Which workflows you use will greatly depend on the kind of work you do. Dictation Command: A workflow that runs when dictation is used.Image Capture Plugin: A workflow that’s available in the Image Capture app on your Mac.Use this workflow and it will run when a calendar event occurs. Calendar Alarm: it can be easy for your day to get ahead of you and you forget to do some little thing that needed to be done.Folder Action: this workflow will run actions on any items dropped into a folder to which the workflow is connected.Print Plugin: this is a workflow that’s available in the Print dialog.This is what you’ll use when creating workflows to launch from contextual menus (e.g. Quick Action: previously called “Services” in previous versions of macOS, Quick Actions can be added to Finder windows, the Touch Bar, and the Services menu.Some of them can even work by dragging and dropping a file onto them. Application: since workflows are themselves mini-apps, it stands to reason to create a workflow called “Application.” Applications can run independently of Automator.

I know it’s a bit confusing because a Workflow is a workflow.

Workflow: you run Workflows within Automator.I want to cover the most commonly used mini-programs (called “Workflows”) that you might create in Automator.Īs of this writing, here are the eight types of Workflows you can create.

For years it has been a way to do everything from creating shortcuts that allow you to manipulate files, rename files, perform an action on anything placed in a folder, etc. In short, Automator is a way to, in essence, write “code” on the Mac without being a computer programmer. That is why Automator on the macOS is one of my favorite tools for giving me boosts of productivity. Especially if you’re able to increase the speed of things you do on any kind of regular basis. In today’s topsy-turvy, busy world, the faster you can get things done, the better.

Best mac automator workflows