Michal Ždanský If you've ever used macros in, say, a text editor, you'll agree with me how useful these things are. You can invoke frequently repeated actions by pressing a button or a keyboard shortcut and save yourself a lot of work. And what if such macros could be applied to the entire operating system? This is what Keyboard Maestro is for.
Keyboard Maestro is one of the most useful and versatile programs I've ever come across. He considers her not for nothing John Gruber z Daring Fireball for his secret weapon. With Keyboard Maestro, you can force Mac OS to do a lot of sophisticated things automatically or by pressing a keyboard shortcut.
You can divide all macros into groups. This gives you an overview of individual macros, which you can sort by program, which they relate to, or what action they perform. You can set your own rules for each group, for example which active applications the macro will work on or which ones won't. Other conditions under which the macro should be active can also be set according to needs. All of this applies within the entire macro group that you create.
The macros themselves have 2 parts. The first of them is the trigger. This is the action that activates the given macro. The basic action is a keyboard shortcut. It should be noted that Keyboard Maestro will have a higher priority than the system itself, so if the keyboard shortcut is set to another action in the system, the application will "steal" it from him. For example, if you set up a global macro with the shortcut Command+Q, it will no longer be possible to use this shortcut to close programs, which may be beneficial for some who press this combination by mistake.
Another trigger can be, for example, a written word or several letters in a row. In this way, you can, for example, replace another application that automatically completes sentences, words or phrases for you. A macro can also be started by activating a specific program or by moving it to the background. For example, you can automatically start fullscreen for a given application. A useful way to launch is also through the icon in the top menu. You can save any number of macros there, and then you just select it in the list and run it. A special floating window that expands into a list of macros after hovering the mouse works in a similar way. The trigger can also be system startup, some specific time, MIDI signal or any system button.
The second part of the macro is the actions themselves, the sequence of which you can easily assemble. This is done by the left panel, which appears after adding a new macro with the “+” button. You can then choose exactly the action you need from a fairly extensive list. And what events can we find here? The basic ones include starting and ending programs, inserting text, launching a keyboard shortcut, controlling iTunes and Quicktime, simulating a key or mouse press, selecting an item from a menu, working with windows, system commands, and so on.
It should also be mentioned that any AppleScript, Shell Script or Workflow from Automator can be run with a macro. If you have at least a little command of one of the things mentioned, your possibilities are practically limitless. Keyboard Maestro has another great feature - it allows you to record macros. You start the recording with the Record button and the program will record all your actions and write them down. This can save you a lot of work creating macros. If you happen to accidentally do some unwanted action during recording, simply delete it from the list in the macro. You will end up with this anyway, because, among other things, all the mouse clicks that you probably want to grease will be recorded.
Keyboard Maestro itself already contains several useful macros, which can be found in the Switcher Group. These are macros for working with the clipboard and running applications. Keyboard Maestro automatically records the history of the clipboard, and you can use a keyboard shortcut to call up the list of things saved to the clipboard and continue working with it. He can work with both text and graphics. In the second case, it is an alternative application switcher that can also switch individual application instances.
And what can Keyboard Maestro look like in practice? In my case, for example, I use several keyboard shortcuts to launch applications or mass quit a group of applications. Furthermore, I managed to make the key to the left of the number write a semicolon instead of a angled bracket, as I am used to from Windows. Among the more complex macros, I would mention, for example, connecting a network drive via the SAMBA protocol, also with a keyboard shortcut, or switching accounts in iTunes using the menu in the top menu (both using AppleScript). The global control of the Movist player is also useful for me, when it is possible to stop the playback, even if the application is not active. In other programs, I can use shortcuts for actions for which there are normally no shortcuts.
Of course, this is only a fraction of the possibilities of using this powerful program. You can find many other macros written by other users on the Internet, either directly at official site or on web forums. Shortcuts for computer gamers, for example, appear interesting, for example in popular World of Warcraft macros can be a very useful companion and a significant advantage over opponents.
Keyboard Maestro is a feature-packed program that can easily replace several applications, and with scripting support, its possibilities are virtually limitless. A future update to the fifth version should then be even more integrated into the system and bring even more expanded options to tame your Mac. You can find Keyboard Maestro in the Mac App Store for €28,99
Keboard Maestro - €28,99 (Mac App Store)
Hello, this looks like a really useful thing.
I would like to ask if it would be possible to create a macro or keyboard shortcut that would mount my external disk (which is connected to the computer with a cable, but is unmounted).
Thanks
it would probably be possible with the help of Applescript
I know that when a person learns to use it, it is priceless (I need to be able to imagine a few things in Lightroom), I would be interested in any tips on how to have everything mapped out, for faster work in the system... Thanks :)
Nice stuff, thanks for the tip