Posts Tagged → field guides

Announcing Release of the Keyboard Maestro Field Guide



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I’m pleased to announce the release of the Keyboard Maestro Field Guide, available now.

Here’s the short version:

  • over 4 hours of streaming or downloadable video

  • 76 separate videos, 8 separate sections

  • many downloadable Keyboard Maestro scripts

  • heaps of dangerous knowledge, tricks, and hacks to make your Mac dance

Introductory price of $24 is for a limited time only.

Here’s the long version:

Keyboard Maestro is perhaps the most powerful automation tool available for your Mac. Best of all, anyone can do it. Keyboard Maestro does not rely on scripting languages but instead on a common-sense approach to triggers and actions. For instance:

1. Trigger: You plug your scanner into your Mac.

2. Action: Your Mac hides any apps that are currently open and opens your scanner application and the Finder to manage all of the scans you are about to make.

It’s that easy. You can do the above, and so much more, without a lick of programming. Indeed, the above workflow is one of the featured videos in this course.

With Keyboard Maestro, you can automate just about anything. In addition to teaching you all of the mechanics of Keyboard Maestro, this course includes a number of walkthroughs of automation workflows you can use, download, or alter to automate your own Mac. A few examples include:

  • Have your Mac log out of social media, turn down the volume, and open your productivity apps as soon as you log into your local coffee shop’s Wi-Fi.

  • Create custom app setups for different work modes such as email, writing, and planning, just to name a few. Then trigger them with a simple keyboard combination.

  • Set Twitter to automatically hide itself after a few minutes so you can get back to work.

  • Add automation to the startup and shutdown of your Mac. Want certain apps to open when you get started? Keyboard Maestro can do that.

  • Automate meeting notes.

  • Create Pages and Word document templates that ask you a few questions, and then generate multiple documents.

There are 76 lovingly crafted screencasts totaling over four hours of content. Each tutorial includes a full transcript and closed captioning. Where appropriate, the tutorials also include downloadable Keyboard Maestro scripts that you can install and run alongside the video.

Course Outline:

1. Introduction

Learn the basics of Keyboard Maestro, including installation and interface. This section covers basic application concepts and how it organizes your scripts. Also, build your first script.

2. Triggers

With Keyboard Maestro, there are a lot of ways to kick off your automation. It can be something you physically trigger, such as a keyboard shortcut or plugging in an external drive, or something automated, like at a specific time or when you log into Wi-Fi. You can even trigger a script by playing a note on a MIDI keyboard. It’s great! This section includes 14 videos explaining every possible Keyboard Maestro trigger.

3. Actions

Once you have figured out all of the triggers, you will want to start making your Mac dance. Just like triggers, Keyboard Maestro is capable of so many actions including the ability to control applications; sort and place windows; add notifications; type text; make a better clipboard; manage, move, and alter files and folders; control the interface; move and click the mouse; and run a script, just to name a few. There is so much that Keyboard Maestro can do. This section includes 18 videos showing off all of Keyboard Maestro’s tricks.

4. Palettes

As the number of scripts you create increases, Keyboard Maestro’s excellent interface tool Palettes will help you quickly sort, find, and trigger your scripts. This section explains all of the flavors of Keyboard Maestro palettes and how to create, customize, and use them.

5. Programming and Debugging

While Keyboard Maestro does not require programming knowledge, there are some essential programming tools and actions, including debugging, to make Keyboard Maestro even more powerful.

6. Useful Scripts

Here you will find a laundry list of useful Keyboard Maestro scripts. This section includes 23 screencasts of useful tutorials and downloadable scripts to get more out of your Mac. You can download and start using these scripts immediately, or use all the knowledge that you will have picked up to customize these scripts and make them your own.

7. Settings, Syncing, and Additional Features

Dive deeper on Keyboard Maestro’s additional settings and tools, including improved Keyboard Maestro application switcher. Also, learn how to sync your scripts between two Macs.

I am so pleased to be able to release this course. It is the result of much hard work and many long hours, and I truly believe this can help you automate your Mac like never before. The introductory price is only for a short time, so get it now.

Don’t Have Keyboard Maestro? There’s Also a Discount on the App.

If you don’t have the Keyboard Maestro application yet, no problem. Keyboard Maestro’s developer digs the new Field Guide so much that he is giving 20% off the purchase of the Keyboard Maestro app for a limited time to celebrate the release of the new Field Guide. Just use the the offer code “KMFG” when purchasing the Keyboard Maestro application.

Siri Shortcuts Field Guide, Version 1.1 (And Discount Code)



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I’ve been thrilled with all the nice tweets, emails, and messages and the generally warm reception for the Siri Shortcuts Field Guide. I love seeing tweets and emails from customers that are now automating their iPhones and iPads. Siri Shortcuts turns out to be one of those rare Apple products that gets frequent updates. Since I first launched the Siri Shortcuts Field Guide, Apple has added several new features.

