Mark Alldritt

  • Script Debugger's 20th Anniversary

    While I was distracted with my late wife’s illness, Script Debugger’s 20th anniversary came and went.

    Script Debugger 1

    Development on Script Debugger 1.0 started in 1993. Version 1.0 was released in late 1994 and was introduced publicly at MacWorld in San Francisco in January 1995. We shared a booth with FrontMost (later renamed FaceSpan) by Software Designs Unlimited.

    Here’s how Script Debugger looked back then.

    SD1 Editor/Debugger

    SD1 Dictionary

    Interestingly, Script Debugger 1 may never have been a product. I was very uncertain about how to market and sell what was really a $129 piece of shareware. BBEdit was the only model of how this could be done by an independent developer. Remember, the Internet was not as it is today. Software was shrink wrapped in boxes containing floppy disks and printed manuals. It took serious cash to produce product. I had 2000 copies made at a cost of CDN$20,000 (1994 $s). The packing boxes filled an entire room in my basement. Software was sold through mail order outlets (MacTech, Apple’s Developer Central, and others) and trade shows like MacWorld and WWDC. The Mac had no presence in computer stores at that time.

    I vividly recall standing outside the MacTech booth at WWDC 1995 in San Jose watching people walk up and purchase Script Debugger. I just could’t believe it was actually happening after all the work that had gone into getting those shrink-wrapped packages onto the MacTech shelves. I developed such an appreciation for how things as mundane as a can of soup get onto a store shelf.

    Our daughter was born in 1995, and Gerry left her job to work full time with me. We were so naive. We had no idea what we were signing up for.

    Script Debugger 2

    Script Debugger 2.0 was introduced in 2000, and went on to win the Mac World Eddy for best development tool (we were up against BBEdit that year - I think Rich and the guys promised Gerry a bottle of champaign - I was at home looking after our 4 year old daughter). I was bummed because I later discovered the presenter that year was John de Lancie who played one of my favourite Star Trek Next Generation characters “Q”.

    MacWorld Eddy

    Here’s a little of how Script Debugger 2 looked at the time:

    Debugger

    Object Model

    The big advancement in Script Debugger 2 was the object model explorer which let you see an application’s live scripting interface. This was huge at the time, and to this day, sets Script Debugger apart.

    Explorer

    After Script Debugger 2 was released, Apple had its near death experience and our business simply stopped (literally went to zero) in the space of 3 weeks.

    During the period that followed, we developed an Adobe Illustrator plugin that made Illustrator scriptable from the Mac with AppleScript and from Windows with Visual Basic. Adobe later purchased this code from us and this went on to form the genesis for the scriptability found in Illustrator, PhotoShop and Acrobat (InDesign had its own killer scripting implementation before we arrived on the scene). The product, named ScripZ, was demoed by Sal Soghoian at that year’s MacWorld Jobs led keynote. We were in meetings with Adobe to conclude the sale of the software right behind the black curtain beside the stage as the keynote was taking place - crazy.

    Script Debugger 3

    In 2002 we released Script Debugger 3.0. Script Debugger 3 had pretty much the same look and feel as 2.0. We went on to be the runner up for that years MacWorld Eddy for best development tool (I think CodeWarrior got it that year).

    The big news for Script Debugger 3 was native Mac OS X support and the integration of our JavaScript scripting system into the product.

    SD3 CD-ROM

    Script Debugger 4

    In 2006, Script Debugger 4.0 was released. Script Debugger 4 became a Cocoa/Objective-C/C++ application (previously it was a THINK Class Library/C++ application) and received a UI overhaul which adopted the Mac OS X look and feel, and introduced concurrent script execution where scripts open in different windows could be debugged at the same time.

    SD4 CD-ROM

    SD4

    Script Debugger 4.5

    Then in 2009 we released Script Debugger 4.5. Like Script Debugger 3, this was an evolutionary released which built on Script Debugger 4.

    Script Debugger 5

    And finally, in 2012 we released Script Debugger 5.0. Yet another UI overhaul. JavaScript was dropped (irony). Tabbed windows were introduced. Yet another rewrite of many internal components to make the product more maintainable and drop legacy Mac OS stuff, much dating back to the Classic Mac OS days.

    SD5 Editor

    SD5 Dictionary

    Along the way there were other products: ScripZ (the Adobe Illustrator scriptability plugin acquired by Adobe), TagOn (an Adobe InDesign plugin for importing QuarkXPress documents), Affrus (A Perl IDE/Debugger) and of course the ill-fated FaceSpan 5. Then there were the freeware items: XML Tools, XSLT Tools, Plist Tools, Record and List Tools, JavaScript OSA and others I cant remember. All in all there have been more than 40 Script Debugger releases (major and maintenance releases).

    While I did all the development on Script Debugger, it was not me alone. Gerry was there throughout the ups and downs running the business, executing the marketing and sales plans. She and I worked together in the same office for most of these 20 years. Matt Neuburg has been there throughout producing all our documentation (amazingly taking over from our first tech writer and creating the SD1 manual in 3 weeks!) and serving as my sounding board for so many years. Other lesser known individuals include Frances Hunter (she produced the original Script Debugger 1.0 printed manual), Lorin Rivers doing marketing and Bryan Bell did all the icons starting with Script Debugger 3. Adrian Ruigrok developed much of FaceSpan 5 and went on to work for Apple on some of the cool iThingies we all love today. And of course the invaluable support of other developers like Rich Siegel, Jon Pugh, Stephan Somogyi and many many others.

