Language Guide

CHAPTER 2

Overview of AppleScript

24 Dialects

Dialects 2

AppleScript scripts can be displayed in several different dialects, or representa-

tions of AppleScript that resemble human languages or programming

languages. The dialects available on a given computer are determined by the

Dialects folder, a folder in the Scripting Additions folder (which in turn is

located in the Extensions folder of the System Folder) that contains one dialect

ﬁle for each AppleScript dialect installed on your computer.

You can select any of the available dialects from the Script Editor. You can

tell which dialects are available by examining the pop-up menu in the lower-

left corner of a Script Editor window. You can change the dialect in which a

script is displayed by selecting a different dialect from the pop-up menu. The

behavior of a script when you run it is not affected by the dialect in which it

is displayed.

For more information about selecting dialects and formatting options from the

Script Editor, see Getting Started With AppleScript.

Other Features and Language Elements 2

So far, you’ve been introduced to the key elements of the AppleScript language,

including statements, objects, commands, expressions, and script objects.

The reference section of this guide discusses these elements in more detail

and describes how to use them in scripts. Before you continue to the reference

section, however, you’ll need to know about a few additional elements

and features of the AppleScript scripting language that are not described in

the reference:

■ continuation characters

■ comments

■ identiﬁers

■ case sensitivity

■ abbreviations

■ compiling scripts