Workflows limited/excluded for specific apps

[mcskrzypczak]

A lot of workflows are made to work with specific applications. It would be great if you add an option to limit workflows actions to work only with indicated apps or to exclude some apps that we don't want WF to work. This brings two main benefits especially for workflows based on hotkeys:

 

• you will not trigger some workflow by incident in other app that is not supposed to work (which could cause some strange behaviours, if for example workflow triggers some others keyboard shortcuts through AppleScript).
• you will be able to use same shortcuts in many applications that triggers specific workflows for indicated apps.

Edited May 16, 2013 by Maciej Skrzypczak

[jaster]

Seconded. A much needed option indeed.

[MuppetGate]

Yup, this would be very handy.

[JBR]

This is much needed.

 

For example, I want a keyboard shortcut that only takes effect when a certain application is in the foreground. With the current iteration of 'workflows' this isn't possible because Alfred makes all keyboard shortcuts global.

 

I'm also trying to avoid relying on other applications for this, such as Keyboard Maestro, iKey, or Butler.

[JBR]

Just discovered that this functionality is generally referred to as "Scopes". Again, much needed in Alfred.

[mts]

I second this too.

 

In my opinion this should be generalized: add the ability to insert a conditional step in a workflow. Then the user could setup a customized set of conditions. For example: 

1- hotkey pressed

2- condition: 

if  Excel is not frontmost, perform action #1

else perform action#2

 

If these conditional steps could be inserted anywhere in a workflow, then all sorts of interesting yet simple workflows could be created without the need for scripting.

 

[Tyler Eich]

+1

 

Alfred could really outshine the competition with context-aware workflows

[JBR]

Just a note that I started a similar thread in 'Workflow Help & Questions' in search of possible workarounds (using scripts, potentially) to achieve context-awareness: http://www.alfredforum.com/topic/2653-adding-scopes-to-hotkeys/