I run Windows 10 via Parallels on a MacPro tower running macOS Sierra, and have tried numerous Windows macro applications and all of them are a complete cluster-f***, if you know what I mean.
Most of my KM macros won't execute properly in Windows applications via Parallels. I am not doing anything exotic, just macros that type out a specific password or fill out text here and there.
Any suggestions or workarounds?
J D Thomas
ThomaStudios
Hey JD,
It's been a while since I fooled with Windows, but I was fairly pleased with the raw power of AutoHotkey (freeware).
It's not the most user-friendly beastie, but it was killer powerful 10 years ago and has surely come a long way since then.
I also liked PhraseExpress for text-snippets, and I think there's still a freeware version available.
-Chris
Make sure clipboard sync (not sure of the terminology) is on in the Parallels prefs, and create macros that place the text you're trying to generate into the clipboard instead of typing it directly; then you can paste manually into your Windows application. Sometimes you have to give it a moment before the clipboards sync up.
I was going to say the exact opposite as eurobubba. Configure KM to type and not paste the text.
It has been a few years since I used Parallels as I've switched to VMware Fusion but both would only sync the pasteboard when you switch between the VM and OSX. If KM tries to paste text, it would put the text onto the pasteboard and tell the system to paste, which would end up pasting whatever was in the Windows pasteboard.
Any updated tips for using with Parallels ??
especially interested in "click on found image" - I have NOT been able to get this to work in the parallels environment 
desperate for a macro to find and click on "an APPLY" button for a specific form (conveniently Win10 designer located the cursor-click-only-button FAAAARR top right on form that has entry mostly in middle of screen)
I have a *few crossover needs for KM from MAC → Win10
as for my system settings:
my cut, copy, paste standard system keyboard shortcuts all work in parallels
I've got a click at screen location and type text working for another form in the same program
Any suggestions ?
Thanks
Sorry - Keyboard Maestro works with the regular system facilities, accessibility APIs and such. Games, Emulators and cross-platform apps do not always behave well with regular event queues and accessibility features and such. They do their own thing, whatever is required to make them work, such as accessing hardware directly.
With such applications, Keyboard Maestro will either work or not work, but generally there is nothing I can do to make them work if they don't work.
I once tinkered with trying to force an intransigent app to work better with KM. Here's what I tried. I got myself an HDMI copying adapter which is supposed to take an HDMI output cable and translate the video to some other output cable for input into another computer. These devices exist primarily for people who are trying to illegally copy movies, but that's not what I was doing so I didn't feel bad about getting the adapter. I figured that that way I could accurately read the screen without worrying about hardware access or the issues Peter mentions above. However I ran into a problem. The HDMI output from my Mac had HDCP copy protection. Some HDMI copiers have found keys through illicit channels that could break the CP, but I had purchased one of the legal varieties which was therefore unable to duplicate the HDMI output cable from my Mac.
This is an interesting problem. It's caused because the HDMI output on most Mac computers is HDCP protected. I guess Apple wanted to play nice and prevent bad people from using Mac computers from duplicating HDCP protected videos. But the curious irony is that not ALL Mac computers used HDCP on their HDMI ports. The older Mac laptops used HDMI without any HDCP. I was unable to find one of those older models so I was stuck.
The dumb thing is that the HDCP protocol supports blocking only a PORTION of the HDMI signal. But Apple didn't have the brains or wisdom to implement that. Instead of just blocking video playback in macOS, Apple decided it was best to block the entire screen. Which was totally unnecessary. Apple could have just encoded the video output and achieved the intended result without stopping people who weren't breaking any copyright laws.
If you are REALLY DESPARATE you can track down one of those old Mac laptops before HDCP was implemented on them. Then you can read any screen in macOS with KM with perfect fidelity.
