This release of AppleScript includes several new features, which are described briefly here.

To learn more about the new features, see the AppleScript Web site: www.apple.com/applescript

System requirement

This release of AppleScript, version 1.5.5, requires Mac OS 9.1 or later. It will not work with previous versions of the Mac OS.

Mac OS X support

This version of AppleScript includes new support for Mac OS X:

•	In addition to any scriptable Mac OS 9 applications, you can specify in a Tell block scriptable Mac OS X applications that are also designed to work with Mac OS 9. You can also specify the Mac OS X Desktop application.
	If you save the script as a compiled script or Classic applet, you can run it with the Mac OS X Classic environment to control the Mac OS X version of the application or the Desktop application.
•	The Script Editor shows the dictionary of scriptable Mac OS X applications that are also designed to work with Mac OS 9 and the Mac OS X Desktop application.
•	The Script Editor lets you save a script as a Mac OS X applet. You can run the script with Mac OS X without starting the Classic environment.
•	You can run a Mac OS X applet with Mac OS 8.1 or later, if the CarbonLib extension is in the Extensions folder (in the System Folder).
•	You can use script files created with certain Mac OS X applications that store the script differently from the Script Editor. (The script is in the data fork of the file, rather than the resource fork.)
	This makes it easier to do certain network operations with these script files.

Controlling remote applications using TCP/IP addressing

In addition to using AppleTalk names to identify computers, a script can control applications on other computers using a TCP/IP address. For example:

tell application "Finder" of machine "eppc://127.200.126.44"

You can also use the DNS name of the computer:

tell application "Finder" of machine "eppc://lab.mycompany.com"

You must know the TCP/IP address or DNS name for the computer. You cannot browse the network to locate it.

The Using Terms From command

The Using Terms From command lets you specify an application for terminology that's different from the target application of the Tell commands within the Using Terms From block.

This command lets you develop and compile scripts when the actual application isn't available or you can't connect to a remote application.

Here's a partial example:

using terms from application "Finder"

tell application remote-Finder
...
end tell

end using terms from

AppleScript compiles the statements within the Using Terms From block using the Finder without changing the target application for the Tell block.

You can nest Tell and Using Terms From blocks within each other. If the Using Terms From block is within a Tell block, AppleScript uses terms from the target specified by the Tell block.

Improved Unicode text support

AppleScript now converts Unicode text returned from applications to International text and displays the results using any installed multilingual script system.

AppleScript can convert text that contains more than one script system. For example, you can convert text that contains English, Cyrillic, and Japanese into Unicode text, then back to International text.

Scripts can also compare Unicode text values to test if they are equal.

Support for large files

The Info For command correctly reports the size of files, folders, and disks larger than 2 GB.

Info For command Busy Status property

The Info For command has a Busy Status property that returns True if the file specified by the command is in use.

Rounding option

The Round command (in Standard Additions) now has the "as taught in school" parameter that rounds fractions that are exactly .5 to the next highest integer. Here's an example:

round 0.5 rounding as taught in school

Without the parameter, the Round command rounds to the nearest even integer.

Keychain Access support

You can use the Mount Volume command to mount an AFP (AppleShare) server volume and omit the password, if the password to the server and volume is in Keychain Access. This allows you to mount network volumes without including password information in your script.

Folder Action terminology changes

The "action number" and "action name" properties of the Remove Actions From and Edit Actions Of commands (in the Folder Actions dictionary) are now "using action number" and "using action name."

DOS and UNIX text support

This release of AppleScript can detect paragraph breaks in text from DOS and UNIX systems.