string literals and comments, making it a more reliable tool for selecting blocks that can then be moved, copied or deleted.
• Added TextMate’s Command-Return behavior that inserts a new line after the current line regardless of where the insertion point is within the line.
Improved Debugging
Improved Dictionary Window
Other Major Improvements
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