Cocoa Tricks: How to send a keystroke event to the process with AppleScript

This code shows how to send a keystroke event for instance Control-Command-1 and Control-Command-0 to Finder with AppleScript. This is equivalent to pressing Finder->View->Arrange By->Name and Finder->View->Arrange By->None

    // @Yoolla: rearrangement with AppleScript
    NSString *source0 = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"\
                        tell application \"System Events\"\n\
                        tell process \"Finder\"\n\
                        keystroke \"1\" using {control down, command down}\n\
                        end tell\n\
                        end tell\n"];
    NSString *source1 = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"\
                         tell application \"System Events\"\n\
                         tell process \"Finder\"\n\
                         keystroke \"0\" using {control down, command down}\n\
                         end tell\n\
                         end tell\n"];
    
    NSAppleScript *run0 = [[NSAppleScript alloc] initWithSource:source0];
    NSAppleScript *run1 = [[NSAppleScript alloc] initWithSource:source1];
    NSDictionary *error0;
    __block NSDictionary *error1;
    
    [run0 executeAndReturnError:&error0];
    
    dispatch_after(dispatch_time(DISPATCH_TIME_NOW, (int64_t)(0.3 * NSEC_PER_SEC)), dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^{
        [run1 executeAndReturnError:&error1];
    });
    
    NSLog(@"error0 for %@ = %@", source0, error0);
    NSLog(@"error1 for %@ = %@", source1, error1);

// @Yoolla: rearrangement with AppleScript

NSString *source0 = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"\

tell application \"System Events\"\n\

tell process \"Finder\"\n\

keystroke \"1\" using {control down, command down}\n\

end tell\n\

end tell\n"];

NSString *source1 = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"\

tell application \"System Events\"\n\

tell process \"Finder\"\n\

keystroke \"0\" using {control down, command down}\n\

end tell\n\

end tell\n"];

NSAppleScript *run0 = [[NSAppleScript alloc] initWithSource:source0];

NSAppleScript *run1 = [[NSAppleScript alloc] initWithSource:source1];

NSDictionary *error0;

__block NSDictionary *error1;

[run0 executeAndReturnError:&error0];

dispatch_after(dispatch_time(DISPATCH_TIME_NOW, (int64_t)(0.3 * NSEC_PER_SEC)), dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^{

[run1 executeAndReturnError:&error1];

});

NSLog(@"error0 for %@ = %@", source0, error0);

NSLog(@"error1 for %@ = %@", source1, error1);

That’s it!