Open folder and stay in the current application

sorry – I'm new with Keyboard Maestro… great Tool

I just defind a shortcut to open a specific folder
open with default application
but everytime it changes to Finder – but I'd like to stay in the current app where
whats wrong?
THANKS !!!

Hi Peter,

Nothing wrong, you just need to add another action one more action:

image

This way, the macro will switch you back to the app you were in when you triggered the macro.

1 Like

Hi gglick
huhuuuu – thank you very much!!!
hmmm, which application is the “Default Application" ??

sorry – not gglick – Gabe !!

No problem, Peter. The default application is different for each kind of file opened with the "Open a File, Folder, or Application" action. Folders open in Finder by default; PDFs in Preview, mp3s in iTunes; that sort of thing. However, you can also explicitly choose which application opens the file or folder specified in the action from the dropdown menu:

22%20PM

Hi Gabe

Thanks again!

BUT – I added "Activate Last Application" – it does not work as I want.

  • Use of TextEdit – or whatever app
  • Now I'd like to open from this application another File
  • I choose Open…
  • I press the given ShortCut
    –> grrrr…
    It seems like that I do not understand the logic… ??

It sounds like you were hoping that by getting KM to open a specific folder in Finder, it would be able to do so within an Open... dialog box.

Sadly, that's not how it works.

You could consider putting a shortcut to ~/Library/Preferences in the Finder sidebar, which will also appear in the side bar of these Open... dialog boxes, needing only a single click to take you there.

The default application varies depending on the file type. For example, .doc files typically open in Word. Folders typically open in the Finder.

It seem you want to open the ~/Library/Preferences folder in the current application. I'm not even really sure what you mean by that - what do you expect to happen?

Hi friends out there, Gabe CJK and Peter – first of all thanks for your thinking !!!

I'm a keyboardfreak and I just wanna be FAST… – so an entry in the sidebar und switching from keyboard to mouse is not my choice.

What I want is a shortcut to jump as fast as possible to a bunch of folders, each with his specific shortcut like the example with the prefs folder which is ctrl-shift-P and so on…

And I would like to use the shortcut when I'm in the finder or in a application like indesign, photoshop, word, filme maker – you name it. In these folders I wanna open files, place images from and so on

Until now I used Default Folder – which is a great tool anyway, but with the possibility of those folderjumps and quickeys… which is no more under developing.

I'm quit shure there is a solution – because KM looks very powerful !

Thank you very much !!
Peter from Switzeland

Hey Peter,

Keyboard Maestro is wonderfully powerful, but it can't do what Default Folder does as well as DF does it.

I use both.  :sunglasses:

-Chris

Thanks Chris – hmmmmmm, it's not so important but I can hardly believe that such a powerful tool can't jump to certain places in the file system... within or without an open dialog box!
@Peter N Lewis: true or not?

Hey Peter,

I didn't say Keyboard Maestro couldn't do it – just that Default Folder is better and faster at it.

( I believe you were insisting upon speed above... :)

How to Select a Specific File in an Open or Save Dialog Window

Peter isn't willing to hack the system, so he's limited to Apple's public APIs.

Jon Gotow is willing to hack the system to get Default Folder to do it's thing, and DF is therefore quite a bit more efficient at manipulating open and save dialogs and a few other things.

Can you open a folder in the Finder in the background with Keyboard Maestro?

Certainly.

-Chris


Open a Specific Folder in the Finder in the Background.kmmacros (1.8 KB)

It sounds like this would do what you want:

In the open/save dialog box, press keystroke Command-Shift-G, type "~/Library/Preferences", press enter.

Thanks for your explanation Chris.
Very interesting…