Weird behavior when typing path

[noisneil]

@iamdannywyatt

So basically:
1 - To make a variable empty (and not available on other macros, but still in the Variables Preferences Pane), set the "to" to "", then hit the Run button at the top.
2 - To completely delete a variable, set the "to" to %Delete%, then hit the Run button at the top.
Correct?

Yes, but ordinarily you wouldn't do this manually; if a variable needs to be deleted, you'd do it as part of a macro. Often the beginning or end of a macro is when you'll want to clear variables.

To keep things manageable, try to use local variables if you don't need them outside of the running macro. That's usually enough to keep things tidy-ish.

@iamdannywyatt

I saw on the manual that local variable should start with "local". I saw you added 2 underscores. Is that required, the 2, or is it just how people use it inside KM as a standard?

I've always done it like this as it's a convention I noticed other more experienced users had adopted. I think it's just for visual clarity.

@iamdannywyatt

sometimes you type the name of the file you are saving and only then you pick the destination folder

Ahh, I get you. Personally, I almost always use this before setting the filename, so it didn't occur to me that you might want to set that first.

@iamdannywyatt

And I'm all about reducing macros to the bare minimum when possible.

Absolutely. However, sometimes you have to go a different route. As I said before, ⇧⌘G doesn't work well for me, so I prefer to adapt my macro to be more reliable, at the expense of brevity.

@iamdannywyatt

Should I increase to another value instead of 0.02?

Navigation in dialogs can be fickle, so you just have to experiment. Personally, I wouldn't mess around with the global keystroke delay, because most of the time, you won't want it to take any longer than necessary; it's only when there's an issue like this that you have to account for it.

@iamdannywyatt

Is this how you set it?

I believe so, but I've never tried.

@Nige_S

eg within a script before doing something that might set it, and then doing a conditional based on whether it was set or not.

Yes, perfect example. That's really the only time I ever feel the need to delete variables. They're usually either local or I'm happy to let them persist as global.

[Nige_S]

@iamdannywyatt

And I'm all about reducing macros to the bare minimum when possible.

But you are actually putting in an extra step! You know the file name you want to use. You know the path you want to save to. When the Save/Save As dialog opens and the filename is fully selected (the default state in most apps), simply type/paste "/Users/danny/Desktop/testFile.html", then hit "OK" to save it as testFile.html on the Desktop of the user Danny (assuming you have write permission, obvs!).

But that's not very portable -- we always want to save to the Desktop and with a certain name, but which user will be running this script? That's where you'd use ~/Desktop/testFile.html instead.

Using Cmd-Shift-G is more like simulating what a user would actually do -- name the file and then choose where to save it. KM can go a step beyond when it knows both name and location, and do it all in one go. But there are many ways to skin this particular cat, so pick whatever reliably works for you.