I have a command set to trigger programs that I want to use to start when I begin my day. I have almost all of the programs that are starting set to be hidden. But they always start fully centered on the screen one on top of the other.
In other words, they are not obeying the setting in the app to start up hidden.
I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong.
That's not what your chosen option does.
"If already at the front: hide the application" -- it isn't ready at the front, it isn't even running when the action executes, so it won't be hidden.
Try following each "Activate" with a "Hide" action for the same app.
There's a different way to start a macro "when I begin my day" that doesn't involve a typed string trigger (eg, "sstart"). All you would have to do is move your mouse after a long idle time to start your macro. That would be convenient.
We can do this by writing a macro that polls the value of IDLE() and then takes action when the value of IDLE() "suddenly drops" from a threshold of, say, 8 hours, down to 0 seconds.
if you are interested in seeing this done, I'd be happy to write it for you. basically, I would create two macros:
P.S. If something physically shakes your mouse overnight, like an earthquake or a passing truck, the macro wouldn't trigger in the morning, because macOS would reset the value of IDLE() every time the mouse physically moves.
Where do I find the Hide action you are talking about. There doesn't seem to be any in the drop-down only as it's connected with, "if already at the front".
At least I definitely understand why what I chose is not giving me the result I want. Thank you.
That sounds awesome. I wish I could use it but…
I don't leave my computer on at night. The electricity is so high where I'm at it's just not worth it.
We do have earthquakes from time to time and trucks do pass in the night so even if I did leave it on it might not be effective.
Sounds like a phenomenal solution but probably just won't work for me.
Thank you very much for offering to code it for me.
The link to the Wiki page was in that post. Here it is again, but more obvious: Hide a Specific Application
If you know at least part of an action's name, the easiest way to add it is ⌃⌘A and start typing to narrow down the list:
Note that you're exchanging longevity of your Mac for electricity savings -- daily cold starts will reduce the life of the power sub-system. So it would be worth you checking how much it actually costs to leave it on, but sleeping, overnight.
Regardless -- look at the other triggers. If you are starting your Mac, try "Login", for example. One of the worst to use in this situation is a "Typed String" trigger -- if you aren't typing into a text field somewhere, what might those deletes do? If you want to use the keyboard to trigger a macro in a "non-typing" situation use a "Hot Key Trigger" instead -- save "Typed String" for text expansions and similar.
That's your choice. Hopefully you don't use a "night light" in your home, since an M4 Mac Mini, when idle, uses the same amount of electricity (actually, less) as a night light.
