Show/Hide Search Criteria via AppleScript? [SOLVED]

I'm not familiar at all with AppleScript, but I would like to create a macro that allows me to Show/Hide Search Criteria using it instead of using Found Image actions and all that, just to make it faster. Is it possible?

So when you have a Saved Search, in the tool bar you can click the cogwheel icon and then click Show Search Criteria (or Hide Search Criteria, if it's already being shown):
image

image

This works on Monterey, but the toolbar layout seems to differ a little from your OS version, so you may need to play around with the element numbers. I suggest downloading the free trial of UI Browser (while it's still available) for this purpose. It's very intuitive to use.

activate application "Finder"
tell application "System Events"
	tell process "Finder"
		
		click menu button 1 of group 4 of toolbar 1 of window 1
		
		click menu item 3 of menu 1 of group 4 of toolbar 1 of window 1
		
	end tell
end tell
1 Like

Thank you so much Neil.
I downloaded UI Browser and yes, it took me like 2 minutes to understand the basics.

He posted this:
"I am currently making arrangements for a permanent download site for the version 3.0.2 disk image for licensed users and for public access to the source code".

Does it mean people will no longer be able to buy it at all if they don't have a license?
And the "public access to the source code" means it will be open source and maybe someone will be able to keep on developing it?

Do you have any information on this, by any chance?

Also, i was checking other alternatives and found Apple's Accessibility Inspector. It's a bit too much to install 12GB of XCode just for that tool alone... Any other alternatives?

I can see how using AS for certain things would be way more reliable than using images and all that when creating macros.

I found this topic. Maybe this is an alternative for someone like me with basic KM needs? Have you tested it?

I have no more info than you do but here's hoping! :crossed_fingers:t2:

There's this, which I see you've already found. I wonder if @peternlewis has any plans for any UI element retrieval tools within KM itself, now that UI Browser is on its way out to pasture...? I'm sure people would love that and it would open up a lot of possibilities, but I also have no idea how difficult it would be to incorporate, so forgive me for @ing you, Peter!

1 Like

I will maybe email the developer and ask then. Will share it here if he answers those questions

So I downloaded the macro and basically all it does is show a list of all the elements. Have you ever tried it? Is it all it does, meaning, it doesn't allow us to decide which element to focus on? I will ask there as well, just wondering if you have more info on that?

That would be a great addition for sure!!! :smiley: And if indeed UI Browser becomes open source, maybe there's a way for Peter to somehow use it? I have no idea how those things work. Just me hoping that this would be a possibility :wink:

2 Likes

Never used it as I bought UI Browser soon after KM.

I would try comparing UI Browser results with the Inspector macro results. That should help you get a sense of how to interpret them.

1 Like

Agh! That's terrible news...

Bill Cheeseman is 79, so it's understandable – but man it's the end of an era...

:flushed:

1 Like

Or the start of a new one if it goes open source... :crossed_fingers:t3:

1 Like

It would be nice, but the community is pretty small – and not very many are programmers.

Nevertheless – here's hopin'...

1 Like

I'm secretly hoping that some day KM'S AppleScript action suddenly has a "Get" button.

1 Like

I won't hold my breath...

:rofl:

1 Like