Keyboard Maestro and the Dreaded CMD-Q

I recently received a "state of the union" type email from Stairways Software. There are just a few application specific email lists I subscribe to. They can be quite informative and full of tips. This latest news letter mostly covered the current status of Keyboard Maestro 5 development. At the end there was a nice little tip for intercepting accidental command-Q presses.

This happens to me all the time and it's very frustrating. Because my Mac runs several email and sync scripts, I need a few applications always open. For example, if I accidentally close Notational Velocity then my Simplenote and Dropbox sync will stop functioning.

Unfortunately, the tip in the Keyboard Maestro email does not actually work. I modified the suggested macro configuration a bit and now it works like a charm.

The first thing is to create a macro group that applies to the applications I want to intercept CMD-Q in.

 

Next, I configure a macro that is triggered by the CMD-Q keys. The macro presents an alert box with the application name and a confirmation but.

Now if I accidentally hit the dreaded CMD-Q, a warning is shown that allows me to confirm the action before proceeding.