Mac Apps that you can use

[Chandrasekar]

Saw a video describing a few mac apps that can be used for handling files for musicians.
Some of you may be using these. Just for information and knowledge.
Not sure which area to post, and now it is here.
Thank you.
Best regards.

https://youtu.be/6jkO2daxSjc

[stubbsonic]

I use Loopback. It's awesome. As a sign of how reliable it is, I just set it up when got it, and haven't thought about it since. It just runs flawlessly in the background.

Dropover sounds very useful-- making dragging multiple files to a different location less awkward. It's free or $4 with a pro version IAP, but there's no info about what the difference is in the pro version or limitations of non-pro.

[Michael Canavan]

Dropover stops working after two weeks, I'm reminded to pay for it with this thread, it's just a good idea, especially for us audio types.

I actually can't believe Keyboard Maestro isn't on the list? That's the #1 app that really saves some time with DP and any pro application etc.

[mikehalloran]

How can Dropbox not be on that list?

Speaking of which, the latest update for Monterey/Ventura has a nasty surprise in store for those needing to share/collaborate in Logic or FinalCut Pro. Apple wants you to do that in iCloud and wants to prevent Dropbox from having that same ability. This does not affect non-Apple apps, of course and I am really liking the new change.

[James Steele]

Speaking of which, the latest update for Monterey/Ventura has a nasty surprise in store for those needing to share/collaborate in Logic or FinalCut Pro. Apple wants you to do that in iCloud and wants to prevent Dropbox from having that same ability. This does not affect non-Apple apps, of course and I am really liking the new change.

Hmmm... I wish Apple wouldn't pull stuff like that. Aren't they making *enough* money without intentionally blocking competitors in cloud storage? Seems pretty borderline monopolistic.

[bayswater]

I actually can't believe Keyboard Maestro isn't on the list? That's the #1 app that really saves some time with DP and any pro application etc.

Can you give an example? I’ve played around with KM a couple of times after reading about it here, and didn’t see much point. A concrete example of something in DP would help.

[stubbsonic]

Dropover stops working after two weeks, I'm reminded to pay for it with this thread, it's just a good idea, especially for us audio types.

I actually can't believe Keyboard Maestro isn't on the list? That's the #1 app that really saves some time with DP and any pro application etc.

Ah, ok. 14-day trial. Makes sense. I'm hoping I can turn off its sending of usage data. But you're right, it seems really useful for us audio folk. I have lots of little folders over in my sidebar. That helps, but the idea of gathering files up from various spots is clever.'

I think KM is promising-- in that way of doing upfront prep-work to save steps down the road.

I like dropbox, and am using the free version. I'm annoyed about the 3-device limit, and other seemingly arbitrary limitations. Beggars can't be choosers, but we can be complainers.

[Michael Canavan]

I actually can't believe Keyboard Maestro isn't on the list? That's the #1 app that really saves some time with DP and any pro application etc.

Can you give an example? I’ve played around with KM a couple of times after reading about it here, and didn’t see much point. A concrete example of something in DP would help.

Oh geez? there's tons of examples. First off the easy stuff.

Any key command can be tied to a Keyboard Maestro chain of commands, and beyond. I have a KM macro set up to open Jump Desktop for remote access to my Mac Pro here via ethernet etc. it opens it, moves it to the other monitor and resizes it for the screen resolution on that monitor, takes two seconds or less. I have all of that tied to the iPad app Metagrid, so a single remote desktop icon in Metagrid sets it up for me in one go. Tied in with an app like Metagrid you have one button access to nearly anything on your Mac.

simple case scenarios are things like Open Protocol settings in DP, not something I use all the time, but when I need it I'm menu diving, it's all tied to a KM script and it's super quick. Harder case scenarios, quantize presets can be given shortcuts, and tied to an icon of a quarter note etc. in Metagrid (or Streamdeck etc.), and KM can run mouse actions for things that should, but do not have shortcuts in DP, like showing and hiding the MIDI FX slots on instrument tracks. Super useful IMO because DP right now grows MIDI FX slots to match audio FX slots in combined instrument tracks. This of course quickly kills screen real estate for the mix tracks.

I also am constantly going into Click preferences to change it from or to Always Click or Only Click During Countoff. This is something that KM can automate, and it's a great thing. You could also automate adding a plug in to multiple tracks by a string of macros, so select the first track of a string of tracks you want to add an EQ to the 4th slot in the track on, set the macro to add the EQ and select the next track, then it's just pushing the command you set up for the Macro over and over again, you could also have it repeat X amount of times, so adjusting the macro to fit the amount of tracks you want it to populate is relatively easy.

[bayswater]

Oh geez? there's tons of examples. First off the easy stuff.

Any key command can be tied to a Keyboard Maestro chain of commands, and beyond.

