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DESCRIPTION
Automaton is four tools in one program, each of which is indispensable. It includes:
AutoNotes is notepad unlike any other. You can activate it with a hotkey, and automatically save notes into your "repository", for lightning fast quick notes. Your documents are all linked together like a wiki for fast navigating between pages. You can add tags to group your documents. But best of all, the "repository" is just a plain folder of text and RTF files. So you're not tied down to any proprietary file formats, and you can open existing folders of documents already linked like a Wiki with no work on your part! Then if you want, export your entire repository as a web site. A fast and powerful way of brainstorming, making knowledge databases, or simply jotting down quick notes.
AutoClips records a history of the items you have cut and copied to the Mac Pasteboard, You can get back older items organised chronologically, or by application, or by Spaces workspace. Get them back either with a hotkey, or from a status bar menu.
AutoTyper is a classic typing saver application. It can replace what you've typed into any other application with some different text and/or images. There is support for dates, times, plain text, rich text, cursor positioning, images, and more. Save keystrokes by making abbreviations for common text. Spice up your emails or documents with signatures, pictures, logos, smilies, etc that are expanded from a simple keyword. Expand entire form letters from abbreviations. Correct common spelling errors. Programmers can make code templates.
AutoFiler uses a simple rule interface so to organize your files for you in the background. Filter on name, type, date, tags and Spotlight attributes. Move or copy files, set color labels, import into iTunes or iPhoto, archive and backup, and more. Let AutoFiler work silently in the background while you get some real work done. AutoFiler can also manage your Trash, emptying it according to your own rules, and it can even clean up after deleted applications by discarding the support files.
WHAT'S NEW
Version 1.20: Release notes were unavailable when this listing was updated.
REQUIREMENTS
Mac OS X 10.5 or later.
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| Automaton User Reviews (5 posts) | Write A Review |
 | Nov 23 2009 |
LJMAC Okay, it is true that earlier releases of this ap were quite buggy (although fortunately never in a destructive way), but as everyone else says, the developer is VERY responsive, and I've emailed him extensively to identify and squash as many bugs as I could find. Now, with version 1.2, I think I can confidently say this ap is ready for prime time. And what an insanely useful little ap it is! You'll pay nearly as much as Automaton for the AutoTyper features alone from better known utilities such as Text Expander, Typinator, TypeIt4Me etc., but this works at least as well as they do IMHO, and you get all these other useful utilities thrown in! The note taker in particular is uniquely powerful, flexible and compatible. AutoFiler is probably the dark horse in the package, as it can do some incredibly powerful and useful things, but it's a little hard to describe until you try it. For example, it's ability to remove OS X 10.5+'s annoying download warning works more easily and reliably than any of the hacks I've tried. AutoClips does have at least one good free alternative, but I feel Automaton implements this functionality very well (as it does everything else), and it's good to have it as part of this nice little package.
(Version 1.20) | |
| [ Reply ] | |
 | Oct 26 2009 |
Something is wrong with Version 1.17 of this app. I've been running a demo for the past few days and my iMac is crawling at times. In reviewing Activity Monitor, the app is using up over 900MB of RAM and 1.57GB of Virtual Memory. Yikes!! Needless to say, in the trash with ya!
(Version 1.17) | |
| [ 2 Replies - Reply ] | |
Replies:
 | Nov 11 2009 |
COUNTACH Hi, this is the developer. You've got to be really cautious in interpreting memory usage stats. If you've got Growl installed, which most people do, try this experiment: goto System Preferences, Growl configuration, and check "Show Growl icon in menu bar". Now look for "Growl Menu" in Activity Monitor. For me on Leopard Growl 1.2 (64 bit) shows 8 Gigabytes VSIZE for this dinky little app, which all it can do is display that menu. On Snow Leopard, it shows 300MB which is twice as big as Automaton. Turn and on and off. Starts up pretty quick huh? Do you think its allocating 8GB of memory in less than one second? Private Memory (RPRVT on Leopard) is the only number that even nearly means something, and even then has to be qualified by other considerations. Why is Automaton different to other apps? Well partly because it is 64bit, which Leopard seems to be exceedingly confused about. It may be partly due to the architecture which uses a lot of small plugins, which probably also confuses the reporting in Activity Monitor. If you've got WriteRoom, Automaton uses the plugin library that developer wrote. WriteRoom on my Leopard machine (32 bit) has VSIZE of 365MB, before I even type anything, all for a fairly basic text editor. Clearly WriteRoom doesn't really use 365MB to show an empty text editor. For example, right now I'm running Automaton 64 bit on Snow Leopard, and it says 183MB Virtual Memory (VSIZE). But the private memory is only 14MB. Shared Memory is 32.5MB. That means that Automaton is linked against Apple libraries that might be 183MB, little of which has, or ever will get into memory! All it means is these program pages *could* get into memory if the program ever asked for them. But a typical program only asks for certain features out of a large library. The 32.5MB says that at least that much has got into memory, but it might not have been Automaton that did it! If Automaton is linked against Cocoa libraries, and say Finder is linked against the same library, it might have been Finder that caused that memory to get loaded! The private memory truly belongs to Automaton, but even then it might not all be resident. Most programs will have only a small portion of their actual memory resident at once. How much memory the program demands as resident depends on how much it is "touching" at the time. Programs that have no windows open at the time typically aren't touching much. Programs that are inactive, or whose activity doesn't need much data aren't touching much. Its only active memory that really matters. For example, let's say you load an enormous document into AutoNotes, and then close it. Programs don't relinquish memory as far as Activity Monitor is concerned, but it gets paged out to disk, so your real memory isn't used. Yes, there is a "Real Mem" column in Activity Monitor, but it includes shared libraries, so its not that helpful. Right now I'm using 76MB of real memory, of which 70MB is shared, so at a rough guess Automaton is probably occupying 6MB or less of memory that you could save if you shut it down. Other times, if you have been doing things, especially in the GUI this number might be bigger, but you wouldn't actually save it by shutting down, because it was all paged out anyway. In fact, a large VIrtual Memory (VSIZE) in activity monitor, could actually indicate an efficient program. It means the program is using a lot of Apple libraries, (which are shared among different programs in memory), and not reinventing the wheel with code that can't be shared. At the end of the day, how much real memory is used is mostly to do with how much memory the program "touches" during normal background usage. And this should be very small indeed for Automaton. How much virtual memory is directly attributed to a program is the Private Memory (RPRVT) field. Normal users should ignore most of this stuff because it is too hard to interpret.
