Effortlessly Manage Messaging Apps With Keyboard Maestro

[szfkamil]

Hello Everyone,

I'm a new user of Keyboard Maestro, and I'm seeking help in creating several macros.

I have some specific ideas in mind that I'd like to implement, but as a beginner I'm not sure where to start.

Here are the macros I'm interested in:

1. An automation that can turn on or off notifications for specific apps, triggered via an action or at a specific time.
2. A script that launches messaging apps and configures their app positions when triggered via a shortcut.
3. A macro that switches the wallpaper from one of the solid colors based on focus. Specifically, I would like a deep blue wallpaper when in "Deep Work" focus mode (I associate the colour with doing deep work, so this would be helpful) and back to a solid black wallpaper when focus mode is off (I might want to do that for other focus modes as well)
4. A macro that can turn on light mode or dark mode.

If anyone has already created any of these macros and would be willing to share them, that would be much appreciated. Alternatively, if you could point me in the direction of a guide or tutorial that could help me create these macros on my own, that would be great as well.

Thank you in advance for any assistance you can provide!

P.S. I've explored and started learning some AppleScript in order to do some of this stuff, but this app might do some of that, too, without it's help, or you could add a script to a macro and trigger it via the desired action.

[ccstone]

Hey Kamil,

Welcome to the forum!

We don't encourage asking multiple questions in the same thread. In future please try to confine the scope of your questions to individual topics.

As for the rest – please spend some time searching the forum before asking basic questions.

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People are friendly here, so don't hesitate to ask for help if you need it.

• Search the forum, before asking questions.
  • I usually try the forum search and do a Google site-search.
  • Don't bang your head against the wall.
  • If you can't find something promising within a 10-30 minutes then ask for help.
     
• Don't bang your head against the wall when creating macros either.
  • If you fail to make progress for 20 minutes to an hour it's time to holler uncle and ask for help.
  • On the other hand – people who are new to Keyboard Maestro have a lot to learn and many want to run before they can walk.
     
• Look at and experiment with KM's default macros.
• Search the forum and play with macros you find interesting.
• Remember to use the search field in the help menu of the Keyboard Maestro Editor.
• Examine the menus of the editor carefully, so you get a feel for what's there.
  • Especially the insert items in the Edit menu (note the keyboard shortcuts).
• Look at the sort and select options in the View menu.
• Hold down the Option key when perusing the Edit menu to see help links to the Keyboard Maestro wiki.
• Be aware of the Wiki as a resource.
• Take a look at this guide if you haven't already:

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• Getting Started with Keyboard Maestro and the Forum/
• Keyboard Maestro Wiki

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Take Care,
Chris

(Keyboard Maestro Moderator)

[peternlewis]

As @ccstone notes, asking multiple questions in on topic makes it hard to answer, and any follow questions rapidly become confusing.

@szfkamil

• An automation that can turn on or off notifications for specific apps, triggered via an action or at a specific time.

If you mean adjusting the Notifications system preferences, that would probably have to be done mostly with UI control, which is definitely going to be tricky, and will change before and after Ventura since Ventura completely redid System Preferences/Settings.

@szfkamil

• A script that launches messaging apps and configures their app positions when triggered via a shortcut.

This is relatively easy to do, just use an Activate a Specific Application action, Pause for the windows to appear, and then adjust the window position(s) with the Manipulate a Window action.

@szfkamil

• A macro that switches the wallpaper from one of the solid colors based on focus. Specifically, I would like a deep blue wallpaper when in "Deep Work" focus mode (I associate the colour with doing deep work, so this would be helpful) and back to a solid black wallpaper when focus mode is off (I might want to do that for other focus modes as well)

I don't know of any easy way to detect focus mode, or to trigger when it changes.

@szfkamil

1. A macro that can turn on light mode or dark mode.

This is very easy, there is a Set System to Dark Mode action (or Light Mode, or Toggle).

As you can see this is already going to get confusing if we try to follow up each of these with additional questions, so instead, read through that, and then post a new topic with a specific question and we can work through that.

[Nige_S]

@szfkamil

• An automation that can turn on or off notifications for specific apps, triggered via an action or at a specific time.
  ...
• A macro that switches the wallpaper from one of the solid colors based on focus. Specifically, I would like a deep blue wallpaper when in "Deep Work" focus mode (I associate the colour with doing deep work, so this would be helpful) and back to a solid black wallpaper when focus mode is off (I might want to do that for other focus modes as well)

Look more closely at Focus Modes for both of these -- set up your modes as required, set up a Shortcuts Shortcut to "Set Focus" (one Shortcut per Focus Mode is easiest), and fire off those either directly or with a KM "Execute Shortcut" action.