    And finally, there are all the relationships that developed with customers through all these years, many dating back to the initial release of Script Debugger 1 (Shane, Ray, Jon, Chuck).

    Wow, 20 years of my life involved in developing Script Debugger. My daughter is 19 now and attending college.

    I hope I have all these dates more or less correct.

    P.S. Here are some interesting facts:

    • The impetus for Script Debugger came from difficulty I experienced trying to automate Claris FileMaker and Claris MacProject Pro using Apple’s Script Editor. Oddly, these two Claris applications were very scriptable at that time.
    • Script Debugger 1.0 was developed on a Mac SE/30 with 4MB RAM using Think C
    • Script Debugger 1.0 easily fit on 1 800K floppy disk. Script Debugger 5 is a 14MB download.
    • Script Debugger was ported from Think C/TCL/C++/Classic Mac OS Toolbox to Symantec C++, then to CodeWarrior, then to Carbon on Mac OS X, then to Cocoa/Objective-C using Project Builder and now Xcode. Along the way, the TCL (Think Class Library) had to be ported to Carbon. Parts of the TCL are still in use in Script Debugger 5 (CFile/CResFile/CDataFile).
    • Script Debugger has out lived several of the products used to build it (THINK C, Symantec C++ and CodeWarrior). Only BBEdit continues to flourish.

  • Script Debugger 4.5.7

    I’m pleased to announce the release of Script Debugger 4.5.7. Script Debugger 4.5.7 is a free maintenance release that addresses a series of issues that came to light following the release of Script Debugger 4.5.

    Download

    Release Notes

    Among the changes in the Script Debugger 4.5.7 maintenance release is a fix for crashing bug when opening or creating documents on Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion).

    A big thank you to all the folks who downloaded the various Script Debugger 4.5.7 Beta builds. I really appreciate all the great feedback and bug reports I received.

  • Script Debugger 4.5.7b4

    I am preparing another Script Debugger 4.5 maintenance release.

    UPDATE: Script Debugger 4.5.7 has been released.

    As was the case with Script Debugger 4.5.5 and 4.5.6, I am struggling to resolve some stability problems that appeared following the release of Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard). Resolving these issues has been very difficult as I am not been able to reproduce the crashes on my own systems.

    To help me determine if I’ve resolved the stability issues (or at least improved things), please allow Script Debugger to submit ALL crash reports. I know that this may slow you down a little, but it will help me as I work to resolve the stability problems.

    ##Requirements

    • A Script Debugger 4.5 registration number
    • Intel or PowerPC Macintosh
    • Mac OS X 10.6, 10.5, 10.4

    ##Download

    Script Debugger 4.5.7b4 (12MB)

    ##Installation

    • Quit Script Debugger if it is running
    • Mount the ScriptDebugger4.5.7 disk image
    • Copy the Script Debugger 4.5 application from the disk image to your Applications folder (or any other place on your disk)
    • Restart your Macintosh to ensure all caches are flushed

    I recommend keeping your copy of Script Debugger 4.5.6 around in case you need to revert to that build. Note also that this BETA build expires on October 1, 2011.

    ##Script Debugger 4.5.7b4 Changes

    • 15112 [Crash] Script Debugger co-exists with installations of the forthcoming Script Debugger 5.0.
    • 15101 [Crash] Script Debugger no longer crashes when creating new documents on Lion (Mac OS X 10.7).

    ##Script Debugger 4.5.7b3 Changes

    • 15108 Addressed a problem where the Dictionary/Explorer control in the Dictionary window was not updated to ‘Dictionary’ following a search.
    • 14862 Added support for ASObjC scripts by allowing ‘class “ClassName”’ constructs to compile.

    Script Debugger 4.5.7b2 Changes

  • Script Debugger 4.5.7b2

    I am preparing another Script Debugger 4.5 maintenance release.

    UPDATE: Script Debugger 4.5.7 has been released.

    As was the case with Script Debugger 4.5.5 and 4.5.6, I am struggling to resolve some stability problems that appeared following the release of Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard). Resolving these issues has been very difficult as I am not been able to reproduce the crashes on my own systems. The Script Debugger 4.5.7b2 build addresses some additional problems that I hope will further improve stability.

    To help me determine if I’ve resolved the stability issues (or at least improved things), please allow Script Debugger to submit ALL crash reports. I know that this may slow you down a little, but it will help me as I work to finally resolve the stability problems.

    ##Requirements

    • A Script Debugger 4.5 registration number
    • Intel or PowerPC Macintosh
    • Mac OS X 10.6, 10.5, 10.4

    ##Download

    Script Debugger 4.5.7b2 (12MB)

    ##Installation

    • Quit Script Debugger if it is running
    • Mount the ScriptDebugger4.5.7 disk image
    • Copy the Script Debugger 4.5 application from the disk image to your Applications folder (or any other place on your disk)
    • Restart your Macintosh to ensure all caches are flushed

    I recommend keeping your copy of Script Debugger 4.5.6 around in case you need to revert to that build. Note also that this BETA build expires on July 1, 2011.

