S
Sol Apache
Wondering if we should now have a microsoft.public.mac.applescript newsgroup
- maybe a bit premature...
- maybe a bit premature...
J
Jim Gordon MVP
Hi,
You are welcome and invited to post any applescript questions and comments
as they pertain to products in the newsgroup for that products. Adding a new
applescript group for each product would probably be counterproductive for
people who regularly read and post to the newsgroups (more work).
Have you seen the Applescript resoucews page?
http://www.microsoft.com/mac/resources/resources.aspx?pid=asforoffice
-Jim Gordon
Mac MVP
--
Jim Gordon
Mac MVP
MVPs are not Microsoft Employees
MVP info
You are welcome and invited to post any applescript questions and comments
as they pertain to products in the newsgroup for that products. Adding a new
applescript group for each product would probably be counterproductive for
people who regularly read and post to the newsgroups (more work).
Have you seen the Applescript resoucews page?
http://www.microsoft.com/mac/resources/resources.aspx?pid=asforoffice
-Jim Gordon
Mac MVP
--
Jim Gordon
Mac MVP
MVPs are not Microsoft Employees
MVP info
S
Sol Apache
Hi Jim
What I had in mind was something like the microsoft.public.word.vba.general
newsgroup from which I have had excellent help for my simple macros. This is
not just a mac newsgroup though (and I have just noticed it is for Word
only! - rarely use Excel macros, and never any PowerPoint).
Well, we don¹t have to go to applescript just yet to replace VBA, though I
may start being more serious about it before Office 2008 comes out. If I can
get advice on AppleScript from within the appropriate microsoft.public.mac
usergroup that will be great.
Thanks for your advice
Sol
What I had in mind was something like the microsoft.public.word.vba.general
newsgroup from which I have had excellent help for my simple macros. This is
not just a mac newsgroup though (and I have just noticed it is for Word
only! - rarely use Excel macros, and never any PowerPoint).
Well, we don¹t have to go to applescript just yet to replace VBA, though I
may start being more serious about it before Office 2008 comes out. If I can
get advice on AppleScript from within the appropriate microsoft.public.mac
usergroup that will be great.
Thanks for your advice
Sol
J
Jim Gordon MVP
Hi Sol,
Applescript is not the only method for automating Office applications. OLE
Automation makes the object model available to any scripting language that
knows how to use it. RealBasic is another language that understands Office
(both Mac and Windows). It could be (still don't know for sure because
Office 2008 does not exist yet) that OLE Automation will continue to work
because it does not rely on the Visual Basic Editor nor on the Visual Basic
Compiler - it has both of those on its own.
So far the number of AppleScript inquiries has been fairly small and easily
managed within the existing Mac Office newsgroups. It would not surprise me
that the number of postings will increase during the next year, but will
probably level off once 2008 has been on the market for a while and most of
the questions that come up have been answered.
For those seeking AppleScript answers I think adding a new group would be a
slight inconvenience, as they would have to search both Mac groups for
answers. Right now for all Mac questions there is a single place to go, and
there already is a body of knowledge in the existing groups.
-Jim Gordon
Mac MVP
--
Jim Gordon
Mac MVP
MVPs are not Microsoft Employees
MVP info
Applescript is not the only method for automating Office applications. OLE
Automation makes the object model available to any scripting language that
knows how to use it. RealBasic is another language that understands Office
(both Mac and Windows). It could be (still don't know for sure because
Office 2008 does not exist yet) that OLE Automation will continue to work
because it does not rely on the Visual Basic Editor nor on the Visual Basic
Compiler - it has both of those on its own.
So far the number of AppleScript inquiries has been fairly small and easily
managed within the existing Mac Office newsgroups. It would not surprise me
that the number of postings will increase during the next year, but will
probably level off once 2008 has been on the market for a while and most of
the questions that come up have been answered.
For those seeking AppleScript answers I think adding a new group would be a
slight inconvenience, as they would have to search both Mac groups for
answers. Right now for all Mac questions there is a single place to go, and
there already is a body of knowledge in the existing groups.
-Jim Gordon
Mac MVP
--
Jim Gordon
Mac MVP
MVPs are not Microsoft Employees
MVP info
D
Daiya Mitchell
Jim said:
I also like the idea of non-applescripters being introduced to
applescript via a combined group. Traffic is not so high in the
individual program groups that scripters need to be segregated out, I
don't think. I do hope that the current groups become places for
applescript questions and answers--the problem right now is that we
don't have enough people who are able to give the answers.....
Do you see a need, Sol? What made that occur to you?
Daiya
S
Sol Apache
Hi Daiya
This is in anticipation of Word 2008. VBA won¹t be in it, and Microsoft
plans to have more AppleScript functions to replace it.
Hopefully AppleScript will be able to function in the same way as VBA did -
macros embedded in templates, able to be in buttons and toolbars, etc. Not
sure if it will work with recording as VBA did. You can record in
AppleScript but not as well as with macros in Word.
Once Word 2008 is out, there will be a need for Word AppleScript experts!
This is in anticipation of Word 2008. VBA won¹t be in it, and Microsoft
plans to have more AppleScript functions to replace it.
Hopefully AppleScript will be able to function in the same way as VBA did -
macros embedded in templates, able to be in buttons and toolbars, etc. Not
sure if it will work with recording as VBA did. You can record in
AppleScript but not as well as with macros in Word.
Once Word 2008 is out, there will be a need for Word AppleScript experts!
B
Barry Wainwright [MVP]
Unlikely in the extreme...
That may also improve
That's true enough!
D
Daiya Mitchell
Jim said:
Need for experts, but no need for a separate group. I thought Sol maybe
had some specific reasons for separating scripting questions out and
wanted to hear them, as I could not think of any, but it seems he just
wants to ensure he can ask questions at all. No need for a new group to
make that happen.
But really--I think Paul Berkowitz and I hope Matt Neuberg should say
what they want, and then we'll all go there.
Daiya
P
Paul Berkowitz
Need for experts, but no need for a separate group. I thought Sol maybe
had some specific reasons for separating scripting questions out and
wanted to hear them, as I could not think of any, but it seems he just
wants to ensure he can ask questions at all. No need for a new group to
make that happen.
But really--I think Paul Berkowitz and I hope Matt Neuberg should say
what they want, and then we'll all go there.
Daiya
I guess I've got to speak now. ;-)
At the moment, I don't think we need a separate AppleScript newsgroup, since
- so far - there have not been nearly enough questions to justify it. That
might change some day.
I suppose that if and when I find myself repeating all the same things in
all the newsgroups about AppleScript issues that really have to do with
AppleScript syntax rather than app-specific scripting, I might well
reconsider.
For some of these questions, I expect that the answers will be of the nature
of recommending books on AppleScript (Matt's paramount: "AppleScript: The
Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition" by Matt Neuburg [O'Reilly]
<http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/applescpttdg2/>
) . Joining the AppleScript Users mailing list
<http://lists.apple.com/mailman/listinfo/applescript-users>
for questions on AppleScript syntax would also be a good idea, since there
are a lot of people there able and ready to answer, though for
Office-specific questions it will probably just be me, or Barry, so might as
well ask here in the office NGs.
--
Paul Berkowitz
MVP MacOffice
Entourage FAQ Page: <http://www.entourage.mvps.org/faq/index.html>
AppleScripts for Entourage: <http://macscripter.net/scriptbuilders/>
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