Temporarily revert to an older set of macros

Questions & Suggestions
#1

I found out today that one of my Macros isn't working properly. I don't know if I inadvertently changed something in it, or if it has something to do with my recent upgrade to MacOS Mojave.

FYI: I do backup my Mac using TimeMachine and I also sync macros across two Macs via Dropbox. Based on the fact that I do perform backups, I'm thinking there must be a way for me to revert my macro to an older copy —to rule out an inadvertent change— but I don't know how.

I did read the How do I backup / transfer my installation to another Mac? article but I don't think it explains what I need to do here.

Thanks in advance for your help.

#2

If you have recently upgraded to Mojave, then that is almost certainly the issue. You will have to ensure you enable Accessibility for both Keyboard Maestro and Keyboard Maestro Engine. If you have any troubles with accessibility (eg typing keystrokes, selecting menus, copy/paste, etc), you need to toggle the accessibility permissions (System Preferences, Security & Privacy, Privacy, Accessibility) for Keyboard Maestro and Keyboard Maestro Engine off and then on again.

There is no need to mess around with Time Machine and such, you can revert to recently past macros with this sequence:

  • Quit Keyboard Maestro editor if running
  • Launch Keyboard Maestro editor
  • File ➤ Revert Macros ➤ pick a date - days available are typically the last seven days you have made changes to your macros).
  • Make any tests, export any macros as needed, etc
  • File ➤ Revert Macros ➤ At Editor Launch (this is why it is important to quit & relaunch the editor before this sequence, it gives you a solid anchor to revert back to).
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How To Use KM Revert Macros
#3

Hi Peter, thanks for your feedback. However, please clarify something for me. Are you saying that I can revert to an older date say October 28 (see screenshot), then do tests. If during testing I find that an older version of the macro in question works properly, I can export it and THEN revert the library back to today's version again and then FINALLY import the recovered "good" macro?

Also, I just quit and relaunched KM engine and Editor and I still do not see an option with today's date. Shouldn't there be one, or is "At Editor Launch" the most recent version?

FWIW: The specific action that's not working properly is one that someone here was kind enough to share with me (I want to say Christopher Stone but not sure if he authored the whole macro or just the AppleScript inside it). Also attached.

Here's the macro. It's supposed to convert almost any date selected as text to ISO but it's not doing it. not sure why.
[DATE] Convert Date String to ISO Std Format.kmmacros (26.5 KB)

And here's the screenshot of my available library states (not sure that's the proper name).
2018-12-20_17-08-25

Thanks!

#4

That is exactly correct. I published a video on how to do this:

Keyboard Maestro Tutorial -- Restore Macro from Prior Version

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Help: Major Data Loss When Opening Existing .kmsync File
#5

Exactly.

Correct, “At Editor Launch” is the most recent one. When you launch it tomorrow, today's date (which will be the macros as they were at the end of that day) will be in the list.

It would probably be best to ask this in a new topic, since it is an entirely different question, and otherwise no one looking for the answer will find it.

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#6

Peter: I have a question about this as well that's...semi-urgent. I've been doing a lot of work with km and AS in the last week. An hour ago or so, I noticed I was missing a group. I haven't backed up in a few days. (I use syncing for purposes of backup only).

I was relieved to read your post above (I do realize the last post in the above string was 10 months ago), followed your instructions and wound up saving the lost group (Turns out, it accidentally deleted somehow).

It was at this juncture that my problems began as I tried to revert back to my most recent work. This latter problem was due to my quit and restart of editor--and then, quit and restart yet again (I think what happened was, I wasn't sure, did Editor actually quit and so, I quit/launched more than once). To complicate things further, something happened out of my control that caused editor to quit again (after I copied the group to the clipboard) and so, I relaunched yet again.

It's 45 minutes after midnight and so, in the end, I was able to revert back to yesterday which saved most but not all of my work. I was able to paste the group back in.

So: The loss isn't catastrophic but some work was lost. It became really confusing, do I revert back to last revert or last launch or what.

If you happen to be reading posts at this hour (I have n o idea what time it is in Australia) I'd be grateful if you had any suggestions to restore the lost work. There are no other backups.

Thanks much...

#7

This is why I recommend the first step as being Quit & Relaunch the Keyboard Maestro editor.

That sats a save point that you can then revert to, specifically the Revert Macros ➤ At Editor Launch.

The specific time of when revert days are saved is not really something you can know, but you can control when the editor launches.

#8

This was so beautiful, and so elegant, and so simple, and so easily understood, and so useful, I just had to speak up. Thank you!

I had mistakenly deleted a sequence of customized Actions thinking I didn't need them anymore, and found out I did. Following the instructions I restarted KM to create an up-to-date "At Launch" set, reverted back a few days, copied the Actions, reverted back to the "At Launch" set, and pasted them in the Macro from which I had deleted them.

Took longer to find the instructions than to do the repair.

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