Thanks for the detailed description. IIRC from trying KM earlier, if there isn't a keyboard shortcut already in DP, you depend on clicking in specific spots on the screen so something is selected. If that's so, presumably, you have use the screen resolution and screens that was in place when the KM macro was created. Is that so? If so, that's probably where I stopped trying it out. I'm constantly changing these settings.

[Michael Canavan]

Oh geez? there's tons of examples. First off the easy stuff.

Any key command can be tied to a Keyboard Maestro chain of commands, and beyond.

Thanks for the detailed description. IIRC from trying KM earlier, if there isn't a keyboard shortcut already in DP, you depend on clicking in specific spots on the screen so something is selected. If that's so, presumably, you have use the screen resolution and screens that was in place when the KM macro was created. Is that so? If so, that's probably where I stopped trying it out. I'm constantly changing these settings.

If it's not in the main menu, and not in the keyboard shortcut list you need to tie it to specific spots on the screen or to an image on the screen. I have a 1920x1080 Raven screen I'm on 95% of the time unless I'm out of town, and I keep DP at 125% resolution.

Beyond that, it's not just DP shortcuts you can use. I just completed in like maybe a minute a macro to add an EQ to tracks in Bitwig, none of it is tied to the screen resolution. Same is going to be true with DP and the same function, because there are shortcuts for most functions, (calling up the plug in chooser, selecting the next track etc. ),and you can search the MW EQ, hit return and it will load.

[bayswater]

If it's not in the main menu, and not in the keyboard shortcut list you need to tie it to specific spots on the screen or to an image on the screen.

That’s what I thought. I‘d have to change the way I work in DP and other apps. I change scale in DP and resolution constantly in other apps. I have a dozen or so screen sets in DP for different stages of a project.

[Michael Canavan]

If it's not in the main menu, and not in the keyboard shortcut list you need to tie it to specific spots on the screen or to an image on the screen.

That’s what I thought. I‘d have to change the way I work in DP and other apps. I change scale in DP and resolution constantly in other apps. I have a dozen or so screen sets in DP for different stages of a project.

Only if you want to automate parts of the DAW that aren't assignable to key commands or Mac OS shortcuts etc. does this come up. Like I mentioned whole strings of shortcuts, menu items, Mac OS commands and other Keyboard Maestro commands can be made into macros, of the hundreds of macros Ive made only a handful use screen position or image capture to work.

You drew a conclusion first, 'KM uses screen position so it's of no use to me', then listened only to back up that opinion? of all the things I mentioned that's your only reply? I spent some time answering your apparently rhetorical question, a completely pointless task. Hopefully someone else reading this got something out of what I wrote, because you asked me as if you were interested, despite obviously not being interested, thanks for wasting my time.

[bayswater]

You drew a conclusion first, 'KM uses screen position so it's of no use to me', then listened only to back up that opinion? of all the things I mentioned that's your only reply? I spent some time answering your apparently rhetorical question, a completely pointless task. Hopefully someone else reading this got something out of what I wrote, because you asked me as if you were interested, despite obviously not being interested, thanks for wasting my time.

I DO appreciate the time you spent, but one of the possible conclusions always has to be that I don’t need KM. There are two reasons: one is that while you and others do things that use a long string of key commands that can be simplified with KM, I don’t find myself doing that. Second, while it might be possible for KM to automate a lot of things I do with operations other than key commands, they aren’t that much use to me if I have to switch resolutions and screen sets to use them.

I asked the question because a lot of people recommend KM, and I’ve assumed I’m missing something because I didn’t see the point. That’s why as I asked for a specific concrete example in DP.

[bayswater]

You drew a conclusion first, 'KM uses screen position so it's of no use to me', then listened only to back up that opinion? of all the things I mentioned that's your only reply? I spent some time answering your apparently rhetorical question, a completely pointless task. Hopefully someone else reading this got something out of what I wrote, because you asked me as if you were interested, despite obviously not being interested, thanks for wasting my time.

I DO appreciate the time you spent, but one of the possible conclusions always has to be that I don’t need KM. There are two reasons: one is that while you and others do things that use a long string of key commands that can be simplified with KM, I don’t find myself doing things like that very often. Second, while it might be possible for KM to automate a lot of things I do with operations other than key commands, they aren’t that much use to me if I have to switch resolutions and screen sets to use them.

I asked the question because a lot of people recommend KM, and I’ve assumed I’m missing something because I didn’t see the point. That’s why as I asked for a specific concrete example in DP.

[James Steele]

I don't have time to do a more detailed post, but in a few instances, I've found that using Keyboard Maestro to invoke the command line feature in DP using ⇧ Spacebar, and then typing what you need can sometimes help as a workaround. I made a custom transposition map and using the command line I can have KM type the name of the transposition map and then invoke it.

I'd post more about it, but I've run into a strange issue where even though my macro is working, I no longer see my custom transposition map in the Transpose window. Need to report this to MOTU.