Objects and References

This chapter describes how to interpret object class definitions and how to use references to specify objects.

Objects are the things in applications, the Mac OS, or AppleScript that can respond to commands by performing actions. For example, application objects are objects stored in applications and their documents. Usually, they are identifiable items that users can manipulate in applications, such as windows, words, characters, and paragraphs in a text-editing application. Objects can contain data, in the form of values, properties, and elements, that can change over time.

Each object belongs to an object class, which is a category for objects that have similar characteristics and respond to the same commands. You can get detailed information about the object classes an application supports by examining the application's dictionary. To examine the dictionary, you drop the application's icon on the Script Editor icon, or open the application with Script Editor's Open Dictionary command. Table 5-1 and Table 5-2 show a portion of the Window class definitions from the application dictionaries of, respectively, the Finder and AppleWorks.

To refer to an object from a script, you use a reference, which is a compound name, similar to a path or address, that identifies an object or groups of objects.

Objects and references are described in the following sections:

Object Class Definitions describes the kind of information you can expect to find in an object class definition and where to obtain these definitions.
References defines a reference, describes complete and partial references, and explains how to use containers in references.
Reference Forms lists reference forms you can use to identify objects and provides sections that describe each reference form in detail.
Using the Filter Reference Form describes the optional filter form you can add to a reference to specify only the objects that match one or more conditions.
References to Files and Applications describes how to specify files and applications, both locally and on remote machines.

Most objects are contained in applications, but you can also create another type of object, called a script object, that can be stored in scripts or saved in files. For information about script objects, see Script Objects.