Fetch Help > What's New > AppleScript Changes

NOTE: Fetch 5.8 does not offer AppleScript support. The documentation below is only accurate for Fetch 5.7.7 and earlier. AppleScript support may return in a future release of Fetch.

The AppleScript dictionary in Fetch 5.7 has been updated to accommodate new features and changes in the user interface. Where possible, Fetch 5.7 supports both the old and new terminology so that old scripts will still work with Fetch 5.7, but your scripts may need updating. To assist you, below is a summary of the changes.

See the Scripting help topic for more general information about using AppleScript with Fetch, and see the AppleScript dictionary for more details on the syntax for these terms.

Changes in Fetch 5.7
Changes in Fetch 5.6
Changes in Fetch 5.5.2
Changes in Fetch 5.5
Changes in Fetch 5.3
Changes in Fetch 5.2
Changes in Fetch 5.1
Changes in Fetch 5

## Changes in Fetch 5.7

New properties
  skip items you do not have permission to download (of class Application) - When downloading, ignore permission errors and do not download the items that cause the errors. See the description in the Download Preferences pane help topic for more information.
Removed properties
  dont send MACB (of class Application) - Fetch no longer uses the MACB command, making this property obsolete.

## Changes in Fetch 5.6

Changes to parameters
  immediate return (of the put into command) - If an upload to the same server is already in progress, now queues the upload instead of opening a new window, in addition to returning immediately. However, uploads to a new server will still open new windows. (See changes in 5.1 for more notes about the immediate return parameter.)

## Changes in Fetch 5.5.2

Changes to commands
  view text - Available on all versions of Mac OS X again (including Mac OS X 10.5 and later), because the View as Text command was added in Fetch 5.5.2.

## Changes in Fetch 5.5

New commands
  edit new text file - Create and edit a remote text file, either using the editor specified for the filename extension of the new file (as specified in the Transfer Options section of the info window), or using the application specified by the using parameter.
New parameters
  using (of edit command) - Specify the application to edit a file with. Fetch now supports editing of any kind of file with any application. When the using parameter is omitted, the edit command will open the file with the editor specified for the filename extension of the file (as specified in the Transfer Options section of the info window). The using parameter lets you temporarily use a different application for editing a file. The application can be specified either by the application name or by a path to the application.
Changes to commands
  view, view media - Return errors on Mac OS X 10.5 and later, because the general View command is no longer supported for media on Mac OS X 10.5 and later. Note that the view text command remains available, because View as Text is available (in Fetch 5.5.2 and later).
Removed commands
  edit text file - Fetch now supports editing of any kind of file with any application, so this command has been superseded by the using parameter of the edit command (to edit something as a text file, tell Fetch to edit it using a text editing program).
  edit image file - Fetch now supports editing of any kind of file with any application, so this command has been superseded by the using parameter of the edit command (to edit something as an image file, tell Fetch to edit it using an image editing program).
Removed properties
  external text editor (of class Application) - Since Fetch now supports editing of any kind of file with any application, it is no longer limited to specifying a single editor application for all text files. A different application can be chosen for each kind of file.
  external image editor (of class Application) - Since Fetch now supports editing of any kind of file with any application, it is no longer limited to specifying a single editor application for all image files. A different application can be chosen for each kind of file.

## Changes in Fetch 5.3

New properties
  allow automatic decoding (of class Application) - When true, Fetch will try to decode or expand files automatically on download, as specified by that kind of file's Automatically decode files like this checkbox in the info window. When false, downloaded files will never be automatically decoded or expanded by Fetch.

## Changes in Fetch 5.2

New constants
  FTPS - A new constant for the protocol property of many classes. Specifies the FTP with TLS/SSL connection type. See the FTP with TLS/SSL help topic for more information.
  TLS - A new constant for the authentication property of many classes and commands. Specifies the FTP with TLS/SSL connection type. See the FTP with TLS/SSL help topic for more information.
New commands
  drop on - Handle the dropping of files on a droplet shortcut.
New properties
  web url (of class remote item, class remote file, class remote folder, class url) - The web address (URL) that corresponds to the referenced item, if WebView has been set up for the server where the item resides. If WebView has not been set up for the server, you will get an error when trying to access this property.

