February 9, 2021

Building a Simple Workflow With Keyboard Maestro

Building a Keyboard Maestro workflow is a great way to save time and make a consistent work environment. I trigger several workflows for writing, SQL, and automation development. This creates consistency by having all my tools laid out in front of me before I begin. Let’s use my Journal workflow as an example. Before I begin writing, several things need to happen. I need to open and mount the DMG file that contains my .scriv file. I need to start Scrivener and load that file. I start Wordweb so I have a dictionary and thesaurus at the ready. I also start TextSoap for text cleaning. They are simple steps, but when you pick each apart, there are multiple actions taking place. Here is the breakdown: – Open Finder, navigate to the Dropbox folder, open the Scrivener folder, then load the DMG. – Once the DMG is open, select the .scriv file inside and load it. – Open Launchpad, find Wordweb […]

February 5, 2021

Creating an Automated Job to Empty the Trash in Keyboard Maestro

Each Friday, I like to tidy up my machine before turning it off for the weekend. This includes several maintenances tasks including emptying the Trash. Like a real trashcan, why leave it sit? With Keyboard Maestro, this becomes an automated task. With one code block, the trash can be emptied on a schedule. There is no need for me to remember. No need to switch apps. No need to accept a confirmation prompt. As you can see from the screenshot, the Trigger is set to At Time. Since this is for my home machine, I have this set for 7:45PM each Friday. The one at work is set for 3:00PM. As long as the machine is turned on and I’m logged in, the macro will run. And come on, who isn’t logged into their at 7:45 on a Friday night? The next block of the macro is the small piece of AppleScript it takes to empty the Trash. It’s job […]

February 2, 2021

Getting Started With Keyboard Maestro

Before getting on board with a tool like Keyboard Maestro, it's common to say, "I don't have anything to automate." Actually, working on automation is the old chicken and egg scenario. You don't have an automation tool because you aren't working on automation. However, you aren't working on automation because you don't have an automation tool. You need to look at it from a different angle. I'm sure you've had this experience, you only notice how many blue cars are on the road right after you buy one. The same is true for automation. Once you have the right tool, you see all the ways it can be used. You notice the repetitive tasks. You see this is the third time you've done this job. Each week you clean out the Download folder the same way. There are multiple tasks to be automated. Automation macros don't have to be grand programs. They can be simple, one hit wonders. In fact, […]

January 8, 2021

How I Use Keyboard Maestro

When I first started reading about Keyboard Maestro, I was confused by what it was and what it could do. Was it a way to make shortcut keys? Was it a clipboard manager? Was it a text expander? Was it an app launcher? Most material referenced Keyboard Maestro as a way to record keyboard shortcuts. That was also supported by it's name. After digging deeper I found the answer was simply "Yes." It was all those and more. Now using it for a year, keyboard macros barely scratches the surface of what Keyboard Maestro is capable of. To give a simple comparison, Keyboard Maestro looks like a heavy duty extension or upgrade to the built in Mac Automator tool. It has a similar look and feel, where you have categories of functionality, including using "blocks" that can be tied together to create a workflow. It's certainly possible and very easy to create keyboard shortcuts, or automate an application through it's […]

September 26, 2020

Set up Triple Click Mouse Button Action with Keyboard Maestro

While in Keyboard Maestro for setting up the VPN, I was reminded to set up a trigger for a triple click mouse button action on the Razer mouse I have. There are two “trigger” buttons located next to the standard left click button. There are normally used as additional fire buttons within games. I want to use them as a triple click action. It’s very since Keyboard Maestro recognizes the buttons as Razer Naga Button 4 and 5. Hello triple click, welcome back.

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