Automation allows for your Mac to work for you while you are sleeping, working, or just living life. One piece of software I have found quite useful for automation is Task Till Dawn. The application allows for you to have applications automatically launch along with files as well. You can have this set for certain times during the day to automate your Mac.
Getting Started
When getting started with Task Till Dawn, it may seem a bit boring and basic. However, once you get into some serious tasks with the application, you will notice that your automated tasks end up on the front page. Let’s dive a bit into the interface.
Thankfully, each aspect of the interface has icons and is labeled. From left to right, the “Run Task(s)” option allows you to activate one or all of the tasks you have created below. They don’t always have to be running, however, and that’s where “Stop Execution” comes into play. “New Task” and “Edit Task” allow you to create and make changes to new tasks and tasks already created. You can then remove tasks that aren’t needed with the “Remove” icon. These options will be referred to repeatedly throughout the review.
The Basics of Tasks
Let’s dig into tasks. The tasks you create will determine how well or horrible Task Till Dawn relates to your experience. Keeping this in mind, we will make reference to a sample task, minimal in difficulty, to show how Task Till Dawn can tackle it. Every morning, you may want to check your email. Let’s create a task to launch the Mail application automatically.
Click on “New Task”
Name Your Task Under “Taskname”
Describe it if you feel this is necessary, marking below in the checkbox if you want to activate this task once you finish setting it up or not.
Select the application you’d like to use in this automation.
After setting your execution criteria, click “Ok”
The appeal for more advanced automation is through the use of scripts. If you are familiar with scripts, the possibilities of Task Till Dawn are limitless. In addition, I used IFTTT to assist a bit in my automation and feel it would be easy and accessible to the individuals not familiar with scripts. For example, I have specific attachments from emails sent to a Dropbox folder that I refer to multiple times a day. Task Till Dawn allows for the automatic opening of that file at specific intervals of the day.
Going Further into Task Till Dawn
You may have noticed an “Extended Settings” option in Task Till Dawn. This option allows you to get a bit deeper into your Task Till Dawn automation. For example, if you start up your Mac but don’t want a specific automation to occur, you can use the option – “Delay[ing] task execution for _ second”. You can also wait for the task to finish, have it execute in the background, and many more other settings, including “Maximum executions” – disabling or deleting tasks after exceeding that specific number.
Pros and Cons
If you are looking to automate your Mac, Task Till Dawn might be the app you’re looking for. It isn’t complicated and doesn’t have a ton of hidden features. You get what you see, and even more, you get what you make out of it. There were a few issues with some AppleScript executions, preventing me from being able to focus too much on them in this review, however many other individuals have mentioned AppleScript working well after a couple of changes to how they execute it with Task Till Dawn.
Task Till Dawn can do great things for you and make things a lot easier. With some time to really think over your Task Till Dawn routine, you can really enjoy the application. Let us know in the comments below how you’ve made Task Till Dawn work for you to automate your Mac.
Task Till Dawn (Task Till Dawn is available for Windows as well)
Ari Simon has been a writer with Make Tech Easier since August 2011. Ari loves anything related to technology and social media. When Ari isn’t working, he enjoys traveling and trying out the latest tech gadget.
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