QuitEverything is a simple script which quits all running applications, except the Finder. If you are like me, when I am working on a project, I end up with 4, 5, 6 or more applications running at the same time. Sometimes I need to open an application for one minor step in processing (why must everyone use a different text editor for read me files--BBEdit, Simple Text, and others). It gets to be a bit of a chore to bring 10 different applications to the front to quit them, so I wrote a script to do it automatically.
This is v1.4 which improves on the manner in which I send quit events to applications and handles background only processes better. Some apps take the "activate" command and display their "About this App..." screen. With this version, I wrap a simple error trap around a test in between two variations on quiting the app (thats a mouthful)...bottom line is that you should be able to quit out of applications more reliably and leave background processes alone. This assumes that background only processes are background only because they shouldn't be quit easily.
1. Applescript must be installed on your system. This is a standard part of the MacOS these days, so it should be installed if you are running any version of System 7.5 or higher.
2. You must have Sändi's Additions installed. Sändi's Additions is a free Osax, available from the usual sources (InfoMac, UMich, the AppleScript resource sites). It will add certain important functionality to AppleScript without unnecessary system overhead. One of the reasons this Scripting Addition is so good is that not all applications are scriptable--they do not understand a quit event sent from the Finder, but they all accept a keyboard shortcut to quit (command-Q) as part of the standard Mac interface. Sändi's Additions allows the script to execute a command-Q from the keyboard as if you had typed it yourself, so all applications will respond. It also adds a handy way to getting a list of running applications on the system.
WARNING:
This is a simplified script. It does no error checking. It relies on the default timeout for AppleScript. It will not warn you if there is a problem in getting an application to respond. I have written more complete, comprehensive script solutions for doing simple chores like this. If this is what you need, e-mail me and we'll work something out. If you are a company, or wish to use this script application for commercial use, I can work out a simple distribution agreement at a very reasonable cost, so e-mail me.
DISCLAIMER:
This is freeware for personal use. I can not promise tech support. If there is a problem, e-mail me, and I will try to help. I cannot be held liable for any problems you may have with this script application--this is try at your own risk. There should be no problem, but if your hard drive melts, you are on your own (tell me about it, so I can figure out what went wrong).
E-MAIL:
You can e-mail me at tjb@inch.com with any comments, suggestions, gifts, praise, adoration, or whatever. Please drop me a line to say hello, and tell me what you think of this script. If you are in need of a more comprehensive script solution, I'm not against the idea of being paid! Make me an offer.
