How do you manipulate Address Book images with AppleScript?

Question

How do you check if a person has got an avatar? How do you unset it? How do you load an avatar from a file? From web, Facebook, gravatar? What image types can AppleScript read? Is it possible to copy an existing avatar to clipboard with AppleScript?

EDIT

OK, I know how to check if a person has got an avatar

on run
    using terms from application "Address Book"
        my hasImage(person (random number from 1 to length of (get people of application "Address Book") of application "Address Book") of application "Address Book")
    end using terms from
end run

on hasImage(myPerson)
    using terms from application "Address Book"
        try
            set garbage to image of myPerson
            garbage
            true
        on error number -2753
            false
        end try
    end using terms from
end hasImage

Answer 1

> How do you check if a person has got an avatar?

You shouldn't need an error handler. Just use image of [somebody] is missing value, where [somebody] is a specifier for an Address Book person.

tell application "Address Book"
    image of some person is missing value
end tell

Usage:

tell application "Address Book"
    set somebody to some person
    if image of somebody is missing value then
        display dialog name of person & " doesn't have an image."
    else
        display dialog name of person & " has an image."
    end if
end tell

> How do you unset it?

To remove a person's image, set it to missing value.

> How do you load an avatar from a file?

To load an image from a file, read it as TIFF data:

tell application "System Events"
    set imgfile to file "AENewman.jpg" of folder "friends" of pictures folder
end tell
set imgfd to open for access imgfile
set img to read imgfd as "TIFF"

tell application "Address Book"
    set myFriend to item 1 of ¬
        (people whose first name is "Alfred" and last name is "Newman")
    set (image of myFriend) to img
end tell

close access imgfd

> From web, Facebook, gravatar?

You can use URL Access Scripting (in /System/Library/ScriptingAdditions/URL Access Scripting.app, should you wish to view the scripting dictionary) to download an image to a file, then load it as above.

on setABImage for somebody from |url|
    tell application "System Events" to set tempFile to ¬
        make new file at end of temporary items folder of user domain
    set tempPath to path of tempFile
    tell application "URL Access Scripting" to download |url| ¬
        to tempPath replacing yes
    set imgfd to open for access tempFile
    tell application "Address Book" to set (image of somebody) ¬
        to (read imgfd as "TIFF")
    close access imgfd
    tell application "System Events" to delete tempFile
end setABImageURL

> What image types can AppleScript read?

AppleScript's Image Events can read PICT, Photoshop, BMP, QuickTime Image, GIF, JPEG, MacPaint, JPEG2, SGI, PSD, TGA, Text, PDF, PNG, and TIFF formats. I expect the read command supports the same. Note that image types in a read command are specified as OSTypes. Address Book only supports TIFF.

> Is it possible to copy an existing avatar to clipboard with AppleScript?

You can set the clipboard to just about anything using set the clipboard to, though you might need an as clause to set the clipboard to the contents rather than a reference.

tell application "Address Book" to set the clipboard to ¬
    the image of item 1 of (person whose name is "Alfred E Newman") as data