Anyone Know how to Run an OSX service in a workflow?

[alfredclough]

I'm thinking specifically of maybe an applescript command that would let you pass input to a text based service and get the output from it.

[forgetfulfellow]

Hopefully this looks promising for you
 

If it does, tell me! I might want to use it too

 

http://my.safaribooksonline.com/book/programming/applescript/0596008503/manipulating-text/applescripttmm-chp-4-sect-2

[alfredclough]

That's a great summary of using dialog boxes in Applescript, but I don't see any reference to calling OS X services through Applescript.

[deanishe]

This should do the trick. Kinda. It assumes that the main menu (where the Services menu resides) has the same name as the application. This isn't true for Google Chrome, for example, so the script doesn't work with it.

set theServiceName to "OmniFocus: New Inbox Task per Line"

tell application "System Events"
	set appName to item 1 of (get name of processes whose frontmost is true)
	tell (process 1 where frontmost is true)
		tell menu bar 1
			tell menu bar item appName
				tell menu appName
					tell menu item "Services"
						tell menu "Services"
							click menu item theServiceName
						end tell
					end tell
				end tell
			end tell
		end tell
	end tell
end tell

[alfredclough]

deanishe,

 

That's a creative idea, but I was looking for a programmatic way to access the service. Kinda the way in Quicksilver you could enter text and then pass it into any OS X service.

[deanishe]

Err, that is a programmatic way … You mean an actual API? There isn't one, not for AppleScript.

 

Quicksilver can do it because it's a Cocoa application. AppleScript can't. You need to call the Cocoa NSPerformService class, which could possibly be done via AppleScript using Automator Runner, thus.

[deanishe]

Glad it works for you, but that sounds like an OS bug.

 

Still, Spotlight on German systems recognises the English names of apps, so maybe the bug is that it doesn't work without ever changing the system to English and not that it works in the "wrong" language.

Edited October 1, 2014 by deanishe

[tempelorg]

In 2015 I made an Automator action "Run Service" that lets you invoke Services that work on text or files.

 

See

https://blog.tempel.org/2015/09/RunServiceForAutomator.html

and

https://github.com/tempelmann/RunServiceActionForAutomator