So I’ve been hard at work in the Screencasting cave adding new content. With this post, I’m pleased to announce the release of the Siri Shortcuts Field Guide, version 1.1.

  • The new version adds 17 new videos and 50 minutes of content bringing the course size to over 4 hours.

  • New content includes additional features (like weather and conversions) and also goes deeper on both beginner and advanced topics.

  • The new version also features combined downloads so if you want to download everything, it’s ten big video files instead of 57 little ones. 

If You Enrolled in the Siri Shortcuts Field Guide …

There is nothing for you to do but log in and check out the new content. It’s a free update.

If you haven’t signed up for the Siri Shortcuts Field Guide Yet …

Now’s the time. Go to this link and use the promotion code “SIRIBLOG”.That gets you $10 off, but it is only good for a week.

Announcing the OmniFocus Field Guide, 3d Edition



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I’m happy to announce the release of the third edition of the OmniFocus Field Guide. This is a video course that takes you, soup to nuts, through the Omni Group’s supremely bad-ass task manager. My goal is to make you no less than a task-managing ninja.

This course includes 69 videos totaling over 5 hours of content.

Topics Include:

Introduction and Overview

Learn what makes OmniFocus unique and learn how to download and install the apps and a basic overview of how the apps work on the Mac, iPad, and iPhone.

Syncing OmniFocus

This section also demonstrates how to set up the OmniSync Service.

Capture

Emptying your brain into your task manager should be fast and efficient. OmniFocus is both. In this section, you’ll learn how to quickly capture tasks into your iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Process

This is the meat and potatoes of OmniFocus. This section teaches you how to set up projects and contexts along with their different types and flavors. There is also an extensive explanation of defer and due dates and full tutorials on how you can use OmniFocus to put these tool to use. This section also demonstrates the rational use of flags and how to set repeating tasks. With version 3, OmniFocus added tags. There is a lot of content concerning how tags work and the best strategies for implementing them.

Perspectives

There is also an extensive demonstration of OmniFocus perspectives. Understanding how the built-in perspectives work (and how to roll your own) will make all the difference in your OmniFocus ninja-hood. This portion of the video walks you through, step-by-step. Once you figure out custom perspectives, you’ll wonder how you ever got by without them. This section also explains how to use the OmniFocus Forecast feature to get ahead of the curve and plan your days out into the future.

Action

Next, you’ll learn about how to crank through your days and complete your tasks. This section also has practical advice about how to make sure you spend your time completing tasks and not fiddling with OmniFocus. Once you’ve got process sorted, action will be where you get things done, and it will feel great.

Review

Adding a regular review practice to your tasks can make a huge difference in your productivity (and sanity). OmniFocus supports this, and this section teaches you how along with some common sense tips for everyday use.

Settings and Interface

Learn how to customize the app to work and look the way you want it.

Automation

OmniFocus has some mighty automation chops if you know how to use them. In this section, learn about automation through text, Siri Shortcuts, and an entire mini-course on creating project templates.

The Apple Watch

OmniFocus has an impressive Apple Watch application. Learn how it works.

Systems

There isn’t just one way to conquer the world using OmniFocus. This section covers the best systems to get the most from OmniFocus.

Additional Concepts

This course wraps up with further discussion about advanced task management concepts like how to deal with too many projects and tasks, the relationship between managing tasks and creativity, and the difference between your internal manager and your internal maker.

The OmniFocus Field Guide, by the numbers

69 videos

5+ Hours

One appearance by a lovable alien, far from home.

The OmniFocus Field Guide is sold at an introductory price of $24. It will raise to $29 shortly after launch.

If you bought the prior version of the OmniFocus Field Guide in 2018, you are entitled to a free upgrade. Send us a note and proof of purchase. If you bought the prior version before 2018, it is a new purchase.

Did you say you wanted a trailer?

Announcing the Siri Shortcuts Field Guide



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Buy

Today I am happy to announce the release of the new Siri Shortcuts Field Guide. This is an all video field guide with over 3 hours of screencasts and 40 videos. It starts out basic and gets progressively advanced. You can stream the videos or download them, and there is downloadable content with links to all of the Siri Shortcuts that get built throughout the Field Guide.

With Siri Shortcuts, Apple has gone all in with automation on your iPad and iPhone. This Siri Shortcuts Field Guide helps you become the boss of your iPhone and iPad like never before. Using Siri Shortcuts, you can do things like:

  • Assign voice commands to your most common tasks, so there is not more hunting and pecking on the screen.

  • Develop more complex automations to run multiple tasks, or even drive numerous applications all at once.

