Mac: If you tend to run the same Terminal command pretty often, then it makes sense to do one of two things: Create a text expander snippet or turn it into a keyboard shortcut. How-To Geek shows you how to do the latter using Apple's built-in Automator tool.
Mac: Merging a few PDFs together on a Mac is as simple as dropping them into Preview, but if you merge a lot, it's still a tedious process. Jacob Salmela shares an Automator action that adds a merge PDF button your right-click menu.
Mac: Not a fan of using an office program just to read a DOCX file? Blogger Jacob Salmela shares an Automator script that will convert DOCX into a PDF with a right-click.
Have a bunch of still images you'd like to turn into an animated GIF? Blogger Jacob Salmela's shows off how to add that option to the right-click menu with Automator.
Mac: Sometimes you need to send an email at a specific time. Maybe it's an anniversary or just a reminder. Chrome extensions like SndLater let you do this with Gmail. If you have a Mac, Automator lets you schedule mail through Apple's default Mail app.
Mac: Everyone knows what it's like to open Gmail to send an email, and before you get know it, you've spent a half-hour on a dozen unread messages. Worse, you've forgotten to send the one you originally meant to. This Automator script helps you stay focused.
Mac: Sometimes, cut, copy and paste aren't really enough. If you'd prefer to swap out text instead, developer Peter Ellis Jones shares his Automator workflow for adding a "swap" function.
Photo booths can be fun and entertaining, and with just a little bit of Automator work on your Mac, you can put together a DIY photo booth for all your friends to enjoy.
We're big fans of Automator here at Lifehacker, and the folks over at Mac OS X Automation have created a few services that let you share photos and links straight from your Mac.
The 37signals weblog highlights an Automator workflow that downloads the front pages of popular newspapers from previously mentioned web site Newseum and combines them into one consolidated PDF you can print off and read on your daily commute. The script downloads each front page from Newseum, then combines them into one master PDF. As TUAW suggests, you could automate this one step further by setting the workflow to run daily with iCal. Newseum: Today's Front Pages
Weblog TUAW details how to take advantage of your Mac's built-in automation tool, Automator, to send out birthday greetings on the day-of to everyone in your Address Book. Using the Birthday field in Address Book, putting together automated birthday emails is just a two-step process in Automator. Naturally, you shouldn't rely on this method as your only means of remembering and recognising birthdays, but it's a nice way to send simple notes and get a birthday conversation started, especially with people you aren't in touch with that often. While you're at it, you may also want to import Address Book birthdays into iCal. Mac Automation: Birthday greetings
