Frequently_Asked_Questions
Differences
This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.
| Both sides previous revisionPrevious revisionNext revision | Previous revision | ||
| Frequently_Asked_Questions [2023/10/10 06:09] – peternlewis | Frequently_Asked_Questions [2025/10/03 09:53] (current) – peternlewis | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| - | {{INLINETOC 3-4}} | + | ~~INTOC~~ |
| ==== How do I get started? ==== | ==== How do I get started? ==== | ||
| Line 16: | Line 16: | ||
| * If you purchased Keyboard Maestro after 1 March 2023 you have received a free upgrade to Keyboard Maestro 11. | * If you purchased Keyboard Maestro after 1 March 2023 you have received a free upgrade to Keyboard Maestro 11. | ||
| - | * If you *purchased* Keyboard Maestro version 10, you can upgrade for $18 until 15 December 2023. | ||
| * If you own any previous version of Keyboard Maestro, you can upgrade for $25. | * If you own any previous version of Keyboard Maestro, you can upgrade for $25. | ||
| * Otherwise you can purchase a new version for $36. | * Otherwise you can purchase a new version for $36. | ||
| Line 50: | Line 49: | ||
| Yes, Keyboard Maestro version 11 is fully compatible with Mojave. In fact, Keyboard Maestro versions going back as far as version 2.x still work fine on Mojave. | Yes, Keyboard Maestro version 11 is fully compatible with Mojave. In fact, Keyboard Maestro versions going back as far as version 2.x still work fine on Mojave. | ||
| - | Mojave has bugs with its Accessibility System | + | Mojave has bugs with its Accessibility System |
| Note that Mojave adds some nagging for security permissions that can be tedious when first using Keyboard Maestro or when first controlling a specific facility or application. | Note that Mojave adds some nagging for security permissions that can be tedious when first using Keyboard Maestro or when first controlling a specific facility or application. | ||
| Line 58: | Line 57: | ||
| Yes, Keyboard Maestro version 11 is fully compatible with Catalina. In fact, Keyboard Maestro versions going back as far as version 4.x still work fine on Catalina. Versions of Keyboard Maestro prior to version 4.0 will no longer run on Catalina due to it dropping support for 32-bit applications. | Yes, Keyboard Maestro version 11 is fully compatible with Catalina. In fact, Keyboard Maestro versions going back as far as version 4.x still work fine on Catalina. Versions of Keyboard Maestro prior to version 4.0 will no longer run on Catalina due to it dropping support for 32-bit applications. | ||
| - | Catalina continues with the bugs with its Accessibility System | + | Catalina continues with the bugs with its Accessibility System |
| Note that Mojave and later add lots of nagging for security permissions that can be tedious when first using Keyboard Maestro or when first controlling a specific facility or application. | Note that Mojave and later add lots of nagging for security permissions that can be tedious when first using Keyboard Maestro or when first controlling a specific facility or application. | ||
| Line 66: | Line 65: | ||
| Yes, Keyboard Maestro version 11 is fully compatible with Big Sur. In fact, Keyboard Maestro versions going back as far as version 4.x still work fine on Big Sur. | Yes, Keyboard Maestro version 11 is fully compatible with Big Sur. In fact, Keyboard Maestro versions going back as far as version 4.x still work fine on Big Sur. | ||
| - | Big Sur continues with the bugs with its Accessibility System | + | Big Sur continues with the bugs with its Accessibility System |
| Note that Mojave and later add lots of nagging for security permissions that can be tedious when first using Keyboard Maestro or when first controlling a specific facility or application. | Note that Mojave and later add lots of nagging for security permissions that can be tedious when first using Keyboard Maestro or when first controlling a specific facility or application. | ||
| Line 74: | Line 73: | ||
| Yes, Keyboard Maestro version 11 is fully compatible with Monterey. In fact, Keyboard Maestro versions going back as far as version 4.x still work fine on Monterey. | Yes, Keyboard Maestro version 11 is fully compatible with Monterey. In fact, Keyboard Maestro versions going back as far as version 4.x still work fine on Monterey. | ||
| - | Monterey continues with the bugs with its Accessibility System | + | Monterey continues with the bugs with its Accessibility System |
