The Keyboard Maestro menu contains menu items relating to the Keyboard Maestro application as a whole.

The About Keyboard Maestro command in the Keyboard Maestro menu displays the About Keyboard Maestro window.

The Purchase Keyboard Maestro command in the Keyboard Maestro menu lets you purchase Keyboard Maestro online.

The Purchase Keyboard Maestro Upgrade command in the Keyboard Maestro menu lets you purchase an upgrade to Keyboard Maestro online.

The Register Keyboard Maestro command in the Keyboard Maestro menu displays the serial number entry window allowing you to enter your username (email address) and serial number. Make sure you enter them exactly as sent to you.

The Check For Update command in the Keyboard Maestro menu checks to see if there are any updates to Keyboard Maestro and offers to download and install them if there are.

The Preferences command in the Keyboard Maestro menu displays the Preferences window.

The Services command in the Keyboard Maestro menu is used to perform Mac OS X Services which are shared functions available across multiple applications. You can learn more about Mac OS X Services from your Mac OS X documentation, and you can install new services which will work with Keyboard Maestro. Keyboard Maestro includes full support for Services, so relevant Services on your system are available in Keyboard Maestro.

The Hide Keyboard Maestro command in the Keyboard Maestro menu will hide the Keyboard Maestro application and all its windows. Click on Keyboard Maestro's Dock icon or choose Show All to show Keyboard Maestro again.

The Hide Others command in the Keyboard Maestro menu will hide all other applications. Choose Show All to show them again.

The Show All command in the Keyboard Maestro menu will show all hidden applications.

The Quit Keyboard Maestro command in the Keyboard Maestro menu will Quit Keyboard Maestro. the Keyboard Maestro Engine will remain running and all enabled Keyboard Maestro features will continue to operate (unless you have specifically quit the Keyboard Maestro Engine).

The File menu is where you import or export Macros or launch or quit the Keyboard Maestro Engine.

The New Smart Group command in the File menu creates and starts editing a new smart group.

The New Macro Group command in the File menu creates and starts editing a new macro group.

The New Macro command in the File menu creates and starts editing a new macro.

The Close command in the File menu closes the front window.

The Export Actions command in the File menu exports the selected actions to a file that you can import later or on another Mac. You can also post the action export file on the forum or elsewhere to share it with others.

The Export Macros command in the File menu exports the selected macros to a file that you can import on another Mac. This is one way to transfered macros from one Mac to another.

The Export as Macro Library command in the File menu exports the selected macros to a library file that you can share with others. If you create any interesting macros please consider sending them to us and we will make them available on our web site or in a future version of Keyboard Maestro.

See also the Macro Library section.

The Import Actions command in the File menu lets you select a saved action file and imports the actions it contains into the current macro.

The Import Macros command in the File menu lets you select a saved macro file and imports the macros it contains.

The Import to Macro Library command in the File menu lets you import a shared macro library file into your macro library. Macros in your library are not active, but can be added into one or more macro groups to become active.

See also the Macro Library section.

The Revert Macros command in the File menu lets you revert to a previous version of your macros. If you find you have really messed up your macros, you can revert to how they were when you first launched Keyboard Maestro, or how they were yesterday or even several days ago.

The Start Syncing Macros command in the File menu lets you start syncing your macros with another Mac.

See also the Macro Syncing section.

The Reveal Macro Sync File command in the File menu lets you see where your macro sync file is.

See also the Macro Syncing section.

The Stop Syncing Macros command in the File menu lets you stop syncing your macros.

See also the Macro Syncing section.

The Launch Engine command in the File menu lets you start the Keyboard Maestro Engine manually. The Keyboard Maestro Engine performs all the Macro, Application Switcher, Window Switcher and Clipboard Switcher functions even while Keyboard Maestro itself is not running. It is launched automatically as a Startup Item when you login (assuming you have not disabled that in the Preferences window) or any time you launch Keyboard Maestro. If it is not running for any reason you can start it manually with this command. This menu item only exists while the Keyboard Maestro Engine is not running.