    ##Script Debugger 4.5.7b2 Changes

    • 15107 Script Debugger no longer attempts to compile scripts when saving changes to an existing Text (.applescript) document.
    • 15106 Script Debugger no longer causes AppleScript to convert “reference” to “specifier” when compiling scripts.
    • 14862 Added support for ASObjC scripts by allowing ‘class “ClassName”’ constructs to compile.

    Script Debugger 4.5.7b1 Changes

  • Script Debugger 4.5.7b1

    I am preparing another Script Debugger 4.5 maintenance release.

    UPDATE: Script Debugger 4.5.7 has been released.

    As was the case with Script Debugger 4.5.5 and 4.5.6, I am struggling to resolve some stability problems that appeared following the release of Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard). Resolving these issues has been very difficult as I am not been able to reproduce the crashes on my own systems. The Script Debugger 4.5.7b1 build addresses some additional problems that I hope will further improve stability.

    To help me determine if I’ve resolved the stability issues (or at least improved things), please allow Script Debugger to submit ALL crash reports. I know that this may slow you down a little, but it will help me as I work to finally resolve the stability problems.

    ##Requirements

    • A Script Debugger 4.5 registration number
    • Intel or PowerPC Macintosh
    • Mac OS X 10.6, 10.5, 10.4

    ##Download

    no longer available

    ##Installation

    • Quit Script Debugger if it is running
    • Mount the ScriptDebugger4.5.7 disk image
    • Copy the Script Debugger 4.5 application from the disk image to your Applications folder (or any other place on your disk)
    • Restart your Macintosh to ensure all caches are flushed

    I recommend keeping your copy of Script Debugger 4.5.6 around in case you need to revert to that build. Note also that this BETA build expires on May 1, 2011.

    ##Script Debugger 4.5.7b1 Changes

    • 15090 [CRASH] Resolved a bug in the Balance command that could result in crashes if compound AppleScript statements (tell x to y, if x then y) appear within a block style comment.
    • 15094 [CRASH] Another attempt to resolve the intermittent crashes which began with the release of Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard).
    • 15093 Resolved a problem where the Dictionary window fails to display dictionary descriptions for multiple items selected from the browser.
    • 15092 Resolved a problem where application bundles saved as 32-bit appear as PowerPC applications in the Finder.
    • 15091 Fixed a typo in the property definition clipping.

  • Script Debugger 4.5.6

    UPDATE: I have released Script Debugger 4.5.6 which resolves a license limit exceeded error that effected some users. In all other ways, 4.5.6 is identical to 4.5.5.

    I’m pleased to announce the release of Script Debugger 4.5.5. Script Debugger 4.5.5 is a free maintenance release that addresses a series of issues that came to light following the release of Script Debugger 4.5.

    Download

    Release Notes

    This maintenance release attempts to resolve the stability problems that some Script Debugger users have experienced on Snow Leopard. While I have made progress improving stability, there is still more to be done. This maintenance release addresses a number of other important issues so I decided to make these fixes available now rather than hold the release back while I continue resolving the stability problems.

    A big thank you to all the folks who downloaded the various Script Debugger 4.5.5 Beta builds. I really appreciate all the great feedback and bug reports I received.

  • Script Debugger 4.5.5b6

    UPDATE: Script Debugger 4.5.5 has been released.

    I am preparing another Script Debugger 4.5 maintenance release.

    I have been struggling to resolve some stability problems ever since the release of Script Debugger 4.5. Resolving these issues has been very difficult as I’ve not been able to reproduce several of the crashes on my own systems. The Script Debugger 4.5.5b3, b4 and b5 releases have resolved several crashes, but some problems remain. The Script Debugger 4.5.5b6 build addresses some additional problems that I hope will further improve stability.

    To help me determine if I’ve resolved the stability issues (or at least improved things), please allow Script Debugger to submit ALL crash reports. I know that this may slow you down a little, but it will help me as I work to finally resolve the stability problems.

    ##Requirements

    • A Script Debugger 4.5 registration number
    • Intel or PowerPC Macintosh
    • Mac OS X 10.6, 10.5, 10.4

    ##Download

    Script Debugger 4.5.5b6 (11.4MB)

    ##Installation

    • Quit Script Debugger if it is running
    • Mount the SD4.5.5 disk image
    • Copy the Script Debugger 4.5 application from the disk image to your Applications folder (or any other place on your disk)
    • Restart your Macintosh to ensure all caches are flushed

    I recommend keeping your copy of Script Debugger 4.5.4 around in case you need to revert to that build. Note also that this BETA build expires on September 1, 2010.

    ##Script Debugger 4.5.5b6 Changes

    • 14907 [Crash] Improved the Explorer to protect against some more instances where the UI thread may be accessing data while background threads are altering the data.
    • 14927 The Script Debugger 4.0 OSA component is removed if it is still present to avoid the possibility of memory corruptions that might destabilize Script Debugger 4.5.
    • 14928 Script Debugger auto-saves documents each time they are compiled. This may slow things down slightly, but it will improve Script Debugger’s ability to recover the contents of open documents in the event of a crash. Previously, Script Debugger auto-saved only before a document was executed.
    • 14926 When exporting a Run-Only script over an existing file, Script Debugger ensures that pre-eisting recovery and QuickLook preview data is removed.
    • 14925 This change addresses a regression in bug 14881. Script Debugger no longer reports 32-bit scripting addition warnings for StandardAdditions.osax when saving on 32-bit machines as StandardAdditions.osax will always be fully compatible with the host hardware. Script Debugger now only does 32-bit scripting addition checking when running on Mac OS X 10.6 or later.
    • 14885 FontSyncScripting.app is no longer mistaken as a Scripting Addition.