| Note that Mojave and later add lots of nagging for security permissions that can be tedious when first using Keyboard Maestro or when first controlling a specific facility or application. | Note that Mojave and later add lots of nagging for security permissions that can be tedious when first using Keyboard Maestro or when first controlling a specific facility or application. | ||
| Line 82: | Line 81: | ||
| Yes, Keyboard Maestro version 11 is fully compatible with Ventura. In fact, Keyboard Maestro versions going back as far as version 4.x still work fine on Ventura. | Yes, Keyboard Maestro version 11 is fully compatible with Ventura. In fact, Keyboard Maestro versions going back as far as version 4.x still work fine on Ventura. | ||
| - | Ventura continues with the bugs with its Accessibility System | + | Ventura continues with the bugs with its Accessibility System |
| Note that Mojave and later add lots of nagging for security permissions that can be tedious when first using Keyboard Maestro or when first controlling a specific facility or application. | Note that Mojave and later add lots of nagging for security permissions that can be tedious when first using Keyboard Maestro or when first controlling a specific facility or application. | ||
| Line 92: | Line 91: | ||
| However the initial version of Sonoma has a bug where the menu selection API succeeds but then reports an error which will result in the [[action: | However the initial version of Sonoma has a bug where the menu selection API succeeds but then reports an error which will result in the [[action: | ||
| - | Also, Sonoma restricts access to the wireless information unless you grant the application Location security permissions, | + | Also, Sonoma restricts access to the wireless information unless you grant the application Location security permissions, |
| - | Sonoma may continue with the bugs with its Accessibility System | + | Sonoma may continue with the bugs with its Accessibility System |
| Note that Mojave and later add lots of nagging for security permissions that can be tedious when first using Keyboard Maestro or when first controlling a specific facility or application. | Note that Mojave and later add lots of nagging for security permissions that can be tedious when first using Keyboard Maestro or when first controlling a specific facility or application. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==== Is Keyboard Maestro compatible with Sequoia? ==== | ||
| + | |||
| + | Yes, Keyboard Maestro version 11 is fully compatible with Sequoia. In fact, Keyboard Maestro versions going back as far as version 4.x still work fine on Sequoia. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The Tesseract OCR library that Keyboard Maestro uses frequently fails with a memory corruption in Sequoia. It is unlikely we will be able to fix this, however the Apple Text Recognition supported by recent versions of Keyboard Maestro generally works better in most cases. Note that it currently supports English-only, | ||
| + | |||
| + | Similar to previous versions there are endless little niggles in the security system which may cause issues when first getting Keyboard Maestro permission. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Also, Sequoia tends to re-request Screen Monitoring permissions periodically which may be a nuisance, and for headless or unattended Macs may be a serious problem. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==== Is Keyboard Maestro compatible with Tahoe? ==== | ||
| + | |||
| + | Yes, Keyboard Maestro version 11 is fully compatible with Tahoe. In fact, Keyboard Maestro versions going back as far as version 4.x still work fine on Tahoe. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Tahoe seems to have some sort of bug with where it places status menus, so they may move around or have gaps between them. Hopefully Apple will resolve the issue promptly. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The Tesseract OCR library that Keyboard Maestro uses frequently fails with a memory corruption in Sequoia, and likely in Tahoe too (unverified). It is unlikely we will be able to fix this, however the Apple Text Recognition supported by recent versions of Keyboard Maestro generally works better in most cases. Note that it currently supports English-only, | ||
| + | |||
| + | Similar to previous versions it is likely there are endless little niggles in the security system which may cause issues when first getting Keyboard Maestro permission. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Also, Tahoe tends to re-request Screen Monitoring permissions periodically which may be a nuisance, and for headless or unattended Macs may be a serious problem. | ||
| + | |||
