I need to execute a command with sudo and want to display a dialog window for the user to enter their credentials. Attempts to customize a prompt with Applescript have been nothing short of excruciating and using the built in "do shell script with with administrator privileges" doesn't allow for customizing the window so the user knows where the request is coming from.
Surely, there is a way to display a window, have the user enter their credentials and send the values back to sudo to execute the command? cocoasudo looks promising but it also writes "cocoasudo" in the prompt window which I need to replace with the name of my application. Has anyone found a solution for implementing this kind of functionality?
Building custom windows is beyond the scope of basic applescript. You will need to expand your programming skills if you want this. You'll need to learn how to leverage to tools that Apple supplies for creating windows and such. Bottom line is you'll need to learn either AppleScriptObjC or Objective-C/Cocoa APIs and how to use them in Xcode.
With that said, if you're not into learning new stuff then use the tools you have. Something like this will work. You can customize the icon, the buttons, the text etc. you can even have a hidden answer to protect the user when entering passwords. There's lots you can do with Applescript without further learning...