    Script Debugger 4.5.5b5 Changes

  • Script Debugger 4.5.5b5

    UPDATE: Script Debugger 4.5.5b6 has been released.

    I am preparing another Script Debugger 4.5 maintenance release.

    I have been struggling to resolve some stability problems ever since the release of Script Debugger 4.5. Resolving these issues has been very difficult as I’ve not been able to reproduce several of the crashes on my own systems so I’m debugging in the blind. The Script Debugger 4.5.5b3 and b4 releases have resolved several crashes, but some problems remain. The Script Debugger 4.5.5b5 build addresses two additional crashes.

    To help me determine if I’ve resolved the stability issues (or at least improved things), please allow Script Debugger to submit ALL crash reports. I know that this may slow you down a little, but it will help me as I work to finally resolve the stability problems.

    ##Requirements

    • A Script Debugger 4.5 registration number
    • Intel or PowerPC Macintosh
    • Mac OS X 10.6, 10.5, 10.4

    ##Download

    Script Debugger 4.5.5b5 (11.4MB)

    ##Installation

    • Quit Script Debugger if it is running
    • IMPORTANT Delete all copies of Script Debugger.component and Script Debugger 4.5.component from your ~/Library/Components folder
    • Mount the SD4.5.5 disk image
    • Copy the Script Debugger 4.5 application from the disk image to your Applications folder (or any other place on your disk)
    • Restart your Macintosh to ensure all caches are flushed

    I recommend keeping your copy of Script Debugger 4.5.4 around in case you need to revert to that build. Note also that this BETA build expires on September 1, 2010.

    ##Script Debugger 4.5.5b5 Changes

    • 14907 [Crash] Improved the Explorer to protect against some more instances where the UI thread may be accessing data while background threads are altering the data.
    • 14899 [Crash] Resolved a bug that caused Script Debugger to crash when AppleScript reports error text ranges that lie beyond the end of the script. This happens most commonly when you have an unclosed quoted string within a block comment.

    Script Debugger 4.5.5b4 Changes

  • Script Debugger 4.5.5b4

    UPDATE: Script Debugger 4.5.5b5 has been released.

    I am preparing another Script Debugger 4.5 maintenance release.

    I have been struggling to resolve some stability problems ever since the release of Script Debugger 4.5. The rate of crash reports has diminished significantly with the Script Debugger 4.5.5b3 beta build, but I’m still getting a few crashes. This new beta build contains fixes for a few more instances where AppleScript may be causing crashes.

    To help me determine if I’ve actually solved the stability issues (or at least improved things), please allow Script Debugger to submit all crash reports. I know that this may slow you down a little, but it will help us all as I work to finally resolve the stability problems.

    ##Requirements

    • A Script Debugger 4.5 registration number
    • Intel or PowerPC Macintosh
    • Mac OS X 10.6, 10.5, 10.4

    ##Download

    Script Debugger 4.5.5b4 (11.4MB)

    ##Installation

    • Quit Script Debugger if it is running
    • IMPORTANT Delete all copies of Script Debugger.component and Script Debugger 4.5.component from your ~/Library/Components folder
    • Mount the SD4.5.5 disk image
    • Copy the Script Debugger 4.5 application from the disk image to your Applications folder (or any other place on your disk)

    I recommend keeping your copy of Script Debugger 4.5.4 around in case you need to revert to that build. Note also that this BETA build expires on September 1, 2010.

    ##Script Debugger 4.5.5b4 Changes

    • 14898 More changes that attempt to resolve Script Debugger’s stability issues (Please ensure you have deleted all old copies of Script Debugger.component and Script Debugger 4.5.component from your ~/Library/Components folder).

    Script Debugger 4.5.5b3 Changes

  • Script Debugger 4.5.5b3

    UPDATE: Script Debugger 4.5.5b4 has been released.

    I am preparing another Script Debugger 4.5 maintenance release.

    I have been struggling to resolve some stability problems ever since the release of Script Debugger 4.5. I thought I had these problems resolved a couple of times, but they persist. With the release of Mac OS X 10.6 they seem to have gotten worse.

    For the Script Debugger 4.5.5 maintenance release I want to try and resolve these stability issues once and for all. The difficulty is that I cannot reproduce any of these crashes here on my systems, and the crash reports that I receive don’t point to any obvious causes.

    I had a bit of luck and was able to find and resolve some memory management errors in Script Debugger which may have contributed to the problem. I’ve also identified a problem in AppleScript that may also be contributing to the stability issues.

    To help me determine if I’ve actually solved the stability issues (or at least improved things), please allow Script Debugger to submit all crash reports. I know that this may slow you down a little, but it will help us all as I work to finally resolve the stability problems.

