Shaving a few seconds off a process you do multiple times adds up over the scope if a year.
There are many great programs and services that can do similar things, like TextExpander and Keyboard Maestro, but this is built into the OS of every Mac.
Note: Newer Mac operating systems offer an app called Shortcuts. You may prefer to use it over the process I demonstrate below
Steps to creating an Apple Keyboard Shortcut
- Go to System Preferences
- Click on Keyboard
- Click on the Shortcuts tab
- Select App Shortcuts
At this point you need to know what command or string of commands you want to shortcut.
In my example, we will convert a .wav file to mp3 in the Music.app.
The normal process to convert a file to MP3 in Apple's Music app
I'm going to shortcut my way through that 3-step process by pressing one key. Here's how:
- First, I click on the + Plus symbol
- Then, I select the application (in this example: Music.app)
- The string of commands I want the shortcut to follow is: File->Convert->Create MP3 Version
- Finally, I enter the Keyboard Shortcut into the box, which is F3 and click on Add
Tips: Don’t forget the ellipses if the command has one. Refer to this help article if you’re having trouble: https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/create-keyboard-shortcuts-for-apps-mchlp2271/mac
That's it!
I'd love to hear what keyboard shortcuts you create. Send them my way, and let's save time together!
