How to export keyboard shortcuts to another mac?

[Stevee00]

Hi,

I have created a lot of application-specific customized keyboard shortcuts in the system preferences on my iMac. How do I transfer all my shortcuts to my Macbook Air? I assume there's a pref file somewhere, but I don't know what to look for and I don't want to screw something up.

I have the latest 10.8.3 on both.

Related question: is there a way to make a keyboard shortcut to open Keyboard Shortcuts? I tried just entering those words and it didn't work.

Thanks,

Steve

 

[benwiggy]

I think the file is com.apple.symbolichotkeys.plist in ~/Library/Preferences. (Normally hidden from Lion onwards.)

You can check which plist stores which data by changing a setting and seeing which file is modified at the same time. (Sort the folder by date order; it will rise to the top.)

If you are "big" on keyboard shortcuts, you might want to consider software like iKey or KeyboardMaestro, which are much more flexible and offer much greater range of capabilities than the OS alone.

 

[Stevee00]

Benwiggy, thank you. That's what I was looking for. I do know how to find the plist flies, and I hadn't thought of the change it and sort trick.

Do any of the utilities you know automatically synch across Dropbox, as Textexpander does?

Steve

 

[benwiggy]

You mean sync the shortcuts using Dropbox? Not that I'm aware of.

I use iKey, and you can export some or all of the settings into a file that can be imported. That's how I keep the same actions on both Macs.

 

[bachelorbob]

Hi,

I have created a lot of application-specific customized keyboard shortcuts in the system preferences on my iMac. How do I transfer all my shortcuts to my Macbook Air? I assume there's a pref file somewhere, but I don't know what to look for and I don't want to screw something up.

I have the latest 10.8.3 on both.

Related question: is there a way to make a keyboard shortcut to open Keyboard Shortcuts? I tried just entering those words and it didn't work.

Thanks,

Steve

I ran 'fseventer' to see what files changed while altering my keyboard shortcuts via the Keyboard preference panel. The only relevant changes were directly to the plist files of the applications I made changes to. Ergo, there is no one file that can be easily exported or copied to another Mac to transfer keyboard shortcuts assigned in this manner.

Now, the Keyboard preference panel must keep a cache of your custom settings somewhere. Surely it does not look through every application for custom setting when launched. I looked in the panels contents and did not find anything obvious. The hunt continues.

And, yes, I am still using OS X.8.5 (Mountain Lion), because 10.9, 10.10, and 10.11 are progressively worse, slow, and childish GUIs.

 

[chsweb]

Same question here, for Mac OS Sierra. I have a ton of keyboard shortcuts that I have set up over the past 3 years that I need to migrate a new Mac.

I am taking screenshots of the system pref pane for my shortcuts now… one small shot at a time.