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Extending Custom Cleaners With Automator Workflows

There are two additional Automator actions used to augment custom cleaners. Create and use an Automator workflow within a custom cleaner to makes use of AppleScript, Perl, Python or shell scripts or virtually any other Automator action.

To create an automator workflow:

1. Launch Automator.
2. Create a new workflow.
3. Add any additional actions to process the text.

TextSoap assumes that the actions in the workflow will accept and return text. The workflow will be provided the text as input to the first action and the result of the last action will be returned to TextSoap for continued processing.

Setting up Workflows to work with TextSoap

TextSoap recognizes workflows placed in the specified folder (below). Drag the workflow file to the TextSoap application icon or open it with TextSoap. TextSoap prompts you to copy it to the correct location. You can also manually copy it to:

~/Library/Applications Support/TextSoap/Workflows/

New Custom Cleaner Action

Add the Run Automator Workflow action to call the workflow within a Custom Cleaner. Create a custom cleaner with a single action like this:

You can now use AppleScript or any other Automator workflow within a TextSoap custom cleaner.

Caveats

Plain Text Only

Automator actions only support plain text. Currently, formatting is lost when you use a workflow to process text.

No Touchbacks

Workflows that augment a custom cleaner cannot call back into the TextSoap by using either the Clean Text or Clean Text Files Automator actions. These actions are ignored when a workflow is used to extend a custom cleaner.