Inside Macintosh: AppleScript Finder Guide /

Chapter 3 - Finder Commands

Command Definitions

This section defines the commands that are understood by the Finder and
its objects.

The Finder supports most of the standard application commands described
in the AppleScript Language Guide. As is true for most scriptable applications,
the Finder's definitions for some of these commands differ slightly from the standard definitions. Table 3-1 summarizes the differences between the defined behavior of the standard commands and the Finder behavior.

Variations from standard behavior in Finder versions of standard application commands

Command	Finder version
Close	Closes one or more containers. Behaves like the standard version, except that the Finder needn't save data when it closes containers.
Copy	Copies an object or objects. Behaves like the standard version, except that the Finder version must include parameters.
Count	Counts elements of a particular class in a container. Behaves like the standard version, except that the Finder always returns a single integer, never a list of integers.
Data Size	Returns the size, in bytes, of the value returned by a Get command on the same object or objects. Identical to the standard version.
Delete	Deletes one or more objects. Identical to the standard version.
Duplicate	Copies an object or objects. Behaves like the standard version, and also allows you to specify whether or not to replace items in the destination container.
Exists	Determines whether an object exists. Identical to the standard version.
Get	Returns the value of an object. Identical to the standard version, except that it returns references for most Finder objects rather than values.
Make	Creates a new object. Behaves like the standard version, except that the Finder can't set the value of the data for most new objects, and you can't use new when you make a new file.
Move	Moves an object or objects. Behaves like the standard version, and also allows you to specify whether or not to replace items in the destination container.
Open	Opens an object or objects. Behaves like the standard version, except that it can open objects such as folders and suitcases as well as files.
Print	Prints one or more objects. Identical to the standard version.
Quit	Terminates the Finder process. Behaves like the standard version, except that the Finder need not save data before terminating.
Set	Sets value of one or more objects. Identical to standard version.

Table 3-2 lists the commands defined by the Finder Suite--that is, the commands unique to the Finder.

Commands defined by the Finder Suite

Command	Summary
Clean Up	Aligns the icons in a window or on the desktop along the grid pattern selected in the Views control panel.
Computer	Returns information about the local computer's operating environment.
Eject	Ejects a disk.
Empty	Empties the trash.
Erase	Erases a disk.
Put Away	Returns specified objects on the desktop or in the Trash to the folders or disks to which they belong.
Restart	Restarts the computer.
Reveal	Makes an object visible by opening its container and selecting it.
Select	Selects specified objects.
Shut Down	Shuts down the computer.
Sleep	Puts a PowerBook to sleep.
Sort	Sorts a list of references to Finder objects.
Update	Updates an object and its elements, if any, to match their representation on disk.

The rest of this chapter provides detailed definitions of the commands summarized in Table 3-1 and Table 3-2.