New Prompting Options

Tips & Tutorials
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#1

Keyboard Maestro 8 adds a bunch of ways you can make your macros more interactive.

There is a new Prompt for File action to prompt for an new or existing file or folder (and you can still use the Finder Selection as a another way of selecting files).

You can use the Show Palette of Macros action to ask for a selection from a set of macros, or you can use a Spotlike-like selection using the Trigger Macro by Name action, which now has an option to select from a subset of macros.

If you have a Touch Bar, you can ask for a selection from there using the Get Touch Bar Selection action.

You can also use the Prompt With List action to select from a set of values using a Spotlike-like selection.

And there are some enhancements to the Custom HTML Prompt action, such as allowing it to not-float, to be resized, and to stay open indefinitely, all of which could be put to good use in creating a custom user interface.

So these new additions should open up some new areas to automate with additional user-interaction.

10 Likes
#2

Thanks Peter.

Many goodies I need to catch up on. :smile:

-Chris

4 Likes
#3

Welcome back :yellow_heart:

2 Likes
#4

OMG. So very, very useful! All of these features.

But the things I could do with a Custom HTML Prompt that stays open and does not float on top. not to mention being resizable, are mind-boggling. I’m feeling the magnetic pull of KM8, and this forum, tugging at me to drop what I’m working on and come back. :wink: : This is the exact reason I’ve resisted looking at the new features in KM8. Curse you, @gglick. (And Peter, too, of course.) Must… Stay… Focused… :confounded:

Questions:

  1. Does the KM icon blink when the Custom HTML Prompt stays open? With my ADD, I’d find this distracting. If it does, is there any chance of being able to stop the blinking, just for Custom HTML Prompts that stay open?

  2. Is there a performance penalty to the system when leaving the Custom HTML Prompt open? I realize that everything that runs technically affects performance, but you know what I mean.

Thanks.

1 Like
#5

Muahaha :smiling_imp:

But seriously, for someone like me with no HTML expertise (which unfortunately means I can’t help answer your questions) even the vanilla Prompt With List has been a huge addition to KM’s repertoire (if you’re interested, you can see an example of how it let me reduce an entire macro to a single action here: Search Designated Text File and Display Results).

1 Like
#6

Hi DanThomas, just because of you --I am always so impressed at your scripts-- and as I have KM8, I will start creating html UI prompts to interact better with my applescripts. Is BBEdit enough to start customizing the example provided, or do you recommend some other tools?

I think that many old applescript users will flog to KM8 because of the HTML prompt. Long live peternlewis

#7

Don’t let not knowing HTML throw you off. If you take a small example Custom HTML Prompt and play with it, you can learn a lot. Just a thought.

2 Likes
#8

BBEdit is just fine. You don’t need anything else.

1 Like
#9

If the Custom HTML Prompt is run asynchronously, then the macro completes but the window stays open. At that point no macros are executing, so the status menu icon stops blinking.

BTW, you could always disable that feature with a custom icon that doesn’t change.

I don’t think so. Nothing much anyway. Probably less than when a macro is waiting doing nothing.

#10

Perfect. Just how I thought it would work, or at least hoped. This is truly awesome, and I thank you for implementing it.

1 Like
#11

Anything to suck you back in :slight_smile:

1 Like
#12

Keyboard Maestro 8.0.3 “Prompt for File” Action

Prompt for File.kmactions (616 B)

Keyboard Maestro Export.png1040Ă—290 21.9 KB

How do I detect (i.e. What next action should be used to recognize) when the Cancel option is selected by the user instead of a file?

#13

The action will fail if you cancel it.

You can turn off failure and notification of failure in the gear menu (top right of the action), and then you can test if the action result is OK or not using the If Then Else action and Action Result condition.

#14

Peter,

Thanks for your response! As recommended with failure & failure notification disabled:

Group.kmactions (2.7 KB)

Keyboard Maestro Export.png1120Ă—1292 108 KB