Using AppleScript to Automate Data Entry

I was working on an app today and ran into a problem: I had to transfer data from a table in a Microsoft Word document to a dictionary in a dictionary in a dictionary in a property list in Xcode. After copying and pasting several times—I had 243 total entries to copy—I figured there had to be a better way. So, I fired up AppleScript Editor and wrote this quick script to do nine at a time:

repeat 9 times
	tell application "Xcode"
		activate
	end tell
	
	tell application "System Events"
		keystroke tab
		keystroke tab
	end tell
	
	tell application "Pages"
		activate
	end tell
	
	tell application "System Events"
		keystroke "c" using {command down}
		delay 0.5
		keystroke tab
	end tell
	
	tell application "Xcode"
		activate
	end tell
	
	tell application "System Events"
		keystroke "v" using {command down}
	end tell
end repeat

Nothing fancy, but it worked, and I was saved from carpal tunnel syndrome. So if you find yourself needing to do something tedious, repetitive, and (most of all) easily reproduced, you too can turn to AppleScript to get it done. I won’t spend too much time on explaining the code, but just know that you have to enable access for assistive devices in System Preferences before doing it.