Automatically save video to Mac when iphone is plugged in by USB

macOS
1

Hello! I use an iphone 6 to video record a meeting (about 1 hour long).
I use a 3rd party app on the iphone (not the native video app).
Then I connect the iphone via USB and itunes pops up on my Macbook Pro.
I then click on “file sharing” in itunes and then select the 3rd party app shown in itunes.
Then select the file (there is only once since I delete it after it is saved) and click on Save in itunes and save to the same location every time.

I am wondering is there a way to automate this so that whenever I plug in my usb for my iphone that this all happens automatically (the saving if the file to the proper macbook folder)?

Thank you,
Greg

2

Do you have Keyboard Maestro?

1 Like
3

Yes, I have Keyboard Maestro.

4

You should be able to set that up for the key presses and menu commands you are applying manually.

You may also be able to use the plugging in of your phone as a USB trigger to start the process.

1 Like
5

Thank You! I’ll will definitely try that!

6

I would just caution that a Keyboard Maestro macro using iTunes will probably break with the next update. Might be worth waiting for the updated operating system before investing too much time, possibly!

1 Like
7

Yes, if you are going to upgrade to Catalina, it’s probably better to wait until Catalina comes out to do this.

2 Likes
8

So, any thought one whether Apple will still have the capability of getting files from iphone to mac using USB in this next update?

9

From memory, I think the iPhone will show up in files in Catalina and I imagine it will be possible there. If you search you’ll probably find some info from those on the Catalina beta.

But I’m still stuck on High Sierra at the moment, so what do I know! :joy:

10

I’m going to play devil’s advocate a bit here and suggest a bit of a deviation to the don’t do it before Catalina arrives approach.

  1. You could explore today to see if you could use the iPhone plug in to open iTunes using Keyboard Maestro. That would be a benefit now and is a quick and easy Automation. I’ve had my Mac open a scanning app when gets plugged in for many years.

  2. Maybe have a small experiment to get the gist of how it would work if you haven’t automated this sort of thing before. It’ll stand you in good stead for later (or now…) , and it will give you an idea of the amount of effort involved.

  3. If you rare doing this process frequently, weigh up how much time this may save you in the period until Catalina comes out. If the time saving is likely to exceed the effort then it would make sense to do it now anyway.

  4. If you simply want an opportunity to develop your skills, have the time available, and you enjoy all this automation stuff, maybe give it a go now anyway. Chances are you will be able to re-use some of the macro, and it may also give you ideas for other automations that are less contentious than those interacting with the app that will become the app formerly known as iTunes with the “it’s complicated” relationship with its future siblings :upside_down_face:

11

If you don’t want to wait until Catalina, IIRC there a few apps out there that will mount your iPhone as a drive. That would be much saner than trying to automate iTunes, IMO.

iExplorer was the first to come to mind… unfortunately the demo doesn’t let you try this particular out, and the app is $40.

PhoneView was another thought, but it does not seem to mount as a drive, just within its own app window, which isn’t any better than iTunes.