The Automation Station 1.3.1

...is a small FaceSpan Application designed to help me; if it helps you too,
then that's great!  It does a few things for you:

1. It can launch Netscape Communicator (or Navigator) 4.x and log you in to
a proxy server.

2. It can be a go-between for applications that send GetURL AppleEvents and
Netscape.  For example, many EMail programs have an option for you to
double-click on a URL and have it open in your web browser.  To do this, they
send a "GetURL event" with the address to Netscape.  By having them point to
the Automation Station instead of Netscape, the Automation Station can check
to see if Netscape is running.  If needed, it can then launch Netscape and log
you in to the Proxy Server before passing along the URL.

3.  The Automation Station can open a database in FileMaker Pro and restore
its location on your monitor(s).  When doing so, it can also run a script or
go to the last entry in the database.

4. It includes a mini CD Player you can use with your first CD drive.

5. It has a creator and file code viewer and changer.

6. There's an AppleScript command line/web address line.


Installation:

In this version of the Automation Station, you do not need Netscape or
FileMaker Pro.  If you wish, you can just run the application right after it
has been extracted from its archive.  However, for complete functionality, you
need to install the scripting additions and apps, as outlined below.

1. Before installing Automation Station, install Netscape 4 and/or FileMaker
Pro 3 or 4, and make sure they work.

2. Copy AudioCDgh to the Scripting Additions folder inside your System Folder. 

3. Copy the Automation Station to your Startup Items Folder (or put an Alias
there) if you want it to automatically launch at Startup.

4. Restart.  When your system comes back up, you should see the Automation
Station launch with all your other stuff (if you didn't make it a Startup
Item, launch it now).

5. Switch to the Automation Station.  Pull down the Edit menu and pick
Preferences.  This Options dialog is where you can enter the information AmSt
needs to do things for you.


To use the Auto-Login Proxy function of the Automation Station:

First, set up the proxy options by using these steps:

1. Open the Preferences dialog by clicking on the small Automation Station
icon or by picking Preferences from the Edit menu.

2. In the Auto-Login panel enter your proxy server Username, then click on Set
Password.

3. Enter your password twice, then press OK.  AmSt will warn you if they don't
match when you press OK and let you edit them.

4. Press OK in the Options dialog to save your settings.

From this point, you can click on the Auto-Login Proxy button (the Netscape
icon with a crossed-out proxy window) to launch Netscape and log in for you. 
You can also open files in Netscape by dragging them onto the Auto-Login Proxy
button, open locations from the Automation Station by typing them into the
command line, and force AmSt to log in by holding down Option while clicking
the Auto-Login Proxy button.

If you have "Respond to GetURL events" turned on in the Options dialog, other
applications can use the Automation Station as a helper to open Netscape for
you.  Depending on the application, you may have to choose Automation Station
as the application that handles various URL types, or you have to change your
Internet or Internet Config control panels to use AmSt as the Helper App for
various types.


To use the Open and Restore Database function of the Automation Station:

To use the Open and Restore Database function, the database has to be on a
server in the default zone and allow guest access.

1. Open FileMaker Pro and the Database you wish to use.  

2. Position the database's window to the layout and screen location to which
you'd like it restored, and make sure that window is in front of all other
FileMaker Pro windows.

3. Switch to the Automation Station, then open the preferences dialog.  Switch
to the Open DB panel.

4. Click "Gather Info from FileMaker".

5. You should see the name, layout, and bounds of the database be filled in. 
If you do not want the Automation Station to restore the screen location,
uncheck "Restore Bounds".

6. By default, the Automation Station will go to the last entry in the
database.  You can have it do nothing or run a FileMaker Pro script instead. 
If you want it to run a script, click "Run Script" and type the script's name
into the text box.  (You can get the Script's name easily by picking
"ScriptMaker" from the FileMaker menus, finding the script you want in the
list, and Copy/Pasting it.)


To use the CD Player:

All you have to do is put an Audio CD into your CD drive and use the buttons
to make it play.


To use the Code Viewer:

The Code Viewer works through interaction with the Finder.  To see a file's
Creator and File Type codes, drag the file's icon from the Finder to the left
icon (the one with a document pointing at the text fields).

If you want to change one or more files, edit the codes accordingly then drag
the file or files to the right icon (the one with the text fields pointing at
a document).


To use the Command Line:

The text field at the bottom of the Automation Station window has two
functions.

1. If you enter a URL into the command line and press Return, Auto-Login Proxy
will be triggered to open that URL in Netscape.

