It’s possible to set up simple keyboard shortcuts in System Preferences but I prefer to use Keyboard Maestro for a couple of reasons.įirst, it’s more powerful. That way you get the exact shortcuts you want. While you could just suffer through and use your keyboard to click on menu items, the best thing to do is create your own keyboard shortcuts. But if you do anything different, you might find that there aren’t keyboard shortcuts for features you use all the time, and that features you never need have some of the best ones. If you use their app exactly as they intended, you’ll be fine. The problem is that developers can only add keyboard shortcuts they think will be useful.

For example, I’m writing this tutorial in Ulysses and Command-I sets text to italics in Safari it does nothing. Others will be custom keyboard shortcuts for that apps specific features. Some, like Copy Command-C and Paste Command-V are universal. They set some simple keyboard shortcuts for features they think you’re likely to use. It’s slow, annoying and breaks the flow.Īlmost every Mac app comes with keyboard shortcuts assigned by the developer. You can take your hands off the keyboard, grab the mouse (or put your finger on the trackpad), move the cursor to the Menu Bar, and start looking for the option you want. Tapping Command-A or Command-C takes no more effort than just typing a random letter. If you’re typing, your hands are already on the keyboard. Keyboard shortcuts are often the fastest way to do something. The Reasons to Set Up Custom Keyboard Shortcuts If you’ve ever looked at Keyboard Maestro and thought it’s too complicated, this is the tutorial for you. In this tutorial, I'll show you a single very basic use: creating custom keyboard shortcuts in your favourite apps. Previously, I’ve covered Keyboard Maestro in a lot of depth. There is almost no limit to what you can do. You connect different Actions together in Macros which can then be triggered in any number of ways. Keyboard Maestro is one of the most powerful Mac productivity and automation apps available.

Keyboard maestro mac tutorial