The Quit Engine command in the File menu lets you quit the Keyboard Maestro Engine. The Keyboard Maestro Engine performs all the Macro, Application Switcher, Window Switcher and Clipboard Switcher functions even while Keyboard Maestro itself is not running. It is launched automatically as a Startup Item when you login (assuming you have enabled that in the Preferences window). If you quit the Keyboard Maestro Engine these functions will no longer operate. This menu item only exists while the Keyboard Maestro Engine is running.

The Edit menu contains menu items relating to text and selections.

The Undo command in the Edit menu undoes the previous command.

The Redo command in the Edit menu redoes the previous undone command.

The Cut command in the Edit menu copies the current selection to the system clipboard and then deletes the selection.

The Copy command in the Edit menu copies the current selection to the system clipboard.

The Copy as sub-menu in the Edit menu menu allows you to copy the selection in a variety of formats.

The Copy as Text command in the Copy as sub-menu in the Edit menu menu allows you to copy the selected macro or actions as styled text.

The Copy as Image command in the Copy as sub-menu in the Edit menu menu allows you to copy the selected macro or actions as an image.

The Copy UID command in the Copy as sub-menu in the Edit menu menu allows you to copy the selected macro or macro group’s UID.

The Paste command in the Edit menu pastes the current system clipboard into the current selection.

The Paste Above command in the Edit menu pastes the current system clipboard (containing actions) above the current selection.

The Delete command in the Edit menu deletes the current selection.

The Select All command in the Edit menu selects all text or items.

The Deselect All command in the Edit menu deselects all text or items.

The Duplicate command in the Edit menu duplicates the selected items.

The Insert Action command in the Edit menu lets you insert any of the many actions available in Keyboard Maestro.

The Insert Action by Name command in the Edit menu lets you insert any of the many actions available in Keyboard Maestro by name.

The Insert Token sub-menu in the Edit menu lets you insert any of the many Text Tokens available in Keyboard Maestro. The token will be inserted, together with an example format of any parameters it takes.

Most text fields in Keyboard Maestro can process Text Tokens.

The Variable command in the Insert Token sub-menu in the Edit menu lets you insert any of your variables as a text token (ie %Variable%VarName%)

Most text fields in Keyboard Maestro can process an expression containing Text Tokens including variables.

The Insert Function sub-menu in the Edit menu lets you insert any of the many functions available in Keyboard Maestro. The functions will be inserted, together with an example of any parameters it takes.

Most numeric fields in Keyboard Maestro can process an expression containing these functions.

The Variable command in the Insert Function sub-menu in the Edit menu lets you insert any of your variables.

Most numeric fields in Keyboard Maestro can process an expression containing variables.

The View menu contains menu items relating to display and actions.

The Sort Macros by Name command in the View menu sorts the macros in the main window by name.

The Sort Macros by Trigger command in the View menu sorts the macros in the main window by trigger. This is useful to see what hot keys are available, or to group all Typed String triggers together.

The Sort Macros by Date Created command in the View menu sorts the macros in the main window by the date created.

The Sort Macros by Date Modified command in the View menu sorts the macros in the main window by the date modified (most recently modified at the top). This is useful to see what macros you have recently modified. You can also use the ◷ button at the top of the macro editor to show the recently modified macros.

The Sort Macros by Date Used command in the View menu sorts the macros in the main window by date used (most recently executed at the top). This is useful to see what macros you have recently executed, especially if you think one might have been executed inadvertently. You can also use the ⌘ button at the top of the macro editor to show the recently used macros.

The Sort Macros by Use Count command in the View menu sorts the macros in the main window by use count (most used macros at the top).

The Sort Macros by Time Saved command in the View menu sorts the macros in the main window by time saved (most time saved at the top).

The Expand Action command in the View menu expands (discloses) the selected action(s). Hold the option key down to expand all actions in a given sublist.

The Collapse Action command in the View menu collapses the selected action(s). Hold the option key down to collapse all actions in a given sublist.

The Parent Action command in the View menu moves the selection to the containing action.

The Enter Action command in the View menu moves the selection to the contained action.

The Start Editing Macros command in the View menu turns on edit mode. Edit mode allows you to modify macros and macro groups. You may prefer to leave it on permanently, or you may like to turn it off when you are not making changes to give a more concise and visually appealing view of the macros and macro groups.

The Stop Editing Macros command in the View menu turns off edit mode.

The Toggle Enable command in the View menu toggles the enable of the selected items.