| ==== Reporting a bug ==== | ==== Reporting a bug ==== | ||
| Line 105: | Line 127: | ||
| * What happened that appears incorrect. | * What happened that appears incorrect. | ||
| * How to reproduce the problem. | * How to reproduce the problem. | ||
| + | * What version of Keyboard Maestro and macOS you are using. | ||
| The more explicit you are, the easier it will be to either explain the problem or correct any issue. | The more explicit you are, the easier it will be to either explain the problem or correct any issue. | ||
| Line 112: | Line 135: | ||
| Keyboard Maestro (v6+) includes built in support for syncing via Dropbox , iCloud Drive or the like. | Keyboard Maestro (v6+) includes built in support for syncing via Dropbox , iCloud Drive or the like. | ||
| - | First, all except | + | See the [[manual: |
| - | + | ||
| - | * On one Mac, select Start Syncing | + | |
| - | * Wait for Dropbox to do its magic. | + | |
| - | * On each other Mac, select Start Syncing, select Open Existing, **read the dialog**, then select the sync file in your Dropbox folder - **this will destroy your macros on the target Mac**. | + | |
| - | * Finally, reimport any unique macros you saved from earlier. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | Macro syncing is all or nothing, so all your macros will be on all your Macs, and you can edit them on any Mac. You can set a Macro Group to be disabled specifically on this Mac by editing it in the editor. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | As long as you don’t make changes on two Macs faster than Dropbox syncs you will not get any conflicts, but if you do, Dropbox will save a conflict file and one or other change will be lost. You will probably need to periodically delete any conflict files Dropbox generates. | + | |
| ==== How can I transfer my macros to a new Mac? ==== | ==== How can I transfer my macros to a new Mac? ==== | ||
| Line 146: | Line 160: | ||
| The API for the Touch Bar does not appear to allow non-front applications to affect the Touch Bar, except that Apple does this themselves in Xcode and Screen Capture and the like. So Apple knows and understands the need, but have not made the facility available for Third Party macro trigger style applications. | The API for the Touch Bar does not appear to allow non-front applications to affect the Touch Bar, except that Apple does this themselves in Xcode and Screen Capture and the like. So Apple knows and understands the need, but have not made the facility available for Third Party macro trigger style applications. | ||
| - | The Keyboard Maestro (v8+) editor supports the Touch Bar in the future | + | The Keyboard Maestro (v8+) editor supports the Touch Bar for use within the editor. |
| Keyboard Maestro (v8+) includes some Touch Bar actions ([[action: | Keyboard Maestro (v8+) includes some Touch Bar actions ([[action: | ||
| Line 266: | Line 280: | ||
| ==== Can I use the Fn key as a modifier? ==== | ==== Can I use the Fn key as a modifier? ==== | ||
| - | Basically, no. The Fn key is not a modifier, it is a hardware toggle that toggles whether the physical key behaves as a function key (eg F3) or a hardware key (eg increase brightness). | + | Basically, no. The Fn key is not a modifier, it is a hardware toggle that toggles whether the physical key behaves as a function key (eg F3) or a hardware key (eg increase brightness). |
| Think of your keyboard as have two rows of keys, one row of function keys and one row of hardware keys - the Fn key toggles which row is “visible”. | Think of your keyboard as have two rows of keys, one row of function keys and one row of hardware keys - the Fn key toggles which row is “visible”. | ||
| Line 282: | Line 296: | ||
| So you could use all the function keys (with associated modifiers) on both Macs using a device key trigger. | So you could use all the function keys (with associated modifiers) on both Macs using a device key trigger. | ||
| - | An alternative is to use a non-keyboard keyboard, something like an [XK-24](http:// | + | An alternative is to use a non-keyboard keyboard, something like an [XK-24](http:// |
| Also, with version 9, Keyboard Maestro adds direct support for the [[Stream Deck]], including the ability to trigger macros as well as control the image and title of the buttons. | Also, with version 9, Keyboard Maestro adds direct support for the [[Stream Deck]], including the ability to trigger macros as well as control the image and title of the buttons. | ||
| Line 322: | Line 336: | ||
| ==== How can I select Status Menus? ==== | ==== How can I select Status Menus? ==== | ||
