Still need help: Get Indigo variable from ext AppleScript

I have a variable list within Indigo that specifies iTunes playlists linked to keypad link buttons. When a button is pressed, the playlist name linked to that button (a variable identified with the button) is set as variable "KPL_iTunes_Playlist" and an external script is called:

Code: Select all

use application "IndigoServer"
set IndigoPlaylist to value of variable "KPL_iTunes_Playlist"
tell application "iTunes"
   reveal playlist "Music"
   reveal playlist IndigoPlaylist
end tell
(other stuff)
tell application "iTunes" to play playlist IndigoPlaylist


How do I make the variables available to the external script, assuming that "use application" won't work in 7.3? Push or pull is OK.

[jay (support)]

How is this script executed? From Indigo? From elsewhere? There are a variety of choices, but we need to understand from where/how the script is run.

Within Indigo, called as an external (linked) script by an action group, triggered by the kpl button press.

[jay (support)]

Ok, that's pretty easy then. Create an external Python script to be run instead of your external AppleScript:

Code: Select all

import applescript

# Get the indigoPlaylist value
indigoPlaylist = indigo.variables[IDOF_indigoPlaylist].value

# Create your AppleScript and substitute in the indigoPlaylist value
script_source = '''
set IndigoPlaylist to "{}"
tell application "iTunes"
   reveal playlist "Music"
   reveal playlist IndigoPlaylist
end tell
# other stuff that your AppleScript does
tell application "iTunes" to play playlist IndigoPlaylist
'''.format(indigoPlaylist)

script_instance = applescript.AppleScript(source=script_source)
script_instance.run()

Then run it as an external Python script. The key here is to make sure that the AppleScript has the appropriate substitution markers in it so that you substitute the variable value into the right spot in the script. In this case, the line set IndigoPlaylist to "{}" is the critical line. When you call the .format() method on the script string, it will substitute the parameters for each occurrence of {}. In this case you only specify one substitution (the playlist name) and one parameter to the format() method.

Then, when the script is complete, we compile and run the AppleScript.

There are other ways to do this as well but this one was the one I'd use.

Thanks, Jay. I’m an absolute newbie at Python, this will give me something to get started with.

@jay, one clarification: Will the lines in the above external python script

Code: Select all

use application "IndigoServer"
set IndigoPlaylist to "{}"


work in Indigo 7.3 when direct applescripting has been removed?

[jay (support)]

The first line won't work, since it's somewhat like a "tell" statement.

The second line doesn't use anything specific that's presented by the Indigo Server, so it will work. However, it doesn't actually seem to do anything other than set an AppleScript variable called IndigoPlaylist to the string "{}" which it apparently never actually uses. There's got to be more to the script than that, and that's what needs to be inspected to see if it will continue to work.

Point being, that script as you've shown it doesn't actually do anything, so if that's the entirety of the script then it's completely unnecessary.

Sorry for the snippet, referred to this in your post above in the thread:

Code: Select all

import applescript

# Get the indigoPlaylist value
indigoPlaylist = indigo.variables[IDOF_indigoPlaylist].value

# Create your AppleScript and substitute in the indigoPlaylist value
script_source = '''
use application "IndigoServer"
set IndigoPlaylist to "{}"
tell application "iTunes"
   reveal playlist "Music"
   reveal playlist IndigoPlaylist
end tell
(other stuff)
tell application "iTunes" to play playlist IndigoPlaylist
'''.format(indigoPlaylist)

script_instance = applescript.AppleScript(source=script_source)
script_instance.run()

Original problem:

I have a variable list within Indigo that specifies iTunes playlists linked to keypad link buttons. When a button is pressed, the playlist name linked to that button (a variable identified with the button) is set as variable "KPL_iTunes_Playlist" and an external script is called:

Code: Select all

use application "IndigoServer"
set IndigoPlaylist to value of variable "KPL_iTunes_Playlist"
tell application "iTunes"
   reveal playlist "Music"
   reveal playlist IndigoPlaylist
end tell
(other stuff)
tell application "iTunes" to play playlist IndigoPlaylist


How do I make the variables available to the external script, assuming that "use application" won't work in 7.3? Push or pull is OK.

[jay (support)]

Sorry, that was a copy/paste error (it was in your original script but was unnecessary as Indigo wasn't being targeted), so the use line is unnecessary. I've edited my original reply to remove that line and fix a comment so that it'll compile in AppleScript correctly.

Thanks, Jay. Appreciate the help.