Is there a way to create custom keyboard shortcuts or macro actions in Sketch? I’ve only ever seen the option in a plugin. There are a couple of features, like converting Masks into Alpha Masks, that I would like to make faster.
Thanks,
The default way is to use the default tools available to you in Mac OS. So to set keyboard shortcuts you’d use the OS level settings, a guide is here: Create keyboard shortcuts for apps on Mac – Apple Support (UK)
You can also create automations with the shortcuts app, automator or AppleScript - it’s powerful but requires some foreknowledge. There are some alternative methods for creating macros and automations on Mac OS though - the two most popular are BetterTouchTool and Keyboard Maestro, both of them are extremely powerful automation tools for MacOS that can do anything you’d like to achieve and much more. If you’re comfortable with scripting there is also Hammerspoon, which is free and open source.
For example on my machine I have a macro set with Keyboard Maestro that binds a command that opens the command bar and inserts a common artboard size, I have another that presses the enter key when creating a symbol and another that fires both horizontal and vertical align with a single keypress. This is just scratching the surface of what can be done with these tools though, it can go as deep as you want, it’s pretty cool.
Regarding mask creation and conversion specifically, I do wish this was surfaced better in the app. There’s also a handful for options that are not mappable to keyboard shortcuts currently, like rotating objects by 90 degrees - which only seems available via the command bar.
Hope this helps.
3 Likes
Thank you very much for this. I’ve used the Mac keyboard shortcuts to cover the Mask Mode annoyance. I will have to look into the apps you’ve recommended for creating macros and other workflow improvments.
Ash said it best! (btw, awesome reply).
It can be as simple and as complex as you like. Depending on your setup (Macropads, VIA/QMK enabled keyboard or just any third-party keyboard software), you could create some really amazing macros that enable you to perform multiple actions with a single keystroke.
I’ve been experimenting a fair bit with these using our Beta and internal builds to see how the new features would behave and so far, I’ve gotten great results. We’re also aiming to release a quick guide into creating some of these macros with these popular apps so people can get an idea on how to build them (but that’s for a bit later).
If you run into any issues let me know (ping me here!) and I’ll try to jump in asap!
Kindest regards,