| - | Selecting status menu items is difficult primarily because there is no easy way of specifying them - they don't have names so its hard to identify them. | + | Selecting status menu items (sometimes known as menu bar items) |
| - | You can use a Click at Found Image, although even that can be difficult as they often animate or change icons based on various states. | + | You can use a [[action: |
| To click relative to an image, you use the Mouse Click action, configure it to be relative to a found image, and take a screenshot of the desired area of the screen using Command-Control-Shift-4, | To click relative to an image, you use the Mouse Click action, configure it to be relative to a found image, and take a screenshot of the desired area of the screen using Command-Control-Shift-4, | ||
| + | You may also be able to use AppleScript to click the menu bar, something like: | ||
| + | |||
| + | ``` | ||
| + | tell application " | ||
| + | click menu bar item 1 of menu bar 2 | ||
| + | end tell | ||
| + | ``` | ||
| ==== How should I name my variables? ==== | ==== How should I name my variables? ==== | ||
| - | Keyboard Maestro 5 introduced [[manual: | + | Keyboard Maestro 5 introduced [[manual: |
| - | Variables | + | Almost every field in Keyboard Maestro actions can optionally include a variable. In [[/ |
| + | |||
| + | [[manual: | ||
| Which brings us to the point of this article: *naming best practices*. | Which brings us to the point of this article: *naming best practices*. | ||
| - | Variables that start with "Local " (v8+) will be local to the macro in question, and that start with " | + | Variables that start with " |
| + | |||
| + | Other variables are global and so can be used between different macros and retain their values over time, thus allowing you to store information for later use. | ||
| Keyboard Maestro variables can have whitespace characters in their name. This is good for human readability. It also makes for better user experience in User Input dialogs. Whitespace characters are converted to underscores in scripts. | Keyboard Maestro variables can have whitespace characters in their name. This is good for human readability. It also makes for better user experience in User Input dialogs. Whitespace characters are converted to underscores in scripts. | ||
| Line 346: | Line 371: | ||
| You can learn more about regular expressions in various places: | You can learn more about regular expressions in various places: | ||
| - | * The BBEdit | + | * The BBEdit Help has extensive documentation on regular expressions. |
| * gskinner’s [RegExr](http:// | * gskinner’s [RegExr](http:// | ||
| * [Beginning Regular Expressions](http:// | * [Beginning Regular Expressions](http:// | ||
| * [Mastering Regular Expressions ](http:// | * [Mastering Regular Expressions ](http:// | ||
| * [Regular Expressions Tutorial](http:// | * [Regular Expressions Tutorial](http:// | ||
| + | * [Regular Expression 101](https:// | ||
| + | |||
| ==== How can I close the Keyboard Maestro editor window? ==== | ==== How can I close the Keyboard Maestro editor window? ==== | ||
| - | You can (v8+) click the close box on the editor window and it will quit the editor for you. | + | You can click the close box on the editor window and it will close the editor window. |
| + | |||
| + | If the last window is closed, the editor | ||
| + | |||
| + | Note that while you can have more than one editor window open, it can quickly slow down Keyboard Maestro so it is generally best to only have one editor window open unless you need to refer to two macros at the same time. Also, it is generally a good idea to quit the Keyboard Maestro editor when you are not editing your macros and leave just the Keyboard Maestro Engine running. | ||
| - | The Keyboard Maestro Engine will continue running and processing your macros after you quit the Keyboard Maestro editor. Read the [Quick Start](http:// | ||
| ==== What does Keyboard Maestro use the Contacts for? ==== | ==== What does Keyboard Maestro use the Contacts for? ==== | ||
| Line 466: | Line 497: | ||
| ==== Should I buy from the Mac App Store or Buy Direct? ==== | ==== Should I buy from the Mac App Store or Buy Direct? ==== | ||
| - | Keyboard Maestro is no longer available from the Mac App Store, so you cannot buy from the Mac App Store. | + | Keyboard Maestro is no longer available from the Mac App Store, so you cannot buy from the Mac App Store. |
| You could never buy any version from version 6 onwards from the Mac App Store. | You could never buy any version from version 6 onwards from the Mac App Store. | ||
Frequently_Asked_Questions.1696918164.txt.gz · Last modified: by peternlewis
