The Keyboard Maestro application is the editor, it lets you create and modify macros and configure preferences. You use it when you want to make changes, and then you quit it. It does not need to be running normally. Whenever you launch Keyboard Maestro, it also launches the Keyboard Maestro Engine which continues running until you log out. You can have the Keyboard Maestro Engine launched automatically when you login by enabling the “Launch Engine at Login” preference. Enable Launch Engine at Login

The Keyboard Maestro Engine is a background only application that enables all of Keyboard Maestro’s features. It responds to your Hot Key presses, watches the time, tracks applications and the clipboard, handles remote web and iPhone requests, and executes your Macro Actions. It should be running at all times, so it is a good idea to enable the “Launch Engine at Login” preference. Enable Launch Engine at Login

Keyboard Maestro organises your macros into Macro Groups which are like folders of macros. Each Macro Group controls when the macros it contains are active. A Macro Group can target or exclude specific applications, which means the macros it contains will only be active in those desired applications. For example, you can have macros which are active only in Mail.app. A Macro Group can also act as a container for specific-use macros which are enabled only after a Hot Key press or which are displayed as a palette of the macros. You create a Macro Group by clicking the + button at the bottom of the Macro Groups list. You can disable or enable Macro Groups by clicking the ✓ button. You can configure a Macro Group by selecting it and clicking the Edit button.

Keyboard Maestro’s main purpose is to execute Macros. A Macro lives in a Macro Group and consists of a set of Triggers that determine when the macro is executed, together with a list of Actions that define what the macro does when it is executed. You create a Macro by clicking the + button at the bottom of the Macros list. You can disable or enable a Macro by clicking the ✓ button - remember that a Macro can only be active when the Macro Group that contains it is active. You can edit a Macro by selecting it and clicking the Edit button. Review Some Examples

A Trigger defines when a macro will be executed. There are a variety of Triggers available, the most common is the Hot Key trigger which executes the macro when a specified Hot Key is pressed. Similarly, you can use a Typed String trigger to execute a macro when you type some text (for example =addr=). You can use triggers to have macros appears in a floating Macro Pallette or the Status Menu, or to have macros automatically fire when certain things happen, like when your Mac wakes from sleep or an application launches, or at 8:00 on weekdays. And you can execute a macro by executing a script, or remotely using a web browser or iPhone. A Trigger will only execute the macro if the Macro Group and Macro are enabled and currently active. You create Triggers by editing a Macro and clicking the + button. Review Triggers

When a Macro is Triggered it executes a list of Actions. Keyboard Maestro performs each of the Actions in order. There are a wide variety of Actions allowing you to control applications, simulate user interface events like key presses, mouse clicks and menu selections, open files, control your Mac or the clipboard, or display a variety of powerful switchers (Process, Window, Clipboard and Clipboard History Switchers). You can also execute a script (AppleScript, Unix Script or Automator Workflow). You create Actions by editing a Macro and clicking the + button to display available actions or by clicking on the Record button and performing the action while Keyboard Maestro records your actions to your Macro. Review Actions