Note: This book is mostly up to date. The Shortcuts app saw some minor changes between Monterey and Ventura, and UI Browser (which we said a fond farewell to in the book) is now sort of undead. We expect to release a minor update in January 2023. Regardless of the exact timing, the update will be free to everyone who purchases the book now. (Read more about updates).)
Looking for ways to work smarter and faster with your Mac? In this updated and expanded fourth edition of his popular guide to Mac automation, Joe Kissell shows how anyone, at any level of experience, can save time and effort, and avoid unnecessary errors, by using automation techniques that range from the simplest keyboard shortcut to the most complicated script.
In this book, Joe teaches you how to automate routine tasks in a wide variety of ways. You can begin by making the most of productivity features such as Siri, Spotlight (for launching apps), and text replacement—and then move on to the more sophisticated automation tools built into macOS, such as Shortcuts, Automator, AppleScript, services, and shell scripts.
In addition, Joe gives extensive information about third-party automation apps that can make a huge difference to your work efficiency, such as Keyboard Maestro, TextExpander, OmniGraffle, and many more. As an extra bonus, the book includes coupons for discounts on seven automation apps!
Whether you’re new to automation, you just need a refresher, or you’re experienced with automation but want to go deeper, this book can teach you the skills you need to automate with ease. Take back your time, work more efficiently, and have more fun with your Mac, with Take Control of Automating Your Mac, Fourth Edition!
With this book, you’ll learn how to:
- Get started with the built-in macOS automation tools, including Shortcuts, Automator, AppleScript, and shell scripts
- Take full advantage of input devices to save clicks and keystrokes
- Customize toolbars and your Touch Bar to put hard-to-find controls at your fingertips
- Use your voice to control your Mac with Siri and Voice Control/Dictation Commands
- Automate text expansion for faster, more consistent typing
- Control the Finder with a launcher and by organizing files with Hazel
- Supercharge your clipboard to remember and reformat previous copies
- Write macros in Microsoft Office and Nisus Writer Pro
- Create rules to file email automatically in Apple Mail and Outlook
- Log in to websites faster with a password manager
- Automate cloud services with IFTTT and Zapier
- Set up automatic backup and syncing
- Use Omni Automation for JavaScript-based automation tasks
- Control nearly anything on your Mac with Keyboard Maestro
BONUS: We’ve included discount coupons for seven of the key apps Joe covers: 15% to 30% off on Keyboard Maestro, LaunchBar, Hazel, Nisus Writer Pro, Script Debugger, TypeIt4Me, and Typinator—look for coupons at the end of the book!
Take Control publisher Joe Kissell has written more than 60 books about technology, including many popular Take Control books. He formerly wrote for publications such as Macworld, Wirecutter, and TidBITS. He lives in Saskatoon with his wife, his two children, and his cat.
What’s New in Version 4.0.1
This version clarifies some wording about Quick Actions and their relationship to Services; see “Create Your Own Service.” It also adds notes in “Use Dictation Commands” and “Use Omni Automation” about a new website that teaches you how to use Voice Control in Omni apps.
What’s New in the Fourth Edition
This edition of the book adds coverage of macOS 11 Big Sur and macOS 12 Monterey. It also includes notes about expected changes coming later in 2022 in macOS 13 Ventura.
Significant changes include the following:
- Rewrote most of the chapter “The State of Mac Automation” to bring it up to date with current (mid-2022) reality, including the appearance of Shortcuts on the Mac and the removal of the scripting languages PHP and Python.
- In “Create and Use Smart Containers,” added information about the smart folders Apple added to the Notes app in Monterey.
- Included “Screen Recording” in the list of activities for which automation tools might require special permission.
- Added a topic about Elgato’s Stream Deck controllers: “Control Anything with a Stream Deck.”
- Added a sidebar about the essential Default Folder X utility; see “Enhance Open and Save Dialogs with Default Folder X.”
- Updated the list of example apps in “Use a macOS Clipboard Utility.”
- Added a topic about the new MailKit-based extensions supported in Mail for Monterey and later; see “Try Mail Extensions.”
- Removed the discussion of automating bootable duplicates; see the sidebar “Whither Bootable Duplicates?”
- Added Shortcuts to the list of “Apple’s Core Automation Technologies.”
- Added a big chapter on Shortcuts, the automation utility that Apple brought to iOS/iPadOS a few releases ago, but which first appeared on Macs in Monterey; see “Get Started with Shortcuts.”
- Noted in “Create Your Own Service” that Quick Actions no longer appear on the right-click/Control-click contextual menu in the Finder starting in Monterey; I also suggest an alternative.
- Noted the impending discontinuation of the venerable UI Browser utility in “Use GUI Scripting.”
- Updated the “Use Omni Automation” chapter to reflect the addition of OmniFocus to apps that support Omni Automation.
- Marked the passing of a useful automation tool called ControlPlane; see the sidebar “Farewell, ControlPlane.”
- Removed references to outdated books, apps, and websites, of which there were quite a few.
- Dropped all discussion of features in macOS 10.14 Mojave and earlier in order to keep the size and complexity of this book more manageable. This edition of the book assumes you have 10.15 Catalina or later.
What versions of macOS does this book cover?
Unless otherwise noted, all the techniques in this book work with macOS 10.15 Catalina through 12.5 Monterey, and will likely work in future versions of macOS as well. Most of them work in older versions of macOS too—perhaps with minor modifications. In general, the older your operating system, the less likely you’ll find that everything works as described.
Posted by Michael E. Cohen on April 1, 2015
As is automatic when a Take Control book gets a major update, Chuck Joiner of MacVoices interviews the book’s author. The 1.1 update to Take Control of Automating Your Mac is no exception. Watch Joe and Chuck chat about what’s new in this season’s update to a very useful book.
Posted by Michael E. Cohen on June 27, 2014
Taking time off from working on his next ten books, Joe discusses with Chuck Joiner of MacVoices how to make your Mac do more so you have more time to have a life away from the keyboard. In this 40-minute interview, Joe outlines how to think about automating tasks on your Mac and why you don’t need to be a programmer to do it.
January 10, 2023—This book is mostly up to date. The Shortcuts app saw some minor changes between Monterey and Ventura, and UI Browser (which we said a fond farewell to in the book) is now sort of undead. We expect to release a minor update in January 2023. Regardless of the exact timing, the update will be free to everyone who purchases the book now. (Read more about updates.)
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