A set of tools to help you use your keyboard more and build a better workflow.
This project is the first in a series with the goal of creating a workflow you can use on your computer to get your work done as efficiently as possible.
While both are equally important, it is generally better to separate practical use from just for fun. Keyboardminder is meant to fulfill the practical side more.
The purpose of this specific project is provide a set of tools to help learn to solely use the keyboard for more tasks because it should be more efficient than using a mouse or track pad in a lot of cases. It also lays the groundwork for future projects that help you use the keyboard more efficiently.
This workflow has had a large impact and decreased the amount of time it takes to get my necessary work on the computer done each day by 20 - 30%.
This project and these tools are the first of many I am working on with each one building on top of each other and working together to build a powerful workflow. The long term goal is to have all the tools bundled together in one coherent app written in C++. There are four other tools being worked on and possibly a fifth. These other tools are much more complex then the ones included in this repository. Some of the tools I have prototyped in PowerShell, Python or AutoHotkey. If available, I will include these prototypes in case anyone finds them useful. In the case of this repository a couple of the tools only have a AutoHotkey version so far.
You can read the financial transparency statement here.
If this project is successfully funded I will be able to release more open source projects.
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I figured out the best way to learn to use the keyboard more is by intentionally using the mouse less. This may seem obvious but it can be trickier than you would think to get out of the habit of using the mouse or track pad.
Originally what I tried was placing my mouse further away from myself. What I found was there are some tasks that sometimes require using a mouse and others that require it to be used almost the entire time. This led to me moving the mouse closer for the tasks that required it and this ultimately led to using the mouse more overall again which wasn't my goal.
What I ended up doing was making some tools to help. These tools help limit mouse usage so that you remember to use the keyboard more.
There are three tools so far. One has both a C++ and AutoHotkey version and the other two have AutoHotkey versions.
This tool disables the task bar so that it is easier to get into the habit of using the keyboard to switch windows. The task bar can be temporary re-enabled with a shortcut. The default shortcut is Ctrl + 0 and the amount of time before the task bar is hidden again is 10 seconds. I recommend having this running most of time as part of the workflow. I find this one extremely useful.
In the code there is a extra sleep that is commented out. Enabling this line can help when your having a difficult time getting out of the habit of using the task bar to switch windows. Another tip is to occasionally change the shortcut if find yourself using it more than you want to.
There is both a C++ version and prototype AutoHotkey version of this tool.
Demo
This script makes it so that to use the mouse buttons and mouse wheel, caps lock must be held. This also helps you be more mindful about mouse usage. I also recommend having this script running a majority of the time.
You can use this script when your really trying to be more aware and limit mouse usage such as when your learning a new shortcut. It adds wait times between mouse clicks. After a certain amount of clicks, the wait time is increased. It is reset after a certain amount of time. It also requires capslock to be held. It can be a little frustrating sometimes but it can help you persist in learning more advanced keyboard shortcuts.
There are a couple decent solutions for MacOS.
The first is to make the dock as small as possible. You can also move it to the side of your screen.
The second is to set the autohide delay to around 8 seconds or even a longer amount of time.
For when you do still need to access the dock quickly, you can get to it from Mission Control which can also be disabled if desired.
This command will set the autohide delay time in seconds.
defaults write com.apple.dock autohide-delay -float 8; killall Dock
This command will restore to the default behavior.
defaults delete com.apple.dock autohide-delay; killall Dock
I may also add a Script to temporary show the dock again using a keyboard shortcut.
Acknowledgement
The Mac solutions were inspired by a post on Stack Exchange. You can view the original solutions here.
A ZIP file with all the tools named Keyboardminder can be found under releases. Download the ZIP file, unzip it somewhere and then run BasicInstaller.exe to add the tools to your startup folder. BasicInstaller can also be used to remove them from your startup folder.
The tools can also be found individually under releases.
You can also compile DisableTaskbar yourself if you want to change the default shortcut, delay timing, or uncomment the extra delay.
Install AutoHotkey to be able to run the other two tools or if you want to run the AutoHotkey version of DisableTaskbar.
Warning: While AutoHotkey itself should be safe, installing it does increase your attack surface area. The biggest thing is make sure you know what the scripts you run do.
Next simply download the repository and run the scripts.
There is a program named ToolManagerGUI.exe and another named ToolManager.exe that you can use to manage the tools to use the workflow. They can be found in the Keyboardminder ZIP file or by themselves under releases. They needs to be in the same directory as the tools. ToolManager.exe can be run in interactive mode, where you select options from a menu or in command line mode. Use -h or --help to get a list of available commands and options.
You can add ToolManager to your PATH using the GUI or with the following PowerShell commands. Make sure to set the $ToolManagerPath variable to the actual location of ToolManager.
$ToolManagerPath = "C:\Users\UserName\Documents\Keyboardminder"
$oldPath = [System.Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("PATH", "User")
[System.Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("PATH", "$oldPath;$ToolManagerPath", "User")
ToolManger has a config file ToolManagerConfig where you list the tools you want to have enabled. These are the tools that will be acted upon by different actions or commands that don't specify which tools to act upon. The point of this is to be able to exclude tools you don't want to use. By default all three tools are listed.
DisableTaskbar has a config file DisableTaskbarConfig where you can set the modifer key, shortcut key, delay amount, and if the extra delay after using the shortcut and when the taskbar is shown is enabled. The options for the modifer key are MOD_ALT, MOD_CONTROL, MOD_SHIFT, MOD_WIN. You can look up shortcut key codes here. Certain combinations may or may not work.
Contributions are more than welcome. Open an issue and submit a pull request if you have one. Please be respectful.
Take a look at open issues to see what is planned. Assigned issues are currently being worked on.
Here is a sneek peak from the next project in the series written in C++ which adds some useful keyboard shortcuts. It is around 400 lines.
BOOL IsAltTabWindow(HWND hwnd) {...
if (PeekMessage(&msg, NULL, 0, 0, PM_REMOVE) != 0) {...
if (hwnd != 0) {
...
else {
startApplication(appToStart);
}
My goal with this project and future ones is to keep the tools as simple as possible. I don’t want to add unnecessary features but am more than willing to explore variations. If there are any ideas for useful variations open an issue.
If this project is of any use to you or you interested in my future projects, you can help fund my work.
On my sponsors profile you can read more about the overall mission with my projects.
Please read the financial transparency statement here if you haven't already.
You can contact me by email regarding feedback or questions on the project.