Archive translation. This article originally appeared in Digital Production 01:2021. Software versions, links, devices and availability reflect that period; verify current compatibility before production use.
In brief: A practical guide to turning a second computer keyboard or MIDI controller into a dedicated shortcut surface using tools such as HID Macros, LuaMacros and MIDI2LR.
This article originally appeared in DP 01 : 2021.
Keyboard shortcuts are essential for a smooth workflow. But you actually want to look at the screen and not the keyboard. A second keyboard or a MIDI keyboard would be a good idea. But how do I teach it to my software? The smartest option is of course the Streamdeck presented in DP 04:20. But it can also be simpler and cheaper. Mediachance has a few solutions at hand.
I have to admit, when I discovered the software, I thought: Great, I’ve been looking for that for a long time. Then it sat on my hard drive for a while until I finally installed it, because the configuration is a bit of work. The Mediachance website offers a colourful selection of interesting creative software such as Dynamic Auto Painter, as well as the aforementioned utilities Multi-Keyboard Macros and MIDI Keyboard Macros. The software interfaces and operation of the two programmes are practically identical. The difference is that a MIDI controller can do much more than an ordinary keyboard.
Multi-keyboard macros
After installation, the licence screen appears first. The software can be tested to your heart’s content with the trial version, but forgets its settings every time it is closed. More on this later, but the full version costs just under 30 euros) After starting the software, you must first define the primary keyboard. Other keyboards are then recognised via Detect.
You then specify whether the unassigned keys should function normally or whether all unassigned keys should be deactivated. This makes it easier to hit the right keys blindly. Assigning the keys is very simple. You click the button, press the key and enter what it should do.
Not only keyboard commands are possible, but also macros, mouse clicks on a specific point on the monitor, anchor points on web pages, text blocks, opening web pages, folders and programmes as well as activating windows. If that’s not enough, you can also programme complex macros using your own scripting language. Detailed instructions are available in the PDF manual which can be downloaded from the website.
Any number of keyboards can be connected via USB or Bluetooth. However, they must be different models so that the software can distinguish between them. Everything that is HID-compliant works, including numeric keypads and mini gaming keyboards. My Logitech K480 Bluetooth keyboard, which I normally use for my iPad, worked perfectly.
I then immediately programmed a few keys to take the screenshots for this article. So I programmed a button with a macro that starts Irfan View, sets it to screen capture mode and selects monitor mode, and another button that selects window mode. Then right next to it is the screen capture button and then the one for saving. When the save dialogue is called up, the file name is also copied into the text field so that I only have to number the files consecutively.
Keys can also be reassigned on the primary keyboard. However, this should be done carefully. For example, I have assigned Undo and Redo to the F1 and F2 keys.
Another practical function is the recording of keyboard commands. A Record and a Play key are defined for this purpose. All keyboard commands that are executed during recording can then be played back using the Play key. This helps programmers, for example, when inserting the same code in different places. The recorded commands can also be placed directly on a key using the “Save QM to Key” button.
The painstakingly programmed macro sets can of course also be saved. For example, you can put together one for editing and another for the graphics programme and load them accordingly. I have saved my sets in the Dropbox so that I can open them from any computer. Of course, it would be even more convenient if the sets could be configured individually for each software, as is possible with the Contour Shuttle, for example.
MIDI keyboard macros
The whole thing works even more intuitively with a MIDI controller. Here too, the corresponding key is pressed and the macro is then programmed. With JKL, I and O and Insert and Overwrite on the keyboard, editing can be done without looking. Keep your eyes on the monitor and your right hand on the mouse. You can even have the rubber keys light up and flash in red, green and yellow, which makes orientation even easier. In addition, the keyboard can be programmed so that the entered function is displayed when tapped lightly and is only executed when tapped hard. This means that even an unfamiliar user can quickly gain an overview of the commands that are assigned to the keys. Functions can also be assigned to the rotary knobs, but this requires at least a rough overview of the scripting language.
Both programmes can be downloaded as a trial from the Mediachance website and currently cost 29 US dollars each. There are also some other interesting creative and productivity tools that are worth a look, such as UltraSNAP Pro 5, a fast screen capture and layout program that can also vectorise.
