Tech Tips

Use Keyboard Maestro to Hide Instead of Close an Application

I use SnagIt to capture screenshots. The editor window that appears after you capture takes a few seconds to open if the application isn’t running. I realized that, while the capture tools remain open, the editor goes away when I hit ⌘W to close the window. Instead of using ⌘W to close the editor window, I sometimes remember to use ⌘H to hide the window, which hides the window but leaves the application open. The editor window pops open much quicker if the application is still open.

Using Keyboard Maestro I’m able to intercept the ⌘W that I do all the time (muscle memory), and turn that into a ⌘H.

Here’s the macro:

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UPDATE

I’m not sure if it’s related, but it’s been a few days since implementing this macro and it seems some of my windows aren’t closing instantly. I’m wondering if this macro is slowing down the normal closing process of non-SnagIt windows.

I’m going to try a different approach for a few days to see if there’s a noticeable difference. I’ve created a macro group that is only active for SnagIt. With the macro in that group, I removed the IF conditional and instead just trigger ⌘H immediately.

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