To save and install the Folder Actions workflow, type Command-S (⌘S) or choose “Save” from the File menu in Automator. Enter a name for the workflow in the forthcoming naming sheet. Click the sheet’s “Save” button and the workflow will be installed in the following directory and the Folder Actions server will be activated.

The Folder Action could use the ticker symbol alone for the name of the file in the 'Latest Reports' folder or it could use the filename with the date included. In the former case, the new alias would overwrite the old one, which would be fine with me. In the later case, the Folder Action would need to delete the now-outdated alias.
With a little help from Mac OS X Folder Actions, you can take a proactive approach to defending your system and files. Letis add a folder action to your StartupItems directory, so weill know if.
Automatically Moving Files With Folder Actions You can use Automator to create a special action that acts on files added to a folder. In this example, we'll create an action that looks for new screen shot files to appear on the desktop.
Once it’s open, double-click on each action file (.atn) and they will appear in the Actions panel in Photoshop. If the Actions panel is not open, click on the “Window” menu and select “Actions” to open up the panel. You’re now ready to use the actions: open up an image in Photoshop and try running a “play all” action.

Watching Folders

The ability to watch folders and take action on incoming items is a powerful automation technique that enables the creation of fully unattended workflows. A watched folder might be used, for example, to watermark incoming photos, convert them to PDF, and email them to clients for review. Many companies set up script servers—dedicated robot machines that watch folders and process detected items, allowing employees to offload tedious and repetitious work in order to focus on other important tasks.

In OS X, there are two primary ways to set up scripting-based watched folders: folder actions and stay open script apps.

Using Folder Actions to Watch Folders

Folder actions is a feature in OS X that lets you connect scripts to folders on your Mac. A folder action script includes one or more event handlers that run in response to certain events, such as opening, closing, or adding items to the connected folder. With folder actions, you can create automated workflows that:

Notify you when new files and folders arrive in a folder
Notify you when existing files and folders are removed from a folder
Perform processing of newly detected files and folders
Initiate any automated task when a new file or folder is detected
Adjust or reset the view properties of a folder’s window when it’s opened, closed, or resized

Write a Folder Action Script

The event handlers supported by folder actions are defined in the Standard Additions scripting addition that comes with OS X. They are:

Folder event	Event handler	Parameters
Items—files or folders—are added to the folder	`adding folder items to`	Direct parameter—The connected folder. `after receiving`—A list of items added to the folder.
Items are removed from the folder	`removing folder items from`	Direct parameter—The connected folder. `after losing`—A list of items removed from the folder. For items that were deleted, names of the removed items are provided.
The folder is opened in a new Finder window	`opening folder`	Direct parameter—The connected folder.
The window of a folder is closed	`closing folder window for`	Direct parameter—The connected folder.
The window of a folder is moved	`moving folder window for`	Direct parameter—The connected folder. `from`—The coordinates of the folder’s window before it was moved.

Create a Script Editor document.
Add one or more folder action event handlers to the document.
Save the document as a compiled script to one of the following folders:
- /Library/Scripts/Folder Action Scripts/—The script can be used by any user.
- ~/Library/Scripts/Folder Action Scripts/—The script can be used by the current user only.

The following examples demonstrate how to use different folder action event handlers.

APPLESCRIPT

Listing 18-1AppleScript: Example of the opening folder event handler

on opening folder theAttachedFolder
-- Get the name of the attached folder
tell application 'Finder'
set theName to name of theAttachedFolder
-- Display an alert indicating that the folder was opened
activate
display alert 'Attention!' message 'The folder ' & (quoted form of theName) & ' was opened.'
end tell
end opening folder

APPLESCRIPT

Listing 18-2AppleScript: Example of the closing folder window for event handler

on closing folder window for theAttachedFolder
-- Get the name of the attached folder
tell application 'Finder'
set theName to name of theAttachedFolder
-- Display an alert indicating that the folder was closed
activate
display alert 'Attention!' message 'The folder ' & (quoted form of theName) & ' was closed.'
end tell
end closing folder window for

APPLESCRIPT

Listing 18-3AppleScript: Example of the adding folder items to event handler

on adding folder items to theAttachedFolder after receiving theNewItems
-- Get the name of the attached folder
tell application 'Finder'
set theName to name of theAttachedFolder
-- Count the new items
set theCount to length of theNewItems
-- Display an alert indicating that the new items were received
activate
display alert 'Attention!' message (theCount & ' new items were detected in folder ' & (quoted form of theName) & '.' as string)
-- Loop through the newly detected items
repeat with anItem in theNewItems
-- Process the current item
-- Move the current item to another folder so it's not processed again in the future
end repeat
end tell
end adding folder items to

APPLESCRIPT

Listing 18-4AppleScript: Example of the removing folder items from event handler

on removing folder items from theAttachedFolder after losing theRemovedItems
-- Get the name of the attached folder
tell application 'Finder'
set theName to name of theAttachedFolder
-- Count the removed items
set theCount to length of theRemovedItems
-- Display an alert indicating that items were removed
activate
display alert 'Attention!' message (theCount & ' items were removed from folder ' & (quoted form of theName) & '.' as string)
-- Loop through the removed items, performing any additional tasks

Folder Actions For Mac