Minimal Macro Editing Setup?

Questions & Suggestions
#1

I have a use case where I would like only the following from Keyboard Maestro to appear on screen:

  1. The macro being edited.
  2. A set of actions in a custom folder / group.

This would be to create a text processing pipeline - in my case.

I really don't want more than the group of actions and the macro I'm constructing to appear. The rest is distracting.

The group of actions isn't my favourites. Think of it as a palette. Maybe that's the implementation.

The user, in this case mainly me, simply drags actions in to create the text processor.

How close to this can we get?

(I will also be running this experiment with Shortcuts on iOS but most of my text processing is done on Mac.)

#2

Hey Martin,

You can't do much to reduce the Keyboard Maestro Editor's footprint.

You might consider making a formal feature request to be able to hide the group and macro panels though. That ought not to be too hard, so Peter might consider it.

I would probably use KMFAM for this:

KMFAM from @DanThomas

But Mike has an interesting new offering that might be of use:

Toggler Macro from @mrpasini

If I was going to palletize actions / groups-of-actions I'd bind the palette buttons to AppleScripts that would insert actions via XML contained IN the AppleScript – OR – I'd use a macro group of macros with template actions and script their insertion into the macro being edited.

-Chris

#3

Hey Chris!

Thanks for this. So I'm not missing something. :slight_smile: :frowning:

This was actually an experiment but it might have led to a practical palette of text transformations. More to the point a nicer way of constructing them.

  1. I can still create text transformations. (In fact I have a few).
  2. I tried the same experiment of creating a text transformation workflow using Shortcuts on iPad OS and it's a slightly better experience. But most of my text wrangling is currently on Mac. (If/when the new iPad Pro gets announced that might change.)

And this experiment was occasioned by @drdrang mentioning filters.

I don't think I'll trouble @peternlewis with requests for a minimal interface as this is very much useful for a limited number of users (I think).

What I might do is confect a localhost web page with a palette of simple text transformations to drag onto a list - as I have Apache / PHP permanently running on my Mac anyway. It would be pretty ugly, of course... :slight_smile:

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