Inside Macintosh: AppleScript Language Guide / Part 3 - Appendixes

Appendix A - The Language at a Glance

Commands

A command is a request for action. In AppleScript, you can use application commands, which are defined in each application's dictionary; AppleScript commands, which are defined and handled by AppleScript;
or scripting addition commands, which are defined and handled by AppleScript extensions called scripting additions.

Table A-1 lists standard application commands and AppleScript commands. (For information about scripting addition commands, see the AppleScript Scripting Additions Guide.) The syntax shown for standard application commands is the syntax supported by most applications. Individual applications can extend or change the way the standard application commands work.

For information about how a specific application handles a particular application command, see the application's dictionary. For more detailed descriptions of the commands listed here, see Chapter 4, "Commands."

Command syntax

Command	Syntax	Result
close (application command)	close referenceToObject	None
	close referenceToObject saving in referenceToFile
	close referenceToObject saving saveOption
	close referenceToObject saving in referenceToFile ÿ saving saveOption
copy (AppleScript command)	( copy | put ) expression ( to | into) variablePattern	Value copied
copy (application command)	( copy | put ) expression ¬ ( to | into) referencePattern	Value copied (none if no parameters are included)
	( copy | put )
	( copy | put ) referenceToObject
count (AppleScript command)	count compoundValue count [ each | every ] className ( in | of ) ¬ compoundValue	Integer
	number of compoundValue number of pluralClassName ( in | of ) compoundValue
count (application command)	count [ each | every ] className count [ each | every ] className ( in | of ) referenceToObject ]	Integer or list of integers
	number of className number of className [ ( in | of ) referenceToObject ]
data size (application command)	data size of referenceToObject	Integer or list of integers
	data size of referenceToObject as className
delete (application command)	delete referenceToObject	None
duplicate (application command)	duplicate referenceToObject	Reference
	duplicate referenceToObject to referenceToLocation
error (AppleScript command)	error ¬ [ errorMessage ] ¬ [ number errorNumber ] ¬ [ from offendingObject ] ¬ [ partial result resultList ] ¬ [ to expectedType ]
exists (application command)	exists referenceToObject	Boolean
	referenceToObject exists
get (AppleScript command)	get expression get expression as className	Value of expression
get (application command)	get referenceToObject get referenceToObject as className	Value of reference
launch (application command)	launch launch referenceToApplication	None
make (application command)	make [new] className at referenceToLocation	Reference to the new object
	make [new] className at referenceToLocation ÿ with properties { propertyLabel:propertyValue ÿ [, propertyLabel:propertyValue ]...}
	make [new] className at referenceToLocation ÿ with data dataValue
	make [new] className at referenceToLocation ÿ with properties {propertyLabel:propertyValue ÿ [, propertyLabel:propertyValue ]...} ÿ with data dataValue
move (application command)	move referenceToObject to referenceToLocation	Reference to the moved object
open (application command)	open referenceToFile	None
	open listOfFiles
print (application command)	print referenceToObject	None
quit (application command)	quit referenceToApplication	None
	quit referenceToApplication saving saveOption
run (AppleScript command)	run run scriptObjectVariable	The value, if any, returned by the script object
run (application command)	run run referenceToApplication	None
save (application command)	save referenceToObject	None
	save referenceToObject in referenceToFile
set (AppleScript command)	set variablePattern to expression expression returning variablePattern	Value assigned
set (application command)	set referencePattern to expression expression returning referencePattern	Value assigned