Way to determine which app is generating a custom shortcut?

[theorist9]

I've set up ≈160 custom shortcuts —both global and app-specific—on my 2019 i9 iMac running MacOS Monterey v. 12.6.8. I have most of them listed in an Excel file than I can call up anytime using, yes, a shortcut.

I recently went through that file to identify which app was used to set each shortcut, in case I needed to modify them in the future. AFAIK, all my shortcuts are set using either:
a) Keyboard Maestro
b) System Preferences/Keyboard/Shortcuts
c) Shortcut customization features built into the specific app

I was able to remember or identify the source of all the shortcuts except for three:
1) In Finder: CMD-SHIFT-UPARROW = Open root folder (i.e., Macintosh HD) in new Finder window.
2) In Finder: CMD-CTRL-N = Create new sub-folder and move highlighted items to that folder.
3) In Adobe Acrobat Pro: CMD-K = Open Preferences (the default shortcut, which still works, is CMD-,).

I can't figure out where these were configured. Is there any way to determine which app is activated to implement a shortcut? It's possible the two Finder shortcuts are built-ins, but I haven't been able to find those when searching the web.

 

[bogdanw]

Might be useful - "KeyClu - overview of all shortcuts"
https://sergii.tatarenkov.name/keyclu/support/
https://github.com/Anze/KeyCluCask

 

[theorist9]

Might be useful - "KeyClu - overview of all shortcuts"
https://sergii.tatarenkov.name/keyclu/support/
https://github.com/Anze/KeyCluCask

Thanks—that's a fun program!

It's a very nice convenience to be able to see all the menu shortcuts laid out at once and, indeed, it enabled me to determine that my first mystery shortcut (Finder's CMD-SHIFT-UPARROW) is in fact a menu shortcut I had missed. So one mystery solved!

For completelness, I should note that it seems to be limited to those shortcuts listed in the app's menu. E.g., it doesn't show Finder's OPT-UPARROW & OPT-DOWNARROW (used in List View to to jump to the top and bottom items, respectively), or Adobe Acrobat's CMD-J (used to show gridlines), as these aren't in the menu.

My guess is that CMD-CTRL-N is similar to OPT-UPARROW/DOWNARROW: A Finder built-in that I once stumbled upon, but is so obscure it's hard to find using Google.

 

[bogdanw]

3) In Adobe Acrobat Pro: CMD-K = Open Preferences (the default shortcut, which still works, is CMD-,).

Although not explicitly mentioned, Command + K (⌘K) seems to be used for preferences in multiple Adobe apps. Here is Photoshop


Keyboard shortcuts for Adobe Acrobat
https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/keyboard-shortcuts.html
Default keyboard shortcuts in Adobe Photoshop
https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/default-keyboard-shortcuts.html
Preferences - Command K for Substance 3D Stager
https://helpx.adobe.com/substance-3d-stager/interface/shortcuts.html

 

[theorist9]

Although not explicitly mentioned, Command + K (⌘K) seems to be used for preferences in multiple Adobe apps. Here is Photoshop
View attachment 2256640

Keyboard shortcuts for Adobe Acrobat
https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/keyboard-shortcuts.html
Default keyboard shortcuts in Adobe Photoshop
https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/default-keyboard-shortcuts.html
Preferences - Command K for Substance 3D Stager
https://helpx.adobe.com/substance-3d-stager/interface/shortcuts.html

I looked at the shortcut guides for Acrobat and Photoshop, and found them odd because:

(a) They each mention accessing Preferences multiple times, but neither (at least that I saw) gives the shortccut for doing so—even though those documents are themselves shortcut guides! From what I've read elsewhere, COMMAND-, is the built-in for doing that in Acrobat.

(b) The Photoshop guide lists COMMAND-K for Camera Raw Preferences, while your menu has that for General Preferences:

 

[gilby101]

Somewhat more functional than KeyClu is KeyCue (free trial, but then it costs).

