Audio Actions
As internet-based communications and wites rely more heavily on media to convey their messages, working with audio files has become a standard task of those involved in web development. The Audio Actions collection, contains Automator actions for encoding and playing back high-quality MPEG (AAC) audio. The following actions are included in this collection:
The Encode to Itunes Audio Action
This action will accept AIFF, Sound Designer II, or WAVE files as its input, and will encode them using the chosen preset. The settings are similiar to those used by the iTunes application, and include:
- High-Quality • The standard import setting for Itunes, 128 kbps 44.1 Khz AAC.
- iTunes Plus • The setting used for the non-DRM quality tracks, 256 kbps 44.1 Khz AAC.
- Apple Lossless • The format used to store the best quality in the smallest file size.
- Spoken • The setting used for spoken text, with a 22.05 Khz sample rate.
The Play Audio Files Action
Pass this action a series of audio files, and it will play them sequentially with a pause, of the chosen number of seconds, between them.
The Play System Sound Action
This action will play the chosen system sound, the indicated number of times. This action is good for placing at the end of a long-running workflow, as an audio alert indicating its completion.
The Audio Encoding Applet
Here's how to create a simple automation applet for encoding dragged-on audio files. In a new Automator window, create the following workflow. Be sure to set the options for the encoding action to show the action view when the workflow is run.
Save the workflow to your hard disk as an application, and add its icon to the Dock.
Drag one or more audio source files onto the application's icon in the Dock to lauch the workflow. In the action view dialog, choose the settings you prefer. Encoded duplicates of the source files will created and placed in the indicated destination folder.
When the encoding process has completed, the chosen system sound will play the selected number of times.