2. If you type a line of AppleScript into the command line, it will be run and
the result shown (if possible).


New Features in 1.3.1:

1.  AmSt no longer needs Sandi's Additions to make Auto-Login Proxy work.

2.  Fixed a few miscellaneous bugs, including balloon help beachballs and an
error when quitting.


New Features in 1.3:

1. Completely rewritten to use the ESG Framework (1.0b3)

2. Code Viewer and Command Line functions added.

3. Much of the interface was cleaned up.

4. Most of the functions have a corresponding menu item.


New Features in 1.2.1:

1. Fixed a bug with GetURL: Automation Station should now open properly if
launched by a GetURL event.

2. If GetURL is enabled and Netscape is running, GetURL Events received will
go through even if you have the Proxy disabled.

3. Reworked the Auto-Login Proxy Options dialog a bit.

4. Removed an option from the Automation Options dialog.

5. More of a Known Issue than a feature: Appearance features will fluctuate
(it assumes the Platinum appearance). Sorry.


New Features in 1.2:

1. Fixed a number of bugs in the CD player; this also involves a new version
of the AudioCDgh Scripting Addition (links to it are included at the ESG Labs
website).  For example, stepping past track 9 will bring you to track 10, not
16.  All the playing/stopping/whatnot buttons should function properly in this
release.  (I mean it this time!)

2. Added a pause feature to the CD player; the play button should (in general)
become a pause button when the CD is playing.  This may go out of sync when
you switch away and back to the Automation Station, or when the CD ends.

3. Added a mute feature to the CD player.  Click the Speaker button to mute,
again to unmute.

4. Added a preference to set how long the Netscape features wait between idles
(people with faster machines can set this to a smaller number to get a better
response time between when a window appears and when the Automation Station
acts on it.)

5. Added an ad-trapping feature based upon the title of the window as
displayed in Netscape.  When Ad Trapping is checked, the Automation Station
will check every window open in Netscape every so often and close any windows
it finds that match the list in the Auto-Login Options.

6. When you click the Auto-Login Proxy button, the Automation Station now
displays a dialog to allow you to cancel waiting for the proxy window.

7. The Automation Station no longer has to activate Netscape every so often
while waiting for the proxy window to appear.  Netscape will still be
activated when the Proxy window appears.

8. Option-clicking the Auto-Login Proxy button will force the Automation
Station to look for a Proxy window, even if Netscape is already running.

9. The Automation Station should be much more compatible with the Appearance
Manager; most of the windows are now Appearance-themed and colored.

10. The Open DB process will now leave you in FileMaker Pro instead of in the
Automation Station.


New Features in 1.1:

1. Verified that it works with Netscape 4.5.

2. Changed AmSt's settings to use a Preferences file rather than FaceSpan
Storage Items.

3. If you already have the Proxy dialog showing in Netscape, Option-Clicking
the Auto-Login Proxy button will log you in.

4. Added a timeout feature for Auto-Login Proxy; if the Proxy dialog doesn't
appear in the number of seconds that AmSt waits for it, AmSt will quit looking
for it (and activating Netscape).  This needs to be massaged until it's less
obtrusive, but I don't have a good way to know if where I'm typing is where I
want to be typing unless I force Netscape to be the frontmost app.

5. The Automation window is no longer a floating windoid.  (The original idea
is that this floating windoid could be set to float over the Finder...but that
crashes my machine in an extension conflict.)

6. Some default settings have changed, and Restore Bounds is now set when you
Gather Info from FileMaker.

7. The CD Player should now step properly through all tracks of the CD (and
wrap around on the first/last track).


Why Automation Station?

Because it's a little nicer than "A Bunch of Stuff Thrown Into One App to Not
Leave Memory Holes and Not Have More Apps Open All the Time."
(ABSTIOANLMHNHMAOAT)

It could stand for:  "A Unified Tool Of Multiple Applications Thrown Into One
Nice  Simple Trendy App That I can Open Netscape with", but it probably
doesn't. :)


Legal Info

Automation Station 1.3.1 is copyright (C) 2000 Michael Miller.

You may freely distribute the Automation Station as long as the archive (and
the files in the archive) remain unaltered:

Automation Station 1.3.1
Automation Station Readme

You may not charge any money for copying or distributing the Automation
Station or for the Automation Station itself.  If you want to put the
Automation Station on a CD or in some other form that isn't free, please
contact me for permission.

Portions of this software are included under license. 1998 Digital Technology
International.  All rights reserved.  For more information call 801-226-2984
or see http://www.facespan.com.


All questions/comments/suggestions/bug reports/flames/etc. are welcome at

techsupp@esglabs.com

Mike Miller
ESG Labs
http://www.esglabs.com
