Frequently Asked Questions

What are the differences between the Mac App Store version and the version purchased directly from Stairways?

• The MAS version does not support secure https in the web server.  So all web use (including clipboard transfers) are done in clear text (Apple's requirement).
• The direct download version gets version update announcements from the program, which includes information on what's new.  Apple handles the MAS version updating, so no release notes are provided.
• The Apple approval process takes some unknown amount of time, so the MAS version releases will tend to be delayed from the direct download releases.
• There is no support for charging for upgrades on the MAS store, but paid upgrades are an important part of ensuring development focus includes existing customers, so there will likely be some complexities for the MAS version when version 6 is due.  If Apple still has not mechanism for paid upgrades at that time, it may lead to some disruption.
• The MAS version puts the log files in the ~/Library/Caches folder instead of the ~/Library/Logs folder (Apple's requirement).
• The MAS engine bundle ID is com.stairways.keyboardmaestro.editor.engine.  The direct download engine bundle ID is com.stairways.keyboardmaestro.engine - this affects how you set hidden preferences and such (Apple's requirement).
• Purchase from the MAS makes you an Apple customers, direct purchase makes you a Stairways customer.  With the later, Stairways can email you newsletters or upgrades, easily refund purchases, offer discounts for specific reasons, etc.  None of this is possible with MAS purchases (although you can subscribe to newsletters and upgrade emails manually).
• There is a continuing risk that Apple may add arbitrary requirements to the MAS which prohibit Keyboard Maestro, potentially removing Keyboard Maestro from the Mac App Store altogether. This is especially concerning for Sandboxing, which Apple says will be required and which is impossible for Keyboard Maestro to comply with.
• The direct version is licensed per-user on up to five Macs, and uses a provided serial number. The MAS version is licensed per-user and uses Apple's Apple ID authentication.

What about sandboxing?

In March, Apple have said they will require sandboxing on any application before it can be updated on the Mac App Store. Keyboard Maestro cannot be sandboxed. Everything Keyboard Maestro does is strictly part of the standard system APIs, but Apple simply has not provided the entitlements required to do the things Keyboard Maestro does from within a sandbox. So unless Apple changes their stated policies, Keyboard Maestro will not be able to be updated on the Mac App Store after March.

As such, we strongly recommend that you purchase Keyboard Maestro directly from the Stairways store, rather than from the Mac App Store.

Currently, Stairways offers no way to transfer a license to or from the Mac App Store, though no doubt some method of de-orphaning Apple's Mac App Store customers will be required if Apple goes ahead with their plans.

How do I sync macros between two Macs?

Keyboard Maestro does not (yet) have syncing built in, and it is quite tricky to sync macros between Macs.

See Syncing Macros Between Macs for more information on what is required.

What do I enter in the Host field in Keyboard Maestro Control

Keyboard Maestro Control lets you trigger macros on your Mac from your iPhone/iPod touch or iPad.

See Keyboard Maestro Control for more information.

When should I use Insert Text by Typing instead of by Pasting?

There are three ways to type text in Keyboard Maestro: Insert Text by Typing, Insert Text by Pasting, and Type Keystroke.

The Type Keystroke action lets you type a single keystroke, pretty much any kind of keystroke you can type on the keyboard.

The Insert Text by Typing action converts plain (simple) text into keystrokes and then types each of them individually. It only works with characters that can be typed with a single keystroke, so generally fails on accented characters like é which have to be typed with two keystrokes (Option-e, e).

The Insert Text by Pasting action sets the clipboard to the text and then types a Command-V keystroke.

Each action has its advantages and disadvantages:

Type Keystroke. Advantages are it is just like typing yourself, so you can type any keystroke. Disadvantages are that it is quite tedious to do a sequence of them.

Insert Text by Typing. Advantages are it is just like typing yourself, particularly in relation to characters like tab/return, and to the current style in the text you are typing. Disadvantages are that it is slow for large amounts of text, and can't type unusual characters.

Insert Text by Pasting. Advantages are it is fast for large text, and can include any kind of characters. Disadvantages are that it overwrites your clipboard, and how styles are handled may be different to what you expect.

Use Type Keystroke when

• You need more control over the exact keystroke that is typed.

or

• The text includes Command (and sometimes Option) keystrokes.

Use Insert Text by Typing whenever:

• The text consists of plain text characters (only characters that can be pressed with a single keystroke can be typed).

and

• The text is relatively short (up to say 30 or 40 characters).

or

• You want to use characters like Return or Tab to perform actions like moving to the next field.

Use Insert Text by Pasting when:

• You don't mind the clipboard being overwritten.

and

• The text is long.

or

• The text contains unusual or hard to type characters.

or

• The text contains returns or tabs which you don't want to perform actions like moving to the next field.

How do I get more than one macro palette?

There are three kinds of palettes in Keyboard Maestro:

• There is one “Global Macro Platte” which includes any active macro that has the Macro Palette trigger. It appears whenever there is any active macro with the Macro Palette trigger. It shrinks to the size of an icon until you hover over it and then it expands to display the currently active macros with Macro Palette triggers.
• Each Macro Group can be displayed as a palette. The macro group can be global to all applications, or specific to any subset of applications. It can be toggled on and off with a hot key (or a status menu selection or from the Global Macro Palette) or it can be displayed for a single action.
• When a hot key (or typed string or device key) conflicts (ie, triggers more than one macro), the Conflict Palette appears which lets you select from the conflicting macros. This can be an easy way to allow a single hot key to offer a multitude of similar actions. You can press the number key representing the desired macro to trigger it.

So to have more than one macro palette, create a macro group for each desired palette and configure it to show a palette as desired. Put your macros in there. Create as many of these as you like.The macros in such a macro group are only active while the palette is displayed, so if you only display it occasionally, especially only for one action, then they can have very simple hot keys (like plain letters for example).

You can control the order of macros in a macro palette (or the status menu) by prefixing their name with a code like "xx)" (eg "01)"). The macros will be sorted based on the code, but the code will be stripped off before display in the palette (or status menu).