Ok, slowly but steadily I’m getting your problem 
I apologize if I already mentioned this, but I have evolved to using "Trigger by Name", or actually MACRO: Execute Macro by Name (Spotlight) by @DanThomas for most of my macros, especially those that I don't use many times a day.
If I can't find an intuitive, mnemonic (for me) hot key, then assigning some esoteric hot key that I will never remember is a waste of time.
1 Like
Yep. Me too. I tried the intelligence of KM, but it is not that great. (Well, better than in KM7.)
In addition it has an UI problem: If you rethink, you have to press several times Delete until you can enter your new search abbreviation. (Otherwise your search string will just be appended to your existing one.) — Similar as in macOS’ Spotlight, pretty debil.
So, still, my preferred way (since I can’t remember overly complex combos) is LaunchBar, also for launching KM macros. (see there). And for snippets anyway.
Nothing easier than that.
Exactly!
I've started a table (simple) in Numbers. I do expect to have some obscure ones: letters that will never appear together because always preceded by a comma (which almost always requires a space after it) can aid simplification. Like ,the for 'Thank you for helping me', which would otherwise have to be tyfhm, makes life easier.
1 Like
I've got a ridiculous number of hotkeys set up, mostly in KM but also some in Butler, the Keyboard system prefpane, individual app preferences, etc. And I have to admit I do sometimes have trouble remembering them. One thing that helps is sticking as much as possible to my own personal convention in assigning them, i.e. giving each available combination of modifiers a "meaning" in combination with the alphanumeric base key:
- Each of my most frequently used applications is assigned a letter or number
- ⌃ + [alphanumeric key] always launches/shows the application for that letter or number
- ⌃⌥ + [alphanumeric] always creates a new document or entry in that application
- ⇧⌃⌥ + [alphanumeric] creates a new document or entry using the current selection
- ⌃⌘ + [alphanumeric] shows the app and takes me to the search field in that app
- ⇧⌃⌘ + [alphanumeric] takes me to the search field and enters the current selection
- ⇧⌃ + [alphanumeric] displays a menu, palette, dialog, etc. associated with the app
- The remaining available modifier combinations are reserved for commands that don't fit into the above scheme.
2 Likes
Eurobubba,
Definitely. Over the years one kind of gets used to certain sequences which… just work!
Thanks.
1 Like
Or better yet "type text" so you don't pollute your clipboard history (or complicate all of your insert-glyph macros by adding a "delete clipboard" step to each of them).
1 Like
Thanks. Sure thing. I'm still learning KM and not yet 100% clear about the role of multiple clipboards; and (the need to) switch between them etc. I'm going to get to grips with that next…
1 Like
When you reach this point, that’s what I meant earlier on when I said (maybe in a different context and/or to another user) “you have to look for a proper concept to launch your stuff” (or similar).
For this, you need an app with proper intelligence. To my knowledge, LaunchBar and KM can provide this. Probably also Alfred, not sure, since I barely use it.
- With LaunchBar it’s by default: Your entered abbreviations will be recognized, more or less intelligently. (In my experience, pretty intelligently.) – No need for fix hotkeys.
- With KM you can use the the “Trigger Macro” action. It also allows you to trigger an action by the entered string. – IMHO this works less well as with LB, but YMMV. But it does work – without the need of fix hotkeys.
Edit/PS:
I have so many scripts, some of them I need daily, others only once a week or once in 6 months. It would be completely – IMHO – crazy trying to setup a fix hotkey for each.
If you aren’t fine with the typed abbreviation approach (as offered by LaunchBar and KM), you can always also set up different palettes in KM. For example a palette that is only on screen when BBEdit is frontmost. For example.
Following advice from folk here (thanks!), I've already switched to Typinator for as many (text) expansions as I can. I do notice, however, that Typinator cannot (won't) expand 'pwd' in such places as 1Password authentication or waking from sleep at the login screen. Is that just an obvious security limitation that I'll have to learn to live with.
Or maybe KM can do something in that realm which Typinator can't?
Are you speaking about shell scripts? (Launched via Typinator), or just expansions?
Or is pwd a variable of the 1 Password app?
I wrote an article on how you can use Karabiner together with Keyboard Maestro and Alfred. Where you write configuration in a nice DSL instead of JSON. It’s super powerful.
3 Likes
That is an example of what I meant by
@MarkSealey, posts in your thread have managed wonder all over the place, to the point where I think we need to do one of two things:
- Re-title the Topic to cover a broader range of subjects
- Move all of the off-topic posts to new/existing topics
I would have already done #2, except there are so many, and so many different subjects.
What would you prefer?
To All Posters in this Thread
Going forward, please adhere to the subject of the Title of this thread. Else, your post may be moved.
(yes, I know, I am guilty of posting off-topic posts here. But no more.)
Thanks, @JMichaelTX; and my apologies!
Please rename it to: Keyboard and Keystrokes, Alternative Solutions - or something similar 
1 Like
Expansions. There are various apps where I am required to log in - 1Password being the most notable.
But if I type the Typinator trigger, it doesn't get expanded.
Thanks, Nikita!
Hey nikivi, I read this article a couple of months ago, and having recently switched to a Mac and being a novice Alfred user, I just want to thank you so much for such an informative article. Over the few months, I've struggled but managed to succeed in setting up Karabiner with goku. It then peaked my interest in Keyboard Maestro, and your "starter macro pack" was the number one reason I was able to utilize KM and Karabiner right from the get go. I also downloaded Typinator, and exposed myself to AppleScript and script languages, and the full power of customization that comes with being able to work on very low level. Trying to learn vim right now, and it's been such a wild ride from being a regular "mouse clicker."
Keep sharing your knowledge! I use your web workflow everyday by the way. Funny story, the Alfred workflow is bound to to Karabiner hyper mode, which the default search parameter can be updated by a Keyboard Maestro macro which uses a script (sed and goku) to update karabiner.edn. 
2 Likes