An Automator workflow to download wallpapers

Oct 30, '07 07:30:04AM

Contributed by: harrisj

It amazes me that there are no apps out there that do this for you (at least I coulnd't find any). The closest thing I could find was an app called ShuffleDesktop, but in order for it to download wallpapers, they must be in a special RSS feed called a "wallcast."

The following Automator workflow will:

  1. Archive your old "Wallpapers" folder
  2. Download the xml of an rss feed (Only tested with deviantart rss feeds)
  3. Get all the links from that xml file
  4. Download any linked-to images from those links
  5. Place them in the wallpapers folder
The Desktop & Screen Savers panel of System Preferences can take care of the rest, with its option to select a folder and change wallpaper at specified intervals. Read on for the details on the Automator workflow.

In the following guide, each step is shown as Library » Action; drag each specified item to the work are on the right, in the order shown, and apply any changes as noted.

  1. Finder » Get Specified Finder Items: Specify your Wallpapers folder, which must exist prior to creating this workflow.
  2. Finder » Get Folder Contents.
  3. Finder » Move Finder Items: Specify your Archives folder, which must also exist prior to creating this workflow.
  4. TextEdit » Get Specified Text: Enter this text in the text box for the action:
    http://backend.deviantart.com/rss.xml?q=boost%3Apopular+in%3Acustomization%2Fwallpaper+max_age%3A24h&type=deviation
  5. Safari » Download URLs: Set the Where pop-up to your user's home folder.
  6. Automator » Run Shell Script. The contents of the script (Shell = /bin/bash, Pass input = as arguments):
    cat $1|grep link|awk -F '<' '{print$2}'|awk -F '>' '{print$2}'|grep -v search
    rm $1
  7. Safari » Get Image URLs from Webpage: Set the pop-up to 'linked from these webpages'
  8. Safari » Download URLs: Set the folder to your same Wallpapers folder.
You can now save this workflow as an application, or an iCal plug-in which runs every day.

[robg adds: I tested this one, at it works as described.]

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