80 Macworld • August 2019FEATURE
remains accessible can be a huge productivity
boost. Tasks that used to require toggling back
and forth between different apps can be done in
a more linear fashion – you copy all the stuff you
need, one by one, and then switch to the other
app and paste it all in, one by one.Automate your tasks
I’m a huge fan of user automation, because if
there’s anything that computers are good at,
it’s doing repetitive tasks that are utterly boring
to human beings. If you’re stuck doing a boring,
repetitive task on your computer, you are ripe for
the time savings that automation can bring.
The problem is, a lot of user automation
solutions are extremely hard for most people to
understand. Once you’re asked to write code,
the jig is up. Fortunately, there are some easy to
use Mac automation tools out there that provide
amazing amounts of power without requiring you
to write code (although you can if you want).
I’m amazed at what Starways Software’s
Keyboard Maestro (£35.71 from fave.co/2xz9NEt)
can do. You can automate opening apps, issuing
menu commands or keyboard shortcuts, clicking
on buttons, and pretty much anything else you can
think of. It’s not reliant on the built-in automation
features of individual apps, either – if you need to
automate something by clicking on a specific item
on the screen somewhere, Keyboard Maestro can
be told specifically what to look for and where to
click. It’s a bit like magic.