iCreate - UK (2019-08)

Automator

Prompt for photos

The app we created runs when photos

are dropped on the app icon. To turn it

into a regular app that you double-click

to run, drag ‘Ask For Finder Items’ to

the app in Automator. When the app is

run by double-clicking the icon, it will

prompt you to select files to process,

like a regular utility.

Knowledge base

Use Automator to

apply photo effects

A

utomator could be one of the most under-used apps

ontheMacandperhapsthereasonforthisis because

it lookslikea geekyprogrammertoolkit,butreally

it is packedwithmanysimpleandstraightforwardfeatures.

AutomatorenablesyoutobuildappstorunonMacswithout

requiringanyprogrammingknowledgebyusingready-made

buildingblocksthatyoucanjointogether.

In thistutorialweshowyouhowtoadda singleblocktobuild

a veryusefultooltoapplyeffects,filtersandactionstoa photo.

It willtakeonlya minuteortwotocreateandit supportsdrag

anddrop,andhasdozensof effects.It is amazingwhatcan

beachievedwithsucha simpleapp,fromresizingphotosto

applyingfilters,adjustingexposure,gammaandmore.

Build your own photo editor for adding special effects and

filtersto photos in just a few minutes

5

Timeneeded

Developer

Apple,Inc

Difficulty

Creating a photo effects app is just one of the many uses of

Automator, so it is well worth exploring the app further...

Your Photo Effects app

How the Photo Effects app works

Set the default

Click the menu below the

thumbnail to display a long

list of effects and filters.

Choose the one you use

the most often to make it

the default for the app.

Add interactivity

If this checkbox is clear,

the selected filter effect is

applied. Tick the box to add

the filter menu to the app so

that it will pause to let you

choose the effect.

Use the controls

Drag a photo from Finder and

drop it on the app icon to run

it. Select the effect from the

menu below the thumbnail

and use these controls to

configure the action.

Quartz

Composition Filter

This is a great collection of

filters, effects and tools that

can be applied to photos.

Drag it from the library and

drop it in the application area

to add it to the project.