Custom tokens between rules

[ilium007]

Hi,

I think I already know the answer to this but can I export a custom token from one rule and then use it later within the same set of rules ?

My workflow has a DVD rip hit a folder and then runs a convert rule. I export a token at this point. The completion of the rip results in the next rule based on the presence of a .dvdmedia folder in the watched folder. This then converts, makes am mkv, passes tio iFlicks etc etc. The final step is a separate rule that looks for an .mkv file hitting the same folder, this rule moves the .dvdmedia to the trash signalling the end of the workflow.

I want to gain access to the token I exported originally so I can post a Growl/Prowl notification that the movie has been completed.

Is this possible ? Cheers

[Mr_Noodle]

No, the tokens are limited to the rule they are defined in.

I'm a but unclear how you set up your rules in this case and at which point exactly you want the notification to happen. Could you elaborate?

[ilium007]

Ok I'll try to explain a bit better !

I have an action that is watching a folder /DVD-rips

This action has 4 rules. The first rule gets the DVD rip that has hit the folder and does some trickery via AppleScript to get a name for the movie. I want to use this name later on in a Growl notification. So I thought I would export it as a custom token.
The rule then goes through the next 3 steps which handbrake encodes, adds iflicks metadata and imports to iTunes. The final step is a move of the DVD rip to an archive folder. It is in the last rule that I want to display a growl alert using the custom token I exported from the first rule.

Does this make it any clearer ? Cheers.

[Mr_Noodle]

My confusion here is whether you mean actions or rules. A rule can have multiple actions that are performed. I'm not sure where the division lies with your workflow.

If each of those steps is its own rule, is there a reason why you couldn't have them as a bunch of actions within a single rule?

[ilium007]

I mean rules. I want to export a token from one rule and import to another:

[Mr_Noodle]

What I'm missing is why this is done in separate rules and how it is that you have separate rules and allow the file to match each one in succession.

It might be better if you email support with your rulesets so I can take a look at the whole thing at once.

[a_freyer]

First, I share Mr_Noodle's confusion as to why this is in multiple rules.

However, in direct answer to your question, here is what I'd do:

Code: Select all

Rule 1:
if (all) ...
    <whatever>

then
    <whatever>
    Add spotlight comment [[(custom token•)]]


I add the double brackets enclosing the comment so that we can:

Code: Select all

Rule 2:
if (all) ...
    <whatever>
     Spotlight Comments match [[(custom token •)]]
then
    <whatever>



Now you have successfully passed your token to subsequent rules.

[ilium007]

I certainly didn't mean to cause so much confusion. Please tell me if I am using Hazel incorrectly but this little workflow has been pretty rock solid in processing my downloaded TV shows for over a year now.

These are my rules:



First step:
.mkv hits watched folder
It color lobel isnt Green then run the convertVideo script which kicks off Handbrake
When completed encoding it turns .mkv Green


Convert Video AppleScript:

Code: Select all

on mobile_alert(themessage)
   do shell script "perl /Users/xxxxxx/support/scripts/prowl.pl -apikey=xxxxxxx -application=iFlicks -event=\"Movie Processing\" -notification=" & the quoted form of themessage
end mobile_alert

on hazelProcessFile(theFile)
   set errorCount to 0
   --   set priority to button returned of question
   set priority to "High"
   
   with timeout of 1000000 seconds
      try
         tell application "Finder"
            
            set label index of theFile to 1
            
            --used to extract the name and location of the file
            set itemProp to properties of theFile
            --where the file is
            set sourceFile to quoted form of POSIX path of theFile
            --where the compressed file should end up
            set destFold to quoted form of POSIX path of (container of itemProp as alias)
            --what the name of the file is
            
            --set extension hidden of theFile to true
            if extension hidden of theFile then
               set itemName to displayed name of theFile
            else
               set extension hidden of theFile to true
               set itemName to displayed name of theFile
               set extension hidden of theFile to false
            end if
            
            set itemExtension to name extension of theFile
            --set itemBody to name body of theFile
            