    ##Requirements

    • A Script Debugger 4.5 registration number
    • Intel or PowerPC Macintosh
    • Mac OS X 10.6, 10.5, 10.4

    ##Download

    Script Debugger 4.5.5b3 (11.4MB)

    ##Installation

    • Quit Script Debugger if it is running
    • IMPORTANT Delete all copies of Script Debugger.component and Script Debugger 4.5.component from your ~/Library/Components folder
    • Mount the SD4.5.5 disk image
    • Copy the Script Debugger 4.5 application from the disk image to your Applications folder (or any other place on your disk)

    I recommend keeping your copy of Script Debugger 4.5.4 around in case you need to revert to that build. Note also that this BETA build expires on September 1, 2010.

    ##Script Debugger 4.5.5b3 Changes

    • 14898 Several changes that attempt to resolve Script Debugger’s stability issues and reduce memory leakage when closing documents (Please ensure you have deleted all old copies of Script Debugger.component and Script Debugger 4.5.component from your ~/Library/Components folder).
    • 14886, 14151 Corrected a series of issues that prevented the Manifest command from properly detecting AppleEvents sent to applications. Note that these fixes also restore Script Debugger’s ability to detect which applications will be launched when opening scripts.
    • 14885 FontSyncScripting.app is no longer mistaken as a Scripting Addition.
    • 14884 Script Debugger’s logic for opening scripts with incorrect filename extensions has been improved. For instance, compiled scripts carrying a ‘.applescript’ extension will open correctly (.applescript normally indicates a plain text file).
    • 14881 A new 32-Bit Only option has been added to the Save As panel allowing you to create 32-Bit applets directly from Script Debugger (this avoids having to visit the Finder’s Get Info window to select the 32-Bit Only execution option).
    • 14853 Script Debugger can now open the iCal dictionary and any other application dictionaries which make use of xinclude directives.
    • 14883 Script Debugger now reports error information in the AppleEvent Log window.

  • Script Debugger 4.5.4

    I’m pleased to announce the release of Script Debugger 4.5.4. Script Debugger 4.5.4 is a free maintenance release that addresses a series of issues that came to light following the release of Script Debugger 4.5.

    Download

    Release Notes

  • Script Debugger 4.5.4b4

    I am preparing another Script Debugger 4.5 maintenance release. This maintenance release addresses Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6) compatibility and some remaining stability issues in Script Debugger 4.5.3. Here is another BETA build of Script Debugger 4.5.4 for testing.

    UPDATE: Script Debugger 4.5.4 has been released.

    ##Requirements

    • A Script Debugger 4.5 registration number
    • PowerPC or Intel Macintosh
    • Mac OS X 10.4, 10.5, 10.6

    ##Download

    Script Debugger 4.5.4b4 (11.4MB)

    ##Installation

    • Expand the SD4.5.4 archive
    • Quit Script Debugger if it is running
    • Move the Script Debugger 4.5 application to your Applications folder (or any other place on your disk)

    I recommend keeping your copy of Script Debugger 4.5.3 around in case you need to revert to that build. Note also that this BETA build expires on February 1, 2010.

    ##Script Debugger 4.5.4b4 Changes

    • 14870 Corrected a problem that caused the insertion point to be in wrong place when dragging items to the last line of a script.
    • 14869 Corrected a series of parsing bugs that sometimes caused parts of scripts to be omitted from the Table Of Contents menu.

    Script Debugger 4.5.4b3 Changes

  • Script Debugger 4.5.4b3

    I am preparing another Script Debugger 4.5 maintenance release. This maintenance release addresses Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6) compatibility and some remaining stability issues in Script Debugger 4.5.3. Here is another BETA build of Script Debugger 4.5.4 for testing.

    UPDATE: Script Debugger 4.5.4b4 has been released.

    ##Requirements

    • A Script Debugger 4.5 registration number
    • PowerPC or Intel Macintosh
    • Mac OS X 10.4, 10.5, 10.6

    ##Download

    Script Debugger 4.5.4b3 (11.4MB)

    ##Installation

    • Expand the SD4.5.4 archive
    • Quit Script Debugger if it is running
    • Move the Script Debugger 4.5 application to your Applications folder (or any other place on your disk)

    I recommend keeping your copy of Script Debugger 4.5.3 around in case you need to revert to that build. Note also that this BETA build expires on December 1, 2009.

    ##Script Debugger 4.5.4b3 Changes

    • 14848 Corrected a crashing bug that occurred when code completion was used with JavaScript OSA.
    • 14866 Corrected a crashing bug that occurred when using Find Next/Previous Handler commands in scripts with inconsistent line endings.
    • 14864 Corrected a parsing error that prevented the compilation of code that uses statements like ‘tell (… to …)’ when debugging is enabled.
    • 14863 Script Debugger now offers to install its self in /Applications after it has been run directly from the installation disk image.

    Script Debugger 4.5.4b2 Changes

  • Script Debugger 4.5.4b2

    I am preparing another Script Debugger 4.5 maintenance release. This maintenance release addresses Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6) compatibility and some remaining stability issues in Script Debugger 4.5.3. Here is another BETA build of Script Debugger 4.5.4 for testing.

    UPDATE: Script Debugger 4.5.4b3 has been released.

