Earlier we wrote an introductory article about Automator. In this post we want to show you how to use Automator to add a context menu for Finder and attach selected files to an email message.
Start Automator and select the Custom mode. Automator is located in the same place as all applications in Mac OS X — in Applications. You will have a window like this (Leopard, Tiger is slightly different, but it's not significant):
On the left there is a library with elements and possible actions — 2 left columns. And on the right there is a large empty window — there we will drag actions, elements, etc and create our chain of actions.
Select Files and Folders from the left. Update the right column: find Get Selected Finder Items there. Drag this option to the large window with the mouse. This will allow us to select files and folders in the Finder to attach them later.
Then in the left column click on Mail and in the right part select New Mail Message. Similarly, drag this option to the right window under the block that appeared earlier. The screenshot below shows how a new (in the future) message can be pre-filled. For example, insert the addressee, the subject of the message, or some introductory text for the message.
It's a small matter, you need to save this workflow as a context menu for Finder and use it. In the File automator menu, select Save as Plug-In. In the window that appears, specify the workflow name and make sure that the Finder is specified in the drop-down list Plug-in for.
That's it! You can try it in action. For clarity, you can watch the demo video (5 mb) that we have prepared for you.
