QuicKeys X3: Home run
www.quickeys.com
Startly Technologies' QuicKeys X3 for Apple's Mac OS X is certainly still one of the most recommended OS add-ons in the field. QuicKeys X3 features an easy-to-use interface with more Logic and Variables than any other macro program around. QuicKeys' recording and Shortcut Triggers features make QuicKeys the best choice for automating your Macintosh -- by far.What QuicKeys X3 does
- Use QuicKeys' intuitive user interface to automate most all actions that the Mac user does on a daily basis. If you do it more than once a day, the use QuicKeys.
- QuicKeys allows you to utilize Speech, Time Range, Application Event, Mouse Button and Device Shortcut Triggers to launch actions you would normally do by hand. This can be any action from a single mouse click to hundreds of keystrokes and clicks.
- QuicKeys' Shortcut Subscriptions allow groups of users to share shortcuts
- Logic and Variables give greater power and control to sequences you design, or those you walk through using the powerful "watch me" functions.
- To set up a complicated macro, you simply say "watch me" and the recording and recording hints make shortcut creation easier than ever. QuicKeys carefully watches each move you make, recording it into an action you can play back again and again.
One of my favorite QuicKeys is gathering content from PDF files. The age-old program "DiskTop" is the only program I know of that will run a search based on specific criteria like "last updated"; and then generate a "path" report. Let's say you want all files updated after July 15th under a specific directory. DiskTop pulls the report then presents it in order complete with path on your hard drive. The snag comes in when you want to get that report into a text file. DiskTop will print the report, but it won't save it. Like all of Apple's search functions, you're held hostage to the screen or paper. Ah, but then there's QuicKeys! Since DiskTop is the only one to actually print the report, I print it as a PDF file. Sometimes the report is any number of pages long. With my handy QuicKeys routines it's a simple matter to click Acrobat, copy, click BBEdit, paste, key in a string of text, click to return to Acrobat and repeat. Unless you're running HyperCard in Classic or you're an Applescripting guru, there's simply no other way to run an operation like this with a single mouse click.
Like this example, QuicKeys can fluently reduce literally thousands of clicks and keystrokes -- not to mention hours and hours of editing -- into a simple click-and-do. But they don't have to be complicated. I monitor sixteen different web-based online email accounts and listservs. There's just no way I can remember all those Ids and passwords -- particularly since I change them quite frequently. If you log into multiple FTP servers, or web-based email accounts, QuicKeys keys in ID and passwords like a champ. All I have to remember is the QuicKey for each account. QuicKeys deftly keys in the ID, hits the tabkey and keys in the password and hits enter. I'm in the mail account three times faster than normal and I didn't have to remember a single text string nor worry about making a mistake. This ability alone is well worth the $99 price, since some of these accounts get checked several times a day.
True to form, many user group members will argue with me about QuicKeys. "But Fred, you can do that with blah, blah program." ... and "You can download blah, blah to do that" ... but why bother. Many of the activities you might download a widget or shareware utility for can be handled by QuicKeys. Apple talks about Widgets as if they are some rave new innovation. We had that functionality as far back as OS 8 with QuicKeys. Weather, stock reports, new folders, uploads, downloads, news groups, empty, load, mount, view, delete, emulate, type, retype, name, rename, find, sort, style, color, label, band, sleep, shut down, and all manner of other activities have been at our finger tips all along. Most are easier than Widgets and the Dock put together.
You can't afford NOT to buy QuicKeys
While using your computer for the next week, be aware of any activities that require repetitive keystrokes or mouse movements. These are all prime candidates for QuicKeys. And, if you actually use your Mac for work, then all the work you save equals time and money saved. QuicKeys has been so productive for me, I figure by about 1998 it had already paid for itself and all upgrades through 2050. So it's easy to buy every new update -- I know it's been paid for long ago.
QuicKeys X3 is $99.95 for a single user. An upgrade from QuicKeys X2 is $29.95. Multi-pack licenses and upgrades from previous versions are also available. QuicKeys X3 can be purchased directly from Startly Technologies by calling 800-523-7638 or 515-221-1801, online at www.startly.com and through software resellers and distributors worldwide. For more information about QuicKeys X3, visit www.quickeys.com
About QuicKeys Products Eddy Award winner for "Best Productivity Utility," recipient of a Four-Mouse rating from Macworld and one of Computer America's Top Ten Utilities of all time, QuicKeys is a personal productivity tool designed to eliminate repetitive and time-consuming computing tasks for Macintosh and Windows users alike.
Startly Technologies, LLC was formed in April 2004 when a group of CE Software employees acquired substantially all of the operating assets of CE Software, Inc., taking the company private. For over 20 years, CE Software developed innovative software solutions to improve communication and productivity. Startly Technologies intends to expand upon this rich history of innovation and remains committed to providing solutions that are reliable, easy to use, and designed with both the expert and novice user in mind. For more information visit www.startly.com.
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