Can KM9 Focus on a Dialog Box?

Questions & Suggestions
#1

I am trying to use KM9 to automate a dialog box created inside an app. The dialog box presents a scrolling list to select an item.

KM9 acts as if the dialog box does not exist. Characters typed via Macro are not entered in the dialog. If I use Find Image to select the item I want to choose from the list, nothing is ever found.

Is there any way to automate the completion of Dialog box?

Trouble Evaluating Grep Checkbox Status in BBEdit's ‘Find’ Dialog Box
#2

We need a lot more info to be helpful:

  1. What app?
  2. Post screenshot of dialog window

Please read:
Tip: How Do I Get The Best Answer in the Shortest Time?

#3

The App is Devonthink 3 Beta 7

An example dialog window is:

image
image.jpg948×564 63.9 KB

#4

DT is very scriptable. Have you tried that to accomplish your automation?

#5

Not yet

There is actually an easier workaround for this particular problem in DT - I can change to the desired group via an item Link

But I am curious in case this situation occurs in future KM scripts in other apps. Is it generally true that a dialog box is off limits to KM?

#6

No. I just depends on how the app dev coded the dialog box.
For example, KM easily can interact with most open/save dialogs.

#7

Hey Richard,

The main things Keyboard Maestro fails to see are floating windows and palettes.

In your case KM doesn't see the pop-over-window, but AppleScript UI-Scripting does:

# Populate DEVONthink 3 Find Field in the Go-To pop-over-window.
tell application "System Events"
   tell application "System Events"
      tell application process "DEVONthink 3"
         tell (first window whose subrole is "AXStandardWindow")
            tell pop over 1
               tell text field 1
                  set value to "TESTING"
               end tell
            end tell
         end tell
      end tell
   end tell
end tell

Run this from an Execute an AppleScript action while the pop-over is open.

-Chris

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#8

Thanks.. how do I enter a Return after the input so the box will act on the input? I tried /n and %LineFeed% and those did not work.

#9

Hey Richard,

Good question...

This doesn't work, and it should.

Download ⇢ DEVONthink 3 -- Go-To v1.00.kmmacros
      (6.2 KB, Creator: KM 9.0.1)

Even Keyboard Maestro's Type a Keystroke action fails...

It looks like there's a bug in DEVON's accessibility for DT3. It should respond to AXConfirm, and it doesn't.

Someone should report it.  :smile:

To contrast – try this in the Keyboard Maestro 9 Editor:

tell application "System Events"
   tell application process "Keyboard Maestro"
      tell (first window whose subrole is "AXStandardWindow")
         tell text field 1
            set value to "test"
            perform action "AXConfirm"
         end tell
      end tell
   end tell
end tell

-Chris

#10

Thanks - I will ask support at Devonthink

#11

Problem identified and to be fixed by Devonthink

Thank you @ccstone

1 Like