AppleScript Automation

[brickwork]

I have a desire to use applescript and CUPS to solve a data conversion problem. The input to this process will be single EML files, sometimes numbering in the 10s of 1000s. These would reside in a directory named INPUT. I would use Automator to accept files from this folder at the time the workflow was initiated. The workflow would contain two steps. First would be to select the location of INPUT. Second would be to run a piece of applescript. This applescript would use Mail to open each EML file and print to CUPS. Within the CUPS configuration, I can specify the destination of all things printed to the CUPS printer. Mail is the only application that will open EML files on Mac out of the box. I found this script that uses Mail to open a message, then uses AppleScript to grab specific parts of the message, like headers and content, then writes these to a temporary text file, then prints the text file to the default printer (set in the interface to be CUPS). This script may work the way it is. I would not know. The minute I drop a Custom AppleScript step into my workflow and drop this script in the workflow does not accept input and asks me to debug line by line. I’m unable to do this. I don’t know how to write applescript and I’m not a programmer.

AppleScript

on run {input, parameters}

tell application “Mail”
set selectedMessages to |SelectedMessages| of input
repeat with eachMessage in selectedMessages
set theEmail to (headers of eachMessage as text) & return & return ¬
& (content of eachMessage as text)
set theTextFile to open for access “:MailText” with write permission
set theTempFile to (“:MailText” as alias)
write theEmail to theTextFile
close access theTextFile
do shell script “lpr /MailText”
tell application “Finder”
delete theTempFile
end tell
end repeat
end tell

return input
end run


Thanks

[EINSTEIN_007]

Applescripts are usually very conservative and therefore you can try and download the automator from here and it might be easier to help with your issue if we knew what data conversion problem you're trying to solve. Offhand, processing tens of thousands of eml files with Automator, Applescript, Mail, and CUPS sounds downright unpleasant. Someone here may have a simpler solution.