121: Hardware Launchers

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I have no need for a Xencelabs Quick Keys device.

But I so want one.

And only $89 at B&H w/free shipping …

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Loved the episode. Wil dust op my Streamdeck…

So the hyper key again, it has been such a wonderful finding and finally a use for the caps lock key.
I took a sort of frugal approach to the hyper key and programmed only ⌘⌄and ⌃ to it. That way you can combination this with the shift key and have double the extra key combos.

I like mine :slight_smile:

The info in the podcast was incorrect. The Quick Keys does come with a wireless dongle (+ usb-c adaptor), cable and case. You have the option to buy a spare wireless dongle when purchasing.

The software needs a bit of work as it currently won’t recognise certain key combinations – like Control+Tab – and you can’t work around this limitation. I’ve been told that this will be fixed in a forthcoming release.

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I wasn’t aware of the Ultimate Hacking Keyboard. On a similar level (in terms of capabilities and price) there’s a keyboard by ZSA called the Moonlander. I recommend people check that out.

Coincidentally I was looking at the Xencelabs device just before I did some ironing. Then ā€œOur Roseā€ :slight_smile: mentioned it … :slight_smile:

Question, though: Is the knob at the top programmable - like a rotary indicator? Or should I stick to my home-grown circuit with 2 in and a Raspberry Pi Pico?

Addendum to the show notes:

Hammerspoon, the layer BTT is using, whose repo is here.

Hi @Martin_Packer . I see that you replied to my comment. I still, as of yet, do not have one of these. As much as I like it I don’t really have a use for it. So my bank account is safe … for now. :slight_smile:

Any ways, the description on the Xencelabs Quick Keys reads in part, ā€œThe programmable physical dial ā€¦ā€.

Perhaps @orpy can chime in?

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Thanks. Could be interpreted several ways.

I’m wondering what app Rose is talking about at 9:51 where you can press and hold command key to get a similar pop up to iPadOS showing what you have keyboard shortcuts mapped to.

:joy: at 15:10 she answers. It’s called Cheatsheet.

I’ve used Cheatsheet, Keycue, CustomShortcuts and Shortcut Detective. Does anyone else know of anything similar? None of these quite work how I wish they would.

Paletro looks interesting! It gives you a command palette in any MacOS app.

I have been using both KeyCue and Paletro for quite some time. It is worth highlighting the point that Paletro works with menus rather than hotkeys.

You ask for an app that might work how you want, but you don’t actually say what it is that all of those other apps are lacking.

Right. I was intentionally vague about why the several apps I mentioned didn’t work for me as it has been years in some cases and it is hard to remember why each one in particular ended up not working. Was just hoping for people to suggest some keyboard shortcut apps that they might use that I might not be aware of so that I can look into them.

I tried Brett Terpstra’s Cheaters also. I liked that due to it being customizable. I’ve settled on just writing notes in Obsidian for keyboard shortcuts for the apps that I use and also having handwritten index cards for each app if I want to access them that way. The purpose is to give me a reminder for when I may have forgotten or for the time before I have the shortcut memorized.

If it’s been a few years it might be worth trying them again. Some updates make an app almost unrecognisable (in good ways even sometimes)

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Quick Keys arrived. Have been playing and it is nice.

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Likewise the Stream Deck Plus. I think Quick Keys will be good for when I’m on the road. But Stream Deck XL and Stream Deck Plus will be my ā€œin my home officeā€ setup.