yKey Automation โ Do Less Accomplish More
yKey is an automation utility that creates shortcuts to accomplish repetitive tasks. Free yourself from the ball and chain of repetitive drudgery. Rule your computer, don't be a slave anymore.
yKey adds an essential but missing element in Mac OS X: automation! yKey will save you and your company precious time and energy. It's all about efficiencyโwe call this "doing less and accomplishing more." yKey can turn some repetitive action that might consist of thousands of mouse clicks (in various applications, in menus and different dialog boxes) and pages of typing into one yKey shortcut that can be launched anytime to perform the exact same action with a simple key press.
A Simple Example
Say you open Safari each day and go to the same 8 websites and then copy some text which you email to someone. Instead of performing this same task each day for 15 mins with typing and clicking and opening and closing applications, do it with yKey via one hotkey or menu item and let it work in the background while you do some other work or have a cup of tea.
How yKey Works
A shortcut is made up of 3 parts:
1. Commands
A command is the action, or series of actions, that you want yKey to perform. An example of a command is: Open Photoshop and start a new document. yKey can open menus and choose menu items. It can hold and run Apple scripts from a palette. Automate movement of the mouse to tap areas of the screen in an app.
2. Contexts
The context is from where your shortcut can be activated. Most commonly the context is set to universal so that it will work regardless of which application you are in. However you may wish to set a hotkey for use only in Photoshop, in this case the context would be set to Photoshop. yKey works in and between all apps.
3. Launchers
A launcher is what activates your shortcut. Most commonly it is a hotkey or date time event. For example launch Safari by pressing option + s or have it load for you at 8:00 am each morning.
Key Features
Applications & Documents
Launch, switch, show, quit and relaunch software applications, or open specific documents even in other applications than their creator application.
Keyboard & Mouse
Simulate both keydown events and mouse events, meaning yKey can control the computer as if someone were physically using the keyboard and the mouse.
Clipboard & System
Copying, pasting and adding to the clipboard. Open System Preferences and switch to any preference pane. Tell the computer when to sleep, restart or shutdown.
Internet & Scripts
Open web addresses, create new e-mails, play sounds, and execute AppleScripts or itself be run by AppleScripts. Create palettes with buttons that allow you to run Apple scripts.
For more information about yKey, please visit the manual page.
Changelog
1.5.0
minor๐ Changes
- Enhanced keyboard shortcuts
- Improved customization options
- Better app integration
โจ New Features
- Enhanced keyboard shortcuts
๐ง Improvements
- Improved customization options
- Better app integration
Reviews
"Since I started using yKey, this gem has saved me up to an hour a week using shortcuts. Overall, I found the yKey to be reliable and very easy to use. For those looking for an affordable solution to creating shortcuts in Mac OS X, I highly recommend taking a look at yKey."
"David Pogue discusses automation/macro software and in his weekly video he says yKey is his favorite."
"Michael Hyatt describes his use of yKey to boost productivity."
User Raves
"Without your software my days of replying to endless same question emails would become utterly monotonous โ Thanks for freeing me of repetitive tasks"
"Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to say that IMHO your product yKey is simply the best productivity aid available for OS X that I have come across to date. It's interface and access to features are so simple and well executed that in the year or so I have been using it I have barely have had the need to open the help files to accomplish a desired task."
"This is the old Youpi Key, with *lots* of new features. Very very nice! It now easily rivals QuicKeys."
"This is a fantastic program! It is saving me hours and hours of work. I keep thinking of new things to do with it."
"Thanks for the on-going support and new releases of yKey that keep getting better and better โ I used to use Quickeys years ago and am very happy with my decision to switch to yKey โ it offers everything I need at a fraction of the cost โ keep up the good work!"
"I used KeyQuencer for years on the Mac. When I switched to OS X, there was no OS X version for it, so I tried Youpi Key (which is now yKey). It's a great replacement. It saves me hours of time. Highly recommended!"
"yKey Rocks!!!! Great Job!!!!"
Product Manuals
Product Manuals
Select your platform and app to view the complete manual in a new window.
No previous versions available for this app.