  • Make your iPhone and iPad do more, so you don’t have to.

In addition to some mighty-fine screencast tutorials, each section includes downloadable content so you can add the covered Siri Shortcuts to your iPhone or iPad directly from the course.

Major topics include:

1. Introduction, the history of automation on iOS, and Field Guide overview.

2. System level Siri Shortcuts that you can take advantage of without ever opening the Siri Shortcuts App.

3. Siri Shortcuts Application Primer
This covers the most common topics of automation from how the application interface works to the best automation tools for calendars to how to play some sweet tunes automatically.

4. Advanced Siri Shortcuts Techniques
This section explains some of the more program-related tools Siri Shortcuts offers. Don’t Panic! Each step is explained carefully, and you’ll be able to pick this up in no time.

5. Useful Automations
This includes a collection of useful Siri Shortcuts ranging from simple to devilishly complex. Each step gets explained, and everything is downloadable. This section is the master class.

6. Conclusion
Find out where all this iOS automation is heading and find additional resources to go even farther down the automation road.

Here’s the Course, by the numbers:

  • 3 hours and 15 minutes of streaming or downloadable video

  • 40 separate videos

  • Many downloadable shortcuts

  • So much powerful iPhone and iPad automation

Two separate appearances of a shark wearing a laser

How could you go wrong?

This Siri Shortcuts Field Guide is offered at an introductory price of $24 but will be going up to $29 shortly after launch. I am releasing the course so you can get a jump start on Siri Shortcuts before it arrives on Monday. Go nuts.

Here’s the Trailer …

Announcing Learn.MacSparky

I am pleased to announce the launch of a new website for the distribution of all my video courses, learn.MacSparky.com. I am moving all of my video courses to that site and encourage you to check it out. There’s plenty of free and paid material there to keep you busy.



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First a Little History …

When I first started distributing videos, I did so with one large video file that you could download to your Mac. That worked okay for a while but it very quickly became evident that people wanted a streaming solution. Put simply, a lot of people watch these courses on their iPhones and iPads. That eventually led me over to Vimeo where I have been distributing my video courses for a few years. It was a service that allowed for streaming, but it was also entirely outside of my control. I received complaints from customers that didn’t like the Vimeo marketing, where they would send them advertising materials for videos entirely unrelated to geeky MacSparky stuff, and furthermore, Vimeo never gave me a list of who bought my stuff. Put simply, I wanted to have a direct relationship with my customers.

I’ve been hard at work on this problem for several months, and today I’m announcing the new website, learn.MacSparky.com where you can get access to all of my video products. Having set up the website, I am also able to now distribute a lot of the videos that I create freely. I think it’s better for you and better for me. I’ve summarized the current offerings below, and I hope you check them out. I’m thrilled to have made this move. Go sign up today and let me know what you think. Below is a list of the current video courses.

The Workflow Field Guide

I made this several years ago when workflow first was released. This has been a paid course since its original release, but now I am making it completely free. 

The Hazel Field Guide

Hazel is one of my favorite Mac utilities. It takes so much of the TM out of file management and let your Mac to a lot of your work for you, unassisted. To get the most out of Hazel, you do need a little help in this course is aimed at solving just that problem. This course already has many happy customers who are automating their way to fame and fortune.

60 Tips Vol. 1 and 60 Tips Vol. 2

There are two volumes of this book I wrote with my pal, Brett Terpstra. The video versions have all of the same materials as the books and can help you get better at using your Mac every day. Both volume 1 and volume 2 are available in the new learn.MacSparky.com website.

The Photos Field Guide

Apple photos is a powerful and all-in-one solution for managing, editing, and storing your photos. This video course walks you through how to set up your library, manage pictures, and make edits. This course also goes beyond explaining some common photo management utilities, backup strategies, and all the other bits you need to manage your photos and video properly.

The Drafts Field Guide

This recourse includes this series of videos I have been producing for The new version of the Drafts app, one of my favorite writing and automation tools (yes, it’s both) for iPhone and iPad.

The Bonus Sparky Field Guide

I often release short little videos for free relating to new workflows that I find or products that I like. A lot of these are on the MacSparky YouTube channel, but if that’s not your thing, you can sign up for a course@learn.macsparky.com that will regularly update with the same content.

Automators Bonus Content

The Automators podcast comes with a lot of bonus content explaining how to create and run specific automation routines that Rose and I regularly discuss on the show. Again, we have a YouTube channel for that, but not everyone wants to spend time on YouTube. We are going to distribute all of the podcast supporting materials through this learning course in addition to the YouTube channel.

What About New Stuff?

 Now that I’ve built this learning website, I’m back in full swing in creating new content for it. In the next month, I will be releasing an all-new course on Siri Shortcuts to coincide with the release of iOS 12. The new course is coming out great, and I’m working on it every day.

