Keyboard Maestro Wiki - manual

Administrative_Details

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-04-28T03:41:19+00:00

Administrative Details Requirements Keyboard~~Maestro~~11 requires macOS 10.13 or later. Distribution You may distribute this application in any way you wish as long as you only distribute the unmodified Keyboard~~Maestro package, as downloaded from

Applications_Palette

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-09-18T04:22:52+00:00

Applications Palette The Applications Palette displays the currently running applications in a palette. [Applications Palette ] You can turn off the palette by clicking the close box, or you can turn it on or off in the Keyboard Maestro General preferences, or in the Keyboard Maestro status menu.

Application_Launcher

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-10-03T08:14:59+00:00

Application Launcher The Activate Application Launcher macro is a highly specialized macro action that enables you to launch applications. By triggering the macro, the Application Launcher enables you to launch any applications in your Applications or Utilities folder, as well as any recently running applications. Once the launching window appears, you may select the application to launch, and Application Launcher will launch it for you.

Application_Switcher

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-10-03T08:15:49+00:00

Application Switcher The Activate Application Switcher action macro is a highly specialized macro action that enables you to launch, switch, hide, and quit applications. By triggering the macro, the Application Switcher enables you to switch between all running applications. Once the switching window appears, you may select the application to activate, and Application Switcher will take you to it.

Assistance

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2024-05-21T04:09:02+00:00

Assistance If you have any problems writing macros, you can get help from a number of places. * This User Manual describes the basics of using the Keyboard Maestro editor. * The Tutorial will show you how to create a simple macros. You can start the Tutorial by choosing the

Calculations

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-02-26T02:04:22+00:00

Calculations Overview Keyboard Maestro supports calculations in almost any numeric text fields. For example you can Pause for “60*Time in Minutes”. Calculations can also use comma separated lists of numbers as arrays, and can return such arrays, so you can operate on rectangle frames and points. Numeric fields often start small with up/down step arrows, but if you type anything other than a number they will expand to allow a more complex expression to be entered. You can tell that a field …

Clipboard_History_Switcher

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-10-03T08:19:45+00:00

Clipboard History Switcher The Clipboard~~History~~Switcher is in essence a Clipboard Manager. Whenever you copy something from any app, the Keyboard Maestro Engine saves a copy of the System Clipboard at that time to the Clipboard History file. The

Collections

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2016-06-01T07:32:37+00:00

Collections Keyboard Maestro includes a For Each action which perform a sequence of actions repeatedly, once for each element of a collection. Any time you have to deal with a set of things (lines, files, numbers, etc), you are probably thinking of a collection for which the For Each action is the answer.

Command_Line_Tool

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-10-24T05:28:42+00:00

Command Line Tool Keyboard Maestro includes a command line tool to let you execute macros from the shell command line. The tool is named keyboardmaestro and is located within the Keyboard Maestro.app application. Assuming the application is installed in the Applications folder, the command line tool will reside at:

Conditions

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-10-02T05:58:30+00:00

Conditions Keyboard Maestro includes a variety of control flow actions which perform actions depending on a set of conditions. The condition clause of the flow control actions can be any of: * Any of the following are true – at least one condition must be true.

Dictionaries

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2021-10-04T07:24:38+00:00

Dictionaries Keyboard Maestro includes permanently stored dictionaries that you can use or set. A dictionary is a named set of mappings from a key name to a value. You can have multiple dictionaries, each with their own name (so really, it is a set of mappings from a dictionary name and a key name to a value).

Editor_Window

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-09-27T08:56:43+00:00

Editor Window To edit your macros, launch the Keyboard Maestro application. It will display one or more Editor Windows. If you close the last editor window, the Keyboard Maestro application will quit, but the Keyboard Maestro Engine will continue running to perform your macros. Normally you only launch the Keyboard Maestro editor application when you want to change your macros, and leave only the Keyboard Maestro Engine running normally.

Features

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-09-21T08:13:55+00:00

Features Keyboard~~Maestro is a productivity enhancer with several main functions. It allows you to: * record and design your own macro shortcuts and activate them at any time. * work with clipboard history using Clipboard History Switcher. * work with an unlimited number of saved clipboards using

Filters

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2024-07-16T01:58:13+00:00

Filters Keyboard Maestro includes a variety of filters that can be applied to either the system clipboard, Named~~Clipboards, or variables. For clipboards, the filters preserve style information to whatever degree is possible. Use the Filter action to apply filters.