            --display dialog itemExtension
            
            set tmpFile to "/Volumes/HDD2/" & itemName & "_handbrake_encode.tmp"
            
            --display dialog tmpFile

            try
               --Convert Movie
               
               if priority is equal to "Low" then
                  set ConvertMovieCmd to "nice /Applications/HandBrakeCLI -i " & sourceFile & " -o " & quoted form of (tmpFile) & " --preset=\"AppleTV 2\" --main-feature;"
               else
                  set ConvertMovieCmd to "/Applications/HandBrakeCLI -i " & sourceFile & " -o " & quoted form of (tmpFile) & " --preset=\"AppleTV 2\" --main-feature;"
               end if
               --display dialog ConvertMovieCmd
               
               do shell script ConvertMovieCmd
               --short pause before copy
               delay 10
               
               --Replace Original
               set ReplaceOriginalCmd to "mv -f " & quoted form of (tmpFile) & " " & destFold & "\"" & itemName & ".m4v" & "\""
               --display dialog ReplaceOriginalCmd
               do shell script ReplaceOriginalCmd
               
               --Tag file with green label   
               set label index of theFile to 6
               
            on error errmsg
               --should conversion or copy fail display error message and continue with next file
               --display dialog errmsg
               set errorCount to errorCount + 1
               --Tag file with red label   
               set label index of theFile to 2   
            end try
         end tell
      on error errmsg
         --display dialog errmsg
      end try
      
      if errorCount > 0 then
         
         mobile_alert("Conversion Failed " & quoted form of (itemName))
      else
         mobile_alert("Conversion Completed " & quoted form of (itemName))
      end if
   end timeout
   
   return {hazelExportTokens:{itemName:itemName}}
   
end hazelProcessFile

Second step:
A resulting .m4v now sits back in the same source folder
If the color label is blank (this is the file that Handbrake produced in step 1) then run the embedded AppleScript
This passes the m4v to iFlicks for metadata and the sets the color label to Green when complete.


Step three:
When original .mvk is set to color label Green delete the file



So.... What I am trying to do is take the token from the ConvertVideo script (last lines in code above) and use it in the Import to iFlicks rule above.

[ilium007]

First, I share Mr_Noodle's confusion as to why this is in multiple rules.

Happy for anyone to tell me how to do this properly - ie. by the sounds of it, in one rule only !

The one problem I do have with my setup is that subsequent rules are being blocked by rule 1. ie. everything ends up getting converted and added to iTunes - but what is happening (and you can see it from the screenshot) is that all files are being encoded (green label on the MKV files) before the next rule is processing them. I would like to have this so all steps are done in sequence - convert, add meta data and add to iTunes. Only then should it move onto the next MKV to process.

[a_freyer]

It seems like your workflow is fine. If it isn't broke, don't fix it. :-)

Would it be an option to add comments as I suggested?

[ilium007]

I will give that a go tonight. I do want to try and fix the blocking nature of my workflow. Hazels rules process differently than I thought. Obviously the rules process one by one and it seems that it is matching all on rule 1 before looking to make matches on rule 2.

[a_freyer]

Yeah - you do need to have unique matching for each rule if you want it to work sequentially. What Mr_Noodle was suggesting is executing all of your scripts sequentially in the same rule. Try that too.

[ilium007]

Cool - I'll have a look into it. What I was trying to achieve was using the smarts of Hazel rather than writing all that logic into scripts. Maybe I will use additional folders with their own rules. So after the MTV is encoded drop it into a different folder with a hazel rule and have the encoded m4v file go into a third folder where it can be acted on straight away.

[Mr_Noodle]

If you do separate the steps into different folders, then different Hazel processes will be handling each folder and therefore you can parallelize between those stages, if that's what you want.

[ilium007]

What I ended up doing is changing the first AppleScript to push the encoded m4v to a new folder with another hazel folder watcher and adding the file delete to the first AppleScript. All working well now !