The Show Actions command in the View menu shows the action list. It is available while editing a macro. Double click or drag actions from the action list to add them to your macro. This menu toggles to Hide Actions when the action list is already showing.

The Try command in the View menu tries the selected actions. It is available while editing a macro.

The Record command in the View menu toggles recording on and off. It is available while editing a macro. Hold the option key down to record without a delay.

The Window menu contains menu items relating to windows.

The Minimize command in the Window menu minimizes the front window.

The Zoom command in the Window menu zooms the front window.

The Keyboard Maestro Editor command in the Window menu brings the main Keyboard Maestro macro editing window to the front.

The Macro Library command in the Window menu shows or hides the macro library.

See also the Macro Library section.

The Icon Chooser command in the Window menu shows or hides the Icon Chooser.

See also the Icon Chooser section.

The Macro Inspector command in the Window menu shows or hides the Macro Inspector.

See also the Macro Inspector Window section.

The Mouse Display command in the Window menu shows or hides the Mouse Display.

See also the Mouse Display Window section.

The Bring All to Front command in the Window menu brings all Keyboard Maestro windows to the front.

The Help menu contains menu items relating to Help.

The Keyboard Maestro Documentation command in the Help menu displays the Keyboard Maestro documentation web site.

The Keyboard Maestro Quick Start command in the Help menu displays the Keyboard Maestro quick start help web page, which quickly gets you up to speed in using Keyboard Maestro.

The Welcome to Keyboard Maestro command in the Help menu displays the Welcome message, giving you a quick overview of what support resources are available for helping you get started using Keyboard Maestro.

The Keyboard Maestro Web Site command in the Help menu takes you to the Keyboard Maestro web site.

The Keyboard Maestro Wiki command in the Help menu takes you to the Keyboard Maestro wiki.

The Keyboard Maestro Forum command in the Help menu takes you to the Keyboard Maestro forum.

The Stairways Software Web Site command in the Help menu takes you to the Stairways Software web site.

The Tutorial command in the Help menu starts the in-application tutorial. The tutorial will walk you through creating a simple macro. By varying the actions slightly, you can create a variety of macros that are triggered by hot keys and that open various documents.

The ICU Date Format References command in the Help menu takes you to the ICU Date Format References web site.

The ICU Regular Expression References command in the Help menu takes you to the ICU Regular Expression References web site.

The Regular Expression Unicode Properties command in the Help menu takes you to the Regular Expression Unicode Properties web site.

The Third Party Licenses command in the Help menu displays the licenses folder containing the third party licenses for code used in Keyboard Maestro.

The Open Logs Folder command in the Help menu displays the Keyboard Maestro Logs folder.

The Open Preferences Folder command in the Help menu displays the Keyboard Maestro Preferences folder.

The Report Bugs or Feature Requests command in the Help menu allows you to report any bugs you find or and features you would like implemented (hat tip to the wonderful image editor, Acorn).

The Service and Support command in the Help menu displays the service and support details, including how to contact us and where you can get more assistance.

The Status Menu menu appears on the right side of the menu bar showing (by default) the Keyboard Maestro icon (although you can control the icon in the General preference pane). It is generally visible any time the Keyboard Maestro Engine is running (unless you turn it off in the General preference pane). You use it to control the Keyboard Maestro Engine, to execute your Status Menu triggered macros, and to switch to applications.

The Launch Keyboard Maestro Editor command in the Status Menu menu launches Keyboard Maestro so you can edit your macros. You can also edit your macros directly by holding down the option key while choosing them in the Status Menu menu or in a palette.

The Paste command in the Status Menu menu includes the recent items in the clipboard history so you can easily paste in paste items using this menu.

Hold the Shift key down to paste as plain text, and the Option key down to just set the clipboard without pasting.

The Cancel command in the Status Menu menu contains a list of all currently running macros and allows you to cancel them.

You can also cancel all currently running macros by holding all the modifiers (Command, Control, Option, Shift) down and clicking on the Status Menu menu.

The Start Debugging command in the Status Menu menu opens the macrodebugger window and starts debugging.

See also the Macro Debugger section.

The Quit Keyboard Maestro Engine command in the Status Menu menu quits the Keyboard Maestro Engine.