## Changes in Fetch 5.1

New classes
  recent connection - A class for referring to recent connections as listed in the Recent Connections menu; similar to the shortcut class.
  transfer - A class for referring to a transfer, either an upload or a download of one or more items. Separate from the transfer window class, which refers to the window a transfer is taking place in. While the transfer window and transfer classes have some of the same properties, they also have properties unique to each class.
New commands
  stop - Stop the transfer referred to by a transfer window or transfer.
New parameters
  immediate return (of the open command and put into command) - Have the event immediately return a reference to an object of class transfer instead of waiting for a reply.
  to file (of download command) - file specifies the folder where the downloaded items will be saved.
New properties
  The remote item, remote file, and remote folder classes gained many new properties. They are not all listed here; consult the AppleScript dictionary to see the complete list of properties now supported by these classes.
  connected (of class transfer window) - Indicates whether a transfer window is currently connected.
  home folder (of class transfer window) - The home folder of the account on the server a transfer window is connected to.
  id (of class shortcut, class recent connection, and class transfer) - A unique ID that can be used to refer to the shortcut, recent connection, or transfer.
  name extension (of class url, class remote item, class remote file, and class remote folder) - The file name extension of the item referenced.
  properties (of class url, class shortcut, class remote item, class remote file, and class remote folder) - A record containing all the properties of the item.
  port (of class transfer window, class shortcut, class remote item, class remote file, and class remote folder) - The port number of: the server a transfer window is connected to; the server referenced by a shortcut; or the server where an item resides.
  protocol (of class transfer window, class shortcut, class remote item, class remote file, and class remote folder) - The protocol being used for a transfer window's connection; the protocol specified by a shortcut; or the protocol being used to access an item. In 5.1, the possible values for protocol are FTP or SFTP.
  transfer percent done (of class transfer window and class transfer) - Percentage of the current item that has been transferred so far.
  transfer rate (of class transfer window and class transfer) - The transfer rate for the transfer of the current item, in bytes per second.
  transfer time remaining (of class transfer window and class transfer) - The estimated amount of time, in seconds, that remains until the transfer of the current item completes.
New results returned
  The download command now returns a list of download files.
  The put into command now returns a list of records, containing a list of the properties of the uploaded files.
New Automator actions
  Fetch now includes a variety of Automator actions that may be of interest to AppleScript users. For more information, see the introduction to using Automator with Fetch and Automator actions help topics.
Renamed commands

  Fetch 5 | Fetch 5.1
  list (in Interarchy Suite) | interarchy list

Changes to properties
  elapsed transfer time (of class transfer window and class transfer) - Now returns the time in seconds, instead of 60ths of a second.
  name (of class remote item, class remote file, class remote folder) - In these classes, the name property is now writable; previously it was read-only. In most other classes, the name property remains read-only.
Changes to results returned
  The get information about command now returns a list of records. There is a record for each file or folder referred to by command, and each record contains many properties about that item. It used to return just a simple list containing the folder count, file count, byte count of the items you were getting information about.

## Changes in Fetch 5

New classes
  media window - A class for referring to media windows that display images, movies, and sounds. This class has no properties beyond those inherited from the window class. (Fetch media windows are used only on Mac OS X 10.4.)
New commands
  edit - Open a remote file in a helper application for editing. See the Edit command help topic for more information.
New properties
  ask about unknown hosts (of class Application) - Ask whether Fetch should continue to connect (via SSH) to a host whose host key Fetch has not seen before. See SFTP: Ask before accepting unknown host keys in the Security Preferences help topic for more information.
  automatically check for updates (of class Application) - When true, Fetch will periodically check to see if any updates for Fetch are available. See Automatically check for updates in the Miscellaneous Preferences help topic for more information.
  permissions (of classes remote file, remote folder, remote item) - The octal UNIX-style permission code for a file or folder (such as 755).
  preferred encoding (of class Application) - The preferred encoding and character set for displaying non-ASCII file and folder names. See the Character Encoding & Translation help topic for more information.
  url (of class transfer window) - The URL that refers to the server and remote folder currently displayed in a transfer window.