(Version 1.19) | |
 | Nov 23 2009 |
LJMAC I've never seen Automaton use anything like that amount of memory (and I've been using it extensively), but it is a bit of a memory hog in 64 bit on Leopard. However, if you run it in 64 bit on Snow Leopard or 32 bit on Leopard, its memory use is perfectly reasonable, especially given all the things it can do. It seems 64 bit memory management isn't too good in Leopard.
(Version 1.20) | |
| Oct 20 2009 |
ISLANDMIKE I was surprised when I emailed the developer about AutoType and he was actually interested in my opinions. I would ask and he would do. And when my first concern was addressed, he did not turn and run when I brought up another. It should happen more often that our developers listen and take us seriously. The value of this package is outstanding, and many of us can put to good use these tools he provides; even so if only one is what you need -- he will not force you to take the set if you don't want it, you can buy only one. I especially need in my everyday work a "boilerplate" program. I have bought several and used most recently (before AutoType) TextExpander, before that Typinator, and before that TypeIt4Me. AutoType is simply superior, taking the best of all and putting it all together in one slick package. The editing window is nicely big and allows you the ability to see so you can edit and to copy in one swoop a whole template and take the copy (intact with any "tokens") into a new version and easily alter it to suite another situation. The ability to call a boilerplate from within another boilerplate means you can create a nice form that is customized for a particular use but call other sub parts that remain static so you don't need to re-write 18 times if you have 18 versions. Those who have a handful of insertion needs may be able to memorize their short list and have them entered by keyboard commands, but in my case I need to access about 36 boilerplates and a nice menubar pull down is the obvious solution. This is absolutely the BEST implementation out there -- you can see your whole title (not one that is truncated) from the menubar (and preview it if the title 6 months later does not ring a bell), you can put your boilerplates into sets to make it easier to find, and they get sorted in the menubar. It also works from the dock if you like. And this puppy is responsive and very FAST, it does not hog my memory or bog down my resources! The developer even wrote an import function that allowed me to seamlessly import my old TextExpander files ALL INTACT even with "snippets" being called from other "snippets" -- saving me at least a day of work! That import is built into the program for everyone -- and I suspect there are more to come! It handles signatures, logos, styled text -- nothing I've needed it could not do -- and that's not often something I'd be able to say, I can't with any of the other "boilerplate" programs that make one compromise. It is not everyday that we get a developer that will respond until the features we need are there and the program grows and becomes EXCELLENT. We settle all the time for lower standards, you don't need to settle for mediocre with this guy -- sit back and enjoy as he raises the bar notch by notch. Give this whole set a try with the knowledge that there is a face behind the wizard's curtain that will help you when you need it.
(Version 1.17) | |
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| Oct 12 2009 |
DOCSHLO This application is working very well and as described. I purchased after experiencing perfect support from the developer. This one application will replace 2 to 4 other applications and it's fully compatible with snow.
(Version 1.14) | |
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| Oct 8 2009 |
TRAHE I tried and bought this App, bcs it brings together, what i thought was good idea to put together : Clipboard Manager (also keeps Clipboard after Shutdown), rather interesting to have the Clips sorted by Spaces/App AutoTyper (replaces self defined acronyms like TIA with completion) Notes : which i never have known to be needed, but some tiny good replacement of using TextEdit, also you can have tags for linking notes to each other, might be more interesting when get used AutoFiler: some Hazel like Rule Sets for Folders Wel actually, to make it short, i like this App, bcs it is more easy to use than having mutltiple Apps, for me it replaced Savvy Clipboard, Hazel, Typinator, and can be configured all in one. I am indy developer myself so like the simplicity and ease of use
(Version 1.12) | |
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