    ##Requirements

    • A Script Debugger 4.5 registration number
    • PowerPC or Intel Macintosh
    • Mac OS X 10.4, 10.5, 10.6

    ##Download

    Script Debugger 4.5.4b2 (11.4MB)

    ##Installation

    • Expand the SD4.5.4 archive
    • Quit Script Debugger if it is running
    • Move the Script Debugger 4.5 application to your Applicatioons folder (or any other place on your disk)

    I recommend keeping your copy of Script Debugger 4.5.3 around in case you need to revert to that build. Note also that this BETA build expires on November 1, 2009.

    ##Script Debugger 4.5.4b2 Changes

    • 14840 Corrected a parsing error where # characters appearing within a block comment would cause the parser to fail to parse the remainder of the script in some instances.
    • 14844 The Manifest command once again correctly shows the events generated by a script.
    • 14852 Pressing the Tab key in the dictionary Search Results panel now moves keyboard focus to the description area of the window.
    • 14839 Corrected a terminology conflict that prevented the creation of ‘file’ objects on 10.4 systems. Scripts that use the file property of Script Debugger’s document object must be updated to use the ‘file spec’ property.
    • 14830 Changed the ‘source’ constant to ‘source code’ and changed the ‘raw’ constant to ‘raw code’ to avoid terminology conflicts with scripts that used these terms as variable names.
    • 14858 The Fonts & Colors preferences panel now offers to let you set Snow Leopard’s new AppleScript formatting options. A crashing bug that occurred if you double-click in the blank area below the last formatting option has been resolved.
    • 14855 Corrected a problem where getting the value of the ‘scripts menu folder’, ‘clippings menu folder’ or ‘script libraries folder’ properties of Script Debugger’s application object would fail intermittently.
    • 14850 Dragging text from a script window to another application now includes style information.
    • 14824 The Mail dictionary now shows ‘unicode text’ instead of ‘utf8’ for properties returning a unicode text value.
    • 14860 Bundled compiled scripts exported as Run-Only bundled applications no longer includes Recover/QuickLook data that could reveal the source code for your script.

    Script Debugger 4.5.4b1 Changes

  • Script Debugger 4.5.4b1

    I am preparing another Script Debugger 4.5 maintenance release. This maintenance release addresses Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6) compatibility the and some remaining stability issues in Script Debugger 4.5.3. Here is another BETA build of Script Debugger 4.5.4 for testing.

    UPDATE: Script Debugger 4.5.4b2 has been released.

    ##Requirements

    • A Script Debugger 4.5 registration number
    • PowerPC or Intel Macintosh
    • Mac OS X 10.4 or 10.5

    ##Download

    Script Debugger 4.5.4b1 (10.8MB)

    ##Installation

    • Expand the SD4.5.4 archive
    • Quit Script Debugger if it is running
    • Move the Script Debugger 4.5 application to your Applicatioons folder (or any other place on your disk)

    I recommend keeping your copy of Script Debugger 4.5.3 around in case you need to revert to that build. Note also that this BETA build expires on November 1, 2009.

    ##Script Debugger 4.5.4b1 Changes

    • 14836 Snow Leopard: global variables are once again correctly displayed in the Variables browser on Mac OS X 10.6.x systems.
    • 14806 Tiger: the AppleScript Formatting preferences panel no longer fails to load on Mac OS X 10.4.x systems.
    • 14846 Resolved a crash that occurred after the AppleScript Formatting preferences panel has been used.
    • 14829 Added a new Edit License… command to the Script Debugger menu. This command allows you to enter new software registration information if you should need to re-license Script Debugger.
    • 14828 When Script Debugger detects that too many copies of Script Debugger are using the same license it now names the machines that are using Script Debugger to help identify the cause of the problem.

  • Viewing Local Variables in Script Debugger

    The issue of how to view local variables (variables declared within an AppleScript handler) in Script Debugger keeps coming up. This problem has been an issue ever since Script Debugger 2.0 when local variable display was introduced. This issue surfaced again recently on the AppleScript-Users mailing list:

    Hello, how can I see the value of y in the variables pane of Script Debugger when I run this simple example script in debug mode:

set x to 3

beeping(x)

on beeping(x)
	--local y
	set y to 5
	beep x
	delay 2
	beep y
end beeping

Bert.

    Script Debugger requires all local variables be explicitly declared before they are displayed in the variables browser. AppleScript allows you to explicitly declare locals in several ways:

    1. explicitly using the ‘local’ statement
    2. as the loop variable in a ‘repeat with’ statement
    3. as a parameter to a handler
    4. as a parameter to an ‘on error’ statement

    The problem arrises when a variable is declared implicitly through an assignment within a handler. In this instance, Script Debugger’s parser is not able to detect the new variable (y), and thus fails to display it in the variables browser.

    The solution is the uncomment the ‘local y’ statement.

    You can find additional information in the Script Debugger Help Book by searching for ‘local’ from the Help menu.

    The AppleScript runtime does not provide public debugging hooks. As a result, Script Debugger must resort to a series of hacks to implement step-wise debugging and variable display. One of the limitations of this approach to AppleScript debugging is that Script Debugger must detect the names of all local variables at compile-time. AppleScript’s support for multi-word identifiers in dictionaries makes parsing AppleScript source a very problematic thing to do, and makes detecting local variables without knowing AppleScript’s internal state impossible.