New constants
  by security - A new constant for the view order property of class fetch shortcuts window and class shortcut list window. Specifies that the shortcut list window is sorted by the type of security the connection uses.
  SFTP - A new constant for the authentication property of many classes and commands. Specifies the SFTP connection type. See the SFTP help topic for more information.
Renamed classes

  Fetch 4 | Fetch 5
  remote directory | remote folder
  shortcut window | fetch shortcuts window

Renamed commands

  Fetch 4 | Fetch 5
  edit (in Interarchy Suite) | interarchy edit
  view file list | view verbose file list

Renamed properties

  Of class Application :

  Fetch 4 | Fetch 5
  add IC suffix | add other suffix
  blink icon | bounce icon in dock
  default upload binary format | default upload format
  proxy userid | proxy username
  text mode edit with transfers | use text mode transfers for editing
  warn on cleartext to secure server | warn on insecure password to Kerberos server

  Of class transfer window :

  Fetch 4 | Fetch 5
  bytes transfered (sic) | bytes transferred
  current directory | current folder
  initial directory | initial folder
  parent directory | parent folder
  userid | username

  Of class shortcut :

  Fetch 4 | Fetch 5
  userid | username

Renamed constants

  Constants for view order properties:

  Fetch 4 | Fetch 5
  byName | by name
  byDate | by date
  bySize | by size
  byNameWithCase | by case sensitive name
  byHost | by host
  byUserid | by username
  byPath | by path
  byKind | by kind

  Constants for text line ending style property of class Application:

  Fetch 4 | Fetch 5
  Mac style | Mac Classic style
  UNIX style | Mac OS X style

  Constants for background notification property of class Application:

  Fetch 4 | Fetch 5
  Beep Notification | Alert Sound Notification
  Sound Notification | Custom Sound Notification
  Speak Notificaton (sic) | Speak Notification

  Constant for various format properties:

  Fetch 4 | Fetch 5
  Raw Data | Binary

Changes to properties
  version (of class Application) - Now returns plain text instead of integer.
Removed classes
  help window - The help window no longer exists in Fetch 5, having been superseded by the Apple Help-based help.
Removed properties
  automatic defaults to text (of class Application) - Fetch 5's handling of download modes has changed significantly, making this property obsolete. See the Transfer Options help topic for more information.
  default binary file type (of class Application) - Fetch 5's handing of file types has changed significantly, making this property obsolete. See the Transfer Options help topic for more information.
  default binary file creator (of class Application) - Fetch 5's handing of file types has changed significantly, making this property obsolete. See the Transfer Options help topic for more information.
  dont use navigation services (of class Application) - Fetch 5 (and Mac OS X) always use Navigation Services dialogs.
  text files creator (of class Application) - Fetch 5's handing of file types has changed significantly, making this property obsolete. See the Transfer Options help topic for more information.
  translate iso (of class Application) - The Translate ISO characters preference of Fetch 4 has been replaced by a more comprehensive character encoding preference in Fetch 5, which can be referenced using the preferred encoding property instead. See the Character Encoding & Translation help topic for more information.
  use internet config (of class Application) - Since there is no longer an Internet Config control panel on Mac OS X, Fetch now reads settings from Internet Config but doesn't save changes back to it.
  including text files (of class transfer window) - Fetch 5's handing of upload formats has changed and this property is obsolete. See the upload formats help topic for more information.
  modification date (of class shortcut) - Fetch 5 no longer tracks the modification date of a shortcut.
  size (of class shortcut) - Fetch 5 no longer explicitly tracks the size of a shortcut, although you can get the size of the objects referenced by a shortcut by using the get information about command.