sansnom Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 🇬🇧 Hi, the interface of the three software programs in the Affinity suite seems very well done and quite productive. But everyone also has their own specificities in their workflow and the addition of a utility like Keyboard Maestro can fill certain gaps or innovate with advanced functions. In addition, KM knows how to perfectly replace many other utilities for macOS… 😉 As I am working on a document alternating between RGB mode and CMYK mode, I was wondering about the opportunity to be able to visually know, and without action on my part, the current color mode and the possibility of quickly changing it. to change. Unfortunately, AD does not indicate the current color mode and the procedure to switch from one mode to another requires a lot of clicks on the part of the user (from memory, on other graphics software [?], there is a simple and direct submenu within a menu, associated with keyboard shortcuts…). I haven't found a keyboard command for this function in AD!… The Keyboard Maestro utility has solid arguments for performing macros. This software is a marvel of efficiency and provides very valuable services, whatever the software used or the context. Below is a screencast of the KM interface in AD. Sorry if the action is rapid, but that is also the goal, to make it as transparent as possible. macros live.mp4 Attached is a set of two macros KM for AD. Affinity Designer Format de couleur RVB CMYK Macros.kmmacros.zip In detail, this set includes a first macro for the conversion to RGB and a second macro for the conversion to CMYK. The macros simulate the call to display the “Document Setup” dialog box (Command + Shift + P), a first click on the “Color” Tab, a second click on the “Color Format” Menu and a third click in this Menu on the desired profile. And a final press of the “Escape” key to close the dialog box. The initial position of the mouse is maintained during the macro. The two macros are displayed in a palette, in the form of a button, alternately, one replacing the other with the help of a simple toggle. When opening AD and a document, the last state of the button is displayed, the toggle being managed by KM (with a system variable). It is therefore up to the user to make their choice by clicking on the mode they want. In KM, everything is almost configurable. So, pallets have several options. Their positions are defined by the user, using the mouse while pressing the Command key. For the two icons which symbolize here the RGB mode and the CMYK mode are simple copy and paste of two small illustrations created with AD, inserted in the KM interface, on each of the two macros. There you go, I hope this post will give you ideas to perhaps further improve your workflow… NB: we can also add a function (clicks) to the macro to modify the profile of the “Color” Palette at the same time. Finally, porting this set of macros for AP and for AP is possible, you just need to modify the call up of the dialog box because the menus are different... 🇫🇷 Bonjour, l'interface des trois logiciels de la suite Affinity me semble très bien faite et assez productive. Mais, chacun a aussi ses propres spécificités dans son flux de travail et l'apport d'un utilitaire comme Keyboard Maestro peut combler certains manques ou innover avec des fonctions évoluées. De plus, KM sait parfaitement remplacer bon nombre d'autres utilitaires pour macOS… 😉 Étant en train de travailler sur un document en alternance entre le mode RVB et le mode CMYK, je m'interrogeais sur l'opportunité de pouvoir visuellement connaître, et sans action de ma part, le mode de couleur courant et la possibilité de rapidement le changer. Malheureusement, AD n'indique pas le mode de couleur en cours et la procédure pour passer d'un mode à l'autre demande beaucoup de clicks de la part de l'utilisateur (de mémoire, sur d'autres logiciels graphiques (?), il y a un simple et direct sous-menu dans un menu, associé à un raccourcis clavier…). Je n'ai d'ailleurs pas trouvé de commande clavier pour cette fonction dans AD !… L'utilitaire Keyboard Maestro possède de solides arguments pour effectuer des macros. Ce logiciel est une merveille d'efficacité et rend de très précieux services, quelque soit le logiciel utilisé ou le contexte. Plus haut, un screencast de l'interface de KM dans AD. Désolé si l'action est rapide, mais c'est aussi le but, qu'elle soit la plus transparente possible? Joint aussi le set de deux macros KM pour AD. En détail, ce set inclus une première macro pour la conversion en RVB et une seconde macro pour la conversion en CMYK. Les macros simulent l'appel de l'affichage de la boîte de dialogue “Configuration du document” (Commande + Majuscule + P), un premier click sur l'Onglet “Couleur”, un deuxième click sur le Menu “Format de couleur” et un troisième click dans ce Menu sur le profil souhaité. Et un dernier appel de la touche “Escape” pour fermer la boîte de dialogue. La