  • Script Debugger 4.5.3 On-Line Help as PDF

    Recently I have received several requests for Script Debugger 4.5’s On-Line help as a single PDF file. Matt Neuburg, who writes the Script Debugger 4 documentation, was able to oblige with a nicely hyperlinked PDF file.

    Script Debugger 4.5.3 Help Book (PDF, 3.9MB)

  • Script Debugger 4.5.3

    I’m pleased to announce the release of Script Debugger 4.5.3. Script Debugger 4.5.3 is a free maintenance release that addresses a series of issues that came to light following the release of Script Debugger 4.5.

    Download

    Release Notes

  • Script Debugger 4.5.3b7

    I am preparing another Script Debugger 4.5 maintenance release. This maintenance release tries to address the remaining stability issues in the Script Debugger 4.5.2 build. Here is another Beta build of Script Debugger 4.5.3 for testing.

    ##Requirements

    • A Script Debugger 4.5 registration number
    • PowerPC or Intel Macintosh
    • Mac OS X 10.4 or 10.5

    ##Download

    Script Debugger 4.5.3b7 (10.8MB)

    ##Installation

    • Expand the SD4.5.3 archive
    • Quit Script Debugger if it is running
    • Move the Script Debugger 4.5 application to your Applicatioons folder (or any other place on your disk)

    I recommend keeping your copy of Script Debugger 4.5.2 around in case you need to revert to that build. Note also that this Beta build expires on July 1, 2009.

    ##Script Debugger 4.5.3b7 Changes

    • 14821 Corrected a hanging bug that occurred when a script running in a Script Debugger window told Script Debugger to quit.
    • 14806 Integrated Help Book updates.

    Changes in previous Script Debugger 4.5.3 Beta builds

  • Script Debugger 4.5.3b6

    I am preparing another Script Debugger 4.5 maintenance release. This maintenance release tries to address the remaining stability issues in the Script Debugger 4.5.2 build.

    ##Requirements

    • A Script Debugger 4.5 registration number
    • PowerPC or Intel Macintosh
    • Mac OS X 10.4 or 10.5

    ##Download

    Script Debugger 4.5.3b6 (10.8MB)

    ##Installation

    • Expand the SD4.5.3 archive
    • Quit Script Debugger if it is running
    • Move the Script Debugger 4.5 application to your Applicatioons folder (or any other place on your disk)

    I recommend keeping your copy of Script Debugger 4.5.2 around in case you need to revert to that build. Note also that this Beta build expires on June 1, 2009.

    ##Script Debugger 4.5.3b6 Changes

    • 14540 The ‘file spec’ document property has been renamed ‘file’. This change corrects a terminology conflict that caused AppleScript to rewrite ‘file spec’ as ‘file’ following a compile.
    • 14816 Addressed a problem where references to ‘path’ outside a tell block generated incorrect 4-character codes (as compared to Apple’s Script Editor).
    • 14820 Corrected a block auto-close/balance bug that happens with unbalanced )}] characters appear in a – style comment
    • 14819 The ‘stic’ enumeration associated with the ‘display dialog’ command is once again displayed correctly.
    • 14817 A hanging bug when exploring the InDesign dictionary is (I hope) resolved.

    ##Script Debugger 4.5.3b5 Changes

    • 14809 When pasting Object Reference as nested tell blocks, the code respects the existing tell context.
    • 14811 Corrected a problem in the Tell Context inspector that caused the inspector to stop displaying the current tell context after inspecting the ‘disk’ property of any Finder element.
    • 14812 Addressed a crashing problem when getting ‘properties of document 1 of application “Adobe InDesign”’.
    • 14814 Added a ‘Paste Object References as nested Tell blocks’ preference to the Editor preferences panel.
    • 14813 Holding down the Option key while pasting Object References inverts the ‘Paste Object References as nested Tell blocks’ preference setting.

    ##Script Debugger 4.5.3b4 Changes

    • 14799 Two changes: Shift-Command-C copes an explorer value (available from the Edit and Contextual menus), and pasting an object reference into a script now results in a series of nested tell blocks rather than a single object reference string.
    • 14768 Resolved a balance problem that caused block auto-closing to fail if AppleScript block statements (if, repeat) appear within a block comment.
    • 14805 The Script Debugger dictionary viewer now correctly displays property/parameter/result types when a type is defined as both singular and plural in the SDEF XML.
    • 14807 Unicode characters appearing in AppleScript error messages are now displayed correctly in Script Debugger’s Script Error panel.
    • 14790 Resolved several bugs that occurred when using fonts that don’t map into the legacy QuickDraw font model.

    ##Script Debugger 4.5.3b3 Changes

    • 14717 Adjusted dictionary search results so that partial hits matching the start of a name are weighted higher than partial hits in the middle or end of a name.
    • 14775 Addressed a crash that could sometimes occur when closing documents.

