in progress Conductor

[sylumer]

Say if you’re the author or submitting someone else’s workflow.

I am the author of the workflow.

 

Share a link to its thread on the Alfred Forum.

Not aware of any thread.

 

Share a link to its main page (e.g. GitHub).

https://www.thoughtasylum.com/alfred/alfred_conductor_for_keyboard_maestro/

 

If it has dependencies, say what those are unless they are explicit in the About or README.

This workflow is for controlling the Mac app Keyboard Maestro, so that app is a dependency.

 

Provide screenshots, unless valid ones are in the About or README.

 

 

How to use it

The readme directs users to use the inbuilt command kmdocs which takes the user to the download page referenced above which documents all of the keyword triggers, external triggers and the fallback search option.

 

From the readme:

Conductor is a workflow for interacting with Keyboard Maestro and specifically for working with macros.

Keyboard Maestro is a third party utility that allows you to build and run macro-based automations to interact with other applications and the operating system. It provides an Automator-like user interface with a large array of triggers and actions, and with support for triggering scripts and targeting actions on user interface elements (e.g. buttons and menus).

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You can find out everything you need to know about the workflow by entering the keyword kmcondocs. This will take you to the online documentation for this workflow at thoughtasylum.com.

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Conductor icon created by Freepik - Flaticon
https://www.flaticon.com/free-icon/conductor_1776612

 

[vitor]

Marking as in progress too while waiting for screenshots.

 

Could you provide the first one without Keyboard Maestro as the top result? I understand it’s a dependency of the workflow and that’s perfectly fine: in the Gallery that will be explicit including a link to its homepage. It’s just so it’s not confused with the output of the workflow itself.

[vitor]

Just noticed this workflow is using Workflow Environment Variable instead of User Configuration. I’d submit a PR, but there seems to be no repo.

[sylumer]

Revised screenshots:

 

 

 

8 hours ago, vitor said:

Just noticed this workflow is using Workflow Environment Variable instead of User Configuration. I’d submit a PR, but there seems to be no repo.

 

I don't tend to manage my workflows in repos - hence there are none.

 

The workflow predates Alfred v5 and has a single variable to specify a delay period for executing macros. The workflow also includes commands to change that variable. The workflow also specifies a default value for the variable.

 

Having read the user configuration documentation for Alfred 5 when it became available, I didn't see any benefit or any need to migrate away from using the variable. The user configuration documentation strongly indicates it to be geared more towards an initial set it and forget it initialisation, whereas I'd already dealt with this and the option (e.g. "kmdelay 10") to easily change it in the workflow.

 

Environment variables are still 'a thing' (you set them in the same window - just different tabs), so what would be the advantage of switching from environment variables to user configuration be? Have I missed some particular benefit?

[vitor]

Thank you for the screenshots, but they have no shadow. Perhaps you have disabled it?

 

7 minutes ago, sylumer said:

geared more towards an initial set it and forget it initialisation

 

It’s configuration. It’s to be set whenever you need to change the setting, be it at first usage or later on when you change your mind.

 

8 minutes ago, sylumer said:

Environment variables are still 'a thing'

 

There are still situations where they make sense, but for user-facing features User Configuration is the way to go. Plus, outright removing them wouldn’t make sense, as older workflows continue to be supported.

 

9 minutes ago, sylumer said:

so what would be the advantage of switching from environment variables to user configuration be?

 

Vastly clearer for users, in a standard location in the editor, with documentation included in context (e.g. setting a description), plus simplified code which does not need to check for absent variables or empty values, or invalid strings (checkboxes; popover buttons).

You can still have your keyword (kmdelay, which I’ve had to recheck several times while replying, as opposed to User Configuration which is just there) change the setting via AppleScript (the latest pre-release adds support for it, with no code changes necessary).

[sylumer]

5 minutes ago, vitor said:

Thank you for the screenshots, but they have no shadow. Perhaps you have disabled it?

Hmmm, I guess I mights have disabled it some time in the dim and distant past. I don't use the macOS screenshot functionality and I haven't done so for a very long time. I've used a few different apps over the years - ones that have given me more options for multiple saves and annotations.

