Getting info from UI Scripting

External Since: Jun 21, 2004 Posts: 26

How can I get information using UI scripting? For example, let's say I
want to do one thing if speakers are plugged, another if they're not.
This info is apparently available to the UI Scripting inspector, because I
can get a panel that shows:

---------------------------------------------

<AXApplication: “System Preferences”>
<AXWindow: “Sound”>
<AXTabGroup>
<AXScrollArea>
<AXTable>
<AXRow>
<AXTextField>

Attributes:
AXRole: “AXTextField”
AXRoleDescription: “text field”
AXHelp: “(null)”
AXValue (W): “Internal speakers”
AXEnabled: “1”
AXFocused: “0”
AXParent: “<AXRow>”
AXWindow: “<AXWindow: “Sound”>”
AXPosition: “x=62 y=309”
AXSize: “w=252 h=18”
AXSelectedText: “(null)”
AXSelectedTextRange: “(null)”
AXNumberOfCharacters: “17”
AXVisibleCharacterRange: “pos=722 len=17”

Actions:
AXConfirm - confirm

---------------------------------------------

The AXValue (W): "Internal speakers"
changes to
AXValue (W): " Headphones”

when the speakers are plugged in. I think I should be able to grab that
info somehow, but none of the things I've tried work.

(Apologies if there are some funky characters in there -- I just
cut-and-posted from UI Inspector.)

Ian
--
Ian York (iayork@panix.com) <http://www.panix.com/~iayork/>
"-but as he was a York, I am rather inclined to suppose him a
very respectable Man." -Jane Austen, The History of England

External Since: Jun 21, 2004 Posts: 26

In article ,
Ian A. York wrote:
>
>How can I get information using UI scripting? For example, let's say I
>want to do one thing if speakers are plugged, another if they're not.

Just in case anyone cared, an answer turns out to be something like
this:

----------------------------------------------------
tell application "System Preferences"
activate
set current pane to pane "com.apple.preference.sound"
end tell

tell application "System Events"
tell process "System Preferences"
click radio button 2 of tab group 1 of window "Sound"
set Which_Output to (get value of text field 1 of row 1 of
table 1 of scroll area 1 of tab group 1 of window "Sound")
end tell
end tell
tell application "System Preferences" to quit
----------------------------------------------------

Seems like the temptation to use names for UI elements, even when UI
Brower offers them, whould be resisted (e.g. "Radiobutton "output""
should be called "radio button 2"). As far as I can tell figuring out
which number goes with which button is mostly trial and error.

The script here is still pretty much useless, but it was a good exercise
for me.

Ian
--
Ian York (iayork@panix.com) <http://www.panix.com/~iayork/>
"-but as he was a York, I am rather inclined to suppose him a
very respectable Man." -Jane Austen, The History of England