The Keyboard Maestro app can save you time and effort
The OS X Dictionary defines a maestro as “a great performer, especially a musician.” The application Keyboard Maestro from Stairways Software isn’t a musician, but it’s a great performer, especially when it comes to saving time and effort. I’d be hard-pressed to name another Mac app that saves me as many keystrokes every day. Simply put, Keyboard Maestro makes macros, but to call it a mere macro-maker is a disservice.
I define “macro” is any sequence of actions that can be saved and then invoked and played back with a single keystroke (or other trigger).
Actions you can string together with Keyboard Maestro include launching apps; moving or clicking the mouse; typing text; choosing a menu item; opening a specific file or folder; and hundreds more. And creating macros by dragging and dropping is easy with Keyboard Maestro’s straightforward macro editor and huge library of actions. Or use Keyboard Maestro’s “Record” function to record everything you do and save it as a macro. It’s easy, but you’ll probably have to tinker with the macros you record in the editor before they’ll work precisely the way you like.
Macros save you time in several ways. First, you don’t have to stop typing and reach for the mouse to trigger a macro. For another, a macro usually executes much faster than you could type or click. Finally, macros can string together multiple actions to create something that would require several steps to perform.
For example, I’ve created a macro that clicks the Don’t Save button in dialog boxes; to trigger it, all I have to do is type Control + Shift + D. I use it all the time, and it saves me from having to grab the mouse, move the pointer across my two screens, and click the button.
Here are some other things I’ve configured Keyboard Maestro to do:
• Launch or switch to a specific app with a keystroke. Example: To launch or switch to Photoshop, I press Control + F3; to launch or switch to Microsoft Word, I press Control + F4.
• Open folders in the Finder that don’t have built-in keyboard shortcuts. Example: To open my Work folder, I press Command + Option + Control +W.
• Remap keys on my keyboard to do what I want them to do. Example: I never use the Forward Delete or Help/Insert keys but I often press them accidentally, so I remapped both to perform a backspace when pressed.
So download the free trial and see how more productive you can be.