Utilities are programs you can add to your computer editing system that can provide an enormous number of useful tools for your workflow. They can automatically move files to predetermined folders. They can add complex macros and actions within Avid (or any other NLE). Or they can be as simple as opening a window of options when you highlight a piece of text.

I am a sucker for trying any utility program that might simplify computer tasks. There is Picatext which allows you to highlight an image containing words and turn them into editable text, via Optical Character Recognition (OCR). There is HoudahSpot, an extremely powerful search program that finds documents stored on hard drives that fit certain specified criteria. There is Alfred, which has multiple abilities but is most useful for calling up applications, documents or websites to open with just a few keystrokes.

Here I will focus on three applications that have become essential to my computer use: PopClip, Hazel and Keyboard Maestro. PopClip is a surprisingly simple and helpful utility. Once set up, all you do is highlight some text. Then you get the following popup window.

The menu of actions can be edited. The options here are (1) search on the web, (2) cut the text (yes, you can do that with Command+X, but that’s two whole keys, not one), (3) copy the text, (4) paste text already copied or cut, (5) look up in the dictionary app, (6) paste and match the current text style, (7) add to a Sticky Note, (8) search with HoudahSpot, (9) search with Google, (10) search on Wikipedia, and finally (11) search on IMDB (has my last credit shown up yet?).

And this just scratches the surface. There are about 165 extensions (other actions) on the Pilotmoon.com website. The next utility is called Hazel from Noodlesoft. It automates actions to a file, based on specified criteria. As an example, when I download a file to my downloads folder, I want to see it in the Finder. I’ve set up Hazel to monitor the downloads folder for changes, and if a file is added, the downloads folder opens and reveals that file.

Above is the Hazel icon (remember the TV series?), and my open program. On the left is the list of folders that have actions or rules attached. Column two displays the rules for that folder. And column three displays the actions for the highlighted rule. This rule is for the Downloads folder, so when there is a newlyadded item, it is shown in the Finder.

Rules can be simple or amazingly complex. I have one rule that reads the OCR layer on a .pdf file and renames the file with a date found in the text. There is another rule that spots image files added to Downloads, then moves those files to my Photos folder.

My favorite utility program of all is Keyboard Maestro. It is a macro program, where you can record a series of key-strokes, mouse clicks, etc. and assign those actions to a trigger, such as a keystroke. Say, for example, one bin in Media Composer has 100 clips and they all need to be renamed starting with “AERIAL_DRONE_.” One can set up a keystroke, such as F3, to highlight a clip name, arrow key to the left start of the text, add the new text, then hit Enter to move to the next clip.

Many editors, including myself, previously used a similar macro program called QuicKeys. QuicKeys however seemed to have the unfortunate tendency to crash my Media Composer. Constantly. Once while working and getting multiple crashes, I removed QuicKeys. Crashes stopped. And I looked for a replacement. Keyboard Maestro (KM) is from Stairways Software, in Perth, Australia. It was created in 2002 by Michael Kamprath, and development continues under Peter Lewis.

It can do so many things it is hard to keep track of them all. KM can use external devices other than the keyboard to cue actions. For example, I often trigger macros using either an X-Keys keyboard or the Stream Deck control panel.

And what do I do with KM and these keyboards? For every common action within Media Composer that requires a combination of keystrokes, a pull-down menu selection, or even might be harder-to-reach keystrokes, I’ve programmed to a button on one of these devices: Save, Fade In/Out, Reset the Timeline to V1/A1, Render In/Out. And no crashes.

Macros can be set to work only in certain applications, or in all. The same keystroke can work differently depending on the application. Currently I have 56 macros for Media Composer. I’ve programmed the same keys to do the same actions in Premiere Pro, even though the program keystrokes may be different from Media Composer.

The advantage of the Stream Deck is icons can be assigned to the buttons, and a different set of icons will appear when a different application is active. KM can be programmed by either recording a series of actions, or by choosing actions from a list of hundreds of actions. The actions can be started by around 30 different triggers, including keystrokes, USB keys, login, time of day, idle time, mouse gestures and iPhone triggers.

One terrific ability is called a Conflict Palette. If I assign an action to the same keystroke, there is a conflict. KM then opens a Conflict Palette to let you choose which action to trigger. Pictured here is one I’ve set up on my laptop. If I highlight a file and choose F3 (the trigger), a menu of places to move that file appears. I have around forty possible actions attached to this one trigger.

Keyboard Maestro is the best computer utility I’ve found. I don’t even know how many things it can do. One of my most used macros is to type the current date in different formats (i.e. ‘2021_05-20’ or ‘20210520’). I constantly use this to name Media Composer bins or sequences. One of the most fun actions in KM is using it to find an image on screen and have the mouse click it. Media Composer hides one common function  under a series of menus. When you’ve set your project to import files as Stereo, sometimes you may want those files changed to Mono.

In order to use the command ‘Modify Clip,’ it takes some digging through menus to find the ‘Set Multichannel Audio’ commands. KM can go through all the menus and find this image on screen (the green button with the infinity icon) and mouse click it. Amazing.

The best tutorial on Keyboard Maestro is from David Sparks, of the website MacSparky.com. It contains a series of videos and illustrations, which he calls the Keyboard Maestro Field Guide.