It’s incredible when an app as full featured and long-lived as Keyboard Maestro adds new features. Now we get file-drop triggers for macro actions. I’ve only just started experimenting with it. Here’s a macro that I made awhile ago to grab the path to a file selected in the finder.
Here’s a version that works with a dropped file instead. The “TriggerValue” contains the path to the dropped file.
Now I can drag a file to the action as a trigger and source.
I found the process “commerced” running on my iMac because of the wonderful Little Snitch. After allowing a process I usually go back and explore the rule to see if it was a good choice.
I found a nice article by Justin Pot on How-To Geek.
That’s right: we’re looking at the Mac App Store icon. Scroll down and you’ll find various scripts related to the App Store: storedownloadd, storeinstalld, and more.
The Archive is a new plain-text writing and reference application for the Mac.1 It’s made by people that are super-nerds about plain text and has a lot that looks familiar and a lot that is new and clever. This is not a review. It’s a highlight of what’s neat and innovative.
The Archive is designed around what Notational Velocity and later nvALT brought to the Mac: Fast, reliable search with ease of creation.
This might not be a trend, but if it’s a glimpse at the future of apps, count me out. From Dan Goodin at Ars:
The app is Calendar 2, a scheduling app that aims to include more features than the Calendar app that Apple bundles with macOS. In recent days, Calendar 2 developer Qbix endowed it with code that mines the digital coin known as Monero. The xmr-stack miner isn’t supposed to run unless users specifically approve it in a dialog that says the mining will be in exchange for turning on a set of premium features.
I purchased a nice external drive to use for TimeMachine on my Mac.1 After formatting the drive and configuring encrypted TimeMachine backups I noticed it was taking a very long time to complete. I waited a day for it to complete and discovered I had a new problem. Every backup took an hour to complete and several more hours to encrypt. That definitely didn’t seem right.
I stumbled across this MacRumors thread about properly creating an encypted TimeMachine volume so I thought it was worth summarizing what worked for me.
This week was a really fun episode of MPU with Rose Orchard. There’s a ton of interesting ideas for automation on this show. I especially liked the bit at the end about Launch Center Pro, which has long languished on my iPhone.
It’s funny, I think Mac Power Users is the longest running podcast that I still listen to. David Sparks goes way back in my memory to the “old days” of podcasting.
Ever try to get a screenshot on your Mac that includes a notification or a mouse hover menu? You need a timed screenshot for that.
I’m using Keyboard Maestro for this but there are lots of ways to get timed screenshots, including the built in Grab application. OSX Daily has an article from 2011 and an even earlier one from 2010 on the topic.
Here’s my KM macro that does a little count down and snaps a screenshot to my preferred location.
I occasionally use Chrome as browser on macOS. It’s a fine browser and I use it most of the day at work. But it always bugs me that Google sees fit to run update processes constantly, even if Chrome isn’t running. Luckily, I have Little Snitch on my Mac. I’ve written about this profile before, but I’m sure it’s time for a refresher.
I create a “No Google” and a “Ok Google” profile in Little Snitch.
It’s officially called the Sorter but I think of it as a note clipper. DEVONthink Pro Office provides a pop-out drawer to quickly capture information to specific databases and groups in the application. Hop into the DEVONthink preferences and define a shortcut.
The Sorter will initially look like a transparent tab on the side of the window.
Click the tab or use the hot key to open the Sorter and start a note.
I commented about my increased dependence on window managers in my iMac Pro review. I’m split between two applications: Keyboard Maestro which has more detailed control and Moom which has a better interface. I may settle on one eventually but for now I’m ok bouncing between them.
Keyboard Maestro has some really great actions for moving and resizing windows. There’s the basic stuff like just going full screen, but the actions also support calculated values for the dimensions and locations.