 

[theorist9]

Say, would either of you be willing to try this one in Finder and see if it works on your systems? That would tell me if it's a built-in or not:
In Finder: CMD-CTRL-N = Create new sub-folder and move highlighted items to that folder.

To test it, you'd want to create a scratch directory and copy three files into it. Then you highlight two of the files, hit the shortcut, and it should go from this.....

To this (after you hit the down-arrow to show the new folder's contents):

 

[theorist9]

Somewhat more functional than KeyClu is KeyCue (free trial, but then it costs).

Thanks. I'd be willing to pay extra for something that shows all the shortcuts, not just those displayed in the menu, but this doesn't. It does have added features, but those don't look useful to me, as I already have Keyboard Maestro. [Plus I'd like to limit my shortcut creation programs to Sys Prefs/Keyboard and KBM. Otherwise they become hard to keep track of.] At least that's my current thinking.

 

[gilby101]

In Finder: CMD-CTRL-N = Create new sub-folder and move highlighted items to that folder.

Yes. Exactly as you describe.

 

[gilby101]

as I already have Keyboard Maestro

KeyCue display has 3 sections: Current app, "System" and "Macros". "Macros" shows my KM shortcuts without me configuring anything. And I add some additional shortcuts (if only to document them) to the "System" section using KeyCue's settings. It is that sort of extras which may make it worth the $$ compared with KeyClu. [We all have to find the way that suits our working].

 

[theorist9]

Yes. Exactly as you describe.

Awesome—another mystery solved! I use it a lot when I need to clean out a bunch of files but don't want to delete them.

It's curious that this is a built-in shortcut for pehaps the single most-used app provided by MacOS, yet it's not in any of the lists I've found. It would be nice if there were some way to pull up a list of *all* operational shorcuts for each app.

 

[gilby101]

It would be nice if there were some way to pull up a list of *all* operational shorcuts for each app.

KeyCue shows CMD-CTRL-N. It does a pretty good job of picking up all application shortcuts which refer items in the current application's menus.

 

[theorist9]

KeyCue shows CMD-CTRL-N. It does a pretty good job of picking up all application shortcuts which refer items in the current application's menus.

Ah, that's good to know, since Key Clu does not. OK, you've convinced me—I'll check it out!

And I see now that CMD-CTRL-N *is* in Finder's menu. For some reason I just missed it (maybe b/c it stays grayed out until you select something).

 

[theorist9]

KeyCue shows CMD-CTRL-N. It does a pretty good job of picking up all application shortcuts which refer items in the current application's menus.

...And since you like shortcuts, I'll offer you this tip in exchange: Get a Logitech G502 gaming mouse (I use the wired version: Logitech G502 on Amazon), or some other gaming mouse that fits comfortably in your hand, and program the buttons with the actions you use most often. Here's what I did:

Notes: "resize and move left" activates the shortcut in SizeUp that has the current window fill the left half of the current monitor; similarly with "resize and move right"; "screenshot" activates CMD-CTRL-SHFT-4; and the scroll wheel has four functions: (1) normal scroll, (2) if you push down on it, it activates MacOS's Application Switcher, and (3&4) if you push it left or right it activates back or forward, allowing you to rapidly move back and forth through web pages.

[Unfortunately, Logitech's current G HUB software is simply horrible for assigning keyboard shorcuts to the buttons, so I used their older Logitech Gaming Software to create an onboard profile on the mouse with the button assignments.]

 

[gilby101]

Get a Logitech G502 gaming mouse

Looks nice and thanks for the thought. Each according to their own. I find an Apple Trackpad much easier on my finger and wrist joints. And it can be programmed with BetterTouchTool for multifinger taps, clicks and swipes and which has 4 sides and 4 corners which can be programmed for touches, double touches, clicks, etc. with actions that can include AppleScript or Keyboard Maestro. BTT is an amazing bit of software but unbelievable complex to configure.