That being said, if I run the terminal command to force enablement and screenshot my terminal, I get a shadow

Whereas, with this setting still in place, if I pop my Alfred window up alongside it and use the exact same keyboard commands, I get Alfred with no shadow I can see

Though if I paste the image into an image editor, or highlight it here as I'm editing, it does have the space around it to hold the shadow. I wondered if my theme was messing things up, so I thought I'd try changing it.

 

If I change to the default theme I get ... a third(?)... of a shadow?

If I restart Alfred, I get a full shadow.

But then if I change back to my previous theme, I get no shadow again.

Any known issues with themes (I'm on 5.0.4 FWIW) affecting screenshot shadows? 🤔

 

Its late and I need to get to bed so I'll tackle the screenshots tomorrow - probably with an alternate shadowable theme.

 

6 minutes ago, vitor said:

It’s configuration. It’s to be set whenever you need to change the setting, be it at first usage or later on when you change your mind.

I would suggest that with the contrinued existence rather than migration of the variables and how the documentation describes it, that it could be clearer.

 

I think "vastly clearer for users" and "kmdelay, which I’ve had to recheck several times while replying" are a point for new users. I'm not discounting it asa positive point, but it isn't globally applicable. For example, keywords to set values is much faster to do (and ingrained for existing users) than accessing the user configuration. That's like keyboard shortcuts and menus - but most Alfred users are keyboard nerds right? 😁

 

The "documentation included in context" is a double edged sword. I suspect usually it is a good thing, but there are times when you need to walk people through a variable in more detail (I realise you can add the details, but it feels like it'll become off putting for someone new if there's too much info). So, not a universal plus, but certainly more pro than con and there are ways to deal with providing such documentation (e.g. "DO NOT CHANGE THIS ... unless you read the manual first, in which case go ahead" 😉).

 

14 minutes ago, vitor said:

plus simplified code which does not need to check for absent variables or empty values, or invalid strings (checkboxes; popover buttons)

 

This one I think is something I haven't really thought through to date. I'd already solved the problems I needed to so I probably haven't really thought deeply about it from this angle. But simpler is better, and that's something that now I've started considering it is the single most persuasive point for me. I'll sleep on it (and probably come to the conclusion it is worth a change) and figure out next step, timelines for doing it (updating docs, etc.) for this and the other workflows.

 

[vitor]

That’s quite curious, in particular the segmented shadow. Perhaps a reboot would help? Does your theme use the deprecated Classic Blur? Could you share it?

[sylumer]

A reboot didn't help (I did try that a day or do after), and yesterday I updated to Ventura and the missing shadow persists, which suggests to me it is tied to some property of my theme. I've been using it since maybe v1 or v2 - it's been so long and I haven't wanted to change it or have any issues with it until now.

 

It can be downloaded here.

 

The blur is set as "No Blur", not the deprecated classic blur.

 

 

I've had a quick scan through the JSON that seems to specify the format, and I don't see any obviously spurious values. I duplicated the Alfred theme, reordered a few sections to aklign them and did a side-by-side comparison. The only structural difference looks to be the inclusion of the credit attribute. 

 

 

In terms of moving to using user configuration over environment variables, I'm going to switch things over. I've done some preliminary testing (and I think longer term I'll switch to the simpler AppleScript code, but the JavaScript I have in place does appear to work) and it seems to be working okay on a test workflow I've created, but I'll need to ensure I'm doing more thorough testing on the existing workflows - I don't want to inadvertently break something and miss it through lack of testing. I'll update the posts on the forum with the screenshots and note updates to use user configuration as I apply them.

[vitor]

15 minutes ago, sylumer said:

It can be downloaded here.

 

Clicking on Heliotrope tells me the address isn’t valid.

[sylumer]

☹️ I've fixed the link on the theme. There was a stray space in the filename.

 

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Workflow updated to use user configuration rather than environment variables.

 

Screenshots utilising Alfred default theme.