Also, later this month, when the Omni Group releases OmniFocus 3 for the Mac (or shortly after that), I will be releasing a brand-new edition of the OmniFocus Field Guide. This new version is shot entirely from scratch and nearly done. There is a lot of new material about how to get better at using OmniFocus and how to manage your tasks in a way that makes sense. In addition to having a lot of new material about technically managing the software, this new version also has a lot of discussion about productivity and strategies to make your task system work for you instead of you working for it. The new OmniFocus Field Guide is still in production but coming out great, and I cannot wait to share it with you.

Transitioning from Vimeo

If you were a customer for any of the above courses on Vimeo, and you would like to transition your course to learn.MacSparky.com, sign up for the learn.MacSparky.com website and send me a copy of your receipt. I can then send you a code for your account. Please note that is a manual process and I’m sure the initial flood of requests is going to take a little bit of catching up.

I am so happy to share this news with you. It has taken a lot of work, but this new website is going to be great for everyone. If nothing else, I encourage you to sign up for some of the free courses to check things out.

Announcing the iPhone Field Guide

Today I’m pleased to announce my latest MacSparky Field Guide is available for purchase from the iBooks Store, The iPhone Field Guide.



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I’ve been working on this book for a long time and I’m really happy with how it turned out. 

With the iPhone Field Guide, you’ll learn to get the most from your iPhone with  this media-rich book that is sometimes user guide, sometimes opinionated app recommendations, and sometimes iPhone sensei. This book was built entirely in iBooks Author and includes all of the multimedia goodness including screenshots, photo galleries, and video screencasts all engineered to make you an iPhone power user. There are over 50 screencasts adding up to over two hours of video instruction, 450 pages, 44 chapters, and over 65,000 words to help you learn how to squeeze every bit of awesomeness from your iPhone.

The material is accessible to beginners and power users alike with a thoughtful, fun, and systematic approach to iPhone mastery. Moreover, this book is beautifully designed and a joy to read. This is the seventh book in the MacSparky Field Guide series.

The book looks great on the Mac and iPad but, because it is about the iPhone, there is a separate scrolling mode for the book making it fully consumable on your iPhone. The video screencasts are even formatted to display on your iPhone.

I’m offering the book at an introductory price of $20 but that is going to go up later so if you are interested, check it out now. I’m really proud of this book and I hope you dig it.

OmniFocus 3 and the Next OmniFocus VFG

The Omni Group has been hard at work on OmniFocus, version 3, for some time now. The new version is going to include a lot of new features, including tags, manual sorting, better notifications, and more. It’s a big update, along with visual changes, and a bunch more.

I’m already setting up the OmniFocus Video Field Guide, version 3. It’s going to release with (or shortly after) OmniFocus, version 3. It’s a big project and it is going to be a new purchase. Anyone who buys the current version of the OmniFocus VFG in 2018 will get a free version of the new edition. Now let me get back to work on this outline …

60 Mac Tips, Volume 2



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Today marks the release of the latest MacSparky Field Guide, 60 Mac Tips, Volume 2.

60 Mac Tips, Volume 2, is a collection of tricks and tips to make you more efficient on your Mac. There are 60 screencasts and two hours of video that explains why each tip or trick is special and how to use it on your Mac. Learn these tips and turn yourself into a Mac power user.

Among these 60 screencasts are tips on macOS, Siri for the Mac, using the keyboard, Spotlight, Automator, Safari, Mail, Apple Notes, Apple Photos, Terminal Tips, and third-party apps. After reading and watching these tips and tricks, you’ll be more efficient on your Mac than ever. 

This book is part of the MacSparky Field Guide series, designed to empower Mac users with great information delivered with fun and panache. It was a lot of fun creating this book. I’m quite proud of it and I hope you dig it.

You can get this new book in the iBooks Store for a self-contained, downloadable book including all of the videos embedded for your Mac, iPad or iPhone. The iBooks Store version was created in iBooks Author and includes all of the whiz-bang interactivity that comes with it.

Alternatively, we also offer this book as a streaming/downloadable product from Vimeo. The Vimeo version also includes closed-captioning and higher fidelity video (1080 vs. 720 in the iBook).

It feels really good to release another FIeld Guide. Thank you all for the support. If you’d like to learn more about how we went about making this book, listen to this week’s Mac Power Users episode.

We’ve Also Updated 60 Mac Tips Volume 1


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Brett and I have also updated Volume 1 of our 60 Mac Tips book to version 1.2. We’ve gone through and updated and replaced several of the tips in version 1. The update is free if you purchased the first version. Otherwise, you can get it on the iBooks Store or Vimeo Streaming/Download.