Click on the shortcut field (#4) to change the assigned keyboard shortcut. The checkbox (#5) tells Zoom whether or not to make it “global”.
Love this idea! Question: Is it able to do this without bringing Zoom to the front? Otherwise I would think that would be distracting. If so, I’d be interested to how you’re doing it.
Another Option: I use Shush for this. I’ve also used Mic Drop. Both of them will mute your mic unless you are holding down a keyboard combination (“Push To Talk”). On Zoom you will appear unmuted, but your mic is off.
(Of course, I use a Stream Deck button for that keyboard combo, so when I am pushing the button, I am unmuted. otherwise I am muted.)
Mic Drop can even display something on the screen which tells you if you are muted or not, which is easier to see than the menu bar icon. I don’t use that feature a lot, but I do if I want to make absolutely sure that I am aware of my mute/unmute status in a particular meeting.
TJ - I should have been more clear - YES, the macro/AppleScript runs in the background. It is checking Zoom every 30 seconds without ever activating the Zoom application. My Mute status is monitored while I productively stay working in another app.
Great show. Expensive show. Loving my Streamdeck for remote teaching.
One problem is that KM doesn’t seem to cope well with multiple windows in different spaces on multiple displays. So actions like Bring window (with the title) to front and image search inside a specific window sometimes don’t work.
For example, I often use Keynote presenting in a window, or multiple browser windows. But KM appears to have trouble finding windows with specific (like Presenter Display) or partially matching names (contains ‘Meet’) if they are in a different space. I can get exact matches by calling on the Window menu in each app via KM but it would be awesome if KM window commands worked the way I expected.
In the show Rose mentioned minimizing all windows. I know finder is the tricky one and Hide all applications action in keyboard maestro seems to leave finder still open.
Is there a “better” or more canonical way to hide all Apps in MacOS then this AppleScript I found?
activate application "Finder"
tell application "System Events"
set visible of processes where name is not "Finder" to false
end tell
tell application "Finder" to set collapsed of windows to true
Great episode, just like always. For a person who’s not really that much into owning gadgets and doohickeys, I sure love love LOVE hearing about gadgets and doohickeys!
Making room for Stream Deck
Hi - @RosemaryOrchard, @MacSparky and everyone else using a Stream Deck (especially the big ones): Can you please share desktop photos showing how you fit your Stream Deck within reach?
Between my Kinesis two-piece keyboard, my 10-key number pad, my Magic Trackpad and my laptop on its stand, I’m not convinced I can find a place to put a Stream Deck within easy reach. Also for this reason, I’m wondering how much desktop space the mid-sized vs. large ones take up, and whether one or the other might fit better into my crowded within-reach desk.
Quick question that came up for me from this episode.
I tried KM Link and the native SD/KM integration, but both had challenges for me.
Instead, I just set the URL trigger in KM and set the stream deck to load that URL using the Website action. No more assigning keys, or messing with KM Link.
I started with the Stream Deck right at the top of my keyboard, as I considered it something like a large set of highly customizable Function Keys, but over time I found that I migrated it more to the left, as it was easier to reach.
(Note: I am right-handed, but even my nearly-useless left hand can jab the Stream Deck buttons.)
p.s. - my new standard disclaimer for anyone considering buying a desk: do not get a black desktop. They show every little bit of dust or whatever that get on them, which is the opposite of what I thought would happen with a black desktop. Also, so much other electronic/computer stuff is black, it’s hard to get a good picture.
Obviously Keyboard Maestro’s Stream Deck integration will allow you to do more things if you need them, but if you don’t… then I don’t see any downside to this at all.
I assume KM Link is just using the URLs “under the hood”.
Using the URLs was the only way to use Keyboard Maestro with Stream Deck before Keyboard Maestro added support for it, so it should work just fine.
p.s. - Welcome to the forums! I hope you enjoy it. This and the MPU forums are two of my favorite places on the Internet.
It’s a recent purchase so it’s still a work in progress…but my thought was: if I like it I will want ALL of the buttons. If I don’t like it, I will return it.
Good evening! I am trying to use @Tjluoma 's most excellent Streamdeck iCalbuddy scripts. I have everything working except that the background won’t change. It always shows Fantastipal, even when it also has appointment information displayed.
Is there some way I need to grant permission for a script to trigger Keyboard Maestro macros? It’s driving me crazy and I’m sure the answer is right …there.
This episode was awesome, and I’ve completely restructured my profiles. It gave me so many ideas, but unfortunately, has me lusting after a bigger Streamdeck now as well.
Hi there. Thanks for the kind words. Sorry that you’re having an issue, that’s very strange.
Keyboard Maestro should not need any special permission to change the background. If it can change the button’s text information, then it should be able to change the image as well.
Did you happen to change the button ID/location (R+number+C+number)? If so, you may need to make sure that you change it for all of the places where Keyboard Maestro tries to change the image.
In Keyboard Maestro, click on “All Macros” which should be the first entry in the left-most column, and then search for stream deck set image (top right corner of Keyboard Maestro).
When you find the macros and actions that are supposed to set the Stream Deck "set image of button”, you can click the “gear” icon at the top-right of that particular action and choose “Try Action”
which should immediately set the Stream Deck button to that icon/color. If it does not, then chances are good that the “Button ID” is not correct.
And once you do all that, you should set up a StreamDeck button to activate Keyboard Maestro and menu Edit > Find > Find in All Macros… It’s very handy.
Thank you. I actually have no idea how I fixed it, but it looks like perhaps it was a bug in the StreamDeck software. I checked the ID and it was correct, but I changed it in both the “Black” macro, and in the SD profile, and still no dice. So I deleted the button, and re-defined it on the SD software, then the background icon scripts all worked in addition to the script for the title text (which I never touched because it worked all along.)
Embarrassingly, I had tried testing things in a complex manner of trying to figure out if the script was able to trigger the KM macro. I hadn’t done the simple thing first. Thanks for the nudge.
For anyone in the future stumbling across this because of a similar issue:
15 button StreamDeck, Home Profile, Software version 4.9.3(13222), Keyboard Maestro 9.2, MacbookPro16,1 , Big Sur 11.3.1
Solution: I just deleted the button and re-installed the button with the same definition.
The software is… not wonderful, so that seems entirely likely. Whenever you’re having issues with the Stream Deck, quitting and restarting the app is a good troubleshooting tip.
Regardless of “how” it was fixed, I am delighted that it is working for you. Every person who is able to use this is a good “counter-balance" to the number of hours that I worked on it!
I wrote about this as an alternative when I was looking at the available plugin options some time ago.
I’ve actually switched to using the URL more often than any other method.
I found the KMLink plugin awkward to search through as it applies an edit recency ordering. The author wasn’t keen on offering different behaviour as an option when I contacted them (also a long time to respond), and the recommendation I got back of editing a Keyboard Maestro macro just to surface it to the top of the list was counter to the ease of use I was looking for. I simply find myself needing to reference older Keyboard Maestro macros to add to a profile than always the latest ones.
I now just use my Alfred Workflow for Keyboard Maestro to copy the URL for the macro (km to search for the macro by name, and hold down CTRL to copy the launch URL to the clipboard), and then paste it into a website StreamDeck action.
At some point I might look at writing my own Stream Deck plugin, but for now Alfred gives me a quick way to find the right launch URL, and behind the scenes I think that is what KMLink is doing anyway.