Glossary

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-12-24T02:04:08+00:00

Glossary Active/Deactivated A Macro Group is active only if the conditions of the macro group are satisfied (eg a specific application is frontmost). A macro is available to be triggered only if it is enabled, and it’s parent macro group is enabled and active. Active is a transient state and can change over time as the state of the system changes (eg as different applications are frontmost)

How_do_I

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-09-26T07:58:00+00:00

How do I ...? How do I install Keyboard Maestro? To install Keyboard~~Maestro, download it and then use the Finder to move it to your Mac’s FILE{{{Applications}}} folder (or anywhere you like). Note: You must use the Finder to do this since the Finder will turn off

Icon_Chooser

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-10-03T08:09:48+00:00

Icon Chooser Keyboard Maestro includes an Icon Chooser and creator to allow you to select custom icons for your macro groups and macros. You can display the Icon Chooser by choosing the Window ➤ Icon Chooser menu. [ Icon Chooser Window ] Click on an image well for a macro or macro group (in Edit mode), and then click on an icon in the Icon Chooser to select it.

JSON

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2024-04-22T02:23:50+00:00

JSON Keyboard Maestro includes comprehensive support for JSON (JavaScript Object Notation), which is a formalized lightweight data-interchange format. JSON objects consist of one of: * An array, surrounded by square brackets and with comma-separated values, eg

Links

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2017-08-22T01:55:31+00:00

Links Download Keyboard~~Maestro from . Purchase Keyboard~~Maestro at . Look up your current or previous license status and serial numbers, and get information about discounted upgrades from . Join the Keyboard Maestro Forum online community consisting of the developers and Keyboard

Macros

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-09-28T06:11:42+00:00

Macros Macros are used to automate your workflow, procedure, or process on your Mac. Macros are a way of improving your productivity by allowing you to perform repetitive or frequently required actions more quickly and accurately, tailoring your Mac to your usage patterns.

Macro_Actions

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-09-28T07:49:02+00:00

Macro Actions A Macro executes a sequence of Macro~~Actions in order. There are many actions to choose from. Some simple actions, such as Restart Computer, require no other information and simply do their job, while other more complex actions, such as Select a Menu Item, require you to specify more information, such as a target application or menu name. You do this by editing the values for the action.

Macro_Debugger

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2021-10-15T08:50:19+00:00

Macro Debugger Keyboard Maestro includes a built-in macro debugger which you can turn on by choosing the Status Menu ➤ Start Debugging menu or by using one of the Debugger actions. This will display the Macro Debugger window. [Macro Debugger] Once debugging, you can control whether new macros start paused or start running. The macro debugger shows all running macros, and what action they are currently executing (including showing nested actions).

Macro_Examples

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2019-06-18T05:53:48+00:00

Macro Examples A typical simple Macro consists of a single Hot Key trigger, such as Control-A, together with a single action, such as the Insert Text by Typing Action that will “type my address” . For some real examples, see the forum topics: * List of Example Macros * Best Macro List * Best Examples of Keyboard Maestro Macros You can also use the Macro Library by choosing the

Macro_Groups

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-09-28T04:30:32+00:00

Macro Groups Keyboard~~Maestro organizes your macros into Macro~~Groups which are like folders of macros. Each Macro~~Group contains a number of macros and controls when those macros are active. A Macro~~Group can target or exclude specific applications, which means the macros it contains will only be active in those desired applications or when those applications are running. For example, you can have macros which are active only in Mail.app. It can also be active only in specific windows.…

Macro_Library

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-10-03T08:04:12+00:00

Macro Library The macro library is a place where we can provide you with a variety of ready-made macros for optional addition to your macro collection. To use the library, choose the Window ➤ Macro Library menu to display the macro library. You can then look through the available macros and insert any you'd like to use into your macros. You can then use them as is, or configure the new macros, perhaps changing the hot keys or adjusting the macros to your liking.

