Using and Comparing LaunchBar (LB) with Alfred and other Apps

May I add a vote for Butler, which is showing its age, but I couldn’t live without its ability to set up unlimited menubar and popup menus with any configuration of scripts I might want.

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You can manual assign string trigger or abbreviation with Alfred too,

His @Sridhar, this seems like a great use to me. Can you share your LB script on how to do so? Do you run an applescript action that executes a KM macro?

thx

Z

If you're not yet aware of this great LaunchBar action that lets you run any of your macros from within LB, well, now you are: https://github.com/mlinzner/LaunchBarActions/tree/master/actions/Keyboard%20Maestro

Thx a lot @gglick

This indeed looks amazing yet I'm a novice user with both KM (yet) and LB (only started to explore it).

Do you mind giving me more context? I've installed it but how do I actually use it? Currently it only sees some of my macros?

Also can I assign a specific hotkey to a specific KM macro like @Sridhar showed:

Ex.: Cmd + Space to bring up LB, type n and hit enter to switch to Bear app and simulate Cmd + N to start typing a note.

thx a lot!

Z

No problem. I believe it only shows macros that are currently active, so that may be why you're only seeing some of your macros. As for the specific hotkeys, it seems that it does not allow for that, so if that's what you want, you will need to go the AppleScript route. There's a good tutorial for how to do that here: Trigger Any Specific KM Macro Instantly Via LaunchBar Action

Thx again much much appreciated @gglick!

The guide is exactly what I was looking for.

For some reason I get an error though.

Here is my macro I want to launch via LB:

Full macro is here

I have this as the AppleScript in LB:

But I keep getting an error

Any clue what I messed up :D? I also tried the UUID method with same error

Best

Z

Is the macro group that macro is in active when you try to run it in AppleScript Editor? If the macro isn't active, it won't work when you try to execute it via AppleScript.

Thx again.

Yes it is active. In fact when I try it within KM I also can't get it to work:

I feel like I'm missing something here :slight_smile:

Thx

Z

No problem. I don't mean the macro you use to run the script; I mean the macro the script itself is supposed to execute. How is your Z1 Launcher macro group set up?

ah i see sorry for the confusion.

yes the macro is enabled. I'm trying to execute a macro named "mcpass.search" which is a entry in a group called z1 Launcher. Here is the full macro group and the macro attached

macpass.search.kmmacros (4.1 KB)
• Z1 Launcher Macros.kmmacros (126.8 KB)

and here it is visually

and

did that answer the question? All seem to be enabled

best, appreciate your continuing help

z

No problem again. The issue is that the macro group is enabled, but not active, because you have it set to only be activated when the palette is shown (and I can see why; otherwise, the trigger keys would interfere with regular typing). My suggestion for any macros you want to run via LB like this is to duplicate them, remove all their triggers, put them in a macro group like the default Global Macro Group that's always activated, and run those versions of the macro via AppleScript (though you'll need to use their UUIDs if you do this, because if two macros have the same name the script won't know which one to run).

wow perfect! I knew i was missing something :smiley: :smiley:

thx a lot!

best

Z

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@zeltak,

If you like using LB to trigger your KM macros because you can do so using text in the Macro title, you might find this great macro by @DanThomas very interesting:

MACRO: Execute Macro by Name (Spotlight) by @DanThomas

I'm a huge LB fan, but I prefer Dan's macro because I can type multiple keywords in the Macro title to filter/find the macro I want. Since you are new to LB, you may or may not know that LB does NOT allow you to type spaces in the search text.

And, after you install/import Dan's macro, there is no special setup to do. It works for all current and future macros.

While we're on the subject, don't forget the Trigger Macro by Name action. It allows multiple keywords, shows macro stats, and has the advantage of being included with KM by default.

Good point Gabe. One thing I don't like about the KM native Trigger by Name is that the "name" is NOT limited to the Macro name, but any text in the macro. So, it gives me too many false positives for my liking.

Huh, I did not know that. While I do use Trigger Macro by Name for a few macros, most of the time I actually use an Alfred workflow for finding and running macros by name, so I haven't run into that problem (I also use LB, but like you, I don't care for how it doesn't let you enter spaces in use-cases like this, so I don't use it for running macros either).

thx @JMichaelTX and @gglick for your wonderful suggestions, super helpful

best regards

Z


Moderator's Note – Moved from another topic. -ccs


This might be off-topic.

How do you like LaunchBar when compared to Alfred?

Have you tried both?

Hey Alex,

I've played with Alfred a bit, but not enough to really evaluate it.

I'd have to buy the enhancement pack for that, and I haven't been willing to do it (yet).

That said I feel like Alfred is more frequently updated and perhaps has a more vibrant community.

So. I've been thinking about giving it a real trial run in the relatively near future.

I've used LaunchBar for nearly 25 years, so I will not switch unless Alfred offers a whole lot of bennies that LaunchBar can't match.

One thing that's disappointed me about LaunchBar for some time is the responsiveness of it's developers. When I report issues I get dreary and underwhelming responses.

-Chris

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