    ##Script Debugger 4.5.3b2 Changes

    • 14776 Addressed a crash that occurred when expanding a browser item for which there is an open viewer window.
    • 14774 Addressed a crash that occurred when canceling the Set Keystroke dialog using the Escape key.
    • 14775 Addressed a hanging bug that occur when Script Debugger was stressed heavily during the running/stepping of scripts. This fix also addresses a memory leak that occurred stepping through a script under scripting control.
    • 14611 A long standing intermittent crashing bug that occurred creating new documents has finally been resolved.
    • 14721 Issuing a Cut, Copy, Paste, or Delete command in the Dictionary Search results pane no longer causes a hang.
    • 14773 The scripting interface now correctly reports a script is not debuggable when you try and step into/over/into a script which does not have debugging enabled.
    • 14705 Tooltip evaluation tooltips are now properly removed when dictionary windows are opened using the Command-D shortcut.
    • 14702 Uncommenting lines without a comment no longer causes leading whitespace to be stripped.
    • 14770 Removing the Step Over, Step Into, and Step Out toolbar buttons no longer renders the corresponding menus inoperable.
    • 14713 The ‘scripts folder’ and ‘clippings folder’ properties in the scripting interface have been renamed ‘scripts menu folder’ and ‘clippings menu folder’ to avoid a terminology conflict with the ‘scripts folder’ constant defined in by Standard Additions.osax.
    • 14772 Option- modifier problems when using Norwegian keyboard layouts have been corrected.
    • 14709 Option- modifier problems when using German keyboard layouts have been corrected.
    • 14771 Write-only properties are no longer displayed in the Dictionary Explorer.
    • 14755 Leopard-style selection highlighting is used when showing balancing brackets and braces while typing.
    • 14749 Hiding/Showing the Dock when the dock is positioned on the right of the screen no longer causes inspector windows to move.
    • 14724 Auto-paring problems relating to typing ‘(’ before ‘“N” & aVar’ have been resolved.
    • 14720 Addressed an issue in the Scripts and Clippings inspectors that could case the Hide/Show Icon state to become confused.

    ##Script Debugger 4.5.3b1 Changes

    • 14708 A slight performance improvement when opening scripts with the ‘Warn when applications may be launched’ setting turned on. Script Debugger no longer loads the dictionaries of all installed Scripting Additions as it did before.
    • 14707 New Fatten preference has been added. I have added a hidden preference ‘PrefFlattenAtBeginning’ that controls where libraries are placed when flattening scripts. By default, libraries are placed before the main script. Setting this preference to ‘no’ with the Unix ‘defaults’ command causes libraries to be placed after the main script. No UI is planned for this preference setting.
    • 14706 Script Debugger now allows you to continue when it detects that there are duplicate symbols coming from libraries. The ability to continue was present in Script Debugger 3.0 and was somehow lost in the transition to 4.0.

    ##Bug Reporting

    You can email all bug reports to me. Wherever possible, please include the sample documents and the steps needed to reproduce the problem you are experiencing. Also, please include processor (PPC/Intel) and Mac OS version information (10.4 or 10.5). Please don’t assume that others are reporting the bugs you are experiencing - I would prefer to get duplicate bug reports than to miss something. Here is a template for a bug report:

    • SUMMARY Recap the problem title and/or include more descriptive summary information.
    • STEPS TO REPRODUCE
    1. Setup or prep work
    2. Include explicit and accurate steps to reproduce. Do not include extraneous or irrelevant steps.
    • RESULTS Describe your results and how they differed from what you expected.
    • REGRESSION Provide information on steps taken to isolate the problem. Describe circumstances where the problem occurs or does not occur, such as software versions and/or hardware configurations.
    • NOTES Document any additional information that might be useful in resolving the problem, such as references to related problems, leads on diagnosis, screen shots, included attachments, and any workarounds.

  • Script Debugger 4.5 Can Take a Long Time to Open Scripts

    A few customers have written me to report that Script Debugger 4.5 takes much longer to open their scripts than did Script Debugger 4.0.

    This slowdown is an unintended consequence of a new feature in Script Debugger 4.5 where Script Debugger warns you that opening a script will cause other applications to be launched.

    This slowdown is most dramatic when opening scripts that target applications which have very large AppleScript dictionaries such as Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, or Microsoft Word. Generally the delay should only be felt the first time Script Debugger 4.5 reads the dictionaries for these applications. If Script Debugger is left running, it will reuse the dictionary information cached in memory.

    Script Debugger 4.5.1 introduced a new ‘Opening: Warn when applications may be launched’ setting in the General Preferences panel that allows you to turn off the application launch warning when opening scripts. If the delay opening your scripts is slowing down your work or if the warning becomes irritating, you can use this preferences setting to disable the feature.

    Preferences

  • Script Debugger 4.5.2

    I’m pleased to announce the release of Script Debugger 4.5.2. Script Debugger 4.5.2 is a free maintenance release that addresses a series of issues that came to light following the release of Script Debugger 4.5.

    Download

    Release Notes

  • Script Debugger 4.5.1

    I’m pleased to announce the release of Script Debugger 4.5.1. Script Debugger 4.5.1 is a free maintenance release that addresses a series of issues that came to light following the release of Script Debugger 4.5.

    Download

    Release Notes

  • Script Debugger 4.5

    I’m pleased to announce the release of Script Debugger 4.5. This upgrade to Script Debugger brings a host of additions and improvements. You can check out the release notes for a full description of the changes in this upgrade.

    I would like to thank all my beta testers for providing a lot of great feedback and finding all those tough bugs. My thanks also goes to Matt Neuburg for producing yet another great Help Book.

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