Macro_Syncing

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-09-29T08:16:00+00:00

Macro Syncing Keyboard Maestro is licensed on a per user basis on up to five Macs, so if you use it on two or more Macs you may want to transfer some of your macros from one to the other. You can do this by selecting the desired macros and choosing the

Macro_Triggers

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-09-28T07:30:12+00:00

Macro Triggers A Macro is executed when any of its Macro~~Triggers is activated. There are many triggers to choose from, the most common being a Hot Key, that is the Macro is executed in response to a keystroke, usually in conjunction with one or more modifier keys. You can also trigger a macro by typing a string. Or you can display a Macro

Menus

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2026-04-15T07:55:08+00:00

Menus Below is a complete list of all menus. Note that in some cases you must hold down the Option Key (or or ) to see the menu item. For example, the “Expand All Actions” item in the Actions menu. Keyboard Maestro The Keyboard Maestro menu contains menu items relating to the Keyboard

Named_Clipboard_Switcher

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2019-08-29T03:09:18+00:00

Named Clipboard Switcher The Named~~Clipboard~~Switcher enables you to define any number of named clipboards which can be use to Cut or Copy into and Paste from in any application. To use the Named~~Clipboard~~Switcher you simply trigger the Named~~

Overview

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2021-10-01T06:21:32+00:00

Overview Keyboard~~Maestro will take your Macintosh experience to a new level. Keyboard Maestro enables you to create or record custom macro shortcuts that you can activate at any time. For example, your macros could help you navigate running applications or work with an unlimited number of clipboards. Best of all, every macro you create is available using simple keystrokes you choose or a variety of other triggers. The only limit to Keyboard Maestro is your imagination!

Palettes

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2024-03-11T06:22:13+00:00

Palettes Keyboard Maestro can display a number of Palettes (or Toolbars). There are four types of palettes: * Global Macro Palette. * Applications Palette. * Conflict Palette. * Macro Group palettes. 1. Global Macro Palette Any macro with the

Plug_In_Actions

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-10-06T06:28:24+00:00

Plug In Actions You can develop custom Macro Actions using a facility known as Plug In Actions. After you install a Plug In Action in your local Keyboard Maestro Support folder, you can use them like the built-in Actions. Third Party Plug In Actions You can download Plug In Actions developed by others from these sources:

Preferences

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2024-07-16T12:10:53+00:00

Preferences To configure Keyboard~~Maestro, first launch Keyboard~~Maestro and choose Preferences from the Keyboard Maestro menu. [ Preferences General Pane ] The preferences are divided into sections. General Preferences In the General preference pane you can: * enable or disable launching the Keyboard~~Maestro~~Engine at Login.

Purchase

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2026-01-01T02:13:04+00:00

Purchase Keyboard~~Maestro is engineered by Stairways Software Pty Ltd and distributed by FastSpring. Keyboard~~Maestro is licensed on a per-user basis and individual users may use it on up to five Macs. New customers can purchase Keyboard~~Maestro for US$36 by choosing the

Quick_Start

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2026-02-01T04:48:43+00:00

Quick Start Keyboard~~Maestro is easy to use once you understand the way the Editor and Engine, Macro~~Groups and Macros, Triggers and Actions work together. By using these six components together, you can dramatically enhance your Mac experience.

Recording

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-10-03T08:02:00+00:00

Recording Keyboard~~Maestro has the ability to create macro action sequences by recording your actions. For example, to create a macro that simulates keystrokes, rather than create each macro action individually you can enable recording and then simply type the keystrokes.

Screenshots

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-09-26T07:10:56+00:00

Screenshots Here is a quick taste of what Keyboard Maestro offers. Macros Window [ Macros Window ] Macro Editor [ Editor Window ] Dark Mode [ Dark Editor ] Interactive Help [ Interactive Help ] Macro Library [Macro Library Window ] Icon Chooser [Icon Chooser Window ] Palette Theme Editor [Palette Theme Editor ] Macro Debugger [Macro Debugger] Application Switcher Window [ Application Switcher Window ] Trigger Macro by Name

Scripting

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-10-04T08:27:35+00:00

Scripting Executing Scripts The following Execute Script Actions are provided to execute a variety of script languages: * Execute an AppleScript * Execute an Automator Workflow * Execute a JavaScript For Automation * Execute JavaScript in Custom HTML Prompt * Execute a JavaScript in Browser * Execute a Shell Script * Execute Shortcut * Execute a Swift Script * Apply a BBEdit Text Factory to the Clipboard You can specify the script to be executed either by reference to a file or as t…

Search_Strings

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-01-22T03:51:46+00:00

Search Strings Search Strings are filters which, in addition to the text you type, can include qualifiers that may be applied to searches for Macros and Actions in: * The Keyboard Maestro Editor search field. * A Smart Group. * A Trigger Macro by Name action. Keyboard Maestro will search for the text you type, and all of the below qualifiers that you specify, for matches in your list of macros. Each word is searched for separately (and in any order) unless you quote a phrase.