position initiale de la souris est maintenue durant la macro. Les deux macros sont affichées dans une palette, sous forme de bouton, en alternance, l'un remplaçant l'autre avec l'aide d'une simple bascule. À l'ouverture d'AD et d'un document, c'est le dernier état du bouton qui est affiché, la bascule étant gérée par KM (avec une variable système). C'est donc à l'utilisateur de faire son choix en cliquant sur le mode qu'il désire. Dans KM, tout est presque paramètrable. Ainsi, les palettes disposent de plusieurs options. Leurs positions est définies par l'utilisateur, à la souris tout en appuyant sur la touche Commande. Pour les deux icônes qui symbolisent ici le mode RVB et le mode CMYK sont de simples copier-coller de deux petites illustration réalisées avec AD, insérées dans l'interface de KM, sur chacune des deux macros. Voilà, j'espère que ce post vous donnera des idées afin de peut-être améliorer encore votre flux de travail… NB : on peut aussi ajouté une fonction (des clicks) à la macro pour modifier en même temps le profil de la Palette “Couleur”. Enfin, le portage de ce set de macros pour AP et pour AP est possible, il faut juste modifier l'appel de la boîte de dialogue car les menus sont différents… loukash 1 Quote Mac Mini M1 16Go – macOS 13.6.4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fde101 Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 I'm a bit confused by this post... are you posting a tutorial/example for other users (in which case it belongs in the tutorials forum - https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/forum/9-tutorials-serif-and-customer-created-tutorials/) or are you asking for Serif to somehow connect with the developers at Keyboard Maestro to provide enhanced integration with their product? There is already a thread discussing scripting/plugin support pinned at the top of the feature request forums; that is coming eventually. Any tie-ins with Keyboard Maestro or other platform-specific utilities would most likely need to be derived from that more generic scripting support. I would not expect Serif to provide direct specific support for KM or other similar utilities, but the plugin support may provide a mechanism for the KM developers to provide a better tie-in with the Affinity products, at which point you could request that of them. You may not even need that plugin to make more effective integration possible, however, as KM can already execute arbitrary AppleScript code, and Serif suggested at one point that while they seem to have decided to use the relatively pathetic ECMAScript language as the basis of their scripting support, they will at least provide one AppleScript command to execute provided ECMAScript code against their scripting engine, so that might provide the hook needed to perform tasks more directly using the AppleScript support in KM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sansnom Posted March 5 Author Share Posted March 5 🇬🇧 Hi @fde101, Oops!… No, my post was intended to highlight the possibilities of KM to be inserted into applications in order to improve your workflow. And here, with this simple example, I also wanted to highlight a lack (for my part) concerning the colorimetric profile of the current document. But yes, I may have expressed myself incorrectly and I apologize for that. Otherwise, thanks for the link to a tutorials section. 😉 🇫🇷 Bonjour @fde101, Oops !… Non, mon post avait comme but de mettre en avant les possibilités de KM à s'insérer dans les applications afin d'améliorer son flux de travail. Et ici, par ce simple exemple, je voulais aussi mettre en avant un manque (pour ce qui me concerne) concernant le profil colorimétrique du document en cours. Mais oui, il se peut que je me suis mal exprimé et je vous prie de m'en excuser. Sinon, merci pour le lien vers une section tutoriels. 😉 Quote Mac Mini M1 16Go – macOS 13.6.4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fde101 Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 Thanks, and yes, I have also pointed out the possibility of using KM for various things people were asking for, but it is not really ideal in a lot of those cases with the current relative lack of keyboard shortcut / scripting options in the Affinity products. Some things it can do very well, others it can kind of act as a kludge. The addition of scripting support should significantly improve the possibilities. Perhaps a moderator could move this thread to the Tutorials section - but at least this helps to explain what the thread was meant for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sansnom Posted March 5 Author Share Posted March 5 “Perhaps a moderator could move this thread to the Tutorials section - but at least this helps to explain what the thread was meant for.” Absolutely, completely agree… 🙂 Quote Mac Mini M1 16Go – macOS 13.6.4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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