February 13, 2024

Fun with Bash shell scripting

Now that I’ve got a couple skills in shell scripting, what have I been doing with my new found knowledge? In almost every case I’ve started by creating a UI in Keyboard Maestro, then I pass variables to the shell script and it does the work. In some cases that’s the value for the loop, in others, its multiple text field entries. I tell you what, using Keyboard Maestro and the Shell together is one of the reasons the Mac is so damn power and productive. So far I’ve worked: I find Keyboard Maestro and Bash a really good combination. I can make a UI with text fields, drop downs, or directory pickers, then pass that information to the shell script. I can use a UI from Keyboard Maestro to prompt for text to search through text files and finish the job before a Terminal prompt is even open. Keyboard Maestro generates a random number of passwords of whatever length […]

February 6, 2024

Using AI to Learn Bash shell scripting

January was a busy and interesting month. I spent a fair bit of time working with AI as my mentor/tutor to dig deeper into Bash shell scripting. I haven’t used AI for mentoring before and it was a pretty fun experience. Bash is incredibly powerful, and you can combine it with Keyboard Maestro to create some powerful applets. It’s easy to make a UI in Keyboard Maestro to populate values, then call a shell script to accomplish some really impressive tasks. To get the ball rolling, I started off asking for tutorials on different aspects of Bash scripting, such as “Can you give me a tutorial on Strings in Bash scripting.” That would produce a short lesson on Strings with a few examples. It gave me the basic usage, which was perfect. In those simple examples, it also provided some other topics I could look up. Then, I moved on to practical examples of where and how to use various […]

September 3, 2023

⌘ Creating “workspaces” with Keyboard Maestro

A workspace is a group of apps, files, and folders that open while working on a project. For example, when working with Katalon, I open Katalon, SnippetsLab, CodeRunner, the Reports folder in Finder, Stackoverflow in a browser, and the Katalon forums. When I work with Scrivener, I open PaperEdit, WordWeb, MWeb and WordPress. This gives me a consistent work environment and I don’t have to stop what I’m doing because an app wasn’t ready. When I’m done, everything closes without searching for each app or folder and closing it down. This is also the time to close down apps that might interrupt or derail my work, for example closing Messages, Slack, or Discord. A workspace is also good when you have to share your screen if you work remotely. This keeps your personal email notifications from popping up, iTunes from launching, and other distractions while you’re presenting information. People don’t need to see personal emails or see when a friend […]

July 30, 2023

⌘ Keyboard Maestro for Windows – Macro Toolworks?

Before we get started, there is no Keyboard Maestro for Windows. Sadly, there is nothing that comes close to the power and ease of use for Keyboard Maestro on Windows, but in my search for Windows automation, I’ve sort of come close. Macro Toolworks is a close approximation to Keyboard Maestro, but like RoboTask, its ridiculously expensive. There are some cool features, and it can do some neat things, but there is nothing about this app that justifies its $100 price tag. Cut that in half and you’ll be on to something. Macro Toolworks can do a lot of cool thing and automate tasks like opening files, launching apps, and moving windows to a specific position. It has the same kind of “triggers” like Keyboard Maestro, such as an application starting, when an application closes, time of day, and device change. Additionally, it can send keystrokes to an application to navigate the menu or type in text, load files, and […]

July 23, 2023

⌘ Keyboard Maestro for Windows – RoboTask?

Before we get started, there is no Keyboard Maestro for Windows. I consider Keyboard Maestro to the gold standard for automation on the Mac. Sadly, there is nothing that comes close to the power and ease of use for Keyboard Maestro on Windows, but in my search for Windows automation, I’ve sort of come close. RoboTask is a close approximation, but be warned: even though it’s a good app, it’s ridiculously expensive. And I really mean ridiculously expensive. At nearly $200, there is nothing about the app that justifies its cost. For reference, Keyboard Maestro is less than $40. RoboTask, what you up to? Like Keyboard Maestro, RoboTask can automate tasks like copying files, launching apps on a schedule or when conditions are met, and moving windows to a specific location. It also has “triggers” like Keyboard Maestro, such as application starting, application closing, time of day, and device change. Plus, RoboTask can send keystrokes to an application, load files, […]

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