Single_Page_Version

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-09-05T04:42:05+00:00

Keyboard Maestro 11 User Manual * Multi-Page Version * PDF Version * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Overview

Smart_Groups

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-09-28T04:34:03+00:00

Smart Groups You can create Smart~~Groups which let you see macros matching certain criteria by clicking the BUTTON{{{⊕}}} button at the bottom of the Groups column, and you can edit a smart group selecting it in the Groups list and clicking the BUTTON{{{

Status_Menu_Icons

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2017-08-22T01:55:09+00:00

Status Menu Icons Keyboard Maestro allows you to select the status menu icon. The current lovely status menu icons were done by Iconaholic, and you can also use the Classic finger tapping icons. As well as that, you can get more status menu icons from our web site or the forum and you can create and optionally contribute your own versions. You can drop a new status menu icon .zip archive on the Keyboard Maestro application dock icon to install it.

Support

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2019-06-19T05:32:08+00:00

Support For sales enquiries, customer service, technical support, or to contact project management, email us at support@stairways.com or use our Web Site Feedback Form. Extensive online documentation on Keyboard Maestro can be found in the Keyboard Maestro User Manual and on the wiki at Keyboard Maestro Wiki. You can join the Keyboard Maestro Forum online community consisting of the developers and Keyboard

Tips

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-12-05T04:37:04+00:00

Tips Remembering Macro Hot Keys Hot Key triggers are only useful if you can remember which key does what. Consider using mnemonic keys. For example, in your email client, you might define a set of Macros to Insert Text action, so use Control-A for your Address, Control-S for your Signature, Control-N for your Name, and so on.

Tokens

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-10-02T04:10:22+00:00

Tokens Keyboard Maestro provides two means to get information about objects (like web pages and windows) in the user's environment: * Tokens (returns text, used in text token fields) * Functions (returns numbers, used in numeric fields) You can enter a Token in any text field in an Action, and when the Macro is triggered and the Action is executed, the token will be replaced by the value that is returned at that time. This allows you to easily combine static text with dynamic data that is s…

Tour

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-09-26T07:09:04+00:00

Tour This demonstration will begin to show you the power and versatility of Keyboard~~Maestro. Getting Started To start, launch Keyboard~~Maestro. It will initially display the Welcome window. [ Welcome Window ] If you are new to Keyboard Maestro, start the tutorial and Keyboard Maestro will show you how easy it is to create a macro.

Troubleshooting

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2024-07-16T05:18:25+00:00

Troubleshooting See the wiki Troubleshooting page for how to resolve any problems we have anticipated. Around 80% of all support emails we receive are related to Apple’s security permissions, including: * Translocation * Accessibility * Screen Recording * Secure Input Problem Keyboard Maestro includes a Security preference pane in its

URL_Schemes

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-09-13T02:34:13+00:00

URL Schemes Editor Another way you can control Keyboard Maestro editor is using the “keyboardmaestro” URL scheme, which supports the following formats: Example Editor URL Command Description keyboardmaestro://u=support%40stairways.com/s=ABCDEFGH0123456789

Variables

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-03-02T03:08:23+00:00

Variables Like most programming languages, Keyboard Maestro allows you to create Variables to store data for use later on in the same Macro, or in other Macros. Variables can be set from many actions. You can set variables to specific tokenised text, to the result of a

Whats_New

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-06-09T06:05:55+00:00

What’s New? Keyboard~~Maestro~~11 expands on the powerful base of previous versions, improving the editor, adding many new actions and triggers, New Macro Wizard, a new Security preference pane, a keyboardmaestro command line tool, support for Apple Text Recognition, and more. Keyboard

Windows

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-10-06T07:46:44+00:00

Windows Welcome Window This window welcomes new users and gives you some options for learning about Keyboard Maestro. [ Welcome Window ] If you are new to Keyboard Maestro, start the tutorial and Keyboard Maestro will walk you through creating a simple macro. Macros Window

Window_Switcher

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-10-03T08:16:22+00:00

Window Switcher The Activate Window Switcher macro is a highly specialized macro action that enables you to show, hide, and minimize windows. By triggering the macro, Window~~Switcher enables you to switch between all open windows in the current application. Once the switching window appears, you may select the window to activate, and Window