I have a large number of commands which I’d like to trigger using a typed command. I don’t want a simple keystroke trigger, because I’ll (1) have too many of them and use too many keystrokes that are reserved by apps, and (2) I’ll forget what they are.
So in my dreams, I’d love to call up Spotlight (which I use very frequently, by hitting cmd-space), and type “kmdothis” and Keyboard Maestro would instantly trigger the macro “do this.” (And so on…x100)
Can KM tie into Spotlight like that? Or can anyone else suggest any alternate way to trigger lots of macros via some more easily rememberable way?
I did see trigger when: “this string is typed” but that makes me feel pretty weird that KM is always in listening mode. What happens if “k” does something in my frontmost app that I don’t want it to do?
Yep, that has been my problem, too. And that's why I'm using LaunchBar for almost anything (launching apps, launching scripts from anywhere on the disk, etc.). No modifier keys needed, no fix key combo needed, it will learn from your typing habits. (But you also can set a fix abbreviation, in case you have to.)
Well, not via Spotlight, but with LaunchBar this is already doable. Please see this post and the ones below.
And, the even greater news, KM has gained some intelligence with KM8, so you can do this natively with "Trigger Macro by Name". See here.
It's working a bit like LaunchBar (or Spotlight), that is, remembering your last selections.
Yes, use this only when you are in text context (a text editor, word processor, or a text field on a web page, etc.)
The thing is, if you are typing the trigger string for example in the Finder, it is pretty uncontrollable what will happen: You might rename some incidentally selected files, or similar things. In addition, depending on your trigger settings, the macro will auto-press the Delete key several times, which is not something you want to do in the Finder or another program.
So, I would never use a Typed String trigger outside of a text input field.