In another recent post, we introduced you to the basics of Automator, a Mac tool for automating tasks. However, besides the basic things you can do with Automator, you can actually do a lot more with it that might not be obvious by just following the ‘usual’ instructions.
In this section, we’ll show you how to use Automator to create keyboard shortcuts to launch apps on your Mac, which will be very helpful since most Mac apps can’t be launched with the keyboard shortcut. Custom off.
Let’s start.
First, open Automator and choose to create a new document. From the available options (where you can select Workflow, Applications, etc.), select Service.
When you do, you will be shown act library. There, search utilities and select it. Then on the right panel, look for Launch the app action (use the search field at the top of the window if you can’t find it), then click on it and drag it to the rightmost panel where you’ll create your workflow.
You should now see a small panel above the action you just dragged. There you can adjust a few variables. Where does it say? Service receivedselect no input. Then, on the right, select any application.
Then go to the action you dragged in the first place and select the app you want to launch from the drop-down panel. For this example, I’ll be using Clear, a very cool task management app that we mentioned before.
Before closing Automator (don’t worry, we’ll create a shortcut in a moment), save the service you just created with a memorable name.
After your newly created service is saved, open your Mac app Interest and go to keyboard menu. There, go to keyboard shortcuts tab and click Service on the left panel.
Then, on the right, find the service you just created (Hint: In most cases, the services you create with Automator can be in the overview).
Select your service and you will see a More shortcuts button appears. Click on it to set the shortcut you want to use to launch the application.
Important Note: Make sure to use a unique one, as I’ve found that OS X Mavericks will favor the application’s native shortcuts if they are the same as the one you created.
And there you go. Until a little while ago, I thought it would be impossible to simply create your own shortcut to open apps on your Mac. Of course, you can always use third-party apps like Better Touch Tools for example, but as you can see, Automator is a very powerful tool that offers its own way around this problem. without the need to use external software. So give it a try and let